[Extra Bonus For You! You can listen to my more complete audio version I did based of this post for Winston Marsh’s Business Marketing in Australia. The audio MP3 can be listened to with streaming or by downloading and playing on your MP3 player of choice. You’ll love the audio of this, which is completely different from the text. This way you get 2 for the price of 1!- You’re welcome! See audio at bottom of this post.]
Yesterday we had the chance to visit the headquarters of Klout in San Francisco. Klout, as many know, is the standard for measuring social influence in a digital world. They assign a score to your activity online to come up with the amount of influence you have in a given area. 
I was delighted to see the actual workplace, an old warehouse that has been revamped into one of the most high-tech workplaces you’d want to see. What amazed me most was some word posts in the company cafeteria. They talked about 5 principles for success that can apply to you and me in our business.
The 5 steps are:
1. Be Bold. This is mandatory for success in any field. You’ve got to move with confidence and know what you are aiming for. I’m reminded of the quote often attributed to Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, “Boldness has genius. Begin it now.” What you plan to do needs to be done with boldness.
2. Punch Mediocrity in the Face. Some might interpret this as a violent act, but I interpret it as a way to “slap yourself silly” into action. Much like we would say you have to “kick yourself in the tail” this means you have to have an attitude to never accept mediocrity from yourself. Move forward and demand excellence in your work and life.
3. Get There Faster. In a fast-changing world, you have to move rapidly. The old west had a saying that there were two kind of people, The Quick and the Dead. Today you have to move very fast to stay up with, let alone get ahead of, the competition. Develop your systems and your stamina to achieve and move rapidly in those areas that matter to customers.
4. Deliver Value with Integrity. Value is what the buyer defines as good. You have to continually learn what they value and are willing to pay for. Do it genuinely and with the integrity you’d find in the most honorable person. This is the measure of a successful person.
5. Kloutlaws Ride Together. The term “Kloutlaws” are those who are employees of Klout. This saying means they ride, or stick together, even when things are tough. I saw that vividly among the employees, er Kloutlaws, at Klout. I saw this often as people helped each other, showed genuine concern and were there to assist. This is critical in life, and particularly in the high tech world that is changing very rapidly.
Klout is a system that can help you guide your business to do activities that pay off in the digital world. These principles can help as you move forward in life and your business.
So, which principle resonates most with you? Send me a tweet on Twitter – @TerryBrock. I look forward to hearing from you.
Terry
Terry Brock, MBA, CSP, CPAE
www.TerryBrock.com, @TerryBrock, Terry@TerryBrock.com
