Topical Twittering: My Alternate, & More Valuable, Approach to Twitter

As many of you know, I have been a productive user and advocate of Twitter for quite a while now. I find Twitter invaluable as a teaching, research and networking tool. I have always used it more for professional, than for personal uses.

Initially, I approached Twitter by following individuals I knew or who were followed by people I followed. I have to say, though, that over time I have evolved towards following topics using twitter keyword search and hashtags. This approach allows me to avoid the clutter of irrelevant tweets of those I follow and to isolate those relevant tweets related to my personal and professional interests. For instance, I have saved searches for storytelling, taoism, knowledge management (#km), mindfulness (#mindful), etc., and whenever anyone on Twitter (whether I follow them or not) tweets using these words or hastags, I pick it up. I further follow hashtags of conferences and educational events of interest, i.e., #fdasm, #health2con, etc., as these allow me to gain perspectives & ask questions of conference attendees & interesteds before, during and after the event.

This topical approach has allowed me to get more out of every minute I invest in Twitter, as well as to build a more relevant network of tweeters with common interests. I would not have met these relevant tweeters just by following those who follow who I follow. (Say that 10 times.) I find that I rarely look at my general timeline anymore as I focus my Twitter time on my search & hashtag feeds.

Yes, I know I am missing the serendipitous aspects of Twitter which occurs when I read random Tweets by those I follow. The fact is that this is still available to me, as I have not unfollowed those I follow. My follows and my searched feeds, allow me to have the best of both worlds when I choose to have either or both. Ah, I love Twitter! The world's "stream of consciousness" at my fingertips!

PS - Additionally, I recommend Tweetdeck for laptop and iPhone, as the best way to organize and track your relevant Twitter feeds. I also recommend you use relevant hashtags in your tweets to assure they get picked up by those who care the most about the topic you are tweeting about.

Beware of doing what makes for success even when it no longer does.

I believe that everyone is doing what they believe makes them successful. Over time, we have all learned what will make us successful, at any given time, through a process of trial and error, reward and reprimand. In this way our being, thinking and behaving at work is shaped. The dilemma is that sometimes we are doing what made us successful, not what will make us success.

That we do what we believe makes us successful even when it no longer does has 2 fundamental implications:

1. It explains much often odd and dysfunctional behavior we display and witness at work. While it may not reveal precise reasons for why we operate as we do, it does provide a consoling explanation that calls for a measure of compassion and empathy in how we deal with ourselves and others. While you may not appreciate a person's reasoning or actions, you can hardly blame anyone for doing what they believe will make them successful. The trick is to be aware of those ways of thinking and acting that we believe make us successful, and to be open to feedback (a relatively passive approach) that may suggest we need to add new ways of being, thinking and acting that will allow us to be even more successful.

2. It calls continually into question if our present being, thinking and acting are sufficient to make us successful now, and in the future, as in the past. When this implication goes unexamined we can find ourselves failing today with thinking and actions that were only useful in the past. The trick here is to continually get the feedback and insight (a relatively active approach) we need to understand what's useful and what's obsolete as it relates to our future success.

Though difficult, I encourage us to take these two questions to heart and mind when in the heat of work as it is in this heat that we are most prone to mindlessly fall back on practiced habits whether they are any longer making us successful or not.

The Questions We Ask: Keys to our Greater Contribution & Relevance

We live in such an answer-oriented culture that we forget the value of our questions and how they can contribute to our contribution and our relevance, not to mention our development and the success of our endeavors. I learned once from a mentor that the chief indicator of the quality of consultants is often the quality of the questions they ask. The questions reveal the level of experience and wisdom of the one who poses the question. It elevates the potential and quality of the project. It expands the scope and bounds of our, and the team's, thinking and action.

I have learned, over time, that in situations where innovation is critical, where new unprecedented paths are being created, new questions are more critical to success than old answers, and that new questions yield better and more relevant answers and results.

Often we find in our work that we have stakeholders who do not, or no longer, value our contribution. Rather than fretting or being resentful, we should take time to examine the relevance of the questions we are bringing to the party in the interest of that stakeholder.

Sometimes we do not know new questions to ask, suggesting we have become stagnant and have stopped developing ourselves, and are then unable to develop those around us. We are trapped in a box we need to take time to break out of. Here is where the practice of Covey's 7th Habit of "Sharpening the Saw" is in order. If you find yourself in this state, I encourage you to cultivate new relevant questions via:

1. Broader and different exposures to new ways of thinking and perceiving. Social media is a huge opportunity aiding this exposure, for its potential to facilitate talking with/reading/watching/listening to diverse and relevant collaborators and colleagues. Being active in relevant professional associations also assists this exposure.

2. Gaining deeper insight into your stakeholders interest. Story listening and ongoing direct questioning aids this. People love to talk about and tell stories about their interests and problems. Be available to actively listen with an ear to uncovering needs you have the resources to meet.

3. Correlate your exposures to your stakeholder's interests to pose questions that add value, even when sometimes, you do not have the answers.

4. Persistent in co-creating answers to new questions with stakeholders. The newer and more radical the question, the more initial resistance and opposition you should expect. It is only a test to be passed. Pass it.

As you practice these steps you will find that you grow, as well as your stakeholders, as well as your value proposition.