photo-1451653500993-04a9a6368221Although it’s officially tomorrow, I thought I’d use today to mark Zen & the Art of Legal Networking’s SEVENTH “blogiversary.” It’s hard to believe that it’s been seven years since I started blogging, and even more, that I’m still enjoying it. Here’s a roundup of the anniversary posts that I’ve done:

The 7th anniversary gift is typically copper or wool, and a fun fact for those of you who may not know me well is that I am a very fast crocheter. It’s a skill I learned from my grandmother at a young age, and one I’ve kept up through the years, often making gifts for family and friends. A GREAT way to take advantage of a love of crocheting is by donating your time (and wool!) to some excellent causes, which is something I do on a yearly basis. Two things I do are crocheting scarves for our troops (although it’s often warm during the day where they’re deployed to, the dramatic temperature drops at night, and in the winter, mean it can get a bit cold, so they do actually need scarves) and crocheting hats for cancer patients undergoing chemo who have lost their hair.  Here are the links for those who’d like to use their own knitting or crochet skills to do the same, or who’d like to make a monetary gift to support these awesome causes!

Continue Reading Happy 7th Blogiversary to Zen & the Art of Legal Networking!

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SCANDAL – ABC’s “Scandal” stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Yesterday, I had the privilege of moderating an LMA webinar with Lance Godard, the Client Relationship Manager for Fisher & Phillips, and Mark Elliott, the Director of Business Development & Human Resources at Eastman & Smith on “Reputation Management and Social Media.”

I consider myself a fairly savvy social media user, and a regular, responsible manager of my online reputation, but I learned quite a bit of new information during yesterday’s session, which I want to pass along to Zen readers for your benefit as well!

There are two sides to reputation management that you’re probably thinking of – one of those is crisis management, and this is what to do when someone does or says something damaging to the firm or their personal reputation online. That wasn’t the subject of yesterday’s session, but is also something you want to be conscious and aware of (there’s lots of resources for you out there on how to manage that). 
Continue Reading It’s Handled: How Confident Are You in Your Social Media Reputation?

Something you may not know about me is that I’m a big fan of the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Every day, Ellen reminds us to laugh, to dance, to do something for others, and most importantly, to "be kind to one another." 

In the course of business, we can sometimes forget that it’s possible to be successful AND nice.  I’m not suggesting being a pushover or not being a fierce advocate for your clients (as the famous line goes, "Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness"), but I am suggesting that it’s possible to be excellent at your job without tearing someone else down. That extends to marketing as well. 

It’s long been a pet peeve of mine when one brand uses their advertising to tear down another brand.  It’s more than just an adverse reaction to the "bullying;" it’s the sense that the company must not really be any good if they have to resort to such immature tactics. If a company or firm is excellent, does excellent work and provides an excellent product, then that all stands for itself without having to show how they’re "better." 

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Be Kind to One Another