![\"apesara\"](\"http:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4031\/4254757218_02c1e86538.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI don\u2019t care about social media gurus or experts or mavens or whatever. That whole thing is going to settle itself out eventually, when the good work starts getting more concrete, and the people actually doing the work continue demonstrating and illustrating their learnings and results.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What concerns me far more than some nerd slinging his Facebook skillz around the fishbowl is the fact that in so many disciplines \u2013 social media included \u2013 we\u2019ve got legions of people out there that are missing fundamental business acumen. <\/p>\n
What we need desperately?<\/p>\n
People who can craft coherent, clear correspondence<\/B> that has proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling.<\/p>\n
People who know how a budget is put together<\/B>, and the difference between profit, costs, and revenue.<\/p>\n
People who know the differences between marketing, branding, and public relations<\/B>, and how they all tie together.<\/p>\n
People who can put together a simple plan for getting from A to B<\/B>, complete with goals and objectives, and explain it to someone else.<\/p>\n
People who can see how different areas of the business work together<\/B> to form a systematic operation.<\/p>\n
People who have basic customer service skills like patience, politeness, helpfulness, and common courtesy<\/B>.<\/p>\n
People who know how to communicate clearly, collaborate on projects, and manage people positively<\/B>.<\/p>\n
People who can admit what they don\u2019t know<\/B>, and seek knowledge or help.<\/p>\n
People who can engage in intelligent discourse<\/B> and discussion instead of self-aggrandizing rants.<\/p>\n
Looking back over the list, I suppose I\u2019m illustrating more than a lack of business skills, but also a lack of communication and interpersonal skills. We\u2019re so spoiled by all the information coming to us with a few keystrokes, and we\u2019re losing the ability to synthesize it ourselves and articulate it to someone else.<\/p>\n
Filter out the people that lack the majority of these abilities, and you\u2019ve solved a great deal of the guru problem right out of the gate. The businesses that earn progress will apply those filters for themselves. The ones that don\u2019t have problems far larger than their social media expert choices.<\/p>\n
At the moment, I\u2019m frustrated. But I\u2019m working on some constructive solutions to try and help solve this problem rather than just whining about it (more on that here soon).<\/p>\n
But seriously? The \u201cexpert\u201d discussion is only happening with fervor inside the fishbowl it affects. Out there, where the business and economy is moving forward and progress is being made, it\u2019s not more qualified social media gurus that they need.<\/p>\n
They need better, more professional, more equipped business people. Not just MBAs on paper, but those with applied knowledge and practice. It\u2019s about time we stopped slinging our internet prowess, and instead spent some time understanding and honing the part we play in the bigger picture.<\/p>\n
If you have<\/B> these business skills, please flex them. Share them. Absorb more. Apply them and teach others. Please.<\/p>\n
I promise those are my last words on the expert discussion. I\u2019m all done with that tired subject. Instead, this blog and other projects I\u2019m tinkering with will be focused on not just social media, but on building better business. Better thinking, culture, planning, and idea execution. The stuff that moves not just needles, but mountains.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m learning too, and I\u2019m watching and absorbing all the time. But I see something bigger. Do you?<\/p>\n
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