Social Media Entrepreneur’s Interviews No4 – Penny Power

Name: Penny Power Twitter name: @pennypower

What is your main Change challenge at present?

Helping business people understand that social networking is critical when they are building their business and brining context and understanding to the way that Social Media is a tool but cannot be used in isolation to networking

What is your strategy for dealing with it?

Blogging, writing my book (Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me, available 20^th August 09). Training, speaking, 121’s, basically any way that I can communicate, share and learn

Are you using social media as part of that strategy, if so, how?

Totally, by blogging, Tweeting, YouTube, Slideshare, Private Messages.

What is your top Change tip?

To learn the new world philosophies of being open, random and supportive to others and move from the old world of being closed, selective and controlling.

What role does emotion / intuition play when you dealing with Change?

I am very emotionally driven, I believe change happens in the heart and then the brain interprets it and makes it logical and provides the methods and the means to communicate it

Do you ever find Change brings unexpected gifts?

I totally believe in serendipity and trust and since I have embraced an open and non-filtering attitude to global networking my life has become richer, both emotionally and financially.

What thing best symbolises Change for you and why?

When I witness people letting go and trusting in their instinct and in others, also when they stop thinking about the money and start to consider the contribution, then the change creates the financial results they used to target but now they achieve without the control they wanted originally.

Previous Interviews:

• Andy Preston
• Sarah Arrow
• Ces Loftus

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Tags: entrepreneurs, penny power, social media

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 07:19 and is filed under Blogging, Business Change, Interview, Twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

11 Responses to “Social Media Entrepreneur’s Interviews No4 – Penny Power”

1. Paula Kelly says:

   17 June , 2009 at 08:12

   All businesses need to be prepared to react effectively to rapidly changing businesses environments. The way we do businesses continues to evolve at an ever increasing rate. The tools businesses can use to achieve success has changed dramatically in the last few years. For small businesses in particular, social networking has become an essential, low cost aid that should not be ignored.

2. richardderwentcooke says:

   17 June , 2009 at 08:20

   Paula, I agree that is a lot of the thinking behind this series of interviews. I also believe that the more nimble, smaller businesses can steal a march on their larger, slower competition.

   Tools like Twitter provide means of finding people, resources and help and if used wisely can give huge advantages

3. Thomas Anglero says:

   18 June , 2009 at 06:43

   I enjoy your interview with other Social Entrepreneurs and reading about what they have learned along the way. Use of these social media tools help but it should be complemented by old world thinking and tools as well because some or most of the people you wish to speak to are offline.

   The advantage of social media tools is that it puts you closer to those people who are offline then ever before. Finding out someone’s email or phone number has never been easier but the initial phone call is still the hurdle.

   Thomas F. Anglero, founder
   WiHood – virtual PCs for children
   http://www.WiHood.com

4. richardderwentcooke says:

   18 June , 2009 at 08:23

   Angero,
   You are right. One must not forget the power of direct communication, and one also needs to bear in mind the preferences of the other party. These are additional and powerful tools but no subsititue for face-to-face meetings and phone calls

5. Andy Fairgrieve says:

   18 June , 2009 at 08:56

   I understood all of the words – but put together in those sequences made my brain hurt

6. richardderwentcooke says:

   18 June , 2009 at 09:01

   Andy, can you tell me what is confusing. I heard penny speakabout this and maybe able to clarify what she means

7. Andy Fairgrieve says:

   18 June , 2009 at 10:26

   Well this for starters ‘To learn the new world philosophies of being open, random and supportive to others and move from the old world of being closed, selective and controlling’ This from the person resonsible for a pile of Ecademy bannings for alleged fake accounts, when in fact they were bona fide paying customers.

8. Frank Beeston says:

   18 June , 2009 at 10:51

   For a start, Richard, you could turn this collection of words into normal English sentences:

   “Helping business people understand that social networking is critical when they are building their business and bringing context and understanding to the way that Social Media is a tool but cannot be used in isolation to networking”

9. Richard Jones says:

   18 June , 2009 at 12:51

   Change is about creating a definitive vision of where you want to be and then making that leap. Lewin’s work suggested you leave the uncertain middle section where everything is unfrozen as short as possible.

   I’m therefore mystified about the idea of “To learn the new world philosophies of being open, random and supportive to others and move from the old world of being closed, selective and controlling.”

   This smacks of driving a car and then just randomly turning until you see something interesting. Good fun for a day off but actually knowing where you’re trying to get to (and getting there) has been the foundation of exploration, business, warfare and life for eons.

   I’d liken this new world approach to being like the Eloi in The Time Machine. Luckily someone feeds you and it’s nice and warm but you’ll get gobbled up and remain so passive you can’t feed/protect yourself.

   Someone tell me the businesses where this approach works please – except for that spurious body of networkers who make their money how exactly?

   You can be Bambi on this planet or you can be the hunter that goes out and brings back the supper. You can do the latter nicely and I consistently aim to help those around me. However, I am ferociously focussed and frankly doing okay because of that.

   If I chose to let control go and pursue random things I’d forego the tangible benefits of hitting target rich environments. Go where the fish are rather than picking up your fishing rod and ending up in the desert.

   Interesting stuff Richard – you’ve always got good things to say but could you extend these soundbites. I think some of your interviewees have more to say than this. 😀

10. richardderwentcooke says:

    18 June , 2009 at 13:31

    I was at the Ecademy ‘twalk’ the other week and heard Penny talking about this “open, random and supportive” bit. My understanding of what she is suggesting is that you don’t try to hide who you are, you let your personality and values shine out. Get people to know and value the real you, on the basis that people buy people first.

    The random element is very much a feature of the ability we now have not to just ask or tell our friends and contacts things but to broadcast these snippets and cast them out on the winds of happenstance. As Richard J suggests, this is hardly a business plan but I can see the value of it as part of a strategy. I certainly couldn’t pay my bills by just doing this but I suspect people with more web-based jobs such as Nikki (interview 5) can really benefit from this approach.

    Supportive is suggesting that rather than putting all our efforts in peddling our own wares, we can divert some time to helping others and building alliances and goodwill on the basis that if I say “I am a great facilitator” that is likely to be disregarded, but if you say this to someone else then you will probably be believed.

    I have been slowish to embrace Twitter, I simply couldn’t see why I wanted more ‘stuff’ jumping onto my desktop or why anyone cares “What I’m doing now”. Having listened to Penny and others and after experimenting in a more engaged manner I can see there is a place for this tool and the behaviours Penny advocates. I am still in the experimental stage, so I can’t tell you this has worked for me yet, merely I can see possibilities in this way of working.

    Of course if your business is managing a socalil network then this makes a good deal more sense.

11. Social Media Entrepreneur’s Interviews No6 – Christine Miller - Change Blog says:

    22 June , 2009 at 15:14

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