Birthday Gratitude

Hey there. Parker here. I have 3 wishes every year. I've had one, sometimes two, and even three wished granted on my birthday. This year is different. Rather than gift lists and wishes, I'm expressing gratitude to the people in my life and the experiences that shape the life I live.

Best,
Parker

My Career, My Purpose

Hey there, Parker here.

Last week I read an article about pairing your mission in life with your career.  I have concluded I'm right on track.  It's simple in nature.  I'm passionate, I'm happy and I would voluntarily continue the nature of my work without pay. But yes, the pay is good to keep me housed, fed and warm in the winter.

Well, here's my Nia.  My Career, My Purpose:

Focusing on precise actions and specific tasks that I have done and must continue to do for happiness in life, my purpose, I conclude the following:

My work is a reflection of my life.  Managing the production and presentation of corporate websites is my ministry.  The more love, energy and passion I pour into my career, the more love, energy and resources are immediately returned to me to provide for my health, wealth and growth. The Universe is ever present and makes available infinite wealth, knowledge, intuition, security and happiness when my physical, astral, soulful, emotional, mental, spiritual and causal energy is realizing my purpose.

I am truly happy when I can provide the resources necessary for my team to complete assignments, each according to their expertise and desire. My bliss is pride of ownership for high profile corporate homepages and maintaining the technical back-end systems. I like determining the appropriate metrics to analyze data and develop reports that identify strengths and weaknesses. I LOVE checklists! I must have an environment that encourages lifetime learning, and sharing knowledge with others. I need to believe in the industry as a whole, and the company must provide a service or product that positively benefits the customer, community and economy.

My purpose in life is to be of service to others and my ministry is to help others identify, develop and realize their value, contribution and effect in the oneness of life.

Some people don't consider work to have anything to do with their personal, spiritual or religious belief.  I think it is all tied together.

Best,

Parker

Happy Birthday - Again!

Hey there, Parker here.

Cupcakes, Shoes and Cheer on my birthday.  Every year I wish the very best to all.  Sorry I'm a little late posting it this year. Enjoy my special day!

Best, 
Parker

Content, Content, Content...

Hey there. Parker here. It's been too long since I've been away. But I'm back. And what I've learned while my blog has been quiet, is that survival on the web means quality content.

Content is King! Content is gold. Content is the H 2 the O necessary for your company's life on the web. 

Digital Assets, please meet
Better Marketing Systems.

Content marketing matters in all industries, hits all mediums. It seals the deal in B2B, B2C, MC2 (my career too), you get the idea. 

The popular marketing automation tools are sophisticated, smart, user-friendly, willingly integrating with CRM, CMS, DMS, analytic and optimization systems as though they are wooing in courtship for an everlasting love.  Well, I say go ahead and get hitched!

If my campaign management platform uses a drag & drop interface for easy site design, employs it's own tag management system, tracks so much data it delivers every metric imaginable, makes A/B & MVT testing a cakewalk and reduces IT resources, I have every reason in the world to concentrate on high quality, valuable and engaging content. 

Sure that last sentence ran so long it could have entered a marathon, but you get my point. Right?

Content reigns supreme because the energy that went into separate tools and systems is now consolidated into a single sign on, web based platform. And since energy doesn't disappear, merely transfers elsewhere, you can really give your users the attention they deserve through reliable and useful content. 

Make it shareable, chewable (bite-sized knowledge gems), relatable, easy to understand so that anyone can repeat it as though they were the subject matter expert.

A picture is worth a thousand words, break out the crayons.

Videos are cool if I don't have to watch it for longer than two minutes (attention spans aren't what they used to be).

Facts & figures in a unique graphic makes delicious eye-candy.

If a headline can stand on its own, keep it under 140 characters. Why? It is because my smartphone experience confirms copy/paste beats editing/rewording.

Speaking of smartphones, EVERYTHING you build using your BFF automation tool, should have a responsive design.  I'm a second screen junkie - tablet next to me streaming TV, phone in hand playing poker, and I don't deny having my laptop open for email or work.

Admit it, you miss the fun
Seinfeld water-cooler talk.

Folks, if I'm two sentences into your site and I haven't picked up any information I don't already know, I'm on to the next one (and it's likely off of your site completely).

So yes, content, content, content on the web is the location, location, location of real estate.

On that note, I'll end this bit of content right here. I'll throw in a pic or two for eye-candy and if you want a good fact for water-cooler talk, the much talked about "people aggregators" business tool  is rightly being taken to court. I call it a wolf in sheep's clothing. What do you think?

Best,
Parker  

www.talithaparker.com

Mine and My Team's Success

Hey there, Parker here.

I've been offline much too long!  Now I'm back :-)

I just have to mention this story.  Recently I was asked to track the success of my efforts and use facts to drive ongoing improvements.

Folks, face it, I've been tracking my success since managing a 4th grade election campaign.

Back then, I had a goal and a purpose.  My goal was to choose the right person to run for the position and win. My purpose was to influence the student body to vote for my candidate.

Great kid and a good friend.
Together we won the election.

Since then, I've reviewed, modified and improved on my ability to set S.M.A.R.T goals.  I strive to be an effective team member.

What is important to me as an individual contributor is pride in a job well executed.

As a team, I collaborate with others to set and meet goals, knowing the overall purpose for the project.  Each member has a role to play and it's up to us to play that role well.

My smartly executed role as an individual contributor, will always rollup into the team's purpose.

Ever since I got that kid elected in the 4th grade, I've tracked the success of my efforts and used facts to drive ongoing improvements.  Way to go me, I mean us!

Best,
Parker

www.talithaparker.com

Becoming a Friendlier Person Works in Business Too

Hey there, Parker here.  I've been incorporating Dale Carnegie's Golden Book into my life and I found that each one of his principals apply to both my personal and professional life.  I decided to become a friendlier person and started with a smile.

I smiled and nodded my head to complete strangers and to my surprise, most of them smiled back.  That small act made me feel terrific.  So I gave it a try while meeting members of my new team, they must have already read his book because not only did they smile back, but they were genuinely interested in my skills, experience and background.

Even better, my new team embraced #6 on Carnegie's list for Becoming a Friendlier Person: A person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.  "Parker" is certainly that to me.

So becoming a friendlier person has not only allowed me to engage and interact with some great people in my community (shout outs to Debbie at the grocery store), but has made my transition into a new opportunity all the better.

Best,
Parker