Comments on: Personal Passions vs. Professional Expertise

By: admin

admin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:23:16 +0000

@Jun – That Jim Collins is a pretty intelligent man eh?

Thanks so much for including me in your ranking. I know it’s a subjective ranking (of which I’m curious to see/hear the formula), but nonetheless I’m flattered to be included.

By: admin

admin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:23:00 +0000

@Brian – I think those ‘true’ passions come calling. How many pastors do we hear say they were ‘called?’ There are people ‘called’ to walk away from their high-paying corporate salaries to teach America’s youth, change the world, etc. I think this ‘calling’ is partially our own mind coming to terms with what we’re truly passionate about.

By: admin

admin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:22:44 +0000

@David – I think you’ve successfully re-iterated and even probably clarified some of the points I was trying to make prevalent. Thanks David. You always had a lot of value with your comments.

By: admin

admin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:22:29 +0000

@Tim – Brandon’s done a good job with Sports in 140, I’ll have to check out his post. I think the key point in your comment is INTEGRATION. Any company that TELLS YOU what they can do for you without hearing your business goals DOESN’T GET IT.

A great consultant completely emerges themselves in the business they’re helping. They understand that company, their goals, their culture, etc. so that they can seamlessly integrate what they have to offer into the company’s current goals.

By: admin

admin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:21:35 +0000

@Stuart – Thanks for the kind words. I spent the vast majority of my life being unabashedly me, but I’ve spent the last 4 months in the workplace taking the edge off, filtering myself. Good or bad? I don’t know. The more I read Seth’s “The You Show,” the more I think it’s time to let the passion bubble up and take the lead.

By: Kevin Dalaeli

Kevin Dalaeli — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:24:21 +0000

You are exactly right about people making themselves too available. They are becoming a commodity. In the world of commodities, price rules. The best way to avoid that trap is to be a leader and like David said, be a problem solver.

Happy Cinco de Mayo my friend! Another great blog to show exactly why I follow your work. Great stuff Ryan!

By: Jun Loayza

Jun Loayza — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:20:27 +0000

I think Jim Collins says it best in Good to Great: The goal is to find your Hedge Hog concept. What are you passionate about? What can you be the best in the world at? How can you make money with it?

Once you fine the alignment of these three things, world domination will be in your grasp. Or at least happiness.

I included you in our ranking of Top Ten Gen Y Marketing Blogs. Hope it drives some good traffic to your site.

- Jun Loayza

By: Brian Manning

Brian Manning — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:24:04 +0000

I think David has a good point about something being a true passion versus something that you are passionate about at the moment.

When Ryan says, “Use your passions to drive the professional expertise,” I think that really applies to the true passions that stay with someone for a long time and are a part of who they are.

By: David Fuller

David Fuller — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:22:18 +0000

I can understand people who get passionate for football or motorsport or gardening or travel. I can’t really understand anyone saying that they are passionate about social media.

I don’t think that the economy has anything to do with the prevalance of the worst of these people; most of them feed on ignorance. There are plenty of people to con into the belief that they are missing out and they need to jump on the bandwagon.

The people to trust are the ones who are passionate about solving problems, or creating great marketing campaigns. People who are process and technology agnostic. People who can see the power of social media in certain situations and apply their expertise. In that Sense I passionately agree with Owyang.

If however your passion is football, or jewellery or Yacht Racing and it really is your passion, not just the thing you like at the moment because it is cool, then you can create a great business because your passion drives your expertise and gives you an advantage over someone who is technically good, but doesn’t have the same inate feel for the subject.

So in other words – great post!

By: TimNATC

TimNATC — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:21:22 +0000

Good points Ryan. I commented on Brendan Wilhide’s post (http://www.thebusinessofsports.com/) earlier in the day about something very similar. Just because the idea of social media is fairly new, that doesn’t mean we forget basic principles of business. You have to have a plan that integrates all of your marketing & PR efforts. I personally do not want someone who doesn’t understand these basic principles guiding my business just because they like posting comments on Twitter! Keep up the good work! On a side not, I love golf, but nobody would want to take lessons from me!