This past week has been a bit more hectic than usual. A girlfriend of mine from Chicago came to visit me in San Diego. Seeing as how it was her first trip to California, we made sure to fit anything and everything into her vacation (yes this included copious amounts of time in the sun, with sunscreen of course). We were lucky enough to be invited to visit the set of “The Office” in Los Angeles, our awesome friend Tad works on the show and knew my friend was a huge fan. The visit was more than incredible, everyone was so gracious and inviting, we could not have asked for a better time.

On our drive back to San Diego the conversation turned to relationships (it’s a car of four women, what did you expect). As the analyzing, interpretation and advice started to flow, I began to realize that the advice I was providing to my friends on communication and relationship building was eerily similar to the communication and relationship building that I practice in my professional existence.

Here are my best practices for positive communication and relationship building, both professionally and personally:

• Do you research. Know who you are talking to. Professionally: when you reach out to media, know who they are, what they have written, their beat and their topics of interest. Personally: hello, who hasn’t Facebook stalked?
• Be cognizant of other people’s schedules. Professionally: it’s always a good rule to ask whomever you are speaking with, if it is a good time to chat. If it isn’t, ask them when the best time to reach them is. I can assure you that the extra bit of courtesy goes a long way. Personally: it’s about breathing room. Do you like to be called at 5:01 pm?
• Be relevant and personal. Professionally: it’s important when pitching media to remember relevancy and timeliness. Tailor your pitches to the specific person you are reaching out to; it shows preparation on your end. Personally: stay relevant in relationships. Don’t bring up an event in conversation that the person you are speaking to was not invited to attend, its poor form. Be current and stay engaged with the person you are speaking with.
• Be friendly. Professionally: being friendly creates a relationship. Sure anyone can make a phone call and pitch, but being friendly makes the pitch memorable. Personally: being friendly builds relationships and opens up doors that may have never existed before.
• Be respectful. Professionally: sometimes a pitch is not a fit, which is ok as long as you end the conversation with class. Thank the person you are speaking with for their time and let them know you’d love to be a resource in the future. Personally: you’re not going to like everyone, but even if you don’t, be nice, be classy and always remain respectful. You’ll come out ahead in the end.

Our car ride came to an end. I’m not sure we agreed on much; it’s amazing how a car full of four women can debate a single sentence for two hours. As we pulled into my garage, we all looked at each other and said, “grab your suits, let’s lay out”. Ah relationships, you can build them, break them and debate them- but we’re nothing without them.

One excuse from professionals as to why they should not be on social media is that they have nothing to say.  And one of these conversations occurred the day after I received an e-newsletter from this person.  I have a suspicion that there is not a lack of words or content keeping these folks away from tweeting and facebooking, but rather a lack of direction and education on what is appropriate content to share on social media.

Here is a list ideas to share and post:

• Links to your blog
• Links to articles you are reading
• Youtube videos
• Insightful commentary on trending topics or current events
• Company news
• Links to company news coverage
• Photos from an event or every-day life
• Information about upcoming events
• Inspirational quotes
• Life lessons

For examples of this type of content in action, follow the Bolt PR team on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BoltPR or become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BoltPR.

One thing to remember is that you don’t need to worry about producing all of the content because the “social” aspect of social networking is crucial.  Jump in, compliment and chat with others in your networks about their content and before long, producing content becomes second nature.

I’ve written a lot of blogs that romanticize my differing opinions of success in the workplace. From struggle , to hard work , to re-routing the organizational thought process, Bolt Buzz has covered it all.  This is not one of those blogs.

I’ve learned my work ethic from the best, my mother. She is smart, eloquent, a leader, a doer and frankly the most successful person I’ve ever known.  She is also a proponent of “get it done” (what did you expect, she is from Chicago).

To put this in perspective, I got a speeding ticket this morning (whether or not I deserved it is… debatable). Who did I call? My mother (I’m not sure you ever grow out of that), as I was continuing to ramble on about how unjust my ticket was, she cut me off.  She asked me if I had been speeding, I had to own up to it, I had been speeding.  “Well then you got a ticket, it happens.”  As I proceeded to argue why this was unfair, she pulled out the tough love card and said “when does traffic school start?” She’s concise; she sees the problem and already knows the best answer.

After I hung up the phone, this conversation lingered in my head. Is it possible that life and work are sometimes black and white? I had a phenomenal mentor when I first entered the public relations world. She was tough on me, but I learned from her. One thing she once said to me and has stuck with me ever since was, “well there seems to be a lot of differing factors that are causing you some issues, but all I’m hearing from you is what they are. Do you have any solutions? I’d rather hear 50 wrong solutions than one more problem.” Black and white, cut and dry, whatever you wish to call it there is a point. Not everyone lives in grey. Clients, customers, business partners, and sponsors pay for a result- yes it is that black and white.

Here are my best practices, for being concise and getting to the point:

• Map it out: have a plan and stick to it
• Work smart: it does not matter how long you work on something, if it doesn’t further you to the end goal, it is not worth the time
• Time management: Look at the clock, use a timer, stay on target
• Attitude adjustment: The old adage is true. Think positive thoughts, or if you build it, they will come (who doesn’t love Field of Dreams?)

A friend and colleague told me this week, “if the ride seems to easy, check to make sure you’re not going downhill.” The path to a solution is not always going to be simple. The answer won’t always come in the form of your mother providing you tough love. However, while living in a world of grey might help justify many things- sometimes things are just that black and white, to the point and concise.  Do your best and always bring a solution in your back pocket.

We will now return to my normally scheduled romanticized writing.