We used to call them our “posse” but I know that term is now passe.  However, as I continue to build my consulting practice I am again reminded how important it is to have a set of trusted vendors, advisers, collaborators, etc. that you can work with and refer to.  In other words, my team. 

I have been reading a blog called RedheadWritingby Erika Napolentano – she is brash, funny, biting, but never mean.  She recently posted a very opinionated piece about an article in a local newspaper on dating that was well; shockingly rude, bitter, and misogynistic.  She took the article apart bit by bit.  A response from what appears to be a friend of the article’s author took affront and wrote a totally over the top personal attack on Erika.  You can read all about it yourself here.

What struck me was that before Erika responded to the attack she says she “asked two trusted colleagues for guidance.”  I think this should be a part of your social media policy from now on. 

Because it can be so easy to just respond – to say or post something in the heat of the moment that you and your organization will regret forever (or at least a very long time).  So add another line to your social media policy that says something like  ”Before responding to negative or unflattering information about our organization – at least 1 other staff member will be consulted.”  or maybe we should all just take a very deep breath before we start typing away.

Who is on my team?  Here is my small coterie of trusted advisers:

A great all around webguy – Sam Acheson of e3spatial- who not only hosts my website but also works with me to figure out how to balance – “great website” with ”reasonable amount of time and energy” so I can do what works best for me but still have time to make a living. 

Sarah Ferree is not only one rocking massage therapist (Discover Massage) and good friend, but she is also my unofficial personal business coach.  We meet a few times a month to chat about what is working for us business wise and what is not.  I get fresh perspective from her – always positive, always insightful – and I hope she gets a smidgen of that from me in return.

Where does a tech gal go when she doesn’t know the answer?  She finds smarter tech people to talk to – Kate Bladow of Techno.la is one such person.  Always helpful and full of more ideas than you can shake a stick at, Kate is my “one stop shop” for all things on the web that I don’t know about.

Politics, Politics, Politics – Glenn Rawdon, former colleague at LSC and all around Smart Guy.  Oh yeah, I often pick up the phone and chat real fast with Glenn when finding myself stuck in the middle of any kind of mess.

Those are the top four – they don’t all know each other but they do form a small group of trusted advisors and collaborators that mean a great deal to me.  Who do you call when you need advice?

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