On November 5, I published this post about The Red Elephant’s Manager, Jeff Hanson, going out of his way to please a long-time customer (me).

The next day, at 11:30am, just moments before our Conversation Friday guests began arriving, Brandon (pictured at right) showed up at The Conversation Factory. He held out a brown bag, and said he was from Uptown Cafe. He said Fred Tedio had seen my post from the day before and wanted me to see how his Chicken Salad Wrap compared.

I laughed. Not only did Fred send the wrap, he posted a photo of the sandwich on my Facebook wall with the note:

Mike – Please enjoy our Uptown Cafe Chutney Chicken Salad Wrap. We’ve been making it from scratch for over 15 years and have many customers say it’s the best in town. You be the judge.

It was a good wrap, but I’m not here to judge food, I’m here to report on how Fred used social media to make something happen. He saw an opportunity on his Facebook news feed and took it.

What Fred did became part of our Conversation Friday discussion.

Three of us at the session tried the wrap, and agreed  it was tasty, but it wasn’t as important as the gesture itself (there’s certainly a lesson in that statement alone). I explained how I met Fred at the Tallahassee Chamber’s Annual Conference in August; how he prepared and delivered the sandwiches at our first Conversation Friday; and how I’ve become a fan of his smoked salmon with apricot glaze. I’m almost 100% sure that Fred Tedio and Uptown Cafe gained three new fans on Friday (and one blog post today). Although the wrap was very good, the gesture was infinitely more powerful.

All from seeing a post on Facebook, and responding in a timely and appropriate fashion.

Well done, Fred. Well done.

Whether you want to explore social media tools or discuss how you can more effectively market your business in today’s quickly evolving marketplace, The Conversation Factory can be your learning center. From facebook, twitter, and other social media applications to establishing a trustworthy online presence and managing your time, we’ll tailor one or a series of Custom Conversation sessions that can get you moving in the right direction with clarity and focus. Fast.

1-on-1 Conversation:*
$70 per hour

2-on-1 Conversation (bring a friend, save a few bucks):
$50 per person per hour

3-on-1 Conversation (bring two friends, save a few more):
$40 per person per hour

Please email me for groups of more than three.

Book your Custom Conversation by simply emailing me or calling 850.459.8192.

If you’d like to learn more about the kinds of ideas and guidance we can offer, consider attending one of our fun, electric Conversation Friday sessions held every Friday (unless otherwise noted) from 12-1pm at The Conversation Factory, just off Capital Circle and Mahan. More about those sessions here.

*Previous guests of Conversation Fridays will receive 1-on-1 sessions for $60 per hour. Discounts available for non-profit organizations.

Posted via email from michaelcalienes’s posterous

Conversation Fridays at the conversation factory weren’t meant to be networking sessions in the traditional sense. We certainly don’t exist for the purpose of pitching business to each other. But what’s happening is exactly what I hoped would happen: guests are beginning to earn trust and business by sharing their perspectives and ideas. After all, sharing ideas IS pitching business, but doing it like this is so much more powerful, genuine, and human than traditional sales approaches.

By the time each session ends, everyone knows who you are, what you do, and what makes you unique in your space. Of course, this last part depends greatly on your participation during our one-hour session.

If you’re interested in attending, email me or just post a message on the conversation factory’s wall on facebook. We encourage reservations because we limit our sessions to 9 people so that everyone can participate, though we certainly don’t frown on you if you’re a serial listener.

You can bring your business cards and your ideas, just leave the sales pitch at the door. A one-hour conversation beats 10 second elevator speech any day of the week — especially Fridays.

Have a great weekend.

Posted via email from michaelcalienes’s posterous

Tonight I received this 7-second message from Jim Bennight of Brian Barnard’s Flooring America Tallahassee. In it, he simply says, “Hello, Michael. You’re gonna make a technophile out of me yet. See you Friday.”

Why is that so exciting? Because it’s a big step for Jim, but I’m sure it’s just one of many many more. He’s been attending Conversation Fridays at The Conversation Factory since day one. He’s been curious all along — asking questions, participating in our discussions and really digging in. Now he’s tweeting, blogging, and digging deeper into his passion for rugs.

You’ll be seeing more from Jim I’m sure. Hopefully, so will I.

If you’ve got any questions about area rugs, well, Jim’s your man.

See you Friday, Jim.

On Thursday evening, during Jane Campion’s new film, Bright Star, cell phones glowed in the foreground throughout the film like cicada-sized fireflies. On, off. On, off. Check here. Check there.

The next day, a guest at Conversation Friday explained how her daughter and her daughter’s friends sometimes interact — how they have conversations with friends standing right in front of them while their heads point down, waiting for something to happen on their cell phones.

Another guest followed, telling us how their son reacted when he and his wife took his cell phone away for 24 hours. His son’s physical reponse fell just short of hyperventilation, which led to the comment: “You can’t! It’s my life!”

Have we arrived at tech-co-dependency? Can we not disengage for the duration of a movie? A meeting? A conversation? Is the presence of another human being no longer enough to hold our attention?

While I certainly engage on Facebook and twitter quite frequently, I’m not referring to the frequency or intensity of participation, but rather, to the ability to disconnect when necessary, appropriate, and respectful. In an effort to curb my own use during such instances, I’ve resorted to leaving my cell phone in the car when out to dinner, leaving it at my desk during meetings, and plugging it in to charge in a different room while I’m doing puzzles with my daughter. Despite the efforts, I’d still plead guilty to many incidents of attention deficit in the presence of others.

So, how do we turn this around for ourselves and our children? How do we remind ourselves and educate our children that engaging in the moment with the people right in front of our eyes is more important than virtual engagement with the people we’re connected with through a mobile device? That giving our undivided attention these days is more valuable a gift than it has ever been?

Thoughts? Opinions? Leave a comment. Better yet, why not forget the computer altogether and write me a letter? Or call me to chat about it. Yeah, sure, fine. On the phone.

Photo Credit: compujeramey

I’ve been extremely fortunate over the last four Fridays. Everyone listed below (in no particular order) has shown up at The Conversation Factory — most more than once — with a willingness to share ideas and connect with other Tallahassee business people. I’d like to thank each and every one for their contributions to Conversation Friday.

1. Fred Addonizio, Brian Barnard’s Flooring America (who pitched in for sandwiches yesterday)
2. Jim Bennight, Brian Barnard’s Flooring America (who also pitched in for sandwiches yesterday)
3. Juli Puckett, Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce
4. Allie Merzer Fleming, Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce
5. Angela Hardiman Cole, Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce
6. Art Carlson, A Voice Beyond
7. Mark Ravenscraft, The Ravenscraft Group (who brought an assortment of veggies yesterday)
8. Lester Hutt, Bevshots
9. Frank Patterson, Dean/ Professor, FSU Film School
10. Kay Meyer, Kay Meyer Photography
11. Howard Libin, Adventures in Advertising (who always brings a trinket for everyone and wrote this article published in the Tallahassee Democrat)
12. David Hanselman, BrackenChase Builders
13. Rene Hanselman, BrackenChase Builders
14. Chris Des Marais, Mike Vasilinda Productions
15. Dave Fiore, DaveMail

Fifteen people. Not a hundred. Not a thousand. The whole experience makes me wish for a button to fan each of these people as individuals on facebook.

I also want to thank Fred Tedio from Uptown Cafe who, though not in attendance, sent lunch for our second session in exchange for a one-on-0ne session with yours truly (hopefully, I can compete with his turkey wraps; I already know I can’t compete with his smoked salmon in apricot glaze).

If you’d like to stop in for Conversation Friday, just let me know by leaving a comment or dropping a note on our facebook page.