Gunnar Habitz

02/12/2024

Final touches on my new book, Lead Not Manage. See more here: www.leadnotmanagebook.com

02/11/2024

Remembering the big move - today eight years ago Alexandra and I arrived in Sydney on a one way flight from Zürich via Singapore starting our new life on the other side of the world.

Was it hard despite the photos look so relaxed? Of course. Missing family and friends from Europe? Sure. Ready to explore and learn? Of course!

Would we do the same jump again if somebody said all of that? I bet we would!

Did you make a smaller or bigger jump as well in your life - or dream about it?

11/10/2024

Preparing for our webinar combining Canva and LinkedIn together - that will be highly practical with a range of tips!

Want to join Camelia Vasile and me for this episode of the LinkedIn Power Lab webinar? Please register here:

https://linkedinpowerlab.com/20241014

See you there!

16/09/2024

Did you recognise more and more AI written comments on LinkedIn and Facebook lately that seem to be a bit off? What does it tell you?

Philosophical answer: If creators use AI to write posts, then readers should use AI to like or comment.

Realistic answer: If humans want to do business with humans they know, like and trust, they should be careful by keeping at least commenting personal.

As a fan of automation I’m happy to work at where we automate with a human touch.

12/09/2024

When did you talk to a friend or colleague for the last time who goes through tough period? Or to others you didn’t hear from for a while?

💛 Today is the R U OK day in Australia reminding us that we should more often ask others if they are OK.

It makes such a difference to spend some time to listen and be with someone. Not everyone will tell their story - but will be thankful for paying attention.

Actually we should be open to talk to others every day. If you don’t know how to start those conversations, just try those four steps:

1. Ask „R U OK“?

2. Listen

3. Encourage action

4. Check in afterwards

I am forever grateful for those who talked to me when I faced challenges, especially about checking in again after a few days.

And I know there were a few men around me who I didn’t ask - and they are not here anymore 💛

This Aussie movement started 15 years ago in 2009 by Gavin Larkin who lost his farther to su***de.

One conversation could change a life.

Talk to someone who matters today. Any day. And don’t forget to check in on yourself, too.

08/09/2024

Surprising vibe melting historic workshop with culinaric entertainment

20/07/2024

Why do you want to share your expertise in a book - just to be published or to combine it with growing your business?

Read the middle episode of „Earn From Books“ to learn how to convert your services on my Substack here: https://open.substack.com/pub/writingincafes/p/how-to-earn-from-books-part-4

20/03/2024

Don’t we overestimate human intelligence when we talk about AI?
🤖
„Navigating the World of AI for a Brighter Future“ was the title of Professor Toby Walsh at the Mailchimp Meetup event in Sydney.

The Chief Scientist of the UNSW AI Institute an author of several books about revealed surprising insights.

These points resonated well with me:

1. Social media is a great place to be entertained - but not to seek the truth (ChatGPT neither).

2. The average human already has 20 daily AI touchpoints per day without being aware of that.

3. The AI devices of the future will know us better than we do (that’s not good news!).

4. Be careful what you ask ChatGPT as it will be used for learning and training purposes (maybe even sold?).

5. Netflix is more of an AI company than a content distribution hub due to their recommendation algorithm.

6. Humans are naturally lazy and every step of technology from calculators to AI take something away.

7. Every new technology gives something new but takes something else away from us as well.

Which values can we bring to the table which and can‘t cover?

15/03/2024

Remember a mentor from the past today. Their advice? Timeless. My appreciation? Endless. 🙌
Welcome back on your visit to Sydney, Urs Humm!

When I transitioned from a Consultant to a Product Marketer, I joined his table group of fellow Product Managers at HP in Switzerland.

Nobody I ever met was so quick in calculating prices for different types of channel partners to serve the customer with the best advantage - and to help partners.

Equipped with his support, I launched the HP Pavilion brand up to market leadership, followed by other brands and in conjunction with Adobe, Microsoft & Co.

While this is maybe 15+ years ago, his influence is still there in my day to day work managing partners in Asia Pacific - like currently at Hootsuite.

We both left HP many years ago and still keep connected to many of our fellow workmates (and can't imagine buying any other printer - loyalty is real!).

Great to welcome visitors from home like Urs as the 28th guest in my series enjoying a good flat white at La Renaissance Patisserie and Cafe after the mandatory walk to the .

🌟 Ever had that one colleague who changes everything for you? 🌟

13/03/2024

Did you know that more than 95% of all conversations on social media are unbranded?

Marketing teams like to believe their brands need to be mentioned everywhere.

But do companies actually know why consumers like or engage with brands?

Just got my hands on the brand new Social Media Consumer Report from Hootsuite, the first time ever to ask thousands of normal people like you and me about their perception of brand .

My key takeaways from the audience statements:
- 52% are exhausted by self-promotional content
- 59% believe there is far too much advertising
- 68% unfollow due to inauthentic brand content

So what can we do with that for our own ? Here are my tips in this episode, exceptionally on a Thursday:

1. Create a magnetic profile to show you as an authentic person people want to hang out with.

2. Write content showing perceived value in the view of the well-defined target audience.

3. Engage in conversations that inspires, surprises and enlightens your audience to make them feel good.

4. Stay on top of real-time conversations about your topics and engage quickly in direct messages.

Just imagine many of the annoying companies or people we follow would adopt those steps... what a relief to the feed on our social media channels.

Read the report here:

What turns you off from brand behaviour on ?

08/03/2024

"If you want to be known, you have to speak up first" - my favourite quote from the book "Journey of Perseverance”, perfect for the spirit of the ".

Priya Mishra's first book is a useful guide for entrepreneurs and business owners seeking for inspiration to embark towards the next steps on their journey.

I met her as the 27th guest in my series talking about the multiple talents of so many women which are not always recognised in the workplace.

Priya is an inspiring example as a former corporate employee in the Information Technology space who found her calling as an entrepreneur and business leader. She is the founder and CEO of Corporality, a business consulting firm specialised in sales and marketing.

Using her extensive background working in large IT firms in India and Australia, she analyses what organisations need to do to create their strategic strength and increase sales and revenue.

This is what we covered in the 97-year old Boardroom of the Castlereagh Boutique Hotel in Sydney:

1. For Priya everything happens for a reason so she finds the purpose behind leading towards a fulfilled life.

2. Her principle is combining clever ideation with fearless creativity, especially in the magnetic intersection of the logical and creative sides within us.

3. She promotes the influence of art behind business activities from scripting staging, filming up to art direction and performance.

4. We shall learn to celebrate what we have achieved rather than lamenting what we haven’t.

Multiple talents meets multiple books: Priya also published "Cultivate and Conquer" before launching her third book "Finding USP" in May.

Which is your favourite book quote?

07/03/2024

That's the book I have been waiting for - covering the Nearbound movement involving partners at the core of modern go to market strategies. 📖

Last week I watched the virtual launch at 5am Sydney time where author Jared Fuller, the Chief Partner Officer at Reveal, described the "Rise of the Who economy" as the logical evolution coming from the "How" economy.

It's all about building a network of people you know, like and trust - in business as in personal life.

Gone are the days of creating one-way street channels to bring products to market we need more than that.

Nearbound is centred around the customer by building a clever net, surrounding them with the voices and influencers they already trust.

I remember the quote of Reveal's CMO, Isaac Morehouse, during the launch: "Partnership is one of the most important hires in 2024."

My review will be published in my LinkedIn newsletter soon - stay tuned!

04/03/2024

Did you recognise that last Friday was the World Compliment Day? And did you give a compliment to anyone on or around that day?
🙏
It is one of the examples which every social media marketer should have on their radar to post in the context of their organisation.

Compliments are one of the ways in which we show solidarity, cooperation, friendliness, and goodwill to others.

As Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”

But how can we act on the as individuals - and ideally day in day out without the need of a reminder?

The best compliments are coming from the heart without expectation as a surprise for the receiver - and without hidden agenda.

Working professionally in a related role, I call my existing and former partners (like Ben Scheultus of Continuity Matters) occasionally even without working on a concrete opportunity, in his case even years after I moved on from Noggin to Hootsuite.

Here are my tips how to give compliments in a way in this episode:

1. Cultivate your mindset that a lot of what you do is not about you but about the other person - and think about that even their work has an outcome for their clients.

2. Find a person from your network you want to give a compliment to due to a recent trigger. Maybe they helped you or others and you want to recognise them in public.

3. Apply what gives to us: endorse them for some skills (a nice way to say hello), write them a recommendation when they honestly deserved that, or connect them with others.

4. Give them a stage by posting about them in a true style. Share what they are doing to increase their visibility with kind words of appreciation.

There are so many ways we can give compliments online across social media channels.

Give an honest compliment to anyone from your heart today. Feels good, agree?

04/03/2024

With the International Women Day approaching, do you know how many national days to remember happened last Friday on 1 March?
🥂
The website National Today listed 42 days to remember for that day... Here is the first of my two favourites (the other one following tomorrow).

The National Employee Appreciation Day reminds managers that strong employer-employee relations are at the core of any truly successful business.

Having a great relationship with your employees is an important aspect of being a manager, and appreciating their efforts can go a long way towards making workers feel valued.

In my view it is more than that. In the modern world, it goes beyond managers and direct reports. We all can and should recognise the collaboration with our colleagues, not just on 1 March.

I am grateful for my return to Hootsuite last October and appreciate my colleagues for the warm welcome and .

Thank you especially to Letrecia Tippett, Meghna Rangra, James McIntyre and Brad Wochomurka for the trust and confidence to launch the Service Partner Program in our region! Being part of the global and local teams makes all the difference 🤝

LinkedIn fam, how did you share appreciation to your employees?

29/02/2024

Imagine this: you meet someone on social media, build trust with them, start to do business activities together - and then you realise they were a fake contact. What to do now?

Let’s be honest: what we see on is a desired perception we should believe - and not always the truth.

What can we do against it - and how can we develop trust towards those we meet online?

This is what I discussed with Nadia Lee, the founder of ThatsMyFace, as my 27th guest at the BTB cafe in Kirribilli next to Milsons Point Station in Sydney.

So inspiring to learn from young entrepreneurs who recognise an issue and create their own company! This is what I noted:

1. Too often people hear from friends that somebody copied their social media profile using real photos and reached out to their real contacts with scam messages.

2. Even celebrities like Mel Gibson and Elon Musk are affected by these scams.

3. Some strange fellows on LinkedIn show stolen images or constructed photos done by AI (ask me directly for concrete examples).

4. Generative AI is often misused against vulnerable members of our society who become victims while the social media networks don’t prevent that to happen (they care about their Community Guidelines and ad revenue).

Good to know that her company ThatsMyFace detects these risks with their own powered facial recognition technology to give power back to the victims on how their faces are used.

Closing with a clever quote from Nadia: „AI is going to make human life radically better but we need safety tech solutions to accelerate at the same pace as AI technology.“

What is your experience with malicious fake situations?

27/02/2024

What is the better question: Who should solve my problem or how can I solve my problem?
👇
Working in software partnership related roles for many years, I am excited about the launch of the book "Nearbound" by Jared Fuller, founder of the podcast with the same name and Chief Partner Officer at Reveal.

This launch at 5am Sydney time was truly worth getting up on time to witness a movement.

My highlights from the virtual launch with Jared and his editor Shawnie Hamer before writing a book review soon:

1. Nearbound puts the customer in the centre, surrounding them with the voices and influencers they already trust.

2. "It’s not sales and marketing alignment; it’s PARTNERSHIP! Alignment’s NOT enough!” (Jill Rowley, thanks for commenting more like that in the chat!)

3. Inbound and outbound are customer acquisition strategies while nearbound takes a holistic approach.

4. Partnerships Managers typically work cross departments and know organisations and their influence much better.

5. "Partnerships is not an incremental change, it is how to transform a business." (Sangram Varre, the author of "Move" and leader of the Account Based Marketing movement, in the fireside chat with Jared and Shawnie)

6. "Partnership is one of the most important hires in 2024." (love that quote from Reveal's CMO, Isaac Morehouse)

7. The subtitle of the book, "and the Who economy", underpins the transition from the "How economy" to those who already earned the clients' know, like and trust factor.

The Kindle version of the book is currently super affordable - grab your copy and participate in this movement.

Be honest: what is your own example of participating in the Who economy?

26/02/2024

Most of us accept a connection request and do nothing with it. Chance for true connection gone. This is how to solve that.
👇
How many open connection requests do you have? Not events to RSVP for, not newsletters. I mean people.

As soon you have more than a handful it feels like a huge mountain to go through.

Over the digital detox period until mid of January I got up to 100 of those.

In the sales profession we know that inbound sucks. But here we have it: those professionals made an effort and want to connect. So what to do with them?

I remember an earlier video of expert Mark McInnes explaining who he admits into his network (less than a third if memory serves me well) and who stays outside as he can't help them.

Here are my tips on how we can turn this topic into a regular exercise. Don't wait until the sun goes down as in my Sydney skyline photo.

Latest once per week we should run the following tasks of this week's episode.

1. Go to on your browser, not the app. Open the first ten in separate tabs.

2. Check their profile for a 7-second check if they fit to your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) or are a suitable contact as partner, supplier, or influencer.

3. Find ideally two hooks coming from their profile or from their personalised invite (less than 7% send them) to accept and craft a message including those hooks.

4. Start a dialogue with the new contact. Engage with their content. Introduce them to someone else. Make them feel welcome in your network.

Can you do that with 100 requests manually at once? No. If you use a template to be efficient to add the hooks, it works. If you receive many, run it more than once per week.

They want to connect. Pay back the favour - especially as you send requests to others expecting a fast return as well.

That's why I call my book "Connect & Act" - we need to do something to connect well 🤝.

How do you deal with incoming requests?

18/02/2024

What do we mean when we say "Let's have a coffee" ☕? At least in Australia 🇦🇺 it is a great way to start or continue a discussion in a more casual way. Does it work on social media as well?

Welcome to my new series "Casual Coffee Catchup" on Substack where I share what's going on in my world around with people, winning , and my passion for .

Curating good content from other creators as well, you will enjoy my casual coffee catchup post on Sunday mornings in addition to my blog posts.

For those in Sydney, you will recognise that I introduce a different café in every episode (this photo shows the Swedish café "köket" in Paddington).

Thanks for the inspiration to Kaley Chu for her famous 100 lunches and Nick Bendel for his approach with 500 lunches which both turned into my series on LinkedIn - and now into this Sunday newsletter.

What do you like most in meeting others for coffee?

PS: Thanks for subscribing to my Substack blog as well, appreciated!

https://ow.ly/b2TS50QEyj6

Inspiration from coffee and lunch for my new weekly Substack series