It's snowing  in Edmonds Washington. Rarely do we get snow at sea level and still rarer is it that we have snow for a week or more. White out. The Cascade Mountains, the railroad tracks, the rocky shore of the Puget Sound:White.

Snow is the anti aging, anti ugly cream for the world.

 Blanketing reality, snow makes the  world immediately  purer, pristine; even good. Snow changes the way things look and it changes the way things sound. I find myself acutely listening in this snow covered landscape. My ears are silently shocked  by the stillness, the quiet of my world at a crawl.  

Snow and Listening.

In the past few day's I've been researching a new company I plan to grow, amazingly in 2009.  Sitting here in this pristine quiet winter wonderland I'm amazed at what I've heard, read and seen in the quietness of my snowy surroundings.

Listening; it's an art and one that enhances both the value and quality of our lives and our businesses. I've been listening carefully to what all my prospects clients have been saying about their service experience online.  I've been reading online reviews and as I read, I  hear keys to growing this company and enhancing the resonance of this tribe. As I listen; questions are forming.

When we are still, it's easier to listen, to hear.

Perhaps we should listen with 'snow ears' in both our personal and professional life; like we do when our world is blanketed with this white, fluffy stuff.

 Are you listening? To what? Did you know that Trip Advisor has over 2 million online reviews of hotels and resorts around the world? http://www.tripadvisor.com/

Do you know what clients are saying about your business? Did you know that Yelp now beats City Search in reviews monthly? Over 50 M people online reviewing their local retailers at these two sites. Do you have a proactive plan to engage your tribe in dialogues on these social review sites?http://siteanalytics.compete.com/yelp.com+citysearch.com/ 

Just the other day I was helping a business and we  found a medical review site that had 6 of my clients, clients reviews. The business owner was shocked and responded, "I didn't even know this site existed."

Listening.

Do you know what tools your clients are using to review your business?

Do you provide a 24/7 feedback/listening, dialogue tool for your 'tribe' to engage with you- about what they love and what they'd like to see changed- in your business? Do you instruct, teach your tribe how to get involved with you to improve your business and to spread your story to the world? 

Listening; it's easy to do when the world slows to a crawl and snow blankets the landscape but the question is how well do you listen, hear when the sun is beating down, the rain is falling sideways or the fog has rolled in?

Listening … it matters