2008 Q2 Report

Normally summer would have provided ample time to reflect on Q2, but it sizzled with speaking engagements and extensive development here at EGLI and at CSRA. I’m pleased to share the highlights and to look ahead to Q3, which will be very exciting for EGLI. First, however, I’ll recap Q2.

EGLI Q2 Highlights

• Finished the three-seminar series with Samurai and had excellent attendance in May and June sections. We now have three “classes” of EGLI alumni: March 2008, May 2008 and June 2008!
• Maintained a blistering pace with presenting overviews of LinkedIn’s relevance to professional groups and associations:
  • Finance Leaders Association (CFOs, 29 April)
  • Illinois Technology Association (CEO/entrepreneurs, 20 May)
  • The Alternative Board CEO Forum (30 May)
  • American Marketing Association (Marketing professionals, 3 June)
  • Indian Institute of Technology (CEO/VCs/CIOs, 21 June)
• Launched the EGLI private online community (the “groupsite”), and today it is 79 members strong. It’s a place where alums bring up and discuss Linkedin questions and discoveries. I highly recommend it: if you’re an alum and not a member, let me know by responding to this post, and I’ll send you another invitation.
• We have 60 members of the EGLI Alum LinkedIn Group (on LinkedIn)
• Surprised management team of professional design and installation firm; they were convinced that construction and design executives would be late technology adopters, and their mouths dropped at how many C-level and prospect corporate decision-makers were in LinkedIn
• Subscriptions to this blog’s monthly mailing continue to grow; I’m encouraging this as it’s a very efficient way to keep in touch. This blog is the first place to go for EGLI news. See the left sidebar to sign up!
• Webcasts delayed due to other speaking and consulting activity, but will look to begin later this year.
• Technorati has rated the EGLI blog as #4 in authority (see left siderbar), which is remarkable because this blog is quite new and it usually takes quite some time to work up the authority ladder.

Looking ahead to Q3

• Continue to have a very active speaking calendar, which indicates that interest is very high and increasing. Exciting to see!
• Talking with executives in firms of all sizes, and the lightbulb is finally starting to go off that LinkedIn can change the rules of finding relevant (specific) prospects and engaging them, although it doesn’t occur to most. There is tremendous opportunity for people to jump in, do the work to learn how LinkedIn works and become leaders.
• Will continue opportunistically to write parts of the EGLI printed book that fit with other things I’m doing.
• Will expand a new concept: the “Executive’s Web 2.0 Pyramid” to show how LinkedIn, blogs, podcasts and other things Web 2.0 fit together from a time/benefit perspective. Will incorporate into EGLI course materials.
• Looking to get involved with more multimedia as rich media is scalable and, well, rich.
• Researching and preparing new seminars for fall. More on this shortly!

Parting Shots

I’ve struggled here not to “pre-write” parts of the Q3 report, which will be even more exciting, I’ll wager. As always, share your impressions. What have you accomplished on Linkedin or with some other Web 2.0 tool that you’re proud of? What are your goals for Q3?