It's Not Me - It's Totally You!

Breaking Up Is So Easy To Do Online

A friend (let's call her Meg) shared with me her story of how she experienced a LinkedIn breakup a few years ago...

Lamenting her recent demotion, she attended a networking event for an industry that she was thinking about moving to. Armed with an elevator speech and a smile, she literally met someone in the elevator going to the same event. They were fast friends, and inseparable the entire evening. Throughout the evening the woman repeatedly told Meg to "be sure to" connect with her on LinkedIn, she was 'very well connected' and would be happy to introduce her to anyone she knew that might be able to assist Meg.

At the end of the night the lovely young lady handed Meg her business card, Meg connected with her on LinkedIn the very next morning and she accepted immediately. However later that day, when Meg searched for her new connection, she couldn't find her listed in her contacts. When she did a manual search for the young lady, she was suddenly out of her network!

Since the DE-LINKING, as we affectionately refer to the event, Meg found the courage to switch industries, and still has yet to see or hear from the friendly lady she met that evening. But this isn't a story about Meg, it's a story about the anonymous lady who removed Meg from her network almost as quickly as she added her. There are plenty of reasons to no longer associate with LinkedIn connections, group members and employees-here goes:

I'm sorry...have we met? I...I think this was a mistake...

Perhaps like Meg's one-night stand, you connected with someone that you didn't really want to. Or like Meg herself, you are no longer interested in your former supervisor's new connections, especially if one of them is the new YOU. Surreptitiously removing LinkedIn connections is almost too easy and can be done en masse. 

1.      At the top of your homepage, click Contacts.

2.      On the upper right side of the page, click Remove Connections

3.      Select the connections you want to remove

4.      Click Remove Connections

Et voila! Your connections will never know you removed them as a connection - unless you surprisingly appear in their "People You May Know" column. But by then you'll be out of dodge! And if you perhaps made a mistake and are interested in getting back together-you are in control, as the person that breaks the connection is the only one that can reinitiate a connection.

Hey-do you need a job? Know someone that needs a job? How 'bout a medical procedure overseas? I’m not going to stop asking...ever!

Spambots have infiltrated LinkedIn-with fake names, companies, connections and profiles. They post random links every day - offering jobs "just for members of your group" or if you have a really bad spambot, they post hourly. Why? Who knows-some people just have too much time on their hands. But, as the owner or manager of a group, you have the power to fight the evil spambots! LinkedIn makes it easy:

1.      On your homepage, click Groups.

2.      Click on the group name

3.      Click the Manage tab

4.      Click Participants on the left pane, and then click the Members tab

5.      Select the member you want to remove

6.      Click Remove, Block or Block & Delete

Here is a table to help you determine the best option for your group:

	Remove	Block	Block & Delete
Member Removed from Group	Yes	Yes	Yes
Member's Past Contributions Deleted	No	No	Yes
Member can request to join group again	Yes	No	No

 

Also, keep in mind if you click Unblock & Remove from the Blocked tab, the member will be removed from the group, their past contributions will be deleted, but they can request to join the group again.

You are the weakest link...goodbye...

Uninviting former employees from your company page requires LinkedIn to get involved. For better or worse, you can not unceremoniously delete someone from your company page. According to LinkedIn: "you can ask us to remove someone from your Company Page if they don't work at your company or have never worked at your company." You must provide their full name, the link to their profile and explain why they should be removed.

And by the way...in case you're wondering, Meg continues to live happily ever after. 

Should YOU be prepared for a Crisis at your firm?

Yes you should!

This important topic recently came up in conversation – and, of course, I've been there, done that.  I always say:  Keep it Simple Stupid – in other words, “kiss” it:

Step 1: The Crisis Team.

A good approach is to have someone from each part of the firm – to include management, operations, marketing, HR, Tax, Audit, Consulting etc. Get a contact sheet for the team.

Step 2: The Voice of the Firm should be unified - Identify your Spokesperson(s)

You know who they are – your speakers.  Also remember you need someone for off and online.

Step 3: Processes and protocols.

This is a customized process based on who does what and how people communicate.  Role playing and “what if” scenarios can be helpful – things to consider are a fire or explosion on the premises;  someone being arrested or suspected of fraud or…. etc.

Step 4: Brainstorm Possible Scenarios & Responses

Crisis communication today is very different and needs to incorporate monitoring of online information. And be prepared to diffuse or correct mis-information.

It’s good to be prepared and after a meeting of 1-2 hours, this can all be achieved and everyone should feel a little better.