Friday, June 28, 2013

LinkedIn Endorsements - What's It all About

For months I had been getting notices...."Cindy!  Jane Doe endorsed you for calculator skills!    John Brown endorsed you for walking without tripping!"

What was this?  Should I say thank you?  Should I endorse others?    I came across this article that helped me understand endorsements and why it's important.  

However, it wasn't until today that I took action.    I didn't want anyone to get notifications that I was doing major work to my profile so first I turned off the notifications as follows:
 Turn off notifications that you’re making changes to your profile, by going to the Settings tab (mouse over your name on upper right hand corner) and then going to Privacy Controls (middle column on bottom half of screen), clicking “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts,” and unchecking the box to “Let people know when you change your profile, make recommendations, or follow companies.” That way you can make changes without telling the world.
I turned this back on when I was done.

Then I reviewed the endorsements that I received and clicked the X by any endorsements that I didn't want published.  For example, while I know Excel and Word--I don't want to be endorsed for them.   Then I clicked the box that allowed me to add the endorsements to my profile.   My profile was instantly updated with skills and expertise.

Immediately after that, a box popped up with suggested endorsements for people I know.  I tried to only endorse skills that I knew the person actually did.   There was a box where you could endorse all 4 people that showed up at the same time.

So I am glad I could reciprocate for all the nice people that endorsed me and now all those nice endorsements from others are showing in my profile.

So thank you to all those who have generously endorsed me.   I hope to continue to stay on top of this.

Note:  I guess my comment on hiding my update was unnecessary given this post.  But I found the process helpful and thought others might too!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Outcomes Data Shows Life Changing Results

As an accountant and a nonprofit strategic consultant, I see the power of combining numbers and data with process and strategy to achieve results and increase capacity.  Its what we put into practice when we work with our clients.   Its what I speak to nonprofit and business groups about throughout the year.  And its been the topic of a number of posts in this blog.

So I am very excited about the results of a study released this month summarized in this article from Christianity Today.   The subtitle says it well   "A top economist shares the astounding news about that little picture hanging on our refrigerator."

The study involved over 10,000 sponsored children and has been academically vetted.   One of the quotes:
 "You could beat this data senseless, and it was incapable of showing anything other than extremely large and statistically significant impacts on educational outcomes for sponsored children."
It is incredible how powerful a small investment each month is in the life of a child.    Visit Compassion International's site to learn more about their work.