Chris Carlson / Associated Press

In the locker room at the gym this morning, two ladies recapped yesterday’s Olympic highlights. Aside from being awake until Midnight watching, the pair gushed over the amazing speed, strength and quads of the Speedskaters. At that point the name Shani Davis came up. After unexpectedly dropping out of the 500-meter race only to rebound by winning his second straight gold metal in the 1,000-meter yesterday, of course it did!

Which reminded me how the Olympic US Speedskating team was in a pickle back in November. The team had just lost a major corporate backer, a bank that went bankrupt. Nervous about landing new sponsorship in such a short time, the team allowed Stephen Colbert to fill the void. He’s done an attention-grabbing job promoting the team, so by now I’d assume that most US Olympic followers may associate the two, but the way it happened still amazes me.

Not known for conventional tactics, the comedian similarly approached olympic sponsorship. Colbert didn’t personally front the money, nor did his television show, nor did the TV network. Instead, he called upon the Colbert Nation – his television viewers, everyday Americans – to donate to the cause. In the short time span of 3-months, Colbert fans raised more than $300,000 for the skaters (more money than the bankrupt sponsor had pledged!) and attracted the corporate sponsor Verizon.

This story reminds me that we all have potential to lead, to join together, and to do both. Everything starts with a vision, supported daily through every interaction you or your organization has with each individual you encounter, both inside and outside the organization. Positive experiences are reciprocated, attracting more followers, and expanding over time as your reputation and support network grows.

We are cheering US Olympic Speedskating victories in locker rooms and living rooms across the USA because of one person’s vision and commitment, which multiplied one person at a time. — Jenny

A friend of mind just added 1,500 Facebook fans to the in a the last 30 days by hosting a promotion. Maybe we should do something similar. — real quote from client

Truth be told, this number is meaningless.

Remember the old web site counter you used to see at the bottom of every home page? Your hit count could have been in the millions, but everybody knows this did not translate to the number of customers you acquired. People that jump on a promotion may not be around long for the rest of the story.

Companies should ask the following questions:

• Are we building a network of important resources and contacts that can benefit from this connection?
• Can we effectively listen to our network and respond in a reasonable time? Listening is the most overlooked part of corporate Social Networking.
• Are we providing good information that our network can say is valuable?

Remember, people can dump you as easily as they followed you. Value matters. — Jeff