The culture of your company can be stifling the growth you need to survive. How can you evolve and improve this culture? In this episode of the DIMAcast, Coach Michael Burt provides four steps to “overcoming the chaos, and taming the 10,000-pound gorilla in your midst.”
Burt is the coauthor of “Zebras & Cheetahs: Look Different and Stay Agile to Survive the Business Jungle.”

www.coachburt.com

Your employees’ performance and attitude are key factors in the success of your business. Doug Fleener of Dynamic Experiences Group provides expert advice on how to maximize them. “I believe that almost all employees want to do a good job,” he says. “And for the most part, they do. Even so, we do from time to time end up with someone who isn't meeting our expectations.”
In this episode of the DIMAcast, Fleener discuses several ways managers and owners can address these issues.

Bill McCurry had his microphone and note pad out at The Big Photo Show listening to consumers and asking them about their photographic experiences . . . you can listen in at this week’s DIMAcast . . . Bill records some of the interviews for you to hear, he has made a small “photo album” and included that in the transcript. You’ll also hear some

Calumet succeeding in retail, rebrands Penn stores A little more than a year ago, Penn Camera was in bankruptcy, and Calumet Photographic.
purchased three of its locations in the Washington, DC area. Since the acquisition, Calumet says it has “continued the legacy built by the family brand,” while serving thousands of local customers. Now Calumet Photographic, an international specialty photo retailer launched in Chicago in 1939, is rebranding those stores under its own name. “These three stores have become some of our top locations in the Calumet family,” the company says, “and we are excited that local customers consider us their photography destination of choice.”
In this episode of DIMAcast, Calumet president Brian Carroll tells us how the former Penn stores are doing now, as well as the current success of the overall Calumet chain — and we discuss the challenges and rewards in retail today.

http://www.calumetphoto.com

A new book claims you can boost your business by strategically using the Pinterest website.
The social bookmarking site that allows users to create a visual, online pinboard with images around topics of their choice. According to “Entrepreneur Magazine’s Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business” by Karen Leland, it’s the fastest growing social media site in history, and now the third-largest network after Facebook and Twitter. It has more than 25 million members and 10 million unique visitors a month — and it can be “a valuable source of prospects, promotion and profits,” the author says.
“Great business brands are about telling compelling, congruent stories, and Pinterest is at its core about storytelling in pictures,” Leland adds. “Pinterest has tapped into this visceral lover of visuals, and no small business, entrepreneur or corporation can afford to miss the boat on bringing what they offer beyond words and into images.”
Leland’s business consultation site is here — with bonuses to the book’s content.

In this interview on the DIMAcast, Leland talks specifically about how photographers and photography businesses can best benefit from using the site.

In this week’s DIMAcast, Mike Kahn of Sony talks about his company’s experience at The Big Photo Show. Listen and discover who the most passionate photography consumers are and what they are most interested in; how Kahn knew The Big Photo Show would be a hit when others doubted; and how he suggests photo business can capitalize on the enthusiasm for imaging among consumers today.

We know building the right team is critical to our business – yet we often miss this critical step of management. Phil Wrzsinksi (The Toy House, Jackson, MI) is back on the DIMAcast telling Bill McCurry how crafting a team is like a potter’s wheel, if you faithfully follow a consistent process you can make beautiful unique things. Failing basic steps will lead to piles of broken pottery or frustrated organizations. Listen (or read the transcript) as Phil shares what works for his organization and will work for your as well.

PMA TV and PMA Plus Marketing Toolkit
http://www.pmai.tv

We’ve all been there: we’ve taken a lot of photos at some event, but we don’t want to sort through them, let alone edit and enhance the best shots to make them suitable for printing.
Enter Krome Photos, a service that puts its own imaging experts to work on your pictures. And now the company is offering an iOS app so you can send in shots from your phone.
Not only is the app free, it even comes with a $10 credit towards prints.
The San Francisco company says its service “is a the perfect combination of human talent and cutting edge technology” and that we can think of it “as your personal photo concierge.” Professional photo editors and book designers “trained and equipped to make you the best photo product possible,” work on your images.
In this interview, founder Eduardo Llach tells of grew from his roots as a Kodak engineer to launch a company that fulfills the old slogan: “…And we’ll do the rest.”

Jefferson Graham is portrait photographer in Manhattan Beach, California; technology columnist for USA Today; and author of "Video Nation: A DIY Guide to Planning, Shooting and Sharing Great Video.”
At The Big Photo Show in Los Angles in May, he’ll tell photographers how to best use the video features in their new cameras

On this episode of the DIMAcast, Mike Kahn, Director of Alpha Camera Systems for Sony Electronics and president of PMDA, talks about Sony’s exhibit at The Big Photo Show, being held in Los Angeles, May 4-5, 2013, and all the innovations being introduced to consumers there. He also discusses his vision for the imaging industry over the next few years, and what it will take to bring that vision into being, and hes provides an update on Sony’s forthcoming alternatives to Instant Rebates, which Kahn announced at 2013 PMA@CES last January.