My first thought when considering the social media landscape was a wayward “What a waste of time,” followed by this little gem of preconception: “I am hardly interested in what anyone had for breakfast!”

You may be thinking, or might’ve heard of something similar as prime excuses for steering clear of Twitter and the social media space. Understandable. After all, when it comes to moving their organization into the future, a CEO is constantly busy focusing, prioritizing and deliberating on decisions that will propel their endeavor ever closer to the goal line. There is no room for trivialities, right?

It wasn’t until November 2009 when a friend, mentor and fellow CEO explained the different professional benefits to services such as Twitter and LinkedIn, as a not only an effective business tool, but a necessary one as well to succeed in the entrepreneurial climate of the 21st century. He punctuated the conversation with an emphatic, “You have to tweet!” So here I am, more than a year later, a former skeptic, arguing the case, albeit briefly, as to why CEOs should heed this advice and consider social media (if they haven’t done so already) worthy of their time, not a waste.

Connectivity

Adopting Twitter and LinkedIn has afforded me the valuable opportunity of connecting with highly successful people I respect that I probably would’ve never met otherwise. Whether they are the largest independent hotelier in California, best selling authors or previously “unreachable” CEOs, this technology grants me access to what movers and shakers are doing to prosper in their field — directly from the source. It’s a portal to insight that can teach and inform and has at times, for me personally, influenced my business trajectory, not to mention expanded our network of contacts. Not bad for a guy from Asheville.

Sharing

As important as giving time and giving money is the exchange of ideas and experiences that potentially can enrich our community. Twitter, if used properly, helps nurture that ideal by maintaining an open line of dialogue between colleagues and friends — 140 characters at a time. So look at your social media use as part philanthropy, generously sharing information that could help your fellow business journeymen along their way.

News and information

One of my most cherished Twitter functions is information filtering. To stay abreast by sifting thru all the major business publications and outlets cover to cover could take the better part of a lifetime. Twitter streamlines the process of how we extract information by filtering out the noise and serving up what’s necessary on a daily, more immediate basis. By selectively following people I trust and have a proven track record of liking similar content, I essentially am able to customize my news, eliminating wasted reads. For instance, for technology news and TED updates I follow the CEO of Mojo Interactive in Orlando, Glen Lubbert @glubbert. For my fix on the state of the authentic leadership and conscious capitalism movement I read Bill George @bill_george. And for some good old fashioned comic relief — or where I can find a loud, questionable sweater — I’m a fan of Bill Cosby @billcosby. He’s as entertaining on Twitter as he is on stage or screen. Hilarious!

The time saved in having my news curated for me is priceless.

Revenue

So what’s the bottom line? Since adding social media as part of our approach, our firm has generated over six figures of additional new business. It’s hard to ignore the numbers.

I share this much like my mentor CEO did with me, not to impress, but to persuade you to at least try this new medium. I guarantee the benefits will soon become clear. Share what you are learning, cross-pollinate your ideas, make new connections, and lead your organization into the Twitter-sphere.

I look forward to speaking to you on Twitter in 2011 – Send a tweet and include @integritiveJM and a link to this article and I’ll be your first follower.