Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should

My colleague in the UK, Graeme Codrington, posted “3-d TV is here” a week or so back. It’s a short post about Sky News launching 3D TV.  When Graeme writes he’s normally very definite in his opinion, and he’s not scared to put it out there. If you read his 3D TV post, you’ll notice he ends with a fairly ‘limp’ conclusion around the future of 3D TV. I haven’t spoken to him about his lack of definite view, but based on his post, I share his same feelings around 3D TV. I think it’s a limp idea.

• Perhaps it’s because I haven’t seen the ‘new 3D TV’s’ needed to enhance 3D in this medium. What I have seen (my kids movies) has always left me feeling a little disappointed, experience wise.
• Then there’s the idea of 3D glasses lying around my house. We already have enough of a problem storing, not standing on, dropping, and spilling things on multiple remote controls, all sorts of Wii controls, iPod chargers, iPods, etc, etc. The thought of more paraphernalia to enhance my viewing experience far from excites me.
• While we’re on the glasses, how many are we going to need? Or will it become acceptable to ask friends to bring their own? And how silly might I look with ’sunglasses on’ when friends or family come around to watch TV?

The obvious next step from 3D is going to be  holographic TV (Holy TV?) . That’s 3D on steroids. That isn’t going to need any extra goggles to watch, and while it may mean some new equipment in the viewing area, the massive leap in expeirence from what we have now to that, will be worth whatever pain I may have to go through.

Is 3D then, simply a transitional technology between now and then? If it is, I’m guessing those that run the TV world have done their sums and figure they’re going to sell enough boxes to make the investment worth it? I’m not sure it switches me on enough to get into the game. But then again, peer pressure and great advertising may be all they need to make me a convert.

Still I do think there are times when being able to do/create/buy things doesn’t mean you’ve got to. I think this may be one of those times. Time will tell, and in the mean time I’ll go over to Graeme’s house to watch on his 3D telly : )

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Will the next generation live to be 1000 years old?

Anthony Atala asks, “Can we grow organs instead of transplanting them?” His lab at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is doing just that — engineering tissues and whole organs (bladders and, soon, kidneys) using smart bio-materials and cutting-edge techniques.

Watch his amazing short video on TED MED

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Learners with Disabilities

It was an interesting sign to have on the school bus I thought – ‘Learners with Disabilities’. Soon the school bus was to take another route to that of mine and then it was gone. The bus was no longer in sight but the bold sign emblazed across the back of the bus stuck with me as I continued on.

Learners with disabilities. What a pity contemporary corporate leaders don’t have that signage on their office door or perhaps on their desks: ‘CEO / Learner with Disabilities’. It wouldn’t be for a lack of space on their desk for we both know that isn’t the problem.  The real problem is, that no leader would come close to admitting a learning disability, much less advertize it. The system that has seen them make it to the corner office has long since squeezed out any doubt, questioning or openness to new learnings. Leaders aren’t expected to be ‘learners’ – they’re expected to know; they know what is best, they know what is needed and they know because, well because they have the track record to prove they know it. It is referred to as ‘experience’. As Mark twain so eloquently put it: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble.  It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so”

If we’re honest, often times we also want them to know for it relieves us of taking responsibility – and gives us someone to blame.  So we need to acknowledge that in part, the leader’s knowing is fueled by the expectations of others who look for certainty, answers and direction. After all, isn’t that all part of leadership?

Well this is how it works for the most part and I suspect you know this to be the case. Why just today I learnt of a CEO who used his authority to ensure that a key facilitator in a vital and delicate process concerning his executive team, would no longer be part of the process. The reason…the real reason? Well the Facilitator in question was simply too perceptive and not afraid to share her insights. Way too threatening for him is my guess. Leaders with disabilities: we meet them every day but unlike those school children, they refuse to acknowledge it.

Learning is not easy. For one thing it requires that the Learner is open to new information. Information about themselves, how they do – or don’t do things, about how things work or about alternative opinions and realities that differ from their own. Hearing such things is never easy and taking further steps toward understanding such things requires courage and conviction. It is the way of the Learner. Don’t ever be fooled into believing that the leader’s learning is inhibited by the lack of teachers – the teachers are all around him or her; rather it is the leader’s inability to recognize the teachers that surround them that is the chief inhibitor to the learning process.

This is a problem. Now more than ever we need learner leaders. In a world where the rules of the game are changing as they are; where things will not go ‘back to the way they were’; where a ‘new normal’ is emerging – in such a world, more than ever, we need leaders who are willing to learn.

And the first step? Simply admit to your learning disability. Sounds simple but it’s not. And without that first step, you’ll never get on the bus!

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Marketing and product development for Boomers

Appliance makers GE and Whirlpool have been quick to recognised to economic power of the silver tsunami (or baby boomers over the age of 50!) and are making great strides in product development. The Wall Street Journal in it’s article Home Appliances to Soothe the Aches of Aging Boomers provides a few examples:

- Whirlpool now offers washing machines with large knobs that make louder-than-usual noise when they’re set. They also offer a pedestal beneath Whirlpool dryer reduces stooping when removing laundry.

- At GE’s consumer and industrial headquarters in Louisville, designers use “empathy sessions” where members of the product-development team tape their knuckles to simulate impaired dexterity. GE’s Engineers and designers have been very busy “boomerising” their products and now proudly offer:
- Ovens with easier-to-open doors and automatic shut-off burners.
- Stoves designed to prevent boil-overs.
- Stoves that you don’t have to reach far into – to prevent boomers from stooping awkwardly, losing their balance and burning themselves on the hot stove!
- Fridges with brighter LED lighting to improve visibility
- Dishwashers and washing machines that allow users to put in an entire bottle of detergent a few times a year rather than a smaller amount for every load. Supposedly the machines are designed to reduce confusion and make housework less of a chore, as GE neatly puts “particularly for older consumers”.

All of these new product designs are great for “old people” but try telling baby boomers that you are selling them a product that will remind them on a daily basis that they are OLD! I’d like to meet the marketer who is able put a positive spin on this marketing message because I don’t believe it exists.

Baby Boomers may be getting old but one of their core values is that of youth and vitality. Designing a product that reminds them they are old is not going to win you any points. Rather companies need to be developing products that enhance boomers lifestyles allow them to enjoy themselves and frees up their time to go skiing (spending their kids inheritance) GE may be taping up the fingers of their product designers but they are failing to use the “empathy sessions” to help get their designers into the heads of baby boomers so that they can understand what drives them and makes baby boomers tick.

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The Silver Tsunami – Baby boomers are responsible for more than 40 percent of retail spending, companies need to pay attention to this.

Boomers control over 75% of the personal net wealth in the UK and yet most marketers and companies choose to target families and young adults. Another problem is that companies treat people over the age of 50 as one globular market segment, and they have been using similar marketing messages for the past two decades. Those that fail to recognise how much this market is changing and why are in for a shock. The main reason for changes is that baby boomers have arrived in droves. Baby boomers are those people born after WW2 and 1964. They experienced the economic boom of the 60’s and the moon landings. They are very different from the Silent Generation, those people born before the boomers, between the great depression and 1944.

Booz & Co have written an article highlighting how many companies are missing huge opportunities by not recognising these differences. Authors Richard Rawlinson and Natasha Kuznetsova also believe that “For most companies confused about how to reach older consumers, a good place to start is a cultural shake-up of the marketing organization, which should include the addition of an entirely new set of skills…In short, more gray hairs are needed among brand managers and external collaborators such as agencies, re search firms, and media planning organizations.

Employing aging marketers is a good solution our research shows that boomers respond best to marketing campaign and products when they have been designed by boomers for boomers. Another way is to train younger marketing staff to have generational empathy and to see the world through the eyes of Baby Boomers. Our Mind the Gap presentation and workshops provide this very solution. By giving marketers insights into the values and driving attitudes of people from different generations we’ve achieved fantastic results. For one client we increased total company revenues by 300%, for another we increased sales of key product line by over 70%; and for a leading bank we doubled response rates for a direct mail campaign targeting a saturated market.

You can read more about generational values and generational marketing by following these links :

Detailed introduction to Generations: written by world renown generations expert Dr Graeme Codrington
Onions & Parfait – Why customer relationships no longer need to be a thing of fairytales and pirate stories by generational marketing expert Dean van Leeuwen
Generations in crisis by Dean and Graeme

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‘I am the President’ doesn’t mean what it used to

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Knowing What You Don’t Know is Important

Yes it’s true. I’m getting coached in ‘Social Media’. “About time” some might say but it’s not just about how to engage in the various kinds of social media available – it’s about learning how to, ‘connect the dots’. It is about understanding how to work with all the options in an integrated manner that makes professional and personal sense. I suspect many more of my ilk could do with some time with my Coach and the reality is that knowing this stuff simply isn’t optional – it’s an imperative.

W. C. Howell is credited with the model with which most of us are familiar when it comes to acquiring a skill. The model moves from a level of ‘unconscious incompetence’ to ‘conscious incompetence’ to ‘conscious competence’ to ultimately, ‘unconscious competence’.  So what does this look like when applied to my development path in the area of social media education?

Unconscious incompetence: A what? ‘c-o-m-p-u-t-e-r. Don’t only major international companies and governments have access to this kind of thing?  I’m not sure I’ll need one, but thanks anyway. The future? Yes, yes…(late 1980’s – early 1990’s)

Conscious incompetence: Wow…how do you switch this thing on? It sure takes up a lot of desk space but looks important, even impressive…where did you say I turn it on? How come there is this blue screen…and what’s that noise? Show me how you did that…that’s really cool, I need to be able to do that stuff. Hold on, not so fast…I just need to make a note of that. (mid 1990’s – early 2000’s)

Conscious competence: Sure I’m on Facebook and I even know that ‘Twitter’ isn’t a term of insult nor is it some sort of birdcall heard only in the mating season. Sure I know how to access that information, open multiple windows and load useful software. How did I ever survive without email?  I know how to solve that problem…just reboot…there see, anything else I can help you with? With some concentration and focus I can link some of my technology gadgets and to really impress fellow travelers, even produce my iPod on flights whilst banging away on my laptop keyboard. Laptop? Apple of course.  Check out that cool little Apple logo that lights up on the lid! (mid – late 2000’s)

Unconscious competence: My tweet directs people to my latest blog which drives folk to the article and website resulting in conversations, connections and further helpful information, relationships and opportunities. There, dots connected and a seamless integration of knowing the why and how behind it all. By catching up I’ve actually been able to slow down and I feel an intricate part of an amazing reality that is unfolding all around me…connections, information and well, relevance. (the future)

Knowing what you don’t know is important. It is your learning pathway into Tomorrow, and it is a journey that shouldn’t be delayed. Let me know and I will put you onto a great social media Coach…

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A breakup, bowiechick, webcams and Logitech’s increased sales

I am currently at the F-Secure partners conference in Vienna, Austria, and have been listening to Richard Gatarski speak about a passion for social media. One incredible story illustrates the power that new social media forms have to influence brands, and how little many established companies (even those who sell products and services that are designed for this new world) know about this.

In March 2006, Melody, a teenager better known by her YouTube name, “Bowiechick”, was feeling pretty depressed. She had just broken up with her boyfriend. So, she decided to record a vlog (a video blog entry). In order to cheer herself up, she experimented with some cool software that came with her webcam. By the end of the 75 second video, she had had a bit of fun and was feeling better. She posted the result at YouTube (see it here). This clip has now been viewed nearly 2 million times!

As you could anticipate, a few of her friends saw it, and wrote notes to her, encouraging her to cheer up and move on. But then people started asking her about the software she used to make the video itself. More and more people asked, so she created a little video to explain how her Logitech webcam and software worked. This 2 minute video has been viewed over 3 million times. Watch it here.

… Continue Reading

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Something strange has happened on our blog site. This post has been moved to here. Sorry for the hassle of another click…

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Lost in Translation: The Essential Guide to Understanding the Male Species

Of course much has been said about the translation gap between the male and female of our species, why it is and what it is – including the theory that we each originate from different parts of the Universe.This is maybe so. However, bringing it all down to earth, here are some helpful translations that may assist either side, although I suspect that it will help those tasked with ‘looking after their boss’ when that means crossing this particular gender border.

Male: “Yes okay”…Translation: Absolutely nothing. It’s just a conditioned response

Male: “It would take too long to explain”…Translation: I have no idea

Male: :That’s interesting”…Translation: Why are you still talking?

Male: “It’s a guy thing”…Translation: There is no rational thought pattern evident

Male: “I can’t find the report”…Translation: It didn’t fall into my hands

Male: “Can I help with that?”…Translation: Why isn’t it already done

Hope to have helped you make better sense of it all. Lost in translation…it plagues us all both at work and at home.

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Invictus The inspiration of Nelson Mandela

Although the movie Invictus is only released in cinemas this coming weekend I was fortunate to get an early viewing this past Saturday and for me the film is simply brilliant. A week ago I’d decided to read Nelson Mandela’s long walk to freedom, so watching Invictus after having reread the book evoked a number of emotions and I must admit there were parts where I felt very teary. My colleague Graeme Codrington wrote a post below and mentions that today, the 2nd of Feb 2010 is exactly 20 years after Madiba was released. As a South African I find this amazing. Twenty years ago SA was on the brink of a bloody civil war, there are still problems but the SA I know today is a much better place than it was back then. In Invictus, Mandela played by Mr Freeman is portrayed as a man both burdened and blessed by having become a living icon after years of political struggle. Now as a newly elected President, Mandela takes his astute wisdom, insight into people, and incredible leadership to unite a nation still fearful on one another. I still remember clearly the 1995 world cup victory, how all South Africans partied in the street rejoicing the rainbow nation. The Economist has written an excellent review of the film and you can read it below. In Invictus, Mr Freeman and Mr Eastwood to made their sunniest film yet.

… Continue Reading

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CEOs lose faith in strategic planning, they should look to yacht racing for answers

The Great Recession has made CEOs rethink strategic planning. Walt Shill, head of the North American management consulting practice for Accenture believes that: “Strategy, as we knew it, is dead…Corporate clients decided that increased flexibility and accelerated decision making are much more important than simply predicting the future.”

In my my latest presentation Brave New World which explores the realities of the new world of work and steps companies need to take to become a talented company, I compare strategic planning of today with that of yacht racing. Strategic planning of yesteryear was more like an egg and spoon race. Competitors lined up at the annual starting line, ran in a straight line from point A to point B, making minor quarterly changes (normally to budgets and not strategy!) and once in a while someone dropped the ball (in this case the boiled egg) and pandemonium ensued.

However, for the modern talented company strategic planning is like yacht racing. Talented companies have a clear destination or vision of where they want to get to. But once out of the harbour they recognise that things can change. The course you plotted may head north but you discover that competitors are heading south, do you change your plan and follow or keep track? A weather system may develop causing rough seas on your route, do you tack around the storm or hit it head on? The key for yacht racing is that strategy is emergent! As conditions around you change so do strategy and tactics. The one element that does not is your destiny (vision), how you get there depends on team work (in emergent strategy everyone understands the quest, provides input and is involved in the strategic planning process). Ultimately the skipper (as should the CEO) steers the boat and emergent strategy required bold leadership but the team is integral to the strategy as it emerges.

The days of long term strategic planning are over but that does not mean that strategic process is dead it has just changed. Strategic planning has now become emergent strategic planning.

For more information on emergent strategy and what it can do for your business please contact me.

You can read more about the latest thinking on strategic planning in the Wall Street Journal

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Mandela’s release is announced – 20 years ago today

1989 was a momentous year all around the world. I wrote about it last year, as each month we rolled through the “twenty years on” anniversaries of everything from Tiananmen Square (June), the Ayatollah’s funeral chaos in Iran (June), hands across the Baltic Way (August), the Berlin Wall (November), Prague’s Velvet Revolution (November), Ceaucescu trial and death (December) and the banning of the Communist Party in Russia (December).

In my home country, South Africa, it took a few extra weeks, but we added our own amazing memory to this list.

On Friday, 2 February, 1990, FW de Klerk, the State President opened Parliament for the new year. In his “State of the Nation” address he stunned the world, and all of us in South Africa, by very calmly and simply saying the following:

“People serving prison sentences merely because they were members of one of these organisations, or because they committed another offence which was merely an offence because a prohibition on one of the organisations was in force, will be identified and released.”

… Continue Reading

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What if a Board Meeting was like the State Of The Union?

Thinking About Thinking suggests that if board meetings looked like a state of the union, the agenda would play itself out like this:

“The CEO would make his way to the board room through a processional in the company’s hallways, flanked by clapping employees, shaking hands and giving thumbs up to the staff along the way.

The meeting would start with the CFO announcing the entrance of the CEO, and all board members standing and applauding.

The CEO would stand at the head of the table, with the CFO and CTO sitting in oversized chairs on a raised platform behind him.

All powerpoint slides and the projector would be replaced with a teleprompter.

When the CEO talked about cutting spending, lowering the burn and a hiring freeze, investors on both sides of the table would stand up and applause.

When the CEO talked about changing the healthcare plan to cover all employees and shareholders, the investors on the left side of the table would stand up and applause while the other investors sit stoicly.

Thereafter, the CEO would have to remind all investors that their job is to represent the shareholders, not their own partisan interests.

Rather than talking during the meeting, the CTO and CFO would convey their opinion by smirking, giggling, and giving standing ovations as the CEO spoke.

Meanwhile, outside legal counsel, sitting in the first row facing the CEO, would never applaud and would be generally expressionless throughout.

At the appropriate time, the CEO would give a carefully calculated shout out to his wife who is sitting at the outer edge of the board room next to some carefully selected key partners and customers.  She waves at the mention of her name.

The CEO closes the meeting by saying God Bless this company.”

Nice one : )

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Once Upon a Time: The Power of Story to Connect

I find myself at a large hospitality group’s General Managers Conference. The group has seen a lot of change over the past tumultuous year and as a result, about 40% of those attending the conference are here for the first time. That’s a significant percentage. The exercise I have facilitated to help people connect and get to know each other is currently in full swing and is working a treat! The exercise? A basic methodology for facilitating what the Hawaiians term, ‘talk story’.

Talk Story, as its name implies, is sitting together and sharing one’s story. In this case the process is helped by the participants drawing a ‘river of life’ depicting their own journey. Magazines, glue, paper, crayons, scissors, ribbon and ‘other stuff’ are all part of the mix. It hasn’t taken long for the staid conference room to be transformed into a kindergarten type mess…along with the expected laughter, banter and general feeling of ‘having fun’.

Soon the delegates will get to share their ‘river’ and the mood will change. I know that as I have done this exercise often enough to know that when it gets to the telling, the mood gets somber. The simple reason is that for most of us, telling our story allows us to share things that we are often reluctant to share, things that don’t usually ‘come up in normal conversation’. Therein is the power of the story and it never ceases to amaze me. I have seen people get to change their perception of others based on ‘listening to their story’. I have seen attitudes soften and change; I have seen previously unlikely connections being made; I have seen understanding develop and I have witnessed both tears and laughter.

Most group start with a, ‘this will only take a few minutes’ mentality only to be surprised by how caught-up they become in their own – as well as other’s story. Every group is different but it is a wonderful way to deepen relationships, build understanding around diversity and difference and – well, do something that gives authenticity to the ‘values’ we usually have placed on the office walls. It is fun, constructive and taps into a root within all of us…the love of story.

You really need to try it sometime…and I’d be happy to assist you for each time I participate in the exercise, I leave with greater clarity about what it is our workspace is meant to be.

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Rethinking Marketing and the age of consumer capitalism

In this months Harvard Business Review, Roger Martin writes that “modern capitalism can be broken down into two major eras. The first, managerial capitalism, began in 1932 and was defined by the then radical notion that firms ought to have professional management. The second, shareholder value capitalism, began in 1976. Its governing premise is that the purpose of every corporation should be to maximize shareholders’ wealth. If firms pursue this goal, the thinking goes, both shareholders and society will benefit. This is a tragically flawed premise, and it is time we abandoned it and made the shift to a third era: customer-driven capitalism.

I couldn’t agree more. Information is power and information has now passed into the hands of the consumer. Never before have customers been able to find information on available products and services easier and quicker, and with the rising power of peer reviews brochure style marketing is fast becoming obsolete.

In the new world of work talented companies will rethink marketing. The role and function of marketing will change quickly. Customer experience will be placed at the top of the strategic agenda at board meetings and the CCO (Chief Customer Officer) will become as important if not more important a role as the CFO. Companies that fail to identify this shift and implement these strategic changes risk ending up on the dust pile of corporate dinosaurs.

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3-d TV is here

This weekend, Sky TV in the UK will become the first to broadcast a live sports event in 3-d. This is a preview of regular channel that will be launched by Sky in April. It will be available at no extra cost to anyone with an HD box.

Read the press release here.

The way we access data and engage with media is changing rapidly. The (horribly named) iPad was launched yesterday, amidst much hype (Apple knows how to do this, don’t they?). Small, portable, handheld devices, with unbelievable resolution and engaging visuals are the way of the future. 3-d images form a big part of that, too, I am sure.

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How to keep your staff as the recovery begins

The UK is officially out of recession, as are most countries around the world. You couldn’t call it “bouyant” yet, but the recovery has started. Over the next few months and years, it will gain momentum. One of the unintended consequences of the recovery will be that many companies will lose their best staff. We have spoken about this before.

In reading an article from Deloittes again, I thought that it would be worth repeating the advice they gave for how to stop your best staff leaving in the next year.

When economic conditions improve, a certain amount of voluntary turnover is inevitable. But if addressed early and managed correctly, the turnover doesn’t have to be debilitating. Here are some small steps to consider taking now to avoid big problems later:

… Continue Reading

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America must act now to set up the next 50 years of economic growth

I first saw Elizabeth Warren about 6 months ago on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. She is the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to monitor TARP (The Troubled Asset Relief Program – central to America’s bailout). In the few minutes she had on the show, she gave an overview of American economic development that was elegant and stunning. I like her a lot. (If you are in a part of the world that can access Stewart’s videos on his website, then check out that interview here – part 1 and part 2).

This past Tuesday night, she appeared on The Daily Show again (see video here – it’s also available (for now) on YouTube here – in my experience this will be deleted soon).

Her message was simple, clear, and vaguely frightening. She believes that right now the American economy is being rebuilt. What we do in the next few months will set a foundation for how the economy works for the next 50 years. She believes that the American middle class is allowing Wall Street and big business to destroy it. She said: “It is simple. This is America’s middle class. We’ve hacked at it and chipped at it and pulled on it for 30 years now. And now there’s no more to do. Either we fix this problem going forward or the game really is over.”

… Continue Reading

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A Note to CEO’s…everywhere.

Guiseppe Garibaldi, the old soldier-patriot who unified Italy in the mid-nineteenth century, following his military campaign was quoted as saying, “We have made Italy, now we must make Italians”

In South Africa the ‘Proudly South African’ campaign is widely known and I recall my colleague, Barrie once saying something along the lines of, “They’ve missed the point on this…’proudly South African’ should not refer to a ‘product’ but rather be a set of behaviors…behaviors that, if lived, could then make anyone, anywhere ‘South African”. Both Garibaldi and Barrie make sense. What they are pointing towards is the realization of an authentic living of a particular culture, or set of values. They are pointing to something deeper, more elusive but ultimately, more desirable and transferable than what we tend to focus on.

Now think about the culture within your company. How do you get to an authentic realization of people living your desired culture much like there was once the renown, ‘IBM Man’? Your culture, and there always is ‘a culture’, is a vital part of any organisation. The culture is essentially ‘how things get done’ and reveals attitudes, displays behaviors and determines the ‘climate’ within your environment. If we’re to be honest, this reality seldom reflects what is written on the corporate walls by way of mission statements, values etc…

Your organisational culture will benchmark your company’s learning mentality; the ability to bounce back or adapt to change; the ability to innovate or tough it out. It shapes important organisational elements such as a sense of belonging, motivation and accountability. Essentially it is the very oxygen, the quality of air that will either allow you to thrive or deprive you of the needed resources to ‘live’. It is that important.

But most leaders don’t do enough work to fully understand ‘organisational culture’ and how they influence it, for good or for bad.  There is no shortage of resources on the subject but not all of it helpful and invariably the resources point to quick fixes and band-aid approachs that often only mask the real problems.

So where to start? Well for one, how about having some real conversations with people within your organisation about how they experience things? If they do talk freely, or don’t talk freely will in itself be a strong indicator of the quality of ‘your air’. How about walking the floor and learning to observe, to ‘listen with your eyes’ as Malcolm Gladwell calls it in his book, Blink? How about sitting down with a cultural anthropologist and getting some basic frameworks for an expert in the field and could then be applied to your organisation? How about dropping in to select meetings as an observer and see how things are being done?

How about doing some thinking on the matter? The source of organisational culture starts with you, the CEO. It may just be the most important part of your leadership responsibilities – I’m prepared to bet, it may also be the most neglected?

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Why you shouldn’t change your Twitter Profile Pic

There are literally thousands of articles and opinions out there spelling out the ‘laws’ of how to use Twitter. If the authors of those articles were honest, they’d admit that those ’so-called laws’ are really just opinions. Their opinions. How on earth can anyone claim, at this early stage in Twitter’s life, to have a list of irrefutable laws’?

This post falls into the opinion category then. An irrefutable opinion according to me : )

I’m on Twitter everyday. Several times a day. It’s become the biggest influence in my world when it comes to learning. I’ve come to trust the voices and thoughts of a group of people, many of whom I have never met, to share their insights in a variety of fields that interest me. Even some that don’t.

I follow aprox 400 people, and as I scroll through my Twitter feed on my iPhone (I use 4 different Twitter Apps) my most relied upon method of finding those people I really enjoy is through their Twitter Profile Pic. I imagine I should be using their usernames for this, but I don’t. I’m a picture person. I possibly should be using ‘Twitter Lists’? I don’t, I’m a picture person.

And so when someone updates their image I lose them in the noise of my stream. It sometimes can take me weeks to re-orientate myself to their new image.

And that’s my irrefutable opinion then. It’s also a plea to those interesting people I rely on everyday. Don’t change who you are. You don’t need to update your ‘image’. I’ve come to like and appreciate you just the way you are : )

P.S. While writing this I found a mildly amusing post on 10 types of Twitter Profile Avatars. Click here to see for yourself.

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Designed by women – can you tell?

A great little ‘image test’ appeared on FastCompany last week. It’s a focus on architecture and whether you can tell by looking at a building whether it’s been designed by a woman or a man? I couldn’t tell very easily at all. I thought I was being clever when any of the buildings that had some sort of phallic design to them I guessed as men (isn’t that what we’ve always been told) but I wasn’t always correct.

Take a look for yourself and see if you do any better than me. There are some beautiful and interesting designs in the mix.

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Change is Changing

It was Machiavelli who wrote that, ‘Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times’. That of course is easier said than done! However is also a non-negotiable part of contemporary leadership. Perhaps the best way to describe what is needed here is one word: Unlearning. Today experienced leaders paradoxically need to be able to unlearn things before they can learn what is required for leading in the new world of work. What, you may ask, is the best way to ‘unlearn’? Well, a good starting point is to be intentionally open to feedback from others and, when coupled with a willingness to act on the feedback, the first steps in the unlearning process have been taken. Cultivating a different view from the one entrenched – or the one that has ‘worked for you’  is difficult. It starts with openness (to different viewpoints, ways of thinking and acting) but is helped by making the time to think things through. Bill Lucas in his excellent book, ‘rEvolution’ suggests that two key questions in the process of thinking about things are: (1) What is going on here? and (2) What do you see that makes you say so? His point is that such questions lead to a ‘process of thinking’ necessary to change habits of the mind.

No longer do leaders have the luxury of ‘gradual change’. Leaders need different mindware if they are to keep pace with a world in which change itself has changed. It is fast, furious and constant. And so, the old wisdom of Reinhold Niebuhr is a good reminder to those tasked with leading in such a context: ‘God give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other’. Amen.

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A banking revolution?

Accenture recently put out a report entitled, “Banking 2012: Preparing for a revolution”. How I’d love to believe they are right. The executive summary says that the banks that will succeed are those that focus on transparency, simplicity and renewed customer-centricity. Amen to that, I’d say. But there is more to this report than just those obvious statements.

The very foundations of the industry of banking have been shaken. The institution of banking is changing. The rules for success and failure have been rewritten, and legislation is now being crafted to push that even further. These are unprecedented times. This report by Accenture sheds some light on the very immediate future, and is well worth a read. Read the summary at Accenture’s own website, or right click here to download a PDF from their site. Or read extracts from it below.
… Continue Reading

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Are you working for a TALENTED COMPANY, or do you know of examples?

I’m on a quest to find companies that are extraordinary, companies that not only achieve good financial results but also contribute positively to society as a whole. I’m intrigued at how many companies have fallen down in the past few years because a number of very talented people have been behaving badly – think Enron, the financial crisis, Bernie Madoff, Lehman Brothers and the US motor industry to name but a few. Companies have wrongly convinced themselves that they need the best of the best, the most talented people, to succeed and they have been rewarding their “talent” excessively. This has resulted in a bonus culture that is eating away at the fabric and moral code of business.

Rather than build a business around star individuals I believe that companies need to be building talented systems processes and cultures. They need to be focusing on building the star company. I’m currently conducting research to form the basis of a new book about talented companies. if you know of or work for a company that has talented structures, organisational designs, cultures, systems and corporate DNA I’d love to hear from you.

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Onions or Parfait – Customer relationships no longer need to be a thing of fairytales and pirate stories

For some companies, customers are like onions, full of layers and potential but difficult to identify through watering eyes. For other companies – those with a deep and intimate understanding of their customers – they are like parfait, rich, rewarding and fattening (in a good way) to the bottom line. Discover how Bill Clinton, Shrek and Donkey plus the fishmongers at Seattle Pike Place Fish Market can help you increase revenue and become a more customer centric company. By connecting with people’s value systems you can transform your customers from onions into parfait, and according to Donkey – an authority on the subject – everyone loves parfait!

Through our research, we’ve identified a method of developing marketing campaigns and customer experiences that connect with people’s driving value systems. The results have been exceptional. For one client we increased total company revenues by 300%, for another we increased sales of key product line by over 70%; and for a leading bank we doubled response rates for a direct mail campaign targeting a saturated market. In this article, Dean van Leeuwen, co-founder of TomorrowToday UK, explores how generational and values-focused marketing can assist your business in building stronger relationships that boost sales and retention.

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Building values into business

Customers have changed, it’s not just the recession and current market turmoil, there has been a values shift in societies attitudes towards business, finance and consumerism. Our research undertaken in TomorrowToday’s laboratory is revealing that values-focused businesses are the way of the future. If you want your business and brand to be part of a new breed of talented companies and not to end up on the rust pile of corporate dinosaurs then your business needs to be built around connecting with people’s values. The new world of work demands that companies focus their organisation around social and personal values and not just corporate values. Corporate values are the old model traditionally involving trust, integrity, honesty and innovation. These values are now only the base level requirements. Companies in the new world need to go deeper connecting with more far-reaching personal values. People seek relationships with companies; they want a place to be heard, a place to be appreciated and a place to connect. New social technologies are allowing us to build relationships with customers previously not possible. Connecting on a personal values level can place you ahead of the competition in winning the hearts and minds of your customers. The bottom line is if you don’t align with society and you get out of step with value changes, then you’re going to destroy shareholder value.

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The Anatomy of Strategy – 3 Simple Questions to Test Your Strategy

Strategy formation has been elevated to the realm of the MBA. Curriculum is developed, courses are taught and only the chosen few get to play in this elite playground. Here the air is thin and we have come to accept that only those accustomed to flying at high altitude are entitled to be the ones to formulate the strategy. That is just the way it is and so our strategy descends from above, from the gods on high, and our gratitude is mixed with awe as we get to implement what has been commanded.

However, the widespread problem is that some 90% of strategy fails to get implemented within our organizations and so we are forced to ask, ‘why is this the case’?

There may be a host of complex explanations as to why this is the case but here are three simple questions that need to be asked and engaged if strategy is to be successfully implemented. … Continue Reading

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Generations and Culture

Generational theory attempts to explain some of the differences between young and old people, and how they act, react and interact in different environments. Our value systems are shaped by factors such as culture, religion, gender, personality, class and socio-economics. But they are also shaped by the era in which we are born, and moulded by our peers and the world events that define our formative years. But can generational theory apply equally across different cultures and in different countries? Best selling author of “Mind the Gap” and an international, award winning presenter on the issue of the generation gap, Dr Graeme Codrington, provides his personal perspective….

It will probably be useful to you to know some of my credentials right at the start. My company, TomorrowToday is one of the world’s leading generational consultancies. An important part of our suite of services to clients is an understanding of the generation gap. Our approach is based on multiple sources of research and practical application, including access to the originators of generational theory, Neil Howe and William Strauss, who work out of the USA. We have also done our own extensive research, and have access to country-specific data for South Africa, New Zealand, Mauritius, England, Russia, Hungary, Estonia, Iran, Chile, Australia, China, Japan, the USA and an increasing number of other countries. Our application to different countries is constantly expanding as our team of experts is invited to present and consult around the world – in over 20 countries every year. We have presented in over 50 different countries, covering all the continents. … Continue Reading

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“Terra Incognita – Territory Unknown”: Communication in a new World at Work

By Darren Davies, Founder of Integrity Blue Consulting

The global economic downturn has been more than just a recession. It has signaled an era of unprecedented change, and a time of turbulence for organizations, organizational leadership and organizational communication. Robinson and Harvey (2008) observed that the, “acceleration of globalization has created a chaotic state of change as businesses struggle to adapt new paradigms of leadership, in which established tried and tested approaches may no longer be effective.” Critical to navigating through the largely uncharted territory of this new world at work, is the role of communication, and the importance of understanding communication concepts and developments between leaders and followers within this new world.

A basic communication model would define communication as, “a process by which information and understanding are transferred between a sender and a receiver” (Richard Daft, The Leadership Experience, 2008, p. 260). Fundamental to the communication process is the understanding that a message is encoded and sent via a channel (medium or method), to a receiver, who in turn decodes the message, and subsequently encodes a return message via feedback. And so the communication process begins, and continues. Burnland’s (Towards a meaning centered philosophy on communication, 1962, p. 197 – 211) transactional model of communication assumes that messages are being sent and received simultaneously by senders and receivers, and hence the ongoing continuous nature of the process of communication. This basic transactional communication model remains true within our new world; however the information, methods and manners within which these messages are being sent and received, has radically changed. Furthermore, that rate at which information is being communicated, as well as the volume of information being communicated is challenging our traditional understanding of organizational communication, and the role leadership fulfills within the communication process. … Continue Reading

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