They just don’t get it

I’ve just read an article on Moneyweb titled ‘MySpace, ByeSpace?’ (http://www.moneyweb.co.za/shares/international_news/329842.htm).

It refers to loyal users of social-networking sites renouncing the sites and deleting their pages – ‘not in spite of their popularity, but because of it’. They are being subjected to spam and advertising, usually masquerading as new ‘friends’.

It’s the age-old case of a great idea built to make people’s lives easier. Then the corporates see how successful it becomes and buy it, adding it to their list of acquisitions. They then believe that this purchase entitles them to bombard their newly-acquired ‘target market’ with endless marketing and branding information. They have to make that acquisition profitable, otherwise why pay good money for it?

All they are doing is buying up ‘new media’ and applying old media mindsets. With no respect to the recipient. And this used to work before as there were very limited channels through which to voice your dissatisfaction. But now each individual has a voice. And they are voicing their dissatisfaction by leaving. One by one. And soon those single numbers will add up to double digits and then triple digits and…..

Marketers need to understand that you can’t buy loyalty. You can’t force it. You can’t wheedle, blackmail or beg. It needs to be earned. And this only happens when you offer something of value that people want. Or aspire to. Or feel connected to. And where they are respected as individuals.

Talent Management and Retention

I received the following by email a while ago. Don;t know the source, so I can’t cite it properly. This is well worth a read.

Published: 2006-03-22

The South African Graduate Recruitment Association (SAGRA) recently commissioned an exploratory study into talent management practices, focusing specifically on talent in the graduate sector.

The research design included parallel surveys, one for organisations (current policy and practice), and another to look at graduates (the designated talent pool in this study).

Twenty six leading South African employers participated in the study, whilst the graduate survey was sent to 1544 graduates, of which a total of 736 completed the survey.

Top Line Findings

Talent Management as a Strategic Business Issue

All of the participating organisations indicate talent management and retention as a strategic business imperative. However, only 62% of organisations have a budget allocation for talent management, and only 46% reward senior executives for managing the talent pipeline.
Defining Talent in Organisations

Talent, in this sample of organisations, is primarily differentiated by high performance (96%), and high potential (92%). Other key factors are critical positions with a strategic business impact (88%) and demographic groups (race and gender in this case – 74%). Only 10% differentiate talent by hierarchical levels of work.

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Cuspers

I received a wonderful email recently, after a “Mind the Gap” presentation at IBM. Its about “cuspers” – those people who were born at the transition between two different generations. Anyway, read extracts from his email, and then my reply, for more information on these valuable cuspers:

Sent: 11 October 2006 06:37 PM
To: graeme@tomorrotwoday.biz
Subject: Presentation to IBM : “Cusper generation”

Hello Graeme,

Thank you for a wonderful presentation you gave yesterday at the IBM event.

I was born in 1968, you mentioned that you were born in 1970 – maybe u will understand.

The term Baby Boomer and the term Generation X does not quite fit me, you mentioned at the end that some people are “transitioning” between the 2 generations = Cusper’s.
That does sound like me, wanting to find more info – looking on your site and doing a quick search on Goggle – made me even more “deur mekaar” (confused).

Douglas Coupland from a popular novel “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture” seem to have screwed the dates up leaving 1964 to mid 1970’s in some black hole – people with no commonality ?
Back to your comment on being a Cusper – I do feel like I am the “front” runner for generation X people – doing the hard work to push the envelope on things like dress code, can work from home and still be very productive (mgt by results not presence), etc. But at the same time not belonging to the Baby Boomer group.

Leaving me in the so called Baby Buster generation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Busters

Thus it has left me with a mind set – jammed in the middle…. maybe over time my generation will be have more material out there that will help….

In response, there is an extract from our book below:

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UK house prices ‘nearly tripled’

A leading mortgage lender in the UK has released a study saying that house prices in the UK have nearly trippled in the past ten years! That’s great news for Baby Boomers and Silent generation cohorts and less so for first time buyer Gen-Xer’s and Millennials

 In contrast wages have only increased by 54% during the same period. While Xer’s and Millennials are having to fund the Boomer’s retirement pool and struggle to get onto the housing ladder, Boomers are heading of to SKI (spend their kid’s inheritance)…generational conflict can only grow.

For those of you with money to invest visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6090972.stm and http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/property/ for some good tips

MILLENNIALS PLAN TO REWARD OR PUNISH COMPANIES

If the results of a recent study are true, then Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) needs to become a priority for companies and fast. A research study by the strategic planning and consumer insights division of AMP Agency shows that 61% of Millennials born between 1971 and 2001 feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world.
The results are eye-opening and socially and environmentally responsible businesses are positioned to reap rewards:

• 83% will trust a company more if it is socially/environmentally responsible.
• 74% are more likely to pay attention to a company’s marketing when they see that the company has a deep commitment to a cause.
• 89% are likely or very likely to switch from one brand to another (price and quality being equal) if the second brand is associated with a good cause.
• 79% want to work for a company that cares about how it impacts and contributes to society.
• 64% say their company’s social/environmental activities make them feel loyal to that company.
• 56% would refuse to work for an irresponsible corporation

The pendulum appears to be swinging back, in the 80’s CSR was big and many companies leveraged this from a marketing perspective. Nedbank’s affinity and green products come to mind. But in the last decade CSR took a back seat to downsizing, rightsizing, operational efficiencies and bottom line profits.
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Advertising where it counts

Anyone who goes to clubs regularly will know the drill – as you walk in, stick out your arm, wrist upwards and get a stamp that indicates you’ve paid for entry. This allows you to come and go from the club that night. The stamps have either been the club logos, or random icons. But now, these stamps have been turned into an advertising medium.

Body Ads, a South African company (no website found), has exclusive rights for stamp advertising in venues in Joburg, Cape Town and Durban. And they claim to cover about 120,000 people a month, in the 18-32 year old demographic.

Two years ago we reported that some students were offering their bodies (foreheads, mainly) as portable billboards for temporary tattoos. They were paid to do so. This new approach is an extension of this approach of putting adverts on skin, but gets much greater coverage, and creative copyrighters and designers could do something really motivating on these rubber stamps at clubs. Clever.

Google Alerts just got better

As of this morning, my normal Google Alerts now include not just websites, but also blog sites as well. This is a HUGE improvement in the service. Well done, Google!

If you’re not using Google Alerts yet, you’re mad. Basically, this is a “permanent” search string that you ask Google to keep track of for you. When a new webpage, news item and now blog entry on your search string hits the Internet, Google send you an email telling you about it. This can be set for immediate, daily, or weekly intervals. It is an amazing feature.

Try putting your own name, your company’s name – and even better, the names of your major clients – into Google Alerts, and always be ahead of the game!

The Million Dollar Question- Retire early or later ???????

I came across a great site today which I think will make everyone envious. Billy and Akaisha Kaderli decided to retire at age 38. They have been travelling and enjoying life for the past 16 years and still managed to retain investments. They have written a book available online or on CD called ” The Adventure Guide to Early Retirement ” . Here is an extract from their profile:

There were many interests to pursue while still mentally and physically flexible. A few of these choices were global travel, foreign cuisine, native people’s artwork and customs. Journaling and photographing these travels from a unique perspective made it easier to remain in touch with family and friends.

We want to emphasize that no one knows what the future will bring. There are many ways to live a life, so make the most of it! Our advice to you is: Follow your dreams!

Go to their site for more details :http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/

The Silver Ceiling

William Dietrich of “The Seatltle Times” wrote about “Retirement? Not this generation” on 22 October 2006. I like his style and alhough he says nothing we haven’t said, I like the way he says it:

The problem some baby boomers have with impending retirement is the problem the unchurched have with the afterlife: Hell looks like more fun.

Who wants to sit on a cloud in a robe playing a harp for eternity, when the bad people below get to run around naked and play mischief?

Similarly, how many games of golf can you play or fishing holes can you plumb before repetition begins to make it seem like … work? Especially when the geezers who stay on the job have more money, dine out, go on cool vacations and kick more butt?

Retire? Can’t afford to. Don’t want to. Don’t need to. And the 76 million baby boomers, the first of whom hit 60 this year, expect medical science to keep them wheezing forever.

Which means, sorry, Generations X, Y and Z.

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Good bye Michael

Michael Schumacher retired today. It wasn’t how he would have wanted it, but then fairy tales are for children’s story books, not the real world. The thing that has always impressed me is that Michael has always given credit to his team, and to the men and women behind the scenes of his record-breaking success. I realise Michael polarises opinion. I happen to be a fervent fan. But, love him or hate him, you have to admit that he has done a lot to highlight the team nature of the sport.

The end of an era. The greatest F1 driver shall drive F1 no more.

101 most influential people who never lived

Recently published: the list of The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived. Pretty interesting: who says you have to be real to have an influence on society? The top 10 are:

1. The Marlboro Man, 2. Big Brother, 3. King Arthur, 4. Santa Claus (St. Nick), 5. Hamlet, 6. Dr. Frankenstein’s Monster, 7. Siegfried, 8. Sherlock Holmes, 9. Romeo and Juliet, 10. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Personally I’m dissapointed that the ugly duckling got such a bad rating.

The rest are here.

The Aging Population: The Impact on the U.S. Real Estate Market

This was the title of a recent Deloitte’s conference. A report from MarketWatch can be found here. The focus was on trying to understand the impact of the Boomer generation on the real estate markets over the next few years.

“Don’t call them aging, don’t call them seniors and certainly don’t offer them early-bird specials,” said Neale Redington, national director of hospitality practice at Deloitte & Touche LLP. They don’t like it, he said. For good reason.

After all, this is a generation that expects to work past the traditional retirement age, said Paul D. Prescott, the national director for Deloitte Tax LLP’s home-building sector. It’s also a generation with active, healthy lifestyles that are in turn helping them live longer.

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Girl Scouts update for the 21st century – its all about leadership

Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ (full report here) — As it approaches its 95th anniversary in 2007, Girl Scouting is undergoing a historic transformation to modernize the iconic organization and focus on leadership development for girls in the 21st century. Addressing each area of the organization, the transformation intends to revitalize the Girl Scout brand, create new fundraising models, improve volunteer systems, and significantly realign the national Girl Scout council infrastructure. The monumental changes have been designed to deliver a program that focuses on Girl Scouts’ core strength of leadership development, while also offering provable outcomes that benefit girls, families and communities.

The National Board of Directors also endorsed a more contemporary leadership philosophy, and renewed an organizational commitment to develop leadership skills based on the values of the Girl Scout Promise and Law. This leadership philosophy is captured by the new Girl Scout mission statement: “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.”

Girl Scouting has identified some core tenets of its leadership philosophy — discover, connect and take action — which will form the basis of all Girl Scout activities beginning in October 2008. The ideas of discovery, connection and action reflect the Girl Scout view that leadership extends beyond holding a position of authority. In Girl Scouting, leadership is about self, others, community service and philanthropy. You can’t lead well unless you really understand yourself and have your set of values very well in place. Research, conducted from June 2005-2006 by the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI), shows most girls see the value of developing leadership skills and that girls define leadership in terms of the qualities a leader possesses and the actions she takes.

Recommended reading on Talent

The Economist recently had a Survey of Global Talent. It was superb. At the end of the survey, they gave a list of sources and recommended reading. Here it is for your reference purposes (PS – purchase the Economist survey online here):

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Succession Planning for owner-managers

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of 534 businesses in Canada found that 45% said they didn’t have succession plans. Of these, 90% were family-owned businesses. This is a disturbing finding, as only 16% said they had a plan ready to replace their top managers, but more than half the companies surveyed indicated their managers planned to retire in the next five years.

Many different research projects around the world have shown that about 70% of family businesses do not make it to the second generation, while only one out of 10 are still being run by a third-generation family member. While a lack of succession planning is not new, the world could face a crisis as baby-boomer business owners begin to retire.

There are many different ways to handle succession planning, and some specific, proven strategies to do so within a family-owned business. Whichever method is selected, the message is clear: the Boomers are not going to around forever, and they need to start putting a plan in place for their succession. We believe that we have created a fantastic approach – you can read more about it at http://www.tomorrowwisdom.biz.

The Economist on Talent

I have said many times that I am a great fan of The Economist magazine. I recommend it to all serious business leaders. This week’s edition contains a 15 page supplement on the shortage of talent around the world. The editorial and main cover story gives a brief summary of the issues the supplement deals with. If you can still get a copy of this edition, do so – its worth it!

You can read the summary below, or get it at The Economist website.
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No room at the Inn

Maybe it’s just my lack of skill and ability, and so I submit this post, open to learning from those who know better….

* I’m looking for the details of a Holiday Inn Hotel in Cape Town. I go to www.holidayinn.co.za. Seems reasonable right?
* I get re-directed to their UK site – Seems strange but I’ll go with it.
* I search for ANY hotel in their group in Cape Town – I get nothing
* Maybe it’s FireFox so I try in IE – still nothing

I can only conclude that tourism has finally taken off in South Africa, and Holiday Inn hotels are booked for the forseeable future. Or perhaps they’ve taken Robbie Williams advice when he was here, that we keep our beautiful country a secret from the world? Or perhaps they’ve levelled every Holiday Inn within a 30 mile radius of Cape Town (that’s what the search most suggested)

Whatever it is, I’ll be in the stable this evening : )

Click on the smaller image, for a larger image of what my search returned.

Larson not laughing

Gary Larson, creator and cartoonist of The Far Side © recently sent me an email. Now, under normal circumstances, I would have been ecstatically thrilled at this. The man is one of my heroes, and his self-imposed retirement from drawing Far Side cartoons a few years ago left my world that little bit emptier. I’ll be honest and say that I am still kept up at night trying to figure out a few of his cartoons I still don’t get. Before I die, I’ll work them out. But this obsession is testament to his skill! I have all his books, and most of the reprints and best of’s as well. I have had numerous desk calendars, bought a veritable pile of Far Side greeting cards, and may have even had Far Side branded underpants at some stage…

My point – I not only am a fan, I have also contributed to what I assume is a fairly wealthy man’s fortune.

So, it surprised me to receive a letter from him. Or, more precisely, from his lawyer (see the letter below). A website I own hosts a number of talks that can be used in youth groups. The site hasn’t been updated in about 7 years. One of the talks was about how to use Gary Larson’s cartoons to teach young people about God. It was a fun talk, and it included some examples of his cartoons. It was written by a friend of mine.

Now, Gary Larson, in a nice enough way, has asked us to remove the page. What I don’t get is his logic. His argument is all about his emotional attachment to his cartoons, his desire to exercise control over their usage and the fact that they are “his children”. Sure. But what about the 20 Larson books I have in my library? Why isn’t he concerned about them? I’ll be honest and say I don’t think I’ve dusted them in over a year, and one or two may have torn pages. Does that make him sad?

Why can’t he just be honest and say, “Hey punk, if you didn’t pay for the pictures, you can’t use them”. I did actually pay for them – the pics on the site were all scanned from legal copies of his books that I own.

Anyway, you read his letter, and let me know if I am being unreasonable to be just a little bit disappointed. If he had said, “Go to PayPal and make a donation”, I would have done that immediately. But I must say there is a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. But maybe I am just too much of an Internet idealist that believes there comes a time when what you’ve put “out there” just has to be trusted to the universe. As an author and presenter myself, I accept that people use my work, and I don’t pursue the copyright I own and am entitled to. Is that just me? I’d like your opinion.
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Bullet proof personal narratives

I enjoy keeping tabs on the narrative pulse of South Africa. By listening out for the narrative take on events I believe we get glimpses into our consciousness as a nation. The same applies to organisations and understanding their own narratives. One really gets to grips with this narrative pulse when listening to comments made by listeners who call in to radio talk shows.

The latest check on the South African pulse takes the form of the wake of events following criticisms pitched against our president, Thabo Mbeki, by a former advisor and the ensuing debate between the ANC, YCL and SACP.

Today, while driving, I was listening to SAfm where the topic was around the “malicious attack and hurling of insults” by the Young Communist League (YCL) towards Mbeki after he criticized SACP leader Blade Nzimande in a speech. By and large the thread to the listeners comments was one of defense towards the Presidency and outrage at how disrespectful the allegations were being towards Mbeki (“dictator” is one specific allegation). Interesting that in a functioning democracy where freedom of speech is enshrined in a broad constitution people were defending the institution of the presidency with a fervour one might expect citizens of a dictatorship to do so. Not only this, they were defending Mbeki passionately as well: highlighting the good work he has done and how undeserved he is of such criticisms.

Mbeki seems to be one of those public figures who has a polished public narrative. This is evident in how people defend him. Another such character is that of our famed Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel. Manuel has a way of delivering bad news with chocolate coating. One wonders what would happen if news had to break that counters such a narrative … will his narrative tarnish or will it prove resilient? In my opinion, such leaders will need to do a helluva lot to break the dominance their positive narratives have in our society. You see, when we have a dominant narrative on an event or someone and new information come sot light that presents an alternative view is most often rejected for being so contrary to the dominant narrative. It also explains how leader fall from fame so tragically – we cannot really believe that the person we thought was so good is actually so bad!

The public narrative is much more than just reputation. Traditional professionals in this space work hard on reputation management where the standard response to a public saga is to get them holding HIV/Aids babies in front of photogrpahers. Leaders and their associated PR, PA, Media Liaison and spokespersons need to catch a wake up on the public narrative.

A well developed public narrative is almost bullet proof. You want to breed loyalty? Start thinking about who you and how that informs your public narrative as an organisation and as an individual.

Family Connection in a Global World

I have discovered that the wonderful tool of blogging has helped me to stay connected to my family. I have 2 brothers and a sister and between us we have 9 children. My two are married so the total number of people in the family is 20. The age range is from 12 to 74 ( my mom) We are living on 4 different continents and even those of us left in South Africa do not live in the same city. I would say that we are typical of many families all over the world dealing with globalisation and the challenges this brings to staying connected.

What a joy to wake up and log on to the blog and communicate or read about some activity or exciting adventure. The comments for me form such an important part of the conversation as the humour, comments and interaction fly across my screen. The other morning my 13 year niece discovered that her sugar glider is pregnant and going tp produce babies. Within an hour there was comment from London , then Thailand and back home to White River then from my sister in the USA and my mom here in Johannesburg. We have all learnt about the gestation period and pictures have been posted to keep us all in the loop.I believe that this tool is helping us to keep up with the GLUE type conversations that normally happen when one lives in the same house. In fact I think we know more about one another than some families that do live within close proximty but never seem to have the time to chat and connect.

In a world that is so fast and spread out I have found this tool to be invaluable in keeping me connected to the most important people in my life. Family values are critical for society. Thak goodness technology is there to help us stay connected. ….. one last comment on the subject, I have noticed that the female members of my family connect more and make more of an effort…. that is another story for another day and the lessons we need to learn about the Connection Economy.

Mirrors

I do hope you’ll excuse the therapy analogy here – one nevers knows how severe the lynching may be when mentioning therapy influenced notions in the business context.

Anyway …

One of the roles a therapist fulfills for a client is that of a mirror .This means that the therapist can become a reflective tool for the client who may not be able to see aspects of their story and any changes that may need to occur on their own. This does not mean that the therapist becomes an expert observer in the life of the client, but does help the client see himself more clearly and see the journey better.

In many ways, this is what I believe we do as TomorrowToday. We hold up a mirror, so that companies can assess who they are in establishing competitive advantage in the Connection Economy. If it is really more about who you and and less about what you sell, it is important that businesses (including ourselves) have a mirror they can reflect themselves against to get to grips with who they are, what frameworks can aid in the process and help discover the answers within themselves.
Perhaps a crude analogy, but one I believe is pertinent. Your thoughts?

Featured articles in October

:: Featured Articles in October Click here to sign up for our free monthly e-zine. AloysiasMaimane – The War for Black Talent One of TomorrowToday’s bright young stars, Aloysias Maimane, helps us to understand some of the unique drivers and motivators of young, black talent. His insights will assist those who are battling to attract and retain these “black diamonds.â€? Click here to read the rest of this article KeithCoats – The Attitude and Action of Authentic Leadership In this thought-provoking article, Keith cuts across many of the myths of modern leadership to suggest one attitude and one action that truly authentic and savvy leaders need to take more seriously than they do. He is concerned that chasing after the leadership “gurusâ€? is part of the reason that there is a global leadership crisis, and suggests that humbly embarking on a journey may be the best response by those leaders that want to go the distance. Click here to read the rest of this article AidenCholes – Facing up to problems and their solutions In this article, Aiden deals with the complex issue of change management, convincingly showing why many of today’s interventions fail. He provides a new starting point, using Organisational Narrative Mapping as a mechanism for profound change. Click here to read the rest of this article GraemeCodrington – Winning the Talent War In his article, Graeme looks at 6 key things a company can do to create an attractive environment for attracting, retaining and motivating talented young people. This article is based on the presentation of the same name by TomorrowToday.biz’s strategic talent team. Click here to read the rest of this article JohnMaxwell – A is for Apple, BEE is for Business (part 1) In the first of a three part series, John Maxwell, co-founder and administrator of an exciting new venture, the Nkomazi Community Trust, looks at various responses to Black Economic Empowerment strategies in South Africa. He offers a broad introduction to the current BEE landscape, and suggests that companies have a responsibility to societal development and change. Click here to read the rest of this article JustinCohen – Why People Don’t Achieve Their Goals? One of TomorrowToday’s close friends and associates and South Africa’s top practitioner of the psychology of success and motivation, Justin Cohen, provides us with some reasons why people don’t achieve their goals. He goes on to make some concrete and practical suggestions for changing this situation, setting and achieving goals. Click here to read the rest of this article JackieRonson – Can one size fit all – on the internet? Jackie Ronson, Managing Director of TomorrowToday in the UK & Europe, uses a recent client case study to illustrate the improvement in online sales that can be achieved from ensuring each customer group (or generation) is catered for on your website. One size can fit all – but only if you understand your customers. Click here to read the rest of this article FEATURED RESOURCES: Presentations Check out our top rated presentations and presenters at: http://www.tomorrowgroup.biz/newsletter/june2006/ TomorrowTraining Finally, after years of our clients asking us to convert our presentations into skills-based, practical-focused modules, we have been able to partner with some talented trainers, and start a Training Company. As a joint-venture with iEti, TomorrowTraining offers a wide range of innovative learning interventions, designed to ensure that attitudes are changed, behaviours learnt and skills honed for effectiveness and sustained success. For more information, see http://www.tomorrowtraining.biz. Book Recommendation We’re all reading: Results: Keep What’s Good, Fix What’s Wrong, and Unlock Great Performance, by Bruce Pasternack; Gary Neilson. Click here to buy it at Kalahari.net CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE A FREE MONTHLY E-ZINE. There are five ways in which you can access TomorrowToday’s intellectual capital: By using TomorrowToday in a consulting process, in workshops, or as presenters. Click here for details. By purchasing one of our resources, including books, tips booklets, audio CDs, multimedia CDs, etc. Click here to go to our online shop. By reading the e-zine articles listed below (and signing up for our free monthly e-zine). By listening to our regular podcasts: http://www.tmtd.biz/podcast By following our ongoing blog (web log) conversations at our associated blog website: ?ic@TmTd – http://www.tmtd.biz.