?ic @TomorrowToday

on October 23, 2008

in Connection Economy, Generations and Trends - Current Trends

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Last night in Leeds, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, told business leaders that he is concerned about rising unemployment and falling house prices and for the first time used the “R” word… stating ‘It now seems likely the UK economy is entering a recession’.

This was not an entirely unexpected statement and now that the realities of the financial crisis and credit crunch are hitting people in the streets, we are giving consideration into what this means for the various generations. Below is a small extract from a study and article that we are currently writing:

The Silent Generation, now in their late 60’s are the only economically active generation still alive to have experienced the Great Depression. Many of them have been waiting for the next crash, for them it has been a matter of when not if. This is a generation that trusts organisations with a long historical and stable track record so it will have unnerved them that some of the most respectable institutions such as RBS and Barclays have come so close to crashing. Silents are conservative by nature but the recent events will have them hiding money under the mattress, and for the time being maybe that is the safest place.

Baby Boomers are resourceful, they are also the most in debt generation of all time. Boomers are entering or closing in on retirement. Many are going to expect paybacks in the form of pensions, shares and equity in houses that just don’t have the value they expected right now. They are the sandwich generation having to fund their kids’ education and help support their parents who are living longer than expected and eating into “their inheritance”. The crisis is going to be a stressful time for Boomers. Companies need to be focusing on helping them as employees and customers to retain their commitment and loyalty.

Generation X grew up during a period of huge turmoil that defined the 70’s and 80’s. They have been anticipating this crisis for some time and if not financially, they are at least emotionally prepared. Generation X are survivors and comfortable with change. We expect them to become more focused on themselves, their family and what is important to them. Companies should not expect loyalty or handouts from this generation, the WIFM or “what’s in it for me” factor will become even more pronounced in this generation. They will be skeptical of your “agenda”, and need to be engaged relationally.

Millennials or Gen Y has never experienced an economic downturn. They are optimistic and confident. Many may not even be prepared for the implication of a downsized economy, less money and fewer jobs. They however, will not care. Gen Y has the confidence and access to the resources from parents - and particularly grandparents - to give anything a go. Expect Gen Y to take the crisis by the scruff of the neck, drive their own agenda and be central to societies changes. Don’t back off from being ethical or green during the downturn, they won’t buy your excuses.

Discover how Generations predicted the financial crisis

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on October 21, 2008

in Connection Economy, Generations, Global View, Trends - Current Trends and Trends - Future Trends

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The past few weeks in the financial markets have indeed been a rollercoaster of a ride! The ensuing fall out and chaos is well documented so I’m not going to comment about the crisis, but rather what I’ve found it intriguing, and something that perhaps has been missed is how accurately the crisis was predicted by Generational theorists.

Two key developers of generational theory, Harvard Professors Howe and Strauss predicted the current crisis using their generational research findings back in the early 1990’s. They mapped Anglo-American history as far back as 500 years to the war of the roses and identified a 80 year repeating cycle. These cycles, which they purported, create the generations and run on a two stroke beat of crisis’s and awakenings, each 40 years apart from the other, as illustrated in the graphic below.

The last “awakening” was the hippie revolution and the events that rocked the world in and around 1968. Frighteningly forty years… 2008 is the year their research identified as the next crisis… Many commentators argued that the events of 9/11 and 7/7 were the crisis, and for some time it was thought that Howe and Strauss had got it wrong. The key though is in their definition of a crisis, which is defined as - an event which changes the views held by society to the extent that society’s views and institutions are fundamentally different following the crisis. Using this definition 9/11 as traumatic as it was, was more of a speed bump in society than a crisis. After 9/11 society continued on as before, albeit with a ”little” war “somewhere” in the middle east. The current crisis though does have the potential to radically alter our world. Trust in the financial markets has been shaken, governments have nationalised banks and emerging economies are taking centre stage… The world is indeed changing.

As someone who is passionate about researching societal changes and the implications for businesses, I find all of this fascinating. We are currently developing a new presentation and research study on how the crisis will impact each generation at a point in time when they are all entering major lifestage changes. For example how will the crisis influence the values, attitudes and purchasing behaviours of Baby Boomers in or at retirement? We will soon be in a position to share our insights on the implications of the crisis for each generations. In the meantime if you are interested in learning more or would like to contribute to this discussion on Generations and the impact of the financial crisis please contact me at dean@tomorrowtoday.uk.com or leave a comment on this blog.

Navigating Through the Financial Crisis, by Booz CEO

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on October 18, 2008

in Connection Economy, Global View and Trends - Current Trends

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TomorrowToday has done some work with Booz Allen Hamilton over the years, so I was really interested to be send an email containing a letter sent to all Booz staff by their CEO, Shumeet Banerji. Here is what I was sent (a quick Internet search shows this has been duplicated a lot of times, but the original is here, I think).

Navigating Through the Financial Crisis
A note from Shumeet Banerji to Booz & Company clients

I have been asked many times over the past few weeks what we think of the economic crisis—and how Booz & Company and our clients might be affected. My observations are backed with a particular form of data—the recent views of business leaders in some of the most important places in the world. For I am writing this on a flight back to London from Beijing, having just attended the World Economic Forum’s Tianjin summer conference—and having spent the previous two weeks visiting Booz & Company clients in Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

So. Is this the end of Capitalism? What caused this? When will it end?

Tesco Personal Finance has lift off!

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on October 8, 2008

in Connection Economy, General and Trends - Future Trends

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Tesco Personal Finance (TPF) was launched 11 years ago as a joint venture with RBS. They have been slowly but surely making in-roads into the financial sector, and this month Tesco plans to take full ownership of the business. This is interesting timing given the current financial crisis and even more interestingly, Tesco has big plans for TPF. Now with over 5.6 million customers TPF has it’s eye on the mortgage market. Bouyed by its half year profit results Tesco has the resources and the appetite to grow its banking operation, but perhaps it has even a greater asset in its arsenal, strong consumer goodwill and support.

While banks have focused their attention narrowly on bottom line profit and large city bonuses, Tesco has been focusing on connecting with its staff and customers and massive profits have followed. In 2007 Tesco embarked on a training course to help staff connect with people from different generations; and they are well known for championing the consumer. This is not just lip service but something that Tesco staff from junior to senior management live and breathe

So as the market forces and consumer anger forces banks to rethink their attitudes and behaviour, and the market forces reshape banking as we know it, keep a watchful eye on Tesco Personal Finance they could well be using this crisis as the catalyst and launching pad they need to redefine the future of banking into business that truly connects with customers values.

Put that in your iPod and er, listen to it

Published

on October 1, 2008

in Connection Economy, Ethics, Marketing and sales, Media tidbits, Ripping and burning - Digital entertainment and Trends - Future Trends

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Here’s an interesting battle going on in the music industry, with Apple ‘threatening’ to close doors to iTunes, the dominant force in sales of digital music. (BBC has the full story)

If word gets out that music publishers are trying to stick it to consumers, and Apple is fighting to keep prices down on their behalf, well, there’s liable to be public backlash against the labels.

Managing Temporary Companies

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on September 9, 2008

in Connection Economy, Leadership and Organisational Design

. 1 Comment

I was sent a text copy of an article entitled, “The Dawn of the E-Lance Economy: Are big companies becoming obsolete?“, written by Thomas W. Malone and Robert J. Laubacher. A quick online search shows that it was published in the Harvard Business Review in Sep-Oct 1998.

In the article, they talk about companies developing with temporary workers and flexible teams, becoming more networked than hierarchical. It’s a good read - made even more impressive when you realise it was written a full ten years ago, when not everyone had Internet access or would text everyone on anything.

Towards the end, they turn their attention to the implications for management. This is worth reading, even if out of context. See below…

Networking through the corporate web

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Julie Surycz

on September 8, 2008

in Connection Economy

. 0 Comments

I wish I had taken networking seriously when my career first began. Networking is not just for sales people and entrepreneurs. It is a skill that is essential for everyone to master if you want to surge ahead in the new world of work.

The corporate ladder is becoming the corporate web. Today, talent is replacing capital as the world’s most important economic resource. More economic power is moving from the organisation to the individual. In the past, your career was usually like an algrebra problem – X leads to Y which leads to Z. Not anymore. Power and influence lies more and more in strategic horizontal relationships than in your place in the vertical hierarchy. Connections with colleagues, ex-colleagues, friends, family, teams, clients and customers will make you an even more marketable asset.

Continue reading ‘Networking through the corporate web’

ABSA on FaceBook

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on August 18, 2008

in Connection Economy and Social Network Analysis

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I know this is old news for most people, but I figured we should at least log it on our blog.

Got sent this from a colleague, Jude, a while ago. She got it from BizCommunity, but I can’t find any trace of it through their search function.

They have 2060 ‘fans’ as of today. They’re saying, below, that there are 700 000 South African’s on FaceBook. They have a way to go, but it is a start.

Absa joins Facebook

?Social networking sites offer opportunities for us to establish new channels of communication with our customers, and better understand their needs,? says Christo Vrey, managing executive of Absa Digital Channels, and this is why Absa, South Africa’s largest retail bank, has launched its profile on Facebook.

While Absa is known for its dynamic approach to the younger generation, winning Sunday Times/Markinor Coolest Bank Award in 2006 and 2007, its entry into Facebook highlights the growing importance of social networking sites to traditional corporations.

?More and more companies around the world are embracing social media as a way to develop deeper connections with their customers. We’re excited about the possibilities our Facebook profile will bring,? adds Vrey.

South Africa has a surprisingly large Facebook following: various sources confirm there are about 700 000 members, putting it inside the world’s top 10 countries in terms of Facebook members. Absa already has a significant online presence, with 1.25 million individuals visiting its site each month, and nearly one million Internet Banking customers.

Absa’s Facebook profile has launched with a competition to win an Apple MacBook, around the theme of the bank’s ?Put your best foot forward’ campaign. People will be able to view images and TV videos of the campaign; and have their say.

?We are encouraging people to tell us how they ?put their best foot forward’, and tell us about their philosophies towards life, all summed up within a sentence or two,? says Vrey.

Absa’s Facebook profile can be found at www.facebook.com/pages/ABSA/12216188250.

See you on the flip side

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on August 6, 2008

in Articles, Connection Economy and Talent - Bright Young Things

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“It is my contention that in the over 40 years that I have been associated with the JSE, South Africans have always over-reacted emotionally towards the exchange. When there is a bull market people believe it is never going to stop and when there is a bear market everyone believes that the sun will never shine again.” - Humphrey Borkum, Chairman JSE Limited.

This is not another comment on how tough it is out there. There’s plenty of that going around, and then some. This is rather a question on how one should prepare people for the ‘flip side’? And there always is a flip side, whether you’re running a company or flying an Apollo Mission.

There are clearly some difficult decisions to be made when resources are tight, cash flow is under pressure and business isn’t flowing in like it did 12 months ago. Of course it doesn’t help when you don’t know when the cycle is going to turn, how quickly and to what levels the economy will return? Making a bad decision when the pressure is turned up can have far reaching consequences. Containing costs and doing everything to keep sales to an acceptable level are all part of the mechanisms most managers turn to.

What about people in all of this? Continue reading ‘See you on the flip side’

Accenture’s Multi-Polar World

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on June 10, 2008

in Connection Economy and Global View

. 1 Comment

Accenture released an excellent report last year entitled “The Multi-Polar World”. In it, they argue that right now we live in a world going through major transitions, caught between different “poles” of focus, interest and power. I think they are spot on the money.

You can read the full report online for free. Just go here.

I have reproduced their summary below if you don’t have the time for a 2Mb PDF download and 36 pages of reading.

Good with Money

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on June 4, 2008

in Business sustainability & environmental issues, Connection Economy, Ethics and Marketing and sales

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Our global research has long been indicating that companies who concentrate more on who they are and less on what they sell will gain the competitive edge over their competitors.

The “who you are” is defined by the values a company lives by and how effectively the company’s values connect with the talent staff that work for them and the valuable customers that continue to shop with them.

One of the values that companies need to be demonstrating today is that of being ethically conscious. And this means more than just changing to efficient green light bulbs! It means living by the value…making business decisions, both strategic and operational, against the value even if it hurts the bottom line.

I came across a company that is doing great stuff in this sphere. Have a look at their marketing campaign The Co-Operative Bank is really promoting who they are and what they stand for, and most importantly their claims are back by some substantial meaningful and significant claims. They have turned down over £700m in revenue based on ethical decisions… now that is putting your money where your mouth is and living by the values they subscribe to. Impressive!!!

I’ll be reviewing this campaign and the company’s operations over the next few weeks and trying to find out more about their results, but I’ll stick my neck out here and make a prediction that their values based campaign is having a fantastic response from the Millennial, Gen X and Boomer generations, a unique achievement.

The Next Empire/s

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on May 24, 2008

in Book Reviews, Connection Economy and Global View

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The latest edition of Strategy+Business has a great article on a new book looking at USA, Europe and China. Here is an extract:

What can the U.S. do to maintain its competitive position against the E.U. and China? Foreign policy scholar Parag Khanna believes the answer lies right under our noses.

Only 30 years old, Parag Khanna has spent more than two years traveling to more than 100 countries, hoping to see firsthand the flash points of geopolitics and globalization. From his observations emerged a book, the recently published The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order ???????? ????? ????????(Random House, 2008), a thought-provoking look at the future of global competition. Khanna posits that the struggle for global economic and diplomatic influence over the coming decades will pit three empires — the United States, the European Union, and China — against one another on a battleground that he calls the “Second World.” This group comprises countries in five critical regions — Asia outside China, Central Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Latin America — that hope to achieve full industrial development through economic and strategic alliances with one or more of the three major blocs.

Load shedding lessons (and opportunities)

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on April 23, 2008

in Articles, Connection Economy and Leadership

. 4 Comments

Dr Graeme Codrington offers insight for South Africans (and others) on how not to be left in the dark when it comes to strategic planning as well as attracting and retaining talented young people with creativity - particularly when traditional solutions aren’t working. Consider how you could use the current load shedding to your advantage!

To err is Terminal 5

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on March 28, 2008

in Connection Economy, Global View, On the Move - Travel and The Quick and the Dead - case studies

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Heathrow Terminal 5 chaos I write this entry as a South African. I say that because we’re extremely hard on ourselves on this end of the planet. We often compare ourselves to the resources, experience and might of the ‘developed world’ when we open our world class attractions. And when things don’t work the way they’ve been billed to, we simply blame our ‘African-ess’ on our inability to deliver to the standards and levels that were expected.

This week British Airways opened Terminal 5. Since the opening it’s been on the news, flighted as the greatest travel achievement the world has ever seen.

You can imagine my amusement at the e-mail I got from our travel agent this afternoon. Even with truck loads of cash, and wheelbarrows of experience, getting it right isn’t as easy as one imagines. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from : )

Learning from Nature (and disaster)

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on March 7, 2008

in Business sustainability & environmental issues and Connection Economy

. 1 Comment

“Learn lessons from nature”. That’s what the world’s top thinkers all say. We need to learn from the natural, interlaced connections of ecosystems. We need to learn from the complex communication systems and overlapping symbiotic creatures, and find lessons there for new ways to structure corporate systems. I agree. But the problem is that most of these theorists only talk about the “good” side of nature. They never seem to mention that nature is brutal, violent and unforgiving.

One example of this caught my eye in the latest Economist magazine, about a controlled flood of the Grand Canyon. Conservationists have long argued that seemingly devastating events are necessary for the proper long term functioning of ecosystems. Some seeds only germinate after a fire. Rivers need floods to wash them out. In nature, death always brings life. I wonder how that applies to the emerging “quantum” and “fractal” workplace?

Read the article at The Economist (subscription may be required), or see an extract below.
Continue reading ‘Learning from Nature (and disaster)’

Office 2.0 Database

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on February 3, 2008

in Connection Economy, Technology and Work-Life Integration (and wellness)

. 0 Comments

I’m a great fan of so-called Web 2.0, and what it’s going to mean to our way of interacting and doing business.

Today I came across a wonderful database of Office 2.0 apps nicely arranged into useful categories. For those who are dabbling in this world, or would like to, you need to take a look at this database.

About the Office 2.0 Database:

The Office 2.0 Database is developed and maintained by Ismael Ghalimi [LinkedIn], a passionate entrepreneur and fervent industry observer, founder and CEO of Intalio, creator of BPMI.org, initiator of Office 2.0, and author of IT|Redux. Ismael is an advisor to several high-tech companies, including AdventNet (a.k.a. Zoho), EchoSign, EveryTrail, Open IT Works, ThinkFree, and 3TERA.

Small is beautiful - and connected

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on November 29, 2007

in Connection Economy and Global View

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Small, rich and stable countries tend to be the most globalised, at least according to an index of 72 countries by A.T. Kearney, a consultancy, and Foreign Policy magazine - to see a graphic of the 2005 index, click MORE below, or follow this link.

Their index uses 12 measures which cover economic integration, personal contact, political engagement and technological connectivity. As The Economist said, a little disparagingly, actually, “The index may be most useful for starting debates.” But, for what it what’s check it out below…

The Lion and the Dragon

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on October 28, 2007

in Connection Economy, Global View and Trends - Future Trends

. 2 Comments

This past week, ICBC, the world’s most valuable bank (valued at $319 bn) took a 20% stake in Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets. The deal is worth $ 5.5bn.

This is the largest foreign investment by a Chinese bank anywhere in the world. And it is the the largest ever foreign-direct investment in South Africa. The transaction is the latest example of China’s growing interest in Africa, and also illustrates the expanding web of trade and investment that links together emerging markets and their growing weight in the world’s economy. Other deals are now in the pipeline, with China’s mobile industry looking at African heavyweights, such as MTN.

Where are the American banks and telecomms companies? They seem to be focused on the Middle East - a much higher-value-per-person market. But, the future is likely to belong to those companies that seek the “fortune at the bottom of the pyramid“.

The Economist concluded,

MP3 stethoscopes

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on October 1, 2007

in Connection Economy, Ripping and burning - Digital entertainment, Technology and Trends - Future Trends

. 1 Comment

iPod Stethoscope Earlier this month, researchers at a medical conference on respiratory diseases in Stockholm, reported that MP3 players with built in microphones are better than traditional stethoscopes.

In addition to picking up many respiratory noises better than the stethoscope, they have the added advantage of being able to record the sounds they’re listening to. These digital sound files can then be scrutinised and sent to others for a second opinion, as well as stored for later reference or comparison.

If this is accepted by the medical fraternity, it won’t be long before computer programmes are written to do the analysis of the breathing sounds automatically (similar to how blood tests are now done by machine, and not by lab coated technicians peering into microscopes). This is one step closer to complete home diagnosis, and just another reason why doctors need to understand (like everyone else in every other industry) that these days your value lies less and less in what you sell (or what you do), and more and more in who you are, the connections you make, and how you do what you do.

Corporate Chaplaincies

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on August 26, 2007

in Connection Economy

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As part of the trend towards more transparency and an interesting rise in spirituality (or is it just SQ - spiritual intelligence?), I have noticed companies using spiritual advisors. The Economist has noticed this trend too…

Praying for gain

Aug 23rd 2007 | WASHINGTON, D.C.
From The Economist print edition
A fad for piety infiltrates the realm of Mammon

DOES your job seem pointless? Are problems at home draining your zest for work? Is your boss a blithering idiot? Then why not consult the company chaplain?

Corporate chaplains are a booming business in America. There are roughly 4,000 of them (precise numbers are hard to come by) working everywhere from giant multinationals to tiny family firms. And their numbers are growing. America has several thriving rent-a-chaplain companies, and two seminaries that offer degrees in corporate chaplaincy, yet demand still exceeds supply.

Some companies prefer to rely on in-house chaplains. Tyson Foods, a meat-processing giant, employs 128 chaplains to minister to 85,000 employees in the United States, Mexico and Canada. John Tyson, the company’s boss, also employs an ordained minister as an executive coach to help him wrestle with ethical questions.

Who you are, not what you sell

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on August 10, 2007

in Articles and Connection Economy

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First published in Cover magazine in Oct 2006.

We all know that change is now a constant reality. But, less obvious, is the fact that the daily changes we encounter are merely symptoms of an irreversible, radical transformation of our society. As we chart a course into the 21^stcentury, we discover that consumers are no longer simply passive recipients of our products theyre involved, knowledgeable, powerful and discerning. And that changes everything.

The Digital Revolution?

In virtually every industry today, were generating more products and services than at any point in history, delivering better quality through an ever-growing number of channels, at prices that constantly put pressure on our margins and profitability. At the same time, cellphones, websites, and a proliferation of media sources all combine to give consumers increased access to more information, at greater speed and lower cost than ever before. There are two major implications of these shifts: (1) there are less and less ways by which competitors can differentiate themselves, as they sell similar products at similar prices in similar ways; and (2) detailed comparisons between competitors are easily achieved and are now a matter of course for consumers.

SIDEBAR QUOTE
The surplus society has a surplus of similar companies, employing similar people, with similar educational backgrounds, coming up with similar ideas, producing similar things, with similar prices and similar quality.
Kjell Nordström and Jonas Ridderstråle, Funky Business

What’s Your First Impression

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on July 26, 2007

in Articles, Business sustainability & environmental issues, Connection Economy, Generation Y, Marketing and sales and Organisational Narrative

. 0 Comments

You only get one chance to make a first impression. The old clichÃ© could not be more true, or more important, in a world where we compete constantly for customer’s attention and connection. Dr Graeme Codrington looks at some first impressions you may not be considering, and suggests that this is so important that it should be a top strategic priority.

Nedbank’s Power to the People Billboard wins awards

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