Brian Solis's Blog, page 119

Think Like a Startup: Growth Hacking Introduces New Marketing Hacks to Businesses

Do more with less! Sound familiar? This is a statement I hear in almost every strategy and planning meeting I attend on behalf of enterprise and startup clients alike. The idea of course is to accomplish great feats, beyond the output or achievements of years gone by, without the previous resources exploited over time.

Several years ago, I adopted a way of thinking to help me realize that how things are done today isn’t indicative of how they could be. As such, I’ve adopted a mantra of “constraint forces creativity.” Constraint isn’t defined by cash flow or edicts, but instead the restriction of the boundaries that confine us to customary processes and views.

Yes, there are times when you can, when you should do more with less. But doing more with less isn’t a mantra in of itself. It’s a representative of a form of administration that attempts to boost productivity while operationalizing processes and optimizing efficiencies. Yes, that was corporate speak. It’s nonetheless true however.

This is how organizations compete today without necessarily thinking about how these activities position them in the future.

Innovation and risk taking often carry too much of a cost to bear for some companies. It’s more than finances however. Exploring new solutions also presents a significant opportunity cost that may in fact signify doing more with more rather than doing more with less. This presents a catch 22 of sorts. If you effectively “do more with less,” you may actually deliver less with less. If you discover ways to creatively excel, the pervasive culture of optimizing and operationalizing business practices may not truly appreciate the extent of your (and your team’s) sacrifices. New ideas often die on the vine.

The Hacker Way

“The Hacker Way” is the ideology that Mark Zuckerberg has long employed at Facebook. It’s also the name of the road that leads to the company’s sprawling campus in Menlo Park California.

To succeed in business today, there’s indeed a hack for that…

Everything begins with a shift in perspective and culture. What if the entire organization or at least those with driving impact where empowered? Sometimes it takes learning from the lean and mean world of startups to get larger organizations back on track.

Startups are the new darlings of their industry. Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest, Uber, AirBnB, these are the forces that are disrupting age-old business models while creating entirely new markets. In the world of startups, unlike larger organizations, employees not only wear multiple hats, they’re empowered to excel on each front to help the organization gain momentum and ultimately grow. This is classic intraprenuerialism. This approach takes the elements that represent the defining pillars of entrepreneurialism and attempts to celebrate them within a larger ecosystem.

Intrapreneurs are the New Entrepreneurs

Intrapreneurs rethink and promote innovation in processes, product development, marketing, collaboration and anywhere and everywhere it’s needed or possible.

In the startup community, one of the most talked about trends in intrapreneurialism is the role of growth hacking. To be a growth hacker is someone who is specifically tasked to do more with less. The difference here is that growth hackers take it upon themselves to do more with less as they hack the way things are done to find a potent way of obtaining goals.

What is a growth hacker?

Growth Hacking is the art and science of creating awareness, traction, adoption, and advocacy using unorthodox and surprising means. It’s quite literally a hack for traditional processes to accelerate business.

In 2010, Sean Ellis introduced us to the role of growth hacker in his post, “Find a Growth Hacker for Your Startup.”

In his post Ellis recognizes the difference between Growth Hacking and traditional marketing and business development, “…the problem is that most startups try to hire for skills and experience that are irrelevant, while failing to focus on the essential few skills. Typical job descriptions are often laden with generic but seemingly necessary requirements like an ability to establish a strategic marketing plan to achieve corporate objectives, build and manage the marketing team, manage outside vendors, etc.”

If you’re unaware of Quora, spend some time there. Quora is the defacto Q&A hub for all things disruptive and bleeding edge when it comes to technology, trends and the people behind them. On the topic of Growth Hacking and what it is and isn’t, the top ranked answer comes from Andy Johns, “It’s the idea that an entrepreneur can take a clever or non-traditional approach to increasing the growth rate/adoption of his or her product by ‘hacking’ something together specifically for growth purposes. What people call ‘hacking’ today will become common sense to most in the tech world in the future because people are waking up to the fact that growth doesn’t simply come from having a good product.”

Of course when you hear the word hacker, you probably think of breaking into networks or hijacking computers to illegally access files and information. Hacking is though a method of bypassing traditional tasks to obtain a goal.

To compete for the future and ultimately relevance, leading technologists believe that the future of marketing comes down to technologists. Growth Hacking sounds intriguing, but at its root, it represents homage to programming and respect for the culture of online, social and mobile communities in order to influence different behavior.

In 2012, Andrew Chen, an entrepreneur and blogger based in Silicon Valley described the skillset that serves as the undercurrent of growth hacking in his noteworthy article, “Growth Hacker is the New VP of Marketing.”

This is a defining piece as it outlines the importance, the responsibilities and the potential outcomes when growth hackers assume the role of marketing, “This isn’t just a single role – the entire marketing team is being disrupted. Rather than a VP of Marketing with a bunch of non-technical marketers reporting to them, instead growth hackers are engineers leading teams of engineers.

Growth Hacking is intrapreneurialism enacted.

Chen continues, “Before this era, the discipline of marketing relied on the only communication channels that could reach 10s of millions of people – newspaper, TV, conferences, and channels like retail stores. To talk to these communication channels, you used people – advertising agencies, PR, keynote speeches, and business development. Today, the traditional communication channels are fragmented and passé. The fastest way to spread your product is by distributing it on a platform using APIs, not MBAs. Business development is now API-centric, not people-centric.”

People are the 5th P of Marketing and the Source of Growth in Growth Hacking

While I take exception to the last line being “API-centric” and not “people centric,” Chen’s bigger argument is that it takes technologists to hack technology to reach desired audiences to drive desirable clicks, conversions and outcomes. He’s right. But, he’s wrong about people. People represent the 5tH P of Marketing and it’s through empathy in understanding real world challenges that opens the doors to new opportunities. Said another way, people and their aspirations and frustrations should inspire you.

The key is programming journeys that deliver coveted experiences. And that’s what this is really about. Growth Hacking finds new ways of creating awareness and constructively handholding people into a dynamic customer journey that is thoughtful, productive, and meaningful…on any platform.

To succeed in business and continually compete for the future takes a culture of intrapreneurialism to spark innovation within. Remember it’s less about doing more with less and absolutely about finding or creating solutions when resources or opportunities are either constrained or inhibited by convention. Growth hacking isn’t just about finding new means for the sake of hacking it, it’s about discovering a means to an end when the various forms of other means produce mediocre or lackluster results.

Why settle when new frontiers have yet to be discovered?

WTF is now available!

Originally appeared in AT&T’s Network Exchange

Image Credit: Shutterstock

How I Faked Celebrity Tweets in Support for My New Book and Why You Should Care #WTF

I just can’t believe it. On Friday afternoon, my Twitter stream was overflowing with Tweets and Retweets of what could only be best described as an outpouring or gushing of love and support for my new book by some of the world’s most recognized celebrities in the world. Seriously…WTF!?

See for yourself…

I’m sure by now you’ve figured out that this is a spoof…these Tweets are not real and that’s the point. Allow me to explain…

These tweets were generated using a fun little service LemmeTweetThatForYou. Although the site is about a year old, I learned about LTTFY upon reading a rather serious article today on Poynter that points to the darker side of the service, “…site raises concerns for journalists.”

While it’s all fun and games at first, there are incredible implications that can arise for those who do not take proper measures to check facts. And in a real-time world, getting to the truth is often an important task that goes undone. There’s an innate element of trust in social streams…either that or inherent gullibility or laziness. People tend to believe what they see and react accordingly. There are people who are already ReTweeting this post without getting this far to see it’s in fact a farce.

That should be a bit scary for journalists and anyone else concerned about potential hoaxes. Of course, it would be pretty easy to debunk one of these fake tweets if you just visit the person’s actual Twitter profile to see if the tweet really exists.

What’s the big deal you might ask?

Not only can you create fake Tweets from celebrity accounts, you can essentially design a counterfeit Tweet to come from any account you like. @BryanKramer demonstrates this in a comment below.

Everything you see in the screenshot above is customizable. From username to date and time to the number of ReTweets and Favorites, you can put Tweets into anyone’s mouth or fingertips in real-time.

As Jeff Sonderman wisely cautions readers, “But what if it’s passed off as screenshot evidence of an allegedly deleted tweet? Much tougher to disprove. Proceed with caution.”

Indeed. Sometimes in real-time, we need to take a moment to make sure that what we see is right…right now. Verify. Fact check. Take a breath before reacting. At the same time, it’s okay to have fun too! As I’ve always said, with social media comes great responsibility. But what doesn’t change, even in the face of technology, is ethics. You are what you Tweet.

#ITweetThereforeIAm

#ILieThereforeIAm

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Adopts Startup Culture in Government

Welcome to the season 4 premier of Revolution! Believe it or not, this is the fourth season of bring you some of the best minds exploring the revolution and evolution in tech, business, and culture. In this premier episode, I’m more than proud to host San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee on the show. Together we explore how governments can adapt and improve services by embracing startups and the culture that helps them accelerate and excel.

As you’ll hear, Mayor Ed Lee believes that the answer begins with recognizing that the gap that separates how things are done and how they need to be done can decrease with technology. One of the first orders of business was to form a tech chamber of commerce, SF CITI (Citizens Initiative for Technology and Innovation) to leverage the collective power of the tech sector as a force for civic action in San Francisco. Companies include AT&T, Salesforce.com, Jawbone, Twitter, and Zynga.

Additionally, San Francisco partnered with Code for America to help re-examine the way the city delivers services to people who live in poverty. The goal is to create a database and network of hope.

Mayor Ed Lee’s work focuses on today and also 10-15 years down the road. His team and his partnership with entrepreneurs, non profits, local businesses and investors, and influencers is already expanding possibilities for how San Francisco can look over the years, improve relationships with and opportunities for citizens, and help businesses thrive…all through technology and the new perspective and capabilities that come along with it. As the Mayor believes, everything comes down to improving and leveraging civic engagement.

Subscribe here.

I’m proud to announce that my new book, What’s the Future of Business, is now available

It is with the utmost excitement that I finally announce the availability of What’s the Future of Business, Changing the way businesses create experiences (www.wtfbusiness.com). You can get it now at Amazon, B&N, iTunes. It’s also available for Nook and Kindle.

It’s been a long journey to this point. Following my last book, The End of Business as Usual, I set out to answer an important question, if this is the end of business as usual, then what‟s next and what do we do about it?

The book explores in a fun, visual and insight way how connected consumerism breaks down into Four Moments of Truth, the role of technology in decision-making, and how businesses need to create experiences that mean something in each stage and also spark engagement between consumers based on those experience.

What’s the Future of Business also takes readers on an uplifting “hero’s journey” to help them bring about change from the inside out. The end result demonstrates how experience design amplifies customer relationships, drives word of mouth, and fosters organic advocacy. The point is that experiences can often trump your product or service.

WTF is the Experience: Where Business Meets Design

With the new book, I also set out to try something new with the very traditional model of book publishing. My goal was to make the book an experience and as such, we took a creative approach to living up to the book‟s tagline, “changing the way businesses create experiences.” It‟s designed to be immersive…think of it as an analog app.

The design is striking and also features a neat slider that guides readers through each chapter. First, the book is printed in 4 color and is square in shape, similar to that of a coffee table book. It was designed in partnership Mekanism (the team behind the popular Pepsi/Beyonce ad during Super Bowl 2013. Every chapter also features original artwork based on key themes within each by renown artist Hugh MacLeod (@gapingvoid) of Social Object Factory.

See for yourself…

Preview The First Two Chapters for Free

#WTF

Image Credit: Steven Gadecki

The Gap Between Social Media and Business Impact: 6 stages of social business transformation

In business, social media is becoming a lot like email. Every company has it. In an Altimeter Group survey of 700 executives and social strategists fielded in late 2012, we found that 100 percent of participating enterprise organizations run to varying extents an active social media strategy. But unlike email, organizations haven’t mastered how to effectively communicate through the likes of Facebook or the tweets of Twitter.

Over the last several years, businesses have increased the pace of adopting social media strategies for use in marketing, service and other related capacities. What’s becoming very clear however is that adopting social media and understanding its impact on customer and employee relationships and also the bottom line are not always linked. This disconnect between social media strategies and business value is forcing many executives to rethink their overall approach and the infrastructure they built to support it. The result of this reflective process is motivating organizations to transform everyday social media initiatives into deeper social business strategies.

Charlene Li and I spent the better of the last year studying how organizations approach social media and how planning, processes, and outcomes mature over time. Our findings are significant and are included in our newly released report, “The Evolution of Social Business Six Stages of Social Media Transformation.”

The results of our work were surprising to say the least. We uncovered a notable gap between organizations that executive social media programs and campaigns and those that specifically invest in social business strategies. Altimeter defines the evolution to a Social Business as the deep integration of social media and social methodologies into the organization to drive business impact.

On one side the chasm, there are businesses (or departments) that are actively investing in social media without intentions or outcomes being tied to business goals. On the other side are organizations that are deeply integrating social media and social methodologies throughout the company to drive tangible business impact.

In fact, we found that only 34% of businesses felt that their social strategy was connected to business outcomes and just 28% felt that they had a holistic approach to social media, where lines of business and business functions work together under a common vision. A mere 12% were confident they had a plan that looked beyond the next year. And, perhaps most astonishing was that only one half of companies surveyed said that top executives were “informed, engaged and aligned with their companies’ social strategy.”

But there’s hope. Charlene and I learned that the two most important criteria for a successful social business strategy are that it is 1) clearly aligned with strategic business goals of an organization, and 2) has organizational alignment and support that enables execution of that strategy. What separates them are six distinct stages that we believe most organizations have or will traverse as they mature.

The six stages are as follows:

Stage 1: Planning – “Listen to Learn”

The goal of this first stage is to ensure that there is a strong foundation for strategy development, organizational alignment, resource development, and execution. Key tenets of this stage include listening to customers to learn about their social behavior; using pilot projects to prioritize social efforts; and using audits to assess internal readiness.

Stage 2: Presence – “Stake Our Claim”

Staking a claim represents a natural evolution from planning to action. As you move along the journey, your experience establishes a formal and informed presence in social media. Key tenets of this stage include leveraging social content to amplify existing marketing efforts, providing information to support post-transaction issues; and aligning metrics with departmental or functional business objectives.

Stage 3: Engagement – “Dialog Deepens Relationships”

When organizations move into this stage, they make a commitment where social media is no longer a “nice to “have” but instead, is seen as a critical element in relationship building. Key tenets of this stage include participating in conversations to build communities; using engagement and influence to speed path to purchase efficiently; providing support through direct engagement, as well as between people; establishing a risk management and training discipline to shift mindsets; and fostering employee engagement through enterprise social networks.

Stage 4: Formalized – “Organize for Scale”

The risk of uncoordinated social initiatives is the main driver moving organizations into Stage 4, where a formalized approach focuses on three key activities: establishing an executive sponsor; creating a hub, a.k.a. a Center of Excellence (CoE); and establishing organization-wide governance. Organizations should plan for a potential CoE pitfall, however, as creating one may lead to scaling problems in the long-term.

Stage 5: Strategic – “Becoming a Social Business”

As organizations migrate along the maturity model, the social media initiatives gain greater visibility as they begin to have real business impact. This captures the attention of C-level executives and department heads who see the potential of social. Key tenets of this stage include integrating social into all areas of the business; garnering executive engagement; forming a steering committee; and pushing social operations out to business units.

Stage 6: Converged – “Business is Social”

As a result of the cross-functional and executive support, social business strategies start to weave into the fabric of an evolving organization. To move into this stage, organizations need to make a commitment to a single business strategy process; merging social with digital; creating holistic customer experiences with converged media; and developing a holistic social culture.

The Evolution of Social Business: Six Stages of Social Media Transformation from Altimeter Group Network on SlideShare

Can you answer the question everyone is asking? WTF – What is the future of business?

Today’s leading companies are already becoming obsolete. Fortunately or unfortunately, they won’t know until it’s too late. In 10 years, 40% of the Fortune 500 was replaced. Irrelevance is only accelerating. It’s Digital Darwinism out here. #AdaptorDie!

Ignorance is bliss, until it’s not.

Technology…social, mobile, real-time, it’s changing the world. Customers are evolving into something new. They’re more connected, empowered, and demanding.

Can you answer the question everyone is asking?

WTF!?

What’s the future of business is not a question as much as it is the answer. And, it all comes down to you.

WTF explores in a fun, visual and insightful way, how connected consumerism breaks down into Four Moments of Truth, the role of technology in decision-making, and how businesses need to create experiences that mean something in each stage and also spark engagement between consumers based on those experiences. It’s also an experience in of itself. It’s a visually rich, square-shaped (coffee table style) four-color journey…think digital app but in an analog format.

Trailer Credit: Simplifilm

Music Credit: Tim Holt

Thanks guys!

Will you fall or thrive in this consumer revolution? Believe it or not, you decide

In a post Occupy world, organizations everywhere should contemplate the themes that flooded the undercurrent of one of the greatest consumer uprisings in recent history. Even though some minimize the rise of Occupy as a rebellion without a cause, I believe there’s much to learn from these events to prevent them from happening again…or at least to you.

What’s the Future of Business? WTF

While the inspiration for the insurrection is diverse and personal, one thing is clear, everyday people have had enough. Collectively, the frustration and discontentment with the state of the economy, socioeconomic equality, and overall consumer disregard by business and government boiled over into a worldwide statement that screamed for action and transformation. We were witness to what could be construed as end of business as usual to say the least. What started in Wall Street to protest high unemployment and corporate greed quickly spread to 2,773 Occupy communities in over 82 countries.

What we can learn from Occupy is that it’s just a matter of time until, in its own way; the driving principles of Occupy take aim at your business or industry. Whether we realize it or not, the sentiment that contributes to disgruntlement is not new. Signs have been posted everywhere and technology and social media is only making it easier to organize and rise up.

If you think about your front line of defense as it exists today, the feelings that lead to malaise, such as negative experiences, engagement, or support, are met through marketing or customer service models that for all intents and purposes are outdated. And some quite honestly, evoke thoughts of medieval torture chambers considering how painful it is to endure “service.” There’s a reason people revolt. While experts continually pour over the role of social networks in citizen and consumer revolutions alike, the one thing they share isn’t just technology, it’s a state of mass discontent that leaned on technology to bring about change.

That’s the point. Change or (r)evolution isn’t because of social media, it’s changing because expectations and tolerance continue to evolve. The difference is that nowadays, people can mobilize much faster and to greater extent. Yes, everyday people are now more powerful than ever before. And it is people that play a part in heralding what I refer to as Digital Darwinism, an emerging phenomenon when technology and society evolve faster than the ability to adapt. On the other side of the coin, organizations too, miss their contribution to Digital Darwinism by failing to recognize new opportunities to learn, engage, or adapt.

#AdaptorDie

Today, no company is too big to fail nor too small to succeed. The outcome is driven by an organization’s ability to adapt to market conditions and customer expectations. It’s not a new concept. But what is new is the tremendous journey that organizations must embark upon to get there.

Many business models are rigid, focused on the management of operations, efficiencies, growth opportunities and P&L. This view has worked well for decades. However, now in a new era of digital influence, connected customers, and customers in general, are clamoring to be heard and to become part of the business ecosystem. As a result, leaders must embrace new methodologies, technologies, and systems to engage stakeholders and work together to build a new framework that upgrades the dynamic for stakeholder engagement and collaboration and the resulting experience now and how it’s reinforced over time.

This requires nothing less than the establishment of a dedicated taskforce with an exact mission of transformation. The primary charter is to establish a course for evolution by aligning stakeholders and decision makers around collaboration and decision-making initiatives. It’s not an overnight process. What we are talking about is retrofitting or in some cases re-architecting the foundation to compete in the years to come.

This is done through a four-step rigor that begins internally to have an impact inside and outside the organization. And, as a champion for new possibilities, everything begins with you.

1. Listen – Use new media tools to listen (not in an intrusive way) beyond keywords and sentiment. Observe trends, insights, and opportunities to improve experiences.

2. Learn – Build a procedure, with roles and responsibilities, and a path around discovery and innovation. Translate activity into actionable insights and ensure that a two-way path connects business lines and functions back to the market through direct engagement or the improvement of products and services.

3. Engage – The state of businesses are no longer created, they’re co-created through shared experiences. Stakeholders, including customers and employees, must realize that you’re listening and learning. Engagement is the key to steering and shaping experiences through collaboration. Doing so invests the cultivation of a meaningful community and ultimately loyalty.

4. Adapt – Customers don’t always know what they want. But, they do know what they don’t want. Everything gleaned from steps one through three reveal everything about how an organization can adapt to earn relevance as part of its everyday business practice. Processes, systems, technology, it’s all rooted in the ability to not just move and react to customer revolutions, but eventually lead them.

This is an opportunity to re-examine relationships with customers and employees to not only avert potential crises, but steer more positive engagement and experiences as part of standard business practices – an answer to what’s the future of business  if you will. It starts with listening and learning and culminates with engagement and adaptation.

This is why your role is more important then ever before. Everything you know and everything you’re learning will help your business or organization mature, increase in relevance, and deliver more significant experiences. The end results are preference, increased loyalty and advocacy, and ultimately connectedness. It’s how you demonstrate the opportunity and the path forward that count for everything. This is your time…

Please consider pre-ordering my next book, What’s the Future of Business?

Pre-order What’s the Future of Business and get the all new Conversation Prism for free

Good news! What’s the Future of Business is on its way to all the distribution warehouses. This means that your new book will ship this week or next.

I’d like to ask you for your help. For authors, pre-orders are important. I recently shared an offer to receive an engraved silver End of Business as Usual bookmark for all new pre-orders. For all orders placed today and up through shipping, I’d like to offer another option.

If you’ve followed my work over the years, you’re most likely familiar with The Conversation Prism. The team at JESS3 and I excited to share that version 4.0 is on the horizon (stay tuned for news about availability).  For those who pre-order WTF as of today 3/2/13, you can choose either the bookmark or a 22 x 28 poster of all new Conversation Prism 4.0! Hint: the image you see above is a preview of what’s to come…

Please pre-order at your favorite bookstore:

B&N

Amazon

iTunes

Then send an email to Sarah Buhr with your proof of purchase (anything really, as long as it doesn’t reveal personal info) along with your address and we’ll send either the bookmark or the poster (when available) out to you! Posters are available for shipment in the U.S. only for now…if you live outside the U.S. and are willing to pay for shipping in advance, we will ship it to you.

Note: Kindle and Nook will go live on the same day the book becomes officially available. Sorry retailers aren’t making ebooks available for pre-sale.

 

No Business is Too Big to Fail or Too Small to Succeed – Sobering stats on business failures

We live in an era of what I refer to as Digital Darwinism, a time when technology and society are evolving faster than the ability of many organizations to adapt.

Over the years, I’ve studied how disruptive technology affects consumer behavior and decision-making. I’ve also researched how businesses react (or don’t) to these changes. What I’ve learned is that barring a few exceptional instances of complete ignorance, organizations are open to adaptation if there’s indeed a case made for it and a path outlined to safely and cost-effectively navigate change.

Part of the problem is that decision makers and stakeholders react to shareholders and not necessarily customers or markets. When they are ready to react, it’s typically a technology-first rather than a people-first initiative. Without understanding behavior, expectations, patterns, and new touch points, technology is often the right answer at the wrong time. It’s not unlike the famous saying about missed targets when they follow a “ready, fire, aim” command.

To mark the occasion of my upcoming book, What’s the Future of Business: Changing the way businesses create experiences, I worked with the team at Barnickel Design in New York to create an infographic that tells the chilling story of the effects of Digital Darwinism and a changing consumer landscape. To tell the story, I dissected the infographic into chapters.

Please read on to learn about how crazy things are getting and what you can do about it…(full infographic at the end)

Digital Darwinism is Accelerating

Digital Darwinism is affecting businesses and it’s only accelerating.

Only 71 companies remain today from the original 1955 Fortune 500 list.

Source: Jim Collins, author of Built to Last

Business as Usual Doesn’t Stand a Chance

In the United States alone, over 500,000 new startups emerge every year. Of that, 50% are likely fail within the first year. And, within the first five years, another 56% are expected to fail.

Source 1

Source 2

Digital Darwinism Kills Rigid Businesses Dead

The most recent recession in the U.S. had a crushing effect on businesses. Within a two year period between 2008 and 2010, 170,000 businesses are estimated to have closed. And, more businesses closed than opened in that timeframe.

Source

No Business is Too Big to Fail or Too Small to Succeed

Between 1973 and 1983, 35% of companies in the Fortune 1000 were new to the list.

From 1983 TO 1993, 45%.

From 1993 TO 2003, 60%.

Over 70% of Fortune 1000 companies were expected to fall between 2003 and 2013

Source: Forbes

How to Survive Digital Darwinism

In 2012, BDO, LLC, a international services firm providing assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting services to a wide range of publicly traded and privately held companies, published its Industry Watch Report. The findings presented a clear division between UK businesses that were able to take advantage of emergent growth opportunities and those who likely to wrestle with Digital Darwinism in difficult markets. As the report found, the “gap between business winners and losers widens.”

Shay Bannon, Business Restructuring Partner, BDO LLP, commented in the report, “Businesses that develop innovative products, distribution channels and a strong customer proposition will gain significant competitive advantage – irrespective of sector. Those who do not respond to the new normal are at a greater risk of falling into difficulty.”

The Hall of Shattered Dreams

When I think back to brands I grew up with and where they are today, it’s saddening to see that many of them are gone or dying. Which brands do you remember and of those, which have vanished? Leaders recognize the precious relationship a brand can have with customers. At the same time, there’s a sense of fragility, relevance and determination that must inspire leadership. As Intel’s Andy Grove often said, “Only the paranoid survive.”

While this is not the most cheerful story ever told, the silver lining is that right here, right now, management cultures must evolve into leadership cultures. And leaders must rise from somewhere and when they do, they need help…fast. You are either that leader or someone that will help leaders bring about meaningful transformation.

Competing for relevance is now a mission of every business and as such, it should be relentlessly pursued. The future of business is not about technology, greed, or short-term deals. It’s about people, purpose, and experiences.

It takes vision

It takes empathy

It takes courage.

The future of business lies in the shift from a culture of management to that of leadership and…

it begins with you.

 

 

Pre-order WTF and get a silver #EndofBusiness bookmark

I just learned that What’s the Future of Business is just about to start shipping!

I’m so excited to share my new book with you. I put a lot of time and passion into writing what I hope is nothing less than an easy-to-ready„ convincing but also helpful book.

I’ve also invested a significant amount of effort into the creativity and design behind what a book could be…in this case a proof point for demonstrating the importance and power of experiences. The tagline is after all, “changing the way businesses create experiences.”

First, the book is square in shape, kind of like a coffee table book. It was designed in partnership with my friends at Mekanism (they created the Pepsi/Beyonce ad during Super Bowl, and every chapter features original artworks based on key themes within each by my dear friend Hugh MacLeod (@gapingvoid). It’s also designed to be immersive…think of it like a mobile, analog app. How I convinced Wiley to let go of the design process is beyond me, but I’m more than thankful. This thing is beautiful.

For authors, pre-orders are very very important and this is crunch time. I’d like to ask you for your help. In exchange for pre-ordering WTF, I’d like to thank you by sending a silver bookmark that features an engraved cover of The End of Business as Usual. They make the perfect pair!

Please pre-order here:

B&N

Amazon

iTunes

Then send an email to Sarah Buhr with your proof of purchase (anything really, as long as it doesn’t reveal personal info) along with your address and we’ll send the bookmark out to you!

Note: e-books will go live on the same day the book becomes officially available. Sorry retailers aren’t making ebooks available for pre-sale.