Tuesday, November 23, 2010

I am thankful for...







I am thankful for…

The little wonders in life
Family, friends and the warmth and love around me
Good people, integrity, authenticity and benevolence
People for change, for progress and for sustainability
Courage, fearlessness and the peace that comes with believing
The creative force of life and my ability to tap its power
Living in the now and never meeting tomorrow
Memories of loves and lives long gone
Laughter – it is the song of the soul
This world at the edge of our universe called Earth
Knowing there is something more.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Is Your Company Fearless?












One of the most interesting things I’ve experienced during the past couple months of career transition is the inherent trepidation around decision-making and the culture of fear permeating many organizations. Perhaps it’s the economy? Maybe it’s the seismic shift in power to the masses with the advent of social media? Maybe it’s both, with some other things thrown in? Whatever the cause, there seems to be an epidemic of fear-driven, analysis paralysis throughout all areas of business, which effectively crushes innovation, creativity and authenticity.

A good indication of fear-driven mentality is the continuous reliance on comparative judgment to make decisions and bring on new talent. Many industries are trapped in role definitions that effectively frame their position requirements and organizations into a box, creating a culture and operational paradigm focused on the status quo. And let’s face it; this world isn’t standing still, so if your company is, you are actually moving in reverse.

In the world of marketing and creative communications, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Many agencies continue to rely on their world of revolving talent, design rhetoric and self-promotional award shows to maintain a feeling of control in an industry that’s in a state of complete revolution. They look to the old-school, old-boys network, with their polished marble palaces and ridiculous client fees as sources of inspiration and aspiration.

Meanwhile, they push off the heavy lifting to their publishing ‘partners’, not learning a thing about how to execute convergence media programs or the underlying technology - nor how to strategically assemble vendors and platforms to create seamless consumer experiences for their clients.

I’ve heard expressed sentiment from many on the client/brand side who feel as though agencies are becoming redundant through their apathy and archaic focus on the pre-existing models of profitability and media margins. Many agencies in this jet-fueled world of rapidly developing technology and communication platforms simply refuse to accept that this model of shifting paper and writing reams of rhetorical briefs in every shape and form around traditional approaches to brand communication is just not sustainable.

As consumer power proliferates, and communication models shift, the brands and agencies who redefine the talent acquisition process and criteria through which they select their people and keep them engaged, are the ones who will emerge victorious.

It’s like the elite athlete – the sprinter – coming down the finish line, neck and neck with her most fierce rival – the minute she turns to look at her position in relation to her nemesis, her foe internalizes every bit of effort to look at the tape and charge ahead to win, while our heroine looks over in astonished dismay.

Now, that’s not to say we shouldn’t do a SWAT analysis on new hires, projects and products. Rather, in addition, there needs to be a cultural analysis on both a micro and macro level in order to meet the demands of this rapidly changing world and the many forms of workplace that inhabit it and compete for consumer dollars, clients and talent. Companies need to focus on people first and look ahead, not to the side.

People work. People talk. People decide. People create. People innovate.

If someone has a history of developing product that meets and exceeds goals then does it really matter if s/he hasn’t managed a P&L in excess of $10M? And if an individual’s direct reports, managers, and clients rave about that individual’s leadership skills and ability to build and maintain a refreshing and engaging work culture, how is the number of direct reports really relevant to success?

If your criteria are based on numbers, perhaps it’s time to start thinking in words and begin a conversation about your own company’s culture, thinking deeply about how fear is framing your decision-making processes.

The fearless are the ones winning and the ones who define the new world order of business and work culture. Like people, every company is different and has a different way of defining culture, evolution and success. Some are brutally Darwinian, others spiritually driven by faith, but it’s fearlessness to embrace the company culture and resonate that throughout every aspect of the brand that creates this holistic synergy, without the specter of fear, trampling on progress and harmony. The fearless snap up talent that go beyond numbers and who understand the value of human relationships.

The antonym of fear is love. Love is all things light and positive, while fear resides in darkness.

Follow your hearts. Define your culture, your company, your people, your products and your customers by the love you have for what you do. And if you don’t truly love what you do, what are you waiting for? Start the culture of change today and make fear a thing of the past.

Thanks for reading.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

What’s the True Power of Social Media? Part 2








In part one I talked about how the true value of social media is its inherent ability to make people more social – I guess that’s part of the reason they call it social media. Personally, the connections I make and maintain through social media channels – namely LinkedIn and Facebook, enable me to easily stay in touch with friends, family and business associates without making that massive commitment of picking up the phone. Social media’s ability to buffer the possible rejection, eliminate awkward voice mail ramblings, and stay in contact no matter how many phones I lose, makes my life more organized and far more social. I get out more, drink a heck of a lot more coffee, and tip back a few too many goblets of Kettle One, but it’s all in the spirit of human connectivity.

Beyond the resulting impact of real-time connectivity and social interaction, social media’s insurgence has effectively disrupted the very foundations of traditional brand paradigms. [Yes, I had to use paradigms in a sentence today.] The democratization of the publishing world creates an open source discourse around every aspect of culture, including the things we eat, drink, drive, wear, watch, see, experience, interact with and those essentials we don’t want to pay for, but can’t live without. [Insurance anyone?]

Go ahead, Google anything and sift through the results. Or better yet, search your brand on Twitter to see what people are talking about. It’s all out there, warts and all. And the one thing to note is, consumers are far less apt to rant when they’re deliriously satisfied with a product or brand than they are when drenched in dissatisfaction with a product, company or general lack of proactive customer support. Our brands are everything around our products, not just the products themselves and it resonates throughout the company culture, around the water cooler and among the nuts and bolts of the products themselves. Brands have become part of human culture and discourse.

Social media’s power to break down the one-way communication of brand stewardship is being witnessed across industries and business verticals. The companies and brands who embrace the conversation – good and bad – and engage their consumer base are the ones who are winning. Publicly accepting shortcomings, while making real changes in product and policy in order to show people we care is a market-driven approach to success. Through social media, new transformational shifts materialize turning downward curves around and creating blue oceans of opportunity that meet market demands and open brands and companies up to honesty and integrity, eliminating the ‘smoke’ in smoke & mirrors and putting spin doctors out of business.

Call me an idealist.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

What’s The True Power of Social Media? Part 1







We can’t look at a media or technology web site without seeing an article about the global surge in social networking. Like the advent of the Internet itself, the power of this phenomenon lies in the networking of humans and machines that effectively creates easily-accessible channels of communication and connectivity.

It’s one thing to get in contact digitally with someone you haven’t seen in years, or to connect to individuals around the globe who share a unique attribute, but it’s another to take this digital connection and form real-world relationships and rekindle face-to-face experiences that for many, are the essence of community and human culture.

Anyone following the social media evolution can see this shift happening…from Facebook and LinkedIn Events, to Foursquare, SVNGR and even the Groupons, Living Socials and Dealpops out there – joining and membership seems to foster the true social in many of us and facilitates the passing of knowledge, world-view and pure joyous fluff all at the same time.

I believe social media has more of a cultural and human impact than most people think. In my own personal experience, social media and digital forms of communication have had an insulator effect, buffering me from rejection and lessening the risk of getting hurt. It’s almost like driving a car. How many people have you seen driving down the road pickin’ their nose like there’s no tomorrow like their car makes them invisible? It’s not the passengers either, just the drivers. They feel insulated and thus almost invisible – and they will dig for that gold like the hillbilly characters on that old Bugs Bunny episode. [Bugs dressed up like a hot girl bunny hillbilly in the episode – big surprise. - Check it out here – classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQQGSsI87kA

How he found that giant toaster is anyone’s guess.

Anyway, I digress.

In my experience, many meaningful relationships, both professional and personal that I’ve developed over the years have been made via various channels of social media. And other relationships that formed in the material world have been more easily nurtured and maintained via the many easy ways to stay in touch without committing to a phone call.

In several cases I’ve admittedly used social media channels as a way to pre-screen and decide whether to take things to the next level. And now with social media everywhere and everyone on it, I’ve found my own life has become much more social overall - it makes me get out there, and put myself out there. Life is much richer with great people around.

Social media is a culture-shifting, Darwinian-driven way for us animals to compete. That explains why my 62-year old Aunt Sophie insists on pushing bushels of beets on me via Farmville. I don’t even like beets. She just wants to show off.