It's been a busy New Year. Sorry about the delay.
I'm a practical kind of person. I'm fortunate enough to get this technological "revolution" that people are so crazy over. In all honesty, I'm pretty crazy over it, too. I just don't see it the way a lot of people do. I've never seen the whole "The future is here and it is now-or-whatever-else-will-scare-people" perspective behind this new medium of communication. I really thought most of us would have seen a lot of this coming. But no matter, it's here. Now, people, organizations, businesses - they have to decide what to do with it.
Rupert Murdoch is loony. Seriously, if you haven't figured it out for yourself yet, people will get the content they want online, and they won't pay for it. The media model, specifically the newspaper, is dying and dead. There are even proponents of magazine success that seem blindly sure that a money-for-content model will continue to be viable into the future of digital media.
There are two major flaws in this mindset: 1.) Information is widely available via free Internet sources, whether it be via user-generated or freemium-based platforms. There is so much information available, and so much of it comes to the user as a value-added benefit of association with a given source. Often, user-generated content is more relevant, more accurate, and more timely than that sourced from the traditional information mediums. And if people can get better information for free, why would they pay for it? 2.) Users who generate their own content recognize the benefit in providing value to their readers/subscribers and will continue to provide better information at no cost in order to improve their own recognition. And why shouldn't they? The sphere is full of bloggers and writers and tweeters who are trying to grow their audience, and they will do so by increasing the value of what they are disseminating. The traditional print media model cannot compete with that kind of a value proposition.
Solution? Empowerment. The media model needs to empower these independent information-generation sources with what they need to stay relevant to their sphere of influence. By doing so, and harnessing the creative power of these people, the media powers-that-be can stay relevant to their audiences.
Showing posts with label Dynamic Organizational Architechture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dynamic Organizational Architechture. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Season of Giving
This is my favorite time of the year. There is no contest. I love Thanksgiving, and I love the Thanksgiving feast. Easter is a special time for my Christian household. Valentine's Day is a special event for my wife and I. The 4th of July is great for the patriotic perspective. But, Christmas? Oh, Christmas. There is no comparison.
Gifts are such a staple of this time of year, and I have my personal gripes with commercialization and such. But it's a fun tradition, and I participate wholeheartedly. I make my lists months ahead of time. I plan and listen for hints about special holiday desires. I try to find out what they want so I can give it to them before they have the chance to ask. I love the look on the faces of loved ones when they tear off the wrapping and find that I've given them exactly what they were looking for.
There are a lot of similarities in customer service, but the core principle is the idea of "GIVE". Our brains are wired to think profit, gain, and revenue. We pursue the almighty black bottom line with fervor and gusto, giving little thought to the effect this pursuit may have on our brand reputation. We factor ROI will all the might we can muster, and we sell, sell, sell!
But what do we give? We assume the customer perceives innate value simply in purchasing a product, but do we demonstrate value in a relationship with us? Why should they buy this product from us the next time they are in the market, and not the next guy? Why should they tell their friends about us? Why should they blog about their experience with us, or update their Twitter with our link, or share their thoughts on our brand with their Facebook throng?
They won't, if we do not give.
People love gifts. It makes them feel special, valued, cared for, important. The exact qualities your customers crave from a relationship with your brand. And what better way to make them feel this way than to offer a measure of value simply because you appreciate doing business with them? I try to make my customers feel like it profitable for them to do business with me. I want them to feel as if they have gained something in knowing me and being associated with me.
There are many ways to do this. You can make yourself a resource for information. You can educate your customers without demanding they buy something from you. You can recognize when a competitor is a better fit and pass along the referral, knowing that the positive experience will benefit you more later on. There are so many ways to give, and all of them result in customers who see inherent value in being associated with you.
Merry Christmas.
Gifts are such a staple of this time of year, and I have my personal gripes with commercialization and such. But it's a fun tradition, and I participate wholeheartedly. I make my lists months ahead of time. I plan and listen for hints about special holiday desires. I try to find out what they want so I can give it to them before they have the chance to ask. I love the look on the faces of loved ones when they tear off the wrapping and find that I've given them exactly what they were looking for.
There are a lot of similarities in customer service, but the core principle is the idea of "GIVE". Our brains are wired to think profit, gain, and revenue. We pursue the almighty black bottom line with fervor and gusto, giving little thought to the effect this pursuit may have on our brand reputation. We factor ROI will all the might we can muster, and we sell, sell, sell!
But what do we give? We assume the customer perceives innate value simply in purchasing a product, but do we demonstrate value in a relationship with us? Why should they buy this product from us the next time they are in the market, and not the next guy? Why should they tell their friends about us? Why should they blog about their experience with us, or update their Twitter with our link, or share their thoughts on our brand with their Facebook throng?
They won't, if we do not give.
People love gifts. It makes them feel special, valued, cared for, important. The exact qualities your customers crave from a relationship with your brand. And what better way to make them feel this way than to offer a measure of value simply because you appreciate doing business with them? I try to make my customers feel like it profitable for them to do business with me. I want them to feel as if they have gained something in knowing me and being associated with me.
There are many ways to do this. You can make yourself a resource for information. You can educate your customers without demanding they buy something from you. You can recognize when a competitor is a better fit and pass along the referral, knowing that the positive experience will benefit you more later on. There are so many ways to give, and all of them result in customers who see inherent value in being associated with you.
Merry Christmas.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Pick your sandbox.
Remember junior high school? The first week was full of stress and anxiety, not because of classes or homework, but because of lunch. The table to which you would find yourself relegated had the potential of changing the face of your entire socio-academic career. It was never a decision you could make for yourself, at least, that was the case for most of us. Our peers, those who had come before us, they chose our table. It was all a matter of waiting, wondering what would happen, what would THEY think of us?
The social media phenomenon feels a lot like a junior high school lunch room, especially for those who are getting on board at this relatively late stage in the game. There is so much to learn, to process, to formulate and make a decision on, it seems just a little simpler to let someone else decide for us at which table we should sit. After all, we don't have time to spend worrying about all of this do we? There is too much else going on. Isn't there?
The question you ought to be asking yourself is whether or not you truly understand what is happening. If you don't, you have to be up front and honest about that. And then you have to educate yourself. The difference between this new media landscape and those smelly lunchrooms is that nobody here wants to be your friend. They want the money that your consumers would otherwise spend with you. And they will pick your table for you. They will relegate you to that table in the corner where people who don't meet the acceptable standard sit.
You have an opportunity, much like you had when you were much younger, to pick, not which table you sit at, but which sandbox you play in. As a child, you simply brought what tools you had to the sandbox and built your own castle. Social politics aside, he who could build the biggest castle was king. So bring your tools to the sandbox and start building. Learn, educate, discover, and adapt. Make yourself organic, growing with your surroundings, and changing as is necessary.
Social media provides the single greatest opportunity to date for effective communication with your consumer audience. They crave interaction from you, and will gladly spend their money with you when you meet that social need. The old rule to live by was "Pay to Play." You're not effective anymore unless you are willing to actually play. No more arm chair quarterbacks with fat marketing budgets. Now you've got to put on the pads and make it happen.
\
The wonderful thing about this shift socio-economic dynamics is that it puts you in control of your own destiny. You finally get to pick your own table. And guess what? You get to bring your sand castle.
The social media phenomenon feels a lot like a junior high school lunch room, especially for those who are getting on board at this relatively late stage in the game. There is so much to learn, to process, to formulate and make a decision on, it seems just a little simpler to let someone else decide for us at which table we should sit. After all, we don't have time to spend worrying about all of this do we? There is too much else going on. Isn't there?
The question you ought to be asking yourself is whether or not you truly understand what is happening. If you don't, you have to be up front and honest about that. And then you have to educate yourself. The difference between this new media landscape and those smelly lunchrooms is that nobody here wants to be your friend. They want the money that your consumers would otherwise spend with you. And they will pick your table for you. They will relegate you to that table in the corner where people who don't meet the acceptable standard sit.
You have an opportunity, much like you had when you were much younger, to pick, not which table you sit at, but which sandbox you play in. As a child, you simply brought what tools you had to the sandbox and built your own castle. Social politics aside, he who could build the biggest castle was king. So bring your tools to the sandbox and start building. Learn, educate, discover, and adapt. Make yourself organic, growing with your surroundings, and changing as is necessary.
Social media provides the single greatest opportunity to date for effective communication with your consumer audience. They crave interaction from you, and will gladly spend their money with you when you meet that social need. The old rule to live by was "Pay to Play." You're not effective anymore unless you are willing to actually play. No more arm chair quarterbacks with fat marketing budgets. Now you've got to put on the pads and make it happen.
\
The wonderful thing about this shift socio-economic dynamics is that it puts you in control of your own destiny. You finally get to pick your own table. And guess what? You get to bring your sand castle.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Dynamics
I love this word. It comes from the Greek word dynamos which means "power" or "massive energy". It's an extremely descriptive word, especially when applied to unorthodox contexts. Most of the time we associate the word "Dynamics" with personality or character of an entity. Seldom do we actually consider it a viable quality to be learned and applied.
We all function within the framework of and structure of organizations, which, for the most part, are three-dimensional, working models of the business plan. The plan was crafted and created with the intent that those who actually provided the manpower and resources necessary to bring it to life would understand and embrace the values upon which it was founded. This is all well and good, except that, in most cases, those working within this framework are not empowered to see beyond its limitations and stagnation results. This problem does not stem from unconcerned or indifferent employees, it stems from their inability to create a better environment.
Too often, managers are afraid to facilitate the betterment of their subordinates. When we take off those limitations, however, good, intelligent people are free to create, to suggest, to experiment with their environment and requirements, and they begin to evolve their organization from the inside out. Those companies and organizations that are truly successful, are truly leading their industries understand this principle of inner dynamics, and they encourage, even promote, critical insights from within in order to improve the outward performance. This requires a measure of trust on behalf of the facilitating tier, but more so, it requires an organization to give the people involved a vested interest in the organization itself. People are ready and willing to invest themselves and their ideas into an organization that will benefit them as it gets better.
For example, Starbucks offers stock options to every single employee. They essentially become partners in the company for which they work. The organization even goes so far as to refer to every single one of its employees as "Starbucks Partners".
This kind of an organizational investment into the people who involve themselves with it is exactly the kind of dynamic promotion that sets some organizations apart from others. When a coffee-making barista approaches her work with the mindset that her success as an employee affects the success of the company, which in turn affects her success as a person, she is personally motivated to find ways to make her environment better and more productive. This is dynamic motivation.
How are you motivating your people? Have you modeled inner dynamics in your organization? If so, how? and what were the results? How is your organization dynamically promoting effectiveness within a given environment? are those environments friendly to effective change and outward evolution? And lastly, what is your organization doing to dynamically motivate your people? how are you enabling your people to invest themselves into the organization?
We all function within the framework of and structure of organizations, which, for the most part, are three-dimensional, working models of the business plan. The plan was crafted and created with the intent that those who actually provided the manpower and resources necessary to bring it to life would understand and embrace the values upon which it was founded. This is all well and good, except that, in most cases, those working within this framework are not empowered to see beyond its limitations and stagnation results. This problem does not stem from unconcerned or indifferent employees, it stems from their inability to create a better environment.
Too often, managers are afraid to facilitate the betterment of their subordinates. When we take off those limitations, however, good, intelligent people are free to create, to suggest, to experiment with their environment and requirements, and they begin to evolve their organization from the inside out. Those companies and organizations that are truly successful, are truly leading their industries understand this principle of inner dynamics, and they encourage, even promote, critical insights from within in order to improve the outward performance. This requires a measure of trust on behalf of the facilitating tier, but more so, it requires an organization to give the people involved a vested interest in the organization itself. People are ready and willing to invest themselves and their ideas into an organization that will benefit them as it gets better.
For example, Starbucks offers stock options to every single employee. They essentially become partners in the company for which they work. The organization even goes so far as to refer to every single one of its employees as "Starbucks Partners".
This kind of an organizational investment into the people who involve themselves with it is exactly the kind of dynamic promotion that sets some organizations apart from others. When a coffee-making barista approaches her work with the mindset that her success as an employee affects the success of the company, which in turn affects her success as a person, she is personally motivated to find ways to make her environment better and more productive. This is dynamic motivation.
How are you motivating your people? Have you modeled inner dynamics in your organization? If so, how? and what were the results? How is your organization dynamically promoting effectiveness within a given environment? are those environments friendly to effective change and outward evolution? And lastly, what is your organization doing to dynamically motivate your people? how are you enabling your people to invest themselves into the organization?
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