| richard's profile"Sundays in the Park"PhotosBlogSkyDrive |  Tools  Help |
|
April 30 Selling to the nanosecond consumer....Business today is all about selling the nanosecond consumer who lives within the Chattering Clusters on the web. It is simple really - all you have to do is get these Chattering Clusters to obsesses about you, to make up stories about you, to chatter about you in a positive light, and to enthuse their Clans and Tribes about your products and services. If they do that then you are being networked by the best in the business - you are being recommended by, and to, 'nanosecond consumers'. Some things have changed for sellers today and you should be aware of those changes. Brands, and especially Brand You, are being trashed within the Chattering Clusters. Self promotion is inculcated into 'negative story lines' amongst the Chattering Clusters. Brands are trashed because it is no longer cool to differentiate yourself from others - today's top stories are all about inclusion and belonging. Trust is based on the sense of being connected to a Chattering Cluster not buying a brand name product. Brands are still used to identify products and services BUT nanosecond consumers no longer identify with these brands. Nanosecond consumers identify with a Clan or a Tribe which they connect with on Twitter, Facebook, and Ning. Clans and Tribes are social networks that exist in virtual and real space and time. These groupings are essentially digital communities wherein social mores and consumption patterns are formed. The nanosecond consumer is the product of social networks that extend around the globe - networks that can have thousands of people connected to them. Village Square conversations have gone global - the Chattering Clusters talk about everyone and everything, everywhere. The Clans talk about everyone and everything around the globe. The Tribes talk about everyone and everything connected with their purpose so they are more focussed on their own community they are more local. But everyone is promoting or demoting someone, something, or somewhere. If you want nanosecond consumers to buy your products, services, or you - belong to their clusters, clans, and tribes. How can you belong? You need a story that they can tell and retell - a changing story about new experiences and happenings that relate to you and your products or services. If you are talked about in a favourable light then you belong. If you belong then you are selling directly to the 'nanosecond consumer' and your business deals are done in the blink of an eye. April 29 Feedback on Fast Company.....C21st business thrives on feedback.... Procter and Gamble have their website set-up for innovative feedback from consumers. Tupperware way back in the 1950s designed a business with consumer feedback loops built-in. Linux is a software development business that only exists because of feedback - it is being developed as we speak by users and developers who constantly use feedback loops to improve their core product/service. So it is with magazines and publishing too - feedback is a key asset today on Fast Company to help keep its articles relevant and remarkable. So I was delighted that Fast Company printed my "feedback" in their May 2008 edition. I was pleased too, as you might expect, because this feedback is based on the core ideas in my forthcoming book 'chattering clusters'. BUT I was especially pleased because I was able to combine the ideas of two influential American thinkers whose ideas are often seen as presenting opposing views on our digital world. In fact Thomas Friedman and Richard Florida are talking about the same phenomena - Friedman is talking about it as he sees it working at the global level and Florida is talking about it as he sees it at the local level. Creative clusters will form at both levels if and only if their members (in these clans and tribes) are able to hold two seemingly contradictory ideas in their mind at the same time. Here is a comment about holding two seemingly opposite ideas as a continuum of ideas. It might make more sense if you read the Fast Company item 'In Praise of Spikes' March 2008....
Creative Clusters If we put Friedman and Florida together, we get a perfect
description of what is happening in the world today. At the global
level, it is becoming flat (networked), digital (machine to machine),
and virtual (ideas based). This flat world is a networked economy that
does not obey nation-state governments or regulations -- subprime
networked debt was based on a set of financial ideas, not on a set of
home mortgages. Clusters are local. They are people based, and they are
increasingly wireless (24-7 connectivity), personal (providing a
customized experience), and reliant on new revenue models (passive
income streams). Our world is changing in remarkable ways, and there
are no right or wrong descriptors for what is evolving.
April 27 Do you have innovative consumers?The best companies in the world know that they need to tap into the talent of their consumers as much as that of their employees. Last century it was your staff, or employees, who were the innovators not your consumers. But today business is all about the productivity of consumers - the most productive consumers are innovators. Innovative consumers help your business to provide the cutting-edge products and services that will make you profitable. C21st technology has changed the production, distribution, marketing, and selling processes of business. Business is now networked and this means any change in a process quickly impacts consumers. This means modern consumers know as much, sometimes more, about your product and services as your employees. They know about new technologies, they know about your global competitions' present and future offerings, and they understand what new functionality is possible. What do you need to tap into this new source of innovative talent? You need to think about feedback - anyone who wants to complain about your business products or services is an asset. Listen to their complaints and work out what they are saying about unmet wants and needs. Work out what you need to meet their unmet needs. Find out which of your consumers wants to partner with you to deliver to those unmet wants and needs. So you need a process that makes consumers accessible. Make it easy for consumers to give you innovative feedback. Make it easy to develop prototypes of consumer's inputs. Make it easy to partner with consumers. Make it easy for consumers to submit 'innovation proposals' through your website. If you want to see just how to do it look at how Procter and Gamble do it - just go to their website and follow their prompts. The key question in business today is simple - "Do you have innovative consumers?" If not what are you doing to recruit some? April 26 What the hell - let's not do this all over again...."What the hell".... Let's not follow the mob deeper and deeper into the Afghan/Pakistan War... This time let's make a decision to go home early.... Let's learn from those who have battled for ideological supremacy in the barren Afghan mountains, full of warring Clans and Tribes, for hundreds of years... Let's withdraw while we can and look at doing good things in the world rather than merely perpetuate wars based on our need to prove that we are "right"... "What the hell".... Let's go do something about rising food prices and the lack of public health in poverty stricken regions of the world... Let's go immunise the millions of young babies and kids who die from preventable or curable diseases. "What the hell".... Let's do something about over population by reducing infant mortality rates in poor countries... The evidence is clear that stopping babies and young kids dying is the best curb on population growth... Parents have more kids when the chances are they will die young... "What the hell"... Let's use our ability to think.. What the hell - let's get out of this mess...."What the hell" - let's get out of this mess we got into in Iraq.. Let's forget "regime change" and all its attendant political objectives so that we can find a way out of this mess... "What the hell".... let's do the only thing that has worked and do it on a large scale on the ground in Iraq... Let's just go with Clear, Hold, and Build. "What the hell" .... lets forget all the pompous politicians in Congress (with their ideological agendas and meaningless point scoring) and simply go fix the problem on the ground in Iraq. "What the hell" ... Let just do it! Clear out the 'insurgents' in each area. Hold and secure (with optimal force and 24/7 presence on the streets) the area so that locals can go about their daily business and prayers. Build a sense of community within that locality so that locals can once again govern themselves... "What the hell".... let the locals in Iraq govern themselves in their own image not in our image.... April 25 Transparency versus accountability.....Welcome to the new flat world of the internet where the "Chattering Clusters" are reshaping the role played by consumer brands... Chattering Clusters tend to form global Clans and local Tribes. Clans are more transparent than Tribes. Tribes are more accountable than Clans. These clusters differentiate products and services in a transparent and inclusive way. Clans and Tribes are often formed by members who are either for or against an icon brand. Members form clusters because they are opposed to an icon brand's greedy business practices, because they are not as innovative as they could be, because they are based on C20th mindsets, because they solve yesterday's problems, etc. Members often form into clusters simply to promote the virtues of unknown brands because they have inclusive business practices, they respect feedback, they include consumers in their business development process, they are trying to solve today's problems, etc. Clan members are not accountable to each other but they nonetheless rely on their membership to inform their personal decisions. Each member is fully accountable for her own decisions. Clans that consume together stay together. Tribal members are accountable to each other to a significant degree. Tribes are a collective and thus group accountability is much more common. April 24 We are the ones we have been waiting for....Did you go to work today believing "we are the ones we have been waiting for".... when your colleagues questioned your faith in that statement with their cynicism, fear, and doubt... did you immediately understand that they resorted to their negatives because that is part of their defense against your unbounded optimism? did you understand precisely why they would be so fearful of what it might mean to be held accountable for such belief in themselves? did you also understand that they were simply being swamped by their 'group think' which you know can be so full of doubt and mistrust of anyone doing better today than they did yesterday? so what did you do to help them to start believing in themselves in a new way? You said .... "yes we can! yes we can! yes we can!" as you said it you looked into their eyes and saw their fear.... you knew what they were thinking .... "what do we have to do so that we can be the ones?" this was the question running on a continuous loop inside their heads.... these people do not believe they are innovators they were never trained to be innovators they have no real experience of being successful innovators ..... so what do they do to become the ones? is their question.... it is a reasonable question... First and foremost you tell them that innovators are not trained AND they are not the product of their experience ..... innovators are born.... they are born with the imagination to perceive a better way of doing things today and tomorrow... but to tap into their natural talent they have to use their great imagination to overcome 'group think', stale patterns, stubborn mindsets, and entrenched continuities of practice.... Use our great imagination? what do you mean by that they ask you....
well it is simple really, just imagine that you are the ones we have
been waiting for... do not let those who trumpet their experience be
the ones... your imagination is your most prized asset it is your
secret key to unlocking an innovative change.... those who oppose you
talk about their experience and why what you imagine is not possible...
rather than listen to them, or debate them, go prove them wrong! go
innovate the little things but make sure that they do make a difference
to 'customer care'..... later we can all innovate the big things
together.... April 23 The pit.....Do you have a pit? What does it look like? What are its uses? Fox TV live has a pit... It is a sunken conversation pit - like those some people have in their homes. What is in this pit? As it turns out they have all you need to shape consumer demand in today's online market. Let's take the case of Fox TV online coverage of the Primaries for the US Presidential race. They have connectors - talented talkers with a background in party politics who are there to connect with you the viewer. They have pulsetakers - in this case some talented people who were out and about with primary voters and have tapped into their mood. They have mavens - in this case the well respected 'know it alls' who have previously run successful primary campaigns for Presidential candidates. In sum, they have everything you need in their pit to run a success program about a political process that most of the US seems to be glued to right now... Fox has a pit full of talent that is directed at their customers. Do you have a pit? Is it full of talent? Is that talent delivering on a mission that is full of interest to your customers? Why not? April 22 Do you want to be a leader?So much has been written, spoken, and witnessed about leadership that I am hesitant to make any observation. BUT........ I make this simple observation about leaders and leadership in C21st... If you want to be a leader and show leadership to others focus on the mission. Be all about the mission - never be about yourself. Leaders today have a clear and present purpose. They are not about selfish goals or glory. They are not about personal success or achievement. They are about the success of the mission whatever that might be - big or small. C20th leaders were at the top of the pyramid. They set the mission. They changed the mission. They were rewarded if the mission was completed successfully and mostly they were accountable if the mission failed. They were leaders because they had power, position, status, recognition, etc. - they had the pulling power needed to get things done. They had the power to smooth the way, to unblock any clogged process, to commit more troops to a problem, etc. They were either good or bad at this role. Some of them were outstanding. BUT.... Today the organisation is a virtual network of clans and tribes - they are not under the spell of charisma or power. Tribes consist of members who are loyal to each other first and foremost not to a titular lhead. Tribes have connectors (expand the reach of the group), mavens (nerds who keep abreast of everything new), and pulsetakers (mood setters within the group) - these people are not leaders they are facilitators. Tribes are empowered by members who share their stories, interests, passions, values, and outlook on life. Tribes have members who have a great passion for success because they want to belong to a successful group. Tribes thrive when members can tell each other stories about their involvement in a process or project which gave new meaning to their lives. BUT.... Here is the rub... C21st followers are more likely to be customers than employees... If you want to be a leader then do something for your customers that is successful and that they value... Better still involve your customers in that project so they feel they were an integral part of the success.... April 21 Lorenz, Mandelbrot, and Ashby....Lorenz and Mandelbrot were in a practical sense both 'mothers' of "chaos theory" because they both saw repeatable patterns where others saw only ambiguity, uncertainty, complexity, and unpredictability. Add the 'requisite variety' notion from Lord Ashby - that is complexity will only ever submit to variety - and then you have a workable theory for Web 3.0. Web 3.0 is chaotic, patterned, complex, etc and yet it is predictable because it presents us with repeatable patterns. Web 3.0 is patterned by what I have termed the "Chattering Clusters" - they in turn form into predictable Clans and Tribes. Like the weather patterns that Lorenz studied these "Chattering Clusters" are key factors on the flat world of the internet. These clusters are also affected by the equivalent of a butterfly flapping its wings in a rain forest in Brazil. The Chattering Clusters are affected by 'a sudden shift in trust levels' that usually does occur in an obscure part of Web 3.0. When this shift in trust occurs, sometimes for no visibly apparent reason, it directly impacts the formation and the implosion of Clans and Tribes..... We are connected to the wrong networks....The C21st is all about networking... Yeah I know you do that now and you have always done that.... Wrong! You are connected to the wrong networks.... You are marketing to the wrong people... You are hanging with the wrong people... Do your networks connect you with tomorrow customers? Are you networking your customer's customers? Do you understand the way networked information increases the productivity of illiterate people in the third world because you have established networks amongst them? Do you have local networks that are mobile phone based rather than face to face? Do you understand that many people in your phone network are technologically illiterate? Do you think about how you can better serve everyone within your network without being in there working hard as a facilitator, maven (accepted as a friendly know it all), or pulsetaker (taking and constantly adjust the overall mood and culture of your Clan or Tribe)? My assertion is that you, like me, are connected to the wrong networks..... April 19 Stuff.....Our world is full of stuff... All this stuff is based on what 'seemed like a good idea at the time'.... So what amazes me about contemporary life is that we obsess about ideas. The new head of state in my country has called 1,000 people to our capital for two days - this weekend - to participate in a 2020 Summit. What are these people going to do there? - yeah, that's right they are going to talk about stuff.... They say they are going to come up with the ideas that our nation needs to move confidently forward to 2020. The reporting of this 2020 Summit has been both positive and negative, as you might expect, but the most disturbing aspect of it all for me is that this gathering is being presented as an elite group. They are our thinkers, these are our idea generators, these are our gifted ones.... Well it could all be true but I doubt it because I know that the real thinkers are not going to show up to such a talk fest. The inconvenient truth is the gifted ones are probably not there - why? They refuse or do not have time to push themselves forward so they would have rejected any government invitation - why? They are not anti-social but they do know that social gatherings like this tend to limit the generation of relevant and remarkable ideas - why? De Bono told us many years ago that 'the mainstream' crushes new ideas at their infancy so they have to be made strong and flexible before they join in mainstream collectives - why? Isolates are driven to create new pathways that are fanciful, unrealistic, and impractical - why? They do not do it because they want to be rich, noticed, or applauded they do it because they are so 'driven' by the thoughts in their head that they have to make some sense of and that other people simply do not understand - why? In the end breakthrough ideas are what shape science, society, economy, etc and celebrity ideas are what shape more stuff.... April 17 Built to last or built to flip....This world is all about YOU right now! This is a period of history - despite current economic cycles - when the world is YOUR oyster. YOU will get to choose so much about precisely what happens in your life if YOU understand whether YOU are built to last or built to flip. Those of us who are built to last are seeking to belong to a TRIBE. If you are this way inclined you are looking to build off your current experiences. You are looking to hang with people you really, no really really, trust. You are looking to work with people who share your values. You are looking for purpose and meaning in your life right now. You are relying heavily upon your 'gut feelings' - your intuition - when you think about your situation and prospects in a crazy world of complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty. You are looking at the big issues like Climate Change, peak oil, immigration, terrorism, security, etc as long-term issues that need a measured approach from a unified community. You are happiest when you feel you belong and that is when the tribe is gathered around you. Those of us who are built to flip are seeking to associate with a CLAN. If you are this way inclined then you are looking to be creative and use your imagination to showcase your ideas on any medium you can including, YouTube, Facebook, etc. You are seeking to prototype your creativity. You are looking to find people who are highly imaginative and inclusive in their work and play. You are relying heavily upon your "creativity" - your intellectual frameworks - to fashion a place for you in a crazy world of war, price rises, economic instability, etc. You are looking at the big issues like Climate Change, peak oil, immigration, terrorism, security, etc through the eyes of the artist as you conger up personal and communal models for change. You are happiest when you feel a sense of belonging to a clan that has formed quickly to replace the clan you belonged to last week but has now imploded. April 14 Intuition or imagination?There is a raging debate over who should be the next President of the United States at its core this has become a battle between intuition and imagination. Intuition is based on experience. Imagination is based on intellect. April 03 Chattering Clusters - marketing.....Chattering Clusters will do your marketing for you if you: * listen to their stories.... * participate in their conversations..... * translate their stories into your themes * treat global clans as early adopters - prototype with them.... * anchor your reputation within local tribes..... April 02 New trends will become new continuities....What I have termed the 'Chattering Clusters' (see earlier riffs and diagrams) are here to stay. They are setting new trends that will become new continuities by 2020. They are forming Clans and Tribes that will largely determine trends and continuities in consumer demand. They will have a heavy influence on work & family life, politics, fashion, ideas, marketing, selling, networking, and social mores. They will become the 'hidden hand' of social and economic reform over the next two decades. What on earth am I chattering on about here? I hear you asking yourself... Well let me explain myself if I can..... Chattering Clusters are social networks with two distinct formats - Clans and Tribes. Clans are more transitory than Tribes which are more fixed but more on that later. Clans are much more likely to include 'chatterers' who are for all intent and purpose 'virtual' - that is they live and work abroad and may not have actually met each other face to face. These Clans are loyal but on a low trust basis - they form quickly and can implode just as quickly. They are inhabited by a group of not more than 50 people at any particular time but the pool of people who enter and leave the Clan may be as large as 300 or more. Clans are early adopters. Clans are viral marketers of ideas, trends, fads, and fashions. Clans are the new testing grounds for prototyped products and services. Clans are innovators because they are action orientated - they tell each other what they are doing, what use value it has for them, and explain why they are likely to continue doing it. Clans are the new 'The Tipping Point' of economic and social trends. Tribes are more staid and settled than Clans. Tribes are purpose-driven social networks. Tribes are likely to be more tangible, local, and group activity orientated than Clans. Tribes are more formal - they need high levels of trust to operate and thus tribal members have overlapping or shared values. Tribes work because the members have a great sense of 'belonging'. Tribes form a 'culture of dependence' that is based on a common purpose rather than friendship. Tribes are less inclusive than Clans and the longer a Tribe exists the more exclusive they will become. Tribes are a refuge from our inclusive world of the web - they provide boundaries and even taboos for their members to ensure they are purpose-driven. Tribes are defined by their purpose not their beliefs, mores, or values - a clear and present purpose is at the core of all Tribes. So this is how I see it evolving.... Chattering Clusters are the core of Web 3.0 - they are on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, etc. They are constantly chattering to each other as a social network - these networks have Clans forming and imploding within them each day. These Clans are socio-economic entities - members influence each others' social and economic behaviours. Clans form into Tribes. Tribes have members who seek much more face to face contact than Clan members - they form purpose-driven working groups. Tribes are focussed on achievement - they have goals, commitments, and projects. Tribes tend to make it real or implode. April 01 Health systems are in crisis around the globe....So what are the problems? Why do they persist? What can we do about these problems? Problem #1 is the patient is not use to being in control of his or her health - instead they cede control of their health to a series of health care mechanics. Warning number one - ceding your health to health care mechanics should only ever be a last resort. Allowing these mechanics to fix your body, mind, or spirit is always fraught with danger. Mechanics are good if you are smashed up and need repairs - that is you had an accident or you have neglected your health for years. Then you need the best mechanic you can get - you need them to do a bare minimum and then go rehabilitate yourself. Problem #2 the revenue models in all health care systems - private or public - are badly flawed. Both the UK and the US health care systems suffer from the same chronic problem. Both over spend on tools for mechanics and underspend on information technology for patient health. Both revenue models are biased towards intervention not prevention - neither is focused on health improvement. Health is improved when information is freely available to all patients at all times - but this can not and will not happen in the current UK or US systems because both revenue models capture & store all the key information in the mechanics tool kit not in the patient's computer, iPod, iPhone, medicare card, etc. Problem #3 there are simply too many mechanics in the health care system - the common perception is that more mechanics are needed to cope with a huge growth in patient needs (NB if young individuals continue to abuse their health this could become a huge problem by 2030). Supporting this call for more mechanics in 2008 is the notion that patient demand is outstripping the supply of mechanics. Both perceptions are dead wrong! The real problem is there are too many mechanics in the health care system and too few information technologists who could better provide the health information that patients need. In 2008 and beyond we need more and better health information systems and fewer, far fewer, health care mechanics. We need to automate the paper-based systems of health care services and convert them to digital systems tailored to meet each individual's need for health information storing, updating, and sharing. Problem #4 health is a decentralised activity whereas health care servicing is a centralised activity - these two are incompatible. Emergency is the only place in the centralised institutions of health care services that is decentralised - it works effectively and efficiently while the crisis is on. Once the crisis is passed try finding the EXIT to this splendidly chaotic system - there is no obvious pathway to a patient resuming control of his or her circumstance. I believe IDEO may have done a job on this at the MAYO Clinic but I am not sure of the details. Health is always about decentralised information and care based on patient needs and use value... Health Care Systems are almost always highly centralised, over-populated with staff, over-spent on intrusive technologies, and under funded on information technologies that might save patients lives. Problem #5 health care is a people and paper based system that could and should be ruthlessly automated - there should be a self-service and full service mode. Self-service is day surgery or the like where you book yourself in and the mechanics work you over before you get up and leave at the end of the day. Full-service is for longer stay events where the mechanics have to do major repairs - in this instance you will need a patient's advocate to help you make decisions or to make those decisions for you. Mechanics are mechanics and some are good and others not so good - they all need to be challenged on their diagnosis and prognosis. Problem #6 health insurance is about financial risk not health risk. When health insurance is mandated by governments the industry that it creates is focused on pooled financial risks not pooled health risks. For example, if you take the 2,000 most expensive clients for a health insurance company and you pay for them to have a full time (yeah 24/7) nurse or patients advocate and other health related services - eg beepers for medicine times that are coded with colours for medications, etc - then the cost to the insurers will come down and yeah you guessed it, the health of the patient will go UP! Let's have a system that is all about health risks - we have a system that is attuned to financial risks due to the high cost of health care service mechanics and their over servicing. Finally the biggest problem is most of us have been cultured into believing that we have the best health system in the world... It is an ugly urban myth - none of us can have a reliable health system unless or until we are in complete control and when we can not maintain vigilance and control we have to be able to ceded it to our trusted patient advocate.... |
|
|
