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January 24, 2010
Does social media make us more honest?
This year, the World Economic Forum explores the influence of social networks at the start of the Annual Meeting 2010 in Davos. The discussion is moderated by Loïc Le Meur, Founder of Seesmic and includes, among others Gina Bianchini, CEO, Ning, George Colony, CEO, Forrester Research, Reid Hoffman, Founder, LinkedIn, Owen Van Natta CEO, MySpace.com and Evan Williams, CEO, Twitter.
You can submit questions to Davos as videos, so...if you don't like to read, watch the 3 min video version of my question at http://tinyurl.com/ydmu9e8
==> My question is: "Do you think that social media helps people and companies become more honest?"
I believe that social media will help and based my argument on the below observations. However, I would like to hear what the panel has to say.
1)Transparency: social media enables information to be shared faster than ever before. Of course, transparency can be scary for some, especially if your "friends" publish your information or photos without your permission. However, with transparency comes accountability - if you state on your Facebook page that 'you never drink' and your friends put up photos of you bar-hopping...you can run into some credibility issues. This principle is true for individuals and companies. It presents particular challenges for organizations who mislead customers as their modus operandi, and that's a good thing.
2) More intelligent use of social media: the ability to find information across multiple social networks simply by searching allows many of us to figure "what a person or a company is about". This technique is well used by recruiters who search the web and look up people's profile prior to bringing them in. Consumers are now more sophisticated in their use of social media - particularly prior to making a buying decision. While their perception of a product might have been shaped by an organization's marketing efforts in the past, they now can solicit their networks for reviews. Given the importance we put on the opinions of our network, the little information a few trusted friends can provide will outweigh any marketing dollar the selling company can invest in trying to change our perception.
3) Consumers at the center of companies 'brands: now that everything is in the open and that consumers have a channel to broadly express their opinions, companies have to be more honest with their customers. Let me provide an example. I had a layover in Paris on my flight from Seattle to Copenhagen. My flight to Copenhagen was delayed so I sat down to check email and my FB page. I immediately let my FB network know that I was delayed in Paris. Within minutes of sitting down, I got an email from the airline company apologizing for the delay….wow...when was last time you got this level of care from an airline? The email isn't much but it indicates that the airline understands that my dissatisfaction could impact others. Given the airline doesn't know me and doesn't want to take the risk that I might influence a large network of their clients - they want to proactively reach out to me.
There are, of course, positive ways by which social media makes people want to be more honest - but I thought I would highlight the ones that I believe offer the most pressure.
What do you believe? Join the conversation @ http://tinyurl.com/o89vep
Best,
Bruno Aziza
Co-author, Drive Business Performance
Follow @ http://twitter.com/brunoaziza
Join on Facebook @ http://tinyurl.com/ykcwkap
Posted by Bruno Aziza at 1:15 PM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2010
Culture of Performance on Radio this Wednesday!
If developing a culture of performance is one of your objectives for 2010, you are in luck! We are making it increasingly easy for you, your team and colleagues to access the content you need to achieve your goal.
This Wednesday, we will be launching a Radio show, focused on the culture of performance. "Untapped Insights" features research from our book and provides guidance in plain English.
Our first show includes Bob O’Brien, Senior Director, Business Analytics Media & Entertainment Group at Microsoft.
- Check out the video preview of the interview @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxYSOkisLMI
- To attend live, click @ https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/471994544
- Subscribe to it by clicking @ Ws.pushbi.com/untapped_insights.xml
(First 200 live attendees get a free copy of Drive Business Performance).
The show will be interactive and offers a forum for debate. If you have questions, prior, during and after the show, email me @ bruno@brunoaziza.com.
Finally, don't forget to follow on Twitter @ twitter.combrunoaziza to stay in touch!
Bruno Aziza
Co-author, Drive Business Performance
Twitter @ http://twitter.com/brunoaziza
Facebook @ http://tinyurl.com/ykcwkap
Linkedin @ http://tinyurl.com/o89vep
Site @ http://www.brunoaziza.com
Posted by Bruno Aziza at 6:15 AM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2010
Lego Group's Culture of Performance (NRF preview)
The recent economic crisis has reminded business leaders of "the basics" of business performance; developing a great strategy is not enough. All participants need to be able to execute the strategy and the organization needs to empower them to make the right decisions, better and faster. Doing so requires processes and systems that can adjust to market conditions. But more importantly, it requires that your organization's culture is geared for performance.
In my upcoming session at NRF this year, I will be joined by Henrik Amsinck, Lego Group Chief Information Officer and VP. I'm honored to share the stage with Henrik. Not only is Lego's story a great one to have the opportunity to tell, but Henrik embodies the spirit that drives the performance of this amazing company.
Every employee I have talked to leading up to this presentation shares the same passion for Lego, their products and their customers. Even talking on the phone, it's almost as if I could 'hear' the sparkle in their eye when they talked about Lego. Indeed, Lego has a strong culture of performance and it shows. In the first half of 2009 the company reported 20% results and outpaced the competition. Read a great coverage of Lego's story published by the Daily Telegraph this past December here.
However, as you will find out in our session, Lego didn't always have the stellar results I'm alluding to here. The cultural changes they have gone through allowed them to come back strong and equip themselves to gain market share when others were struggling. So - how did they do it? And how can your organization do the same?
While we will share the details at our session next week, I want to give you a taste of what you should expect. There are three key aspects of Lego's turnaround we can all learn from:
1) Commitment from the top: as we describe in Drive Business Performance, culture changes start at the top. A new leader often joins the organization with intentions to define new standards of performance; an approach that provides employees with the tools to be better informed and the expectations of better accountability. In our session on Tuesday, we will tell you how Lego helped its employees to expect and respect data-driven decision making.
2) Focus on the basics: too many organizations build processes, reports and dashboards without asking basic questions on the validity and general agreement employees have of the metrics that drive the business. On Tuesday, we will talk about how Lego focuses on a "language of performance" and how they determine what should be a global standard versus what should be uniquely defined for a locale.
3) Compete into the future: few organizations have implemented the type of information management system Lego has across structured, unstructured and social data. A core value of Lego's mission is connection with their customers. However, many of their customers are boys age 6-10. How do you think they connect with them and request their feedback?
The first 200 attendees will receive a complimentary, signed copy of my book, Drive Business Performance. Join us on Tuesday, 01/12/2010 from 1:45PM - 2:30PM in Room EXPO Hall, 3D04.
This session will be interactive and we will ask you to participate throughout. In fact, if you'd like to send out questions, join the discussion on the Culture of Performance LinkedIn group @ http://tinyurl.com/o89vep
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Bruno Aziza
Co-author, Drive Business Performance
Follow @ http://twitter.com/brunoaziza
Join on Facebook @ http://tinyurl.com/ykcwkap
My site @ www.brunoaziza.com
References: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/re tailandconsumer/6825911/Lego-play-it-again.html
Posted by Bruno Aziza at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)
January 4, 2010
Business Intelligence 2020?
Happy New Year to all!
By now, you probably have read all the 2010 predictions or even 2009 "best of" analyses!
There are some great ones out there but....I haven't found much on BI 2020 horizon.
So...looking back the last decade, and factoring in the accelerating pace of innovation in the business intelligence field...what do YOU think the biggest innovations or trends will be?
I have some ideas of course, but would rather hear what you have to say (by the way, don't just think technology but think process, people...and culture….).
Join the discussion on the Culture of Performance LinkedIn group @ http://tinyurl.com/o89vep
Bruno Aziza
Co-author, Drive Business Performance
Follow @ http://twitter.com/brunoaziza
Join on Facebook @ http://tinyurl.com/ykcwkap
My site @ www.brunoaziza.com
--
By the way, if you are at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show this year, don't miss my session!
This year I have the honor to present with Henrik Amsinck, CIO of Lego group on "Developing A Culture of Performance in Retail".
For more information on the session, go to http://events.nrf.com/annual2010/PUBLIC/SessionDetails.aspx?FromPage=Calendar.aspx&SessionID=1179
Posted by Bruno Aziza at 6:45 AM | Comments (1)
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