Are you, or want to be, a game changer? Do you use the power of your ideas and connections to grow and change? Watch Nilofer Merchant, strategist and author,” in one minute tell Harvard how the way we do business is changing:
We don’t create value on our own but when we connect with other entities, people and ideas. People who master networking will be thriving in the social era.
The power of networks
How many networks do you belong to on and offline? Admittedly far from all networks are useful. They have to consist of people with shared interests and goals in order to produce returns and serve our needs.
Unfortunately there are plenty of networks consisting of individuals who just talk and seem to be stuck on the same treadmill forever. Such networks, needless to say, will not produce results. When it comes to networking, action definitely speaks louder than words.
Connected individuals taking over from institutions
It’s almost strange, isn’t it, that power today more and more comes from individuals connected in some way at the expense of institutions. Personally believe that’s a wonderful development. And it gets even better because because we can create value by connecting to individuals who are not working in our company. We can, for instance, hire a consultant at the other side of the world who can carry out work for us without leaving his/her home.
Let your customers have their say
Making your customers part of your innovation process is a wonderful aspect of the social era. How do you connect with your customers?
It’s also interesting that it’s mainly our values and goals that unite us in the social era. Not a company or product. It allows us to organise companies to be more fluid, work faster and increase their market share.
Isn’t it time to stop thinking in old ways and adapt to our new reality – the social era? We don’t need to work out of an office anymore. Maybe it’s time to to re-define what an organisation looks like and how it is structured? More and more individuals have their own company and successfully cooperate with other business owners as if they were one organisation. Do you agree that the amount of business owners working together along those lines will continue to increase? Are you operating that way? If so, what are your experiences?
Everything and everyone is a product. A country, city, company, product, service and a person. And how the market perceives the product determines its value. It’s sounds cynic, I know. But if you want to be valued and sought for on the market you have to on a continuous basis make sure your brand is in demand and sells.
Does Chanel have a higher turnover in the developing world than in the West? Most likely. But since it’s a private company the information is not available.
Innovating and updating your brand
When a product is a success all of a sudden the brand matures, growth slows and it comes under pressure from competitors. Europe and the US at the moment are good examples. That’s the time to start innovating and spending again if you want to defend your market position. If not, don’t complain if you lose out to your competitors.
Nothing ever stays the same – not even Cornflakes
You may object that some brands, like Cornflakes, or Chanel for that matter, have been around for a long time. But what we buy today is very different from the same product 50 years ago, not least when it comes to packaging and design. If your brand is out of date you will have to make an investment and innovate yourself. How you want to be perceived depends on what market you are aiming for.
The West needs to get their attraction back
When it comes to countries and continents, Europe and the US have matured and competitors are moving in. But the West seem to take their current status for granted and are not doing enough to defend their market position. What happened to innovation and making their markets more attractive to investors, not to mention more business friendly?
The West is losing out
The market is irrevocably global. That does not mean the concept represent the best of worlds. But the West will continue to lose relative power as a result. It’s ironic isn’t it that thanks to its generosity in exporting the secrets of success, China and other emerging giants are catching up.
Developing nations are not going to cede power to the US and Europe out of gratefulness. So the West needs to face up to reality – their brand is losing out. It’s time to innovate and make it profitable for businesses again to stop them moving to other parts of the world. If not, the West will gradually trade places with the developing world.
No matter how smart we are, as entrepreneurs what we have on day one is a faith based enterprise. Devote one minute and forty two seconds to hear what Steve Blank, serial entrepreneur and Stanford consulting professor, has to say about swiftly turning your vision into a sustainable business model:
Startups are, to quote Blank, religious enterprises. Catch is 95% of the time entrepreneurial visions are hallucinations. And as we all know, entrepreneurial minds are prone to have ideas the world is not yet ready for. It’s hence of essence to make sure we are not ahead of time. Or simply have an idea the market does not want.
So how do entrepreneurs swiftly find out if they are hallucinating?
Steve Blank’s suggestion is to break down the vision into a business model. Then get out in a fairly formal way and test your hypothesis with your customers.
Why should we test our visions?
Because we are not smarter than the collective opinion of our customers, is Steve Blank’s answer. And he is definitely right about that.
If we find out that we are wrong we then make minor changes or, if necessary, a pivot, i.e. a substantial change, to one or more of the business model components. Then we keep on making minor changes or pivots until we have a sustainable business model.
The alternative is to passionately go ahead and try to make an idea that’s not sustainable succeed. Far too many entrepreneurs make that mistake. Some even go bankrupt as a result. Probably most frustration is caused by having ideas that the market isn’t yet ready for. Not least because someone else will launch it in the future. Testing your hypothesis enables you to wait until the timing is right and do something else in the meantime. Or, if possible, gradually launch your idea.
Do you agree with Steve Blank that 95% of the time entrepreneurs are hallucinating? Is it essential to go out and test your hypotheses with your customers? Have you ever tested your visions the way Blank suggests? If so, did you make changes the way he recommends and ended up with a sustainable business model? After hearing what he has to say, will you now go out and test your hypothesis and then make the changes necessary? Or are you of the opinion that the vision you believe in will succeed, provided that you work hard at it?
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was adviced by Bill Clinton to schedule time to think strategically on a regular basis. Watch this short video of him talking to Garth Saloner, Dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business, about Clinton’s advice:
What Tony Blair has to say applies to all of us, no matter what we are doing. Not least when we run our own businesses. It’s easy to devote all our time to dealing with day to day business and forget about how to reach our goals.
Have events taken over your life?
If so, you are not alone. Apparently most people in high positions spend less than 5% of their time dealing with their priorities. Above all we lose our grip on strategies when dealing with a crisis.
Did Bill Clinton give Tony Blair good advice? Do you schedule time for strategic thinking on how to succeed with your priorities? Is finding time to do so hard? Have you noticed what a difference it makes when you find time for strategic thinking? Have not done so yet, maybe it’s time you do?
Today your brand will be shared by customers making videos, starting Facebook groups and sending a multitude of tweets. Devote 3 minutes to watching Unilever SVP of Marketing Marc Mathieu talk about how the digital age has shifted marketing from creating myths to finding and sharing truth:
A marketer has to think fundamentally different in our digital world. Branding is not what it used to be, mainly because it’s not all being done by purchased advertising in traditional media. How you go about branding has to adapt to a world where consumers have a say and let the world know what they think.
What’s role does today’s marketer play in shaping a brand?
Marketing used to be about telling a myth and spreading it. Today it’s about telling the truth and sharing it, according to Marc Mathieu. Or rather finding the truth that appeals to people and make them share it. Consequently it’s crucial to build a brand that appeals to people’s values and favour the environment. They have to want to engage with it, participate in it and share it with their friends. Needless to say this fundamentally change the ways brands are built.
Marketing needs to tap into people’s imagination
Marketing needs to enable people instead of telling a finished story. We need more magic and less logic without forgetting that both aspects are important in order to appeal to both to the right and left sides of our brains. It’s also important to use marketing to help people tap into new behaviours that are good for the environment and society. By doing so marketing, like never before, has the ability to play a really positive role in society.
Bottom line – not only you are in charge of your brand
What you are now watching and reading is an example of how I am playing a part in branding Unilever, Marc Mathieu and CNN Money. If my contribution is positive or negative will make a small, but still, contribution to how those brands are perceived.
When searching for Catarina’s World and Catarina Alexon on Google, I have several times come across blog’s written by people I have never even heard about that mention my name and refer to an article I have written with a link to it. They then proceed with writing a post based on my article. So far, it’s only been positive and the same goes for the numerous tweets about me and my blog.
It’s also important to remember that everything you write on social media will brand you. So be nice, respectful and polite. Search engines record everything and forget nothing. Getting into an argument with a bully may come back to haunt you in the future. The same applies to what your employees write on social media.
The way to try to control your brand is to stick to the truth, deliver what you promise, appeal positively to people’s imagination and treat others the way you want to be treated. If negative content about you and your product and services are being spread online it’s time to start creating positive content to push down the negative information on search engines. You can read more about that in my article What’s your online reputation worth? that outlines what you can do if someone has a go at you online.
Do you agree that branding today is fundamentally different due to all of us contributing to branding products and services? Is Marc Mathieu right when he says that it’s essential to tap into people’s values and inspire them to share brands with their friends? Can we through how we brand products and services enable people to adapt behaviours that are good for the environment and society? Have you had positive or negative experiences of how your brand has been shared online? Do you believe it’s possible to 100% control your brand in today’s world?
Today that’s become an essential aspect of being an entrepreneur. And so is authenticity. Fortune Magazine senior editor Pattie Sellers explains why in this short video:
Storytelling has become a must for entrepreneurs. All start-ups and businesses have to be able to tell their story on social media in ways that captivate their audience. Consequently one more crucial skill has to be performed by entrepreneurs. But not to worry, those of you who are not writers can hire one.
Can you write like a journalist?
It’s a new phenomena because in the past there was no need for entrepreneurs to tell an interesting story about themselves and their company that made people want to know more and do business with them.
But social media changed all that. Communication is fundamental and it’s essential to convey your brand in ways that works. Advertising in newspapers, magazines and TV commercials is no longer enough.
You have to be able to tell your story the way a journalist or writer would. Alternatively get a journalist or writer to tell your story to build up your brand on social media.
If you write fiction you will be caught
To be honest and authentic is more important than ever. Even if you use little white lies chances are high you will get caught. Today it’s so easy to find the truth. It’s hence essential to be consistent and tell the same story everywhere. Not only online but offline. Unless of course you want someone somewhere, maybe a competitor, to catch you and post their findings somewhere on the web. It happens all the time. So don’t pretend you are better than you are.
Do you agree that social media has made captivating storytelling essential for entrepreneurs and companies? Is excellent communication and writing skills more important than ever? Or are you of the opinion that advertising and TV commercials in the right places is still enough for an entrepreneur to succeed? Are you consistent with your brand and make sure the same information, and pictures, come across everywhere? Are you authentic and honest with your branding?
The day I stop learning I’m dead. And even when that day comes I will not know everything there is to know.
The day I stop learning I’m dead.
Nobody does, even Einstein said he is not an expert on anything, merely curious. Did you for instance know that sweating leaves produce electricity? Neither did I until I came across that revelation.
Learning is fascinating. Some days what we learn have a fundamental impact on our lives, some days it’s just minor things and sometimes we are forced to learn lessons we really could do without. But regardless, the important thing is that we learn and develop. If not, how can improvement take place? How boring life would be without constant learning and development. Imagine how inflexible people would be..
Ever met a person who has never had a problem?
Everybody has problems, the richest man in the world as well as the poorest. It’s just a question of what problems. The important thing though is what we learn from them. The easiest is to blame everybody else but that approach will just assure that the same problem happens over and over again. The smart, and interesting, way is to take responsibility for what happened, learn and move on.
Almost every day something new happens
In Saudi Arabia you learn a lot. KSA is, in my opinion, the most interesting country in the world because almost every day something happens that you have never experienced before. Life in the kingdom hence enriches you enormously, provided of course, that you are not stuck in your ways or intolerant. We are all different, and that’s what makes life beautiful. How boring it would be if we were all alike.
If you have a curious mind and constantly learn you can succeed with anything. Don’t know how many times I have been asked to do something I have never done before in different parts of the world. So I just found out, learnt and did it.
Life has no guarantees
Sometimes I think people are afraid of learning and developing. It’s not only laziness but also easier to take the option of doing nothing since, they could, after all, fail. And society sometimes reward people for towing the line as opposed to learning and developing. It’s not unusual that even top positions are filled with executives who will just preserve the status quo. That’s all very well, but how will companies develop with that kind of mind-set? Sure control is important but surely not at the expense of the company learning, developing and improving results? And how can they do that unless they start looking at new and different options? Besides I don’t understand the contradiction since I have always followed company policy and at the same time learnt, developed and improved results.
For me acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, preferences and understanding is vital. To be broad-minded and curious is probably one of the key, if not the key, aspect of life. And how would that be possible without constantly learning? I know more today than I did yesterday and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. I really enjoy living and am not afraid of dying but anything in between I’m simply not interested in. And isn’t that how we end up leading our lives if we stop learning with all that entails? Or maybe Oscar Wilde had a point when he said: “Everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching”? Joke aside, at least that’s how we sometimes felt when we were at school.
It seems to me that we are making the art of leadership too complicated. There are umpteen theories that all have one thing in common – they work for some and for others they don’t.
Would Virgin group be what it is today if Richard Branson hadn’t mastered the art of communication?
Most people who suddenly find themselves in a leadership position swiftly realize that the top position is completely different from what they imagined. And worse, there is no manual.
Lonely at the top
There is no school for becoming a successful leader. New leaders frequently feel lonely since there are fewer people privy to high level information. It can be overwhelming. So much so that the fact that a leader’s success depends on communication is frequently forgotten.
Too many theories confusing
Richard Branson is an excellent example of a very successful leader who masters the art of communication. To the extent of jumping from high buildings to get the attention needed to promote a new Virgin venture. Don’t think anybody would dispute how successful he is. But the confusion caused by all these theories and schools of leadership actually led one guy straight out of university to have the audacity to make a comment in a discussion on Linkedin that he had a lot to teach Richard Branson. Indeed? What are the odds of he, or anybody else, becoming as successful a leader as Richard is? Pretty slim, I’d say considering that very few ever become as successful as Richard Branson is. And the success of Virgin is very much down to his exceptionally good ability to communicate.
The tasks of a leader is, simply put, to vision where a company is heading (strategies, future accomplishments, managing the destiny of the organisation and so forth), find the people the organisation needs to fulfil it’s vision, make choices and take decisions. Leaders also have to continuously serve, learn, correct, evaluate and motivate.
The leader’s most powerful tool
And how are you going to succeed with all that if you don’t master the art of communication ? Both internally and externally it’s the most powerful tool a leader has. It’s crucial to communicate with others about trends that affect the future of your business and stretch your thoughts by discussing your ideas with friends, associates and other great thinkers.
What can be achieved without constantly communicating?
Ideas are an extremely powerful force. By communicating ideas to people you engage their minds and help them see new possibilities and new opportunities. Strong and evocative ideas energize people and incite action. As leaders, our ideas are important. Leaders need clear ideas and philosophies about how to win in the marketplace, how their organisation should operate and how to develop their people.
Leaders succeed because they are able to focus and deal with the 5% of issues that are crucial, build support, create followers, put out fires fast and finish what they started. How would that be possible without communicating? Especially since many decisions are instant so a non-communicative leader would fail miserably.
Successful leaders spend much more time communicating their decision than actually taking the decision. Lots of time is also spent on coaching and motivating others. And, tedious as it can be, repeating the decision to get maximum effect. But despite that most people wrongly believe leaders spend most of their time making decisions. Leaders who only take decisions will fail miserably since communication is the key ingredient. Not communicating enough is hence the main reason for failure and not, as many believe, that they were following the wrong theory. And don’t forget that leaders live in the future so the more your communication enlightens you about tomorrow the better a leader you will be!
Neutralising difficult people is crucial not only in business but in all areas of life. Devote 3 minutes to watching Nina Godiwalla, CEO of Mindworks, telling Harvard how we can change our reaction:
Nina trains executives and most of them are of the opinion that their biggest challenge is other people’s behavior. Does it sound familiar?
Change your reaction
How you respond to someone’s behavior makes a huge difference. Many times a person initiates a negative message or difficult attitude, just to trigger a response from you. If you react, you actually give them what they want. So stop the cycle of negative snowballing and sell them short on what they’re looking for by simply not responding.
Don’t get defensive
If you don’t start arguing with someone they usually stop their aggressive behaviour. One way is to just answer with a non-judgmental observation. It’s difficult, I know, because the cause of conflict is the trigger to our emotions and our emotions are what drive us back to our most basic survival instinct i.e. to react and attack back to defend ourselves.
But to counter attack makes it even worse, and is usually what the difficult person wants. So if you answer with an observation the person who attacked you normally backs off. Another way is to ask thoughtful questions to make them aware of what they are doing?
Change poison to nectar
Sometimes it’s possible to completely stun a person trying to pour poison on you. You can do that by complimenting the other person for something or tell them you have learnt from interacting with them. The difficult part about this strategy is to be, or at least appear to be, genuine. It may be difficult to find something positive about the person and you need a poker face to appear genuine.
How do you handle difficult people? Do you get defensive and counter attack? Or have you learnt to change your reaction? Do you realize that frequently difficult people take their own frustrations out on you? Are you able to control your emotions and not respond? Maybe you have even learnt to give them compliments to disarm them? What strategies have enabled you to defuse attackers?
Would you buy a product you cannot see that hasn’t even got a name? Thought not. Still some people believe they can get a following on social media by branding themselves that way.
Would you do business with a ghost? Thought not, and the same applies to the rest of humanity. So leave covert branding behind and start reaping the benefits of social media.
How can you take people seriously when they hide their identity? Obviously you should not post your contact details on social media. But your name and picture are essential if you want to be taken seriously.
A statue cannot sign a contract
Hiding takes away fear and I can understand that to some extent. But what’s the point of using social media if you are afraid of it? And what’s there to be afraid of? Apart from people who, usually for dodgy reasons, are using a fake identity, social media is a wonderful thing that people should embrace and make the most of.
But when you hide behind a photograph of, say a rose, and an alias you give the impression you have something to hide. So if you haven’t, what’s the point in making people suspicious? Chances of getting new customers, a job offer or business proposals are next to none if you are not transparent.
Identity theft doesn’t only take place online
Some people hiding claim they are afraid of identity theft. Seriously that can unfortunately happen even if you have no presence whatsoever online. All it takes is for a letter with your essential details to fall into the wrong hands. And,deplorable as it is, it happens all the time. Both in the real world and online.
Fearful leaders and entrepreneurs
Is it really feasible that so many people priding themselves to be leaders and entrepreneurs are afraid of online identity theft and posting a photograph or name? Seriously they wouldn’t be leaders and entrepreneurs if that was the case. So why are they hiding? Far from all of them are con-men, so why don’t they post their names and photographs?
Linkedin is not Facebook
If you use Facebook to communicate with your friends only, anything goes. But on business networks, such as Linkedin, you have to come across as a serious person. Posting a picture of yourself half naked doesn’t do the trick. Or a picture that makes you look dishonest. Chose a photograph that makes you look business like. It’s not a question of being ugly or beautiful but looking like a person businesspeople would like to be associated with.
Like products without logos
Imagine walking into a supermarket with your shopping list and all the logos and descriptions had disappeared from the products displayed. How would you know what they were? Even a simple thing like buying a can of Coca Cola would be difficult because you wouldn’t know what was in the different cans. And how would you know if you were picking up a bottle of shampoo or body lotion?
Learn from 007
There are covert agents on social media aiming to influence public opinion pro whatever country they are working for. They don’t want to draw negative attention to themselves and I can guarantee you that they all post a name, appropriate photograph and a credible profile. If not, how would they be able to do their job?
Would you do business with a ghost? Exactly, and you are not the only one. The same applies to the rest of humanity. So do yourself a favour by refraining from covert branding and display your photograph and name on social media. When people take you seriously, things can happen out of the blue and the positive aspects of social media will be available to you. Invisible branding works against you so unless you are in a witness protection program, or something similar, be transparent and start reaping the benefits of social media.
