The Fifth P...

business changed in the noughties

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:13:38 +0000

This is a truly great article by Kevin Ellis over at PWC that captures poignantly the changes we saw in business in the noughties…in summary, they are;

1. The rise of the customer-centric organisation

Businesses have been transformed and reassembled themselves around the individual customer.

2. Search, and the rise of the knowledge manager

Search engines have delivered the sum of all human knowledge to the fingertips of anyone and everyone.

3. The Eastward migration of economic power and influence

China is engaging and facing the outside world for the benefits it brings its own markets. India is facing the world and becoming more outward focused generally.

4. Litigiousness v fairness

Concerns about the risks of future legal liabilities now characterise many corporate transactions and agreements.

5. Social and business networks

Social networks have changed the way people meet, stay in touch, communicate and gather.

6. The changing deal for employees and employers

For much of the twentieth century, there was an unspoken deal between employers and employees.

7. Virtual communication

Global markets mean global teams and the ability to lead, manage or work within a virtual team has become one of the new skills of the first decade of the millennium.

8. Divergent working patterns

Some of us are chained to ‘Crackberries’ while others are working flexible hours, from home or a mixture of office and home.

9. The green agenda

It’s getting warmer on planet earth. Most people agree with this.

10. Economic migration

Over the Noughties, the UK has seen the influx of people from Eastern Europe (prompted to a large degree by the EU expansion and free movement of workers) and also from India,

11. Offshoring – Reshoring

Wave after wave of off-shoring projects followed IT off-shoring around Y2K. This was essentially started by an acute shortage of IT people in the UK and glut of qualified workers in India, ready to work.

12. Consumer debt and the changing attitude to personal insolvency

The first half of the Noughties saw a shift in borrowing as consumers moved from living within their means to ‘living on tick’.

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The Most Influential Brands in 2009?

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:56:53 +0000

If you haven’t had a look at Klout, and you are intrigued by ‘influence’ and who has it (or not) online – then it could be worth having a look at their latest Lists of 2009

Klout analysze the content posted on Twitter, and analyse the trends, producing lists such as ‘The most Influential Companies in 2009′

This list is a capture of all the conversations around the related brands…and not all of it is good. As noted by the team at Klout “AT&T made the list through other means–by consistently aggravating the iPhone wielding influencers with their poor service”

Not all influence is positive, but then Spin Doctors will also have us believe that that all press is good press?

Is this true…is AT&T an influential brand because most of the ‘noise’ online is generated by complaints and negative sentiment?

See the full gallery on posterous

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Digital Detox

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:15:15 +0000

Christmas is almost upon us, and 2010 approaches!

Every now and then, the family and I retreat to the country. This year, we will be heading up to our 10,000acre farm in Central Queensland to enjoy some much needed rest and recovery.

The children love the space and adventure, and my wife and I enjoy the tranquility…

One of the other benefits (if you see it this way) of the remoteness of our property, is that we have nil internet (we have satellite internet, but the price makes its use prohibitive for anything other than emergency). So how am I going to cope?

In a way, I am looking forward to it…I have recently purchased MacSpeech (voice to text software) and will be taking some to generate some content ready for 2010!

So, my wife and I have labelled this my ‘digital detox’…a chance to cleanse the soul of some of the evil digital demons that have crept into my life!

Enjoy the break, stay safe, and love often…I look forward to connecting back with you all in 2010!

Merry Christmas

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:54:00 +0000

Wishing you all a very Merry and safe Christmas…

Thank you to everyone for your support and friendship in 2009.

Here’s to a more social and successful 2010…

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Gus the Boxer…keeping social media REAL

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:40:21 +0000

Australia’s leading brands may be (or not be) using social media well, but what about the host of (soon to be leading) Australian brands creating some real magic using social media?

Take for instance Gus the Boxer (@gustheboxer)

Gus has been featured on the front page of major newspapers, hangs out with celebrities, and now even has his own calendar??

For Gus, life is pretty good…hanging out at Haul in Melbourne (He has even put his creative talents to use, helping Haul create a stunning range of recycled dog collars), meeting celebrities, and doing press interviews…but it isn’t all about chewing bones and chasing cats.

Gus spends much of his day keeping on top of his facebook fan page, updating his twitter account, keeping his website up to date and keeping track of press commitments.

But all this hard work is getting results…

With close to 1,000 followers on twitter and 350+ fans on his facebook fan page, Gus the Boxer is a celebrity in his local town.

And who knows how many calendars he has sold? (get yours here NOW)

And, unlike many personalities, Gus has been putting his celebrity to good use! Earlier this year, while lying around, Gus had the inspired idea to create a calendar, and donate the proceeds to a worthy cause…to quote “Gus & friends (think Live Aid ‘We are the World’ 1985 style) have all donated their time and skills for this project. ALL profits will go to Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne, Australia”

Forget about ANZ, Telstra, Vodafone, Optus or BHP Billiton, what Gus the Boxer is doing with Social Media, and how he is supporting a worthwhile cause is impressive…and real!

If a dog can do it?

digital curation…the answer to greater engagement and influence?

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:24:17 +0000

Seggr Report on Digital Curation

View more documents from seggr.

How Australia’s leading brands are using (or not) social media!

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:50:22 +0000

Social Media Use by Australia's Best Brands 2009

View more presentations from Burson-Marsteller Australia.

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You can learn to be innovative!

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:24:07 +0000

Do you think you are innovative?

A recent CNN article by Mark Tutton – Learn the 5 secrets of innovation elaborated on a 6 year study on innovation conducted by the Harvard Business School, Insead and Brigham Young University.

The study found that innovation CAN be learned, and that it is not dependent on genetics as perhaps first believed.

The 6 year study looked at over 3,000 executives, and 500 high profile entrepreneurs (inclding Jeff Bezos and Michael Dell), and discovered that there are 5 skills that separate the blue-sky innovators from the rest — these skills are;

Associating
Questioning
Observing
Experimenting
Networking…

When Tutton interviewed Mark Ventresca from the University of Oxford Said Business School, he remarked;

"When it comes to developing your ability to innovate, Ventresca recommends simply setting aside 30 minutes a week to talk with a contact you wouldn't normally talk to — for example someone you met at conference six months ago.

Ventresca told CNN, "If you do that every week, that's 52 conversations in a year taking up 26 hours of time.

"Say 10 of those yield something interesting, and two of those 10 let you do something new and valuable — by investing just 26 hours a year you've come up with something pretty remarkable."

It really is that simple…

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Foursquare…social business design or just good fun?

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:53:20 +0000

Foursquare has definitely caught my imagination…gee, I was even the Mayor of the Circular Quay Ferry terminal in Sydney for 5 minutes – until I was knocked off the title, and am now working overtime to get the title back!

Whilst I had heard of foursquare, I was not sure if it had become relevant in Sydney yet (it is a location based service fundamentally)

Peter Kim of Dachis Group wrote a deeply insightful post earlier this month on Foursquare and Social Business Design on his blog – Being Peter Kim

To quote Peter;

To understand FourSquare’s emergent business value, you’ve got to think of it as a social business application, the backbone of which is measurement. Even more than other social apps, game mechanics drive the FourSquare experience. Based on the single activity of “checking in,” all five elements exist:

Earning points throughout the week.
Collecting badges and mayorships.
Feedback though the leaderboard and a personal stats page.
Value exchanges from keeping tabs on your connections.
Customization of your profile and check-in messages. Anyone who uses the app knows all this.

As a result of Peter’s post, broader reading, and ongoing conversations with Randal Leeb-du Toit on the subject of game mechanics and digital curation, foursquare now has my imagination working over-time.

For me, there are several aspects of foursquare that intrigue me

The ability to connect with people IRL who may connect on various other channels (I was at the CBS Interactive Christmas party this week, and noted afterward that someone I was connected with on Twitter and foursquare was at the same party…I also noted that I could ring this connection on their mobile from within the foursquare iphone app)
The opportunity for business owners to attract new customers and deepen relationships with existing customers, (like the Mayors of Manhattan) and
The application of game mechanics – changing and influencing behaviour by introducing elements of a ‘game’ – best captured in this Fun Theory experiment in Sweden

The foursquare business model is also worth thinking about. There has to be real value behind capturing the movements and habits of connected people? Can this data be used to predict behaviour or provide an insight into what makes a venue or activity popular?

Much food for thought..but I am about to head out the door, check in somewhere, and work towards that elusive Mayor badge!

Web 2.0 – changing the way we work

Luke Harvey-Palmer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:58:14 +0000

In recent years, using technology to change the way people work has often meant painful disruption, as CIOs rolled enterprise software programs through the ranks of reluctant staffers. Today, employees are more likely to bring in new technologies on their own—and to do so enthusiastically—through their Web browser, whether it’s starting a blog, setting up a wiki to share knowledge, or collaborating on documents hosted online…

Here is an interesting interview with Andrew McAfee, the principal research scientist at the Center for Digital Business at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Roger Roberts at McKinsey conducted the interview…you will need to register with McKinsey first (it’s free), but the interview can be read here