The Harvard Business Review whitepaper "ReThinking Marketing" is engaging. Out with the CMO and in with the CCO

The Harvard Business Review whitepaper "ReThinking Marketing" is engaging. Out with the CMO and in with the CCO - a position that will test corporate life-expectancy. There is an expectation that will only increase with time. That expectation is that customers expect to have access to companies - at a level never before available.

"Yet never before have companies had such powerful technologies for interacting directly with customers, collecting and mining information about them, and tailoring their offerings according. And never before have customers expected to interact so deeply with companies. To compete in this aggressively interactive environment, companies must shift their focus from driving transactions to maximizing customer lifetime value.
For example, I had a bad experience with Yankee Candle ---- that could have altered my opinion, permanently. What happened was I contacted a Vice President - who personally got involved, resolved it to my total satisfaction and treated me with total respect. Consequently, I will be a lifelong customer of Yankee Candle ... on a ongoing and predictable purchasing basis. They have also earned my respect - and consequently WOM advocacy. .

I personally know what goes into developing client relationships that survive years. As a professional customer advocate, and my corporate experience demonstrates that, as well as the testimony of those who have worked with me. I was bridging the gap between corporate management (top tiers) and customers beyond 'customer support'. But I have to give Timeplex the credit. Timeplex was a company I worked for in the 80's and 90's, and who understood relationship-building and increasing the unique customer value beyond the purchase order, years before the curve.

More to come...

Maslows 19 Traits & the Unexamined Life

Just read a great article on Meryl Streep. This is a very flattering piece but is also talking about Maslow's 19 Traits. I remember when Streep was almost mocked because of the roles and accents she had to have. Then the world discovered her humor and comedic talent. Great piece and it even has something for us...http://social.successtelevision.com/pg/blog/Donald_Van_de_Mark/read/12668/streep-wise

... and right behind that, another terrific article that we all can use. If I could make one change, all of these lists or models exclude something I truly believe in - planet consciousness. The earth - and all its inhabitants - not just humans. We are an integral part of the matrix - and to think we are exempt or "... http://www.successtelevision.com/index.php/Wisdom/Insights/personality-traits-and-success.html

... and finally, a really good piece about character. 

 http://social.successtelevision.com/pg/blog/Bud_Bilanich/read/1179/how-many-top-character-strengths-do-you-have

Socrates said it best: The unexamined life is not worth living.  Socrates is one of my true life heroes.  I soaked up his philosophy and beliefs, because they aligned so closely with my own and affirmed them. Let me ask you - do you know anyone who doesn't seek self-improvement?  Who can learn to be more humble - truly humble.  How many of us suffer from egoism? 

For me, I didn't have a "work personality" and the "home personality".  I was pretty much the same all the time.  That is why many of my colleagues know of my principals and passions... and can see how I integrated them into my life.  They didn't get checked at the corporate front door.

The last is really good for a self-examination checklist or word association exercise.  Enjoy.

   

The Uber-Connected Organization : Harvard Business Review article

HBR has a really interesting article talking about how companies can directly benefit by enabling their employees to participate in social media "passive connectivity".  In fact, it's even more than enabling - its accommodating.  The consensus is that the workforce that will replace Baby Boomers - will expect it.  "Has blocking Facebook today become the equivalent of denying an employee access to a phone at work 40 years ago, or email 20 years ago?".  I actually remember - quite vividly - corporate policy of no personal phone calls at work, unless it is an emergency.  The Millennial Generation will be almost half the workforce as early as 2014, so companies need to contemplate how they will (if not already) integrate this into their corporate planning.  "Those born between 1977 and 1997 - the ones you need to hire to replace the retiring boomers - are networked 24/7...".  To read the whole article, and reader comments, go to

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2009/11/the_uberconnected_organization.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-MA

Re: Study: Internally promoted CEOs more successful

http://www.producersweb.com/r/WIRE/d/contentFocus/?adcID=afc711e09ab92114717b0995b2770d88


My response...

Great article and I totally agree. Having gone through 4 acquisitions - and the subsequent transition phases, including senior management musical chairs... unless some executive had an extremely winning personality and background to show for it... the new management team was generally greeted with skepticism (on longevity and commitment). It took 20 years to kill the company... but poor decisions eventually took its toll. Poor decisions in product and market development as well as the appointment of senior executives. Those that were promoted from within the rank & file - were part of the core - and having them in a position of senior management gave us a sense of having a voice at the table; a seat at the table. Saying that, let me add that we did (fortunately) have some truly outstanding executives who were "transplants" that were extremely beneficial. Rotational positions (i.e. chairs with a life expectancy of 2 years) really was predominantly at the senior/executive level ... and we all know too much of a 'good' thing is never 'good'.

Blogs worth reading at ProjectConnections.com

I'm biased - I happen to like the blogs on ProjectConnections.com because they are entertaining as well as informative.  They have humor and a sharp wit laced with usable and practical know-how.  My kind of place.  The one I just read was near and dear to my heart.  It began...

"One night, we were talking about the bad bosses we had worked for. My father-in-law, Larry, told us that he once had a supervisor that held a mandatory staff meeting every Monday at 6:00 a.m. I told Larry that 6:00 a.m. was not that bad but a weekly staff meeting was just cruel. He was shocked."

The topic?  My Role in Reducing Project Churn by Niel Nickolaisen:  Take a few minutes and go to http://blog.projectconnections.com/project_practitioners/2010/01/my-role-in-reducing-project-churn.html 
 

Question of the day: FREE WILL

All of the great religions - first and second tier - seem to be in consensus in "believing" that a divine entity, whatever name you want to attach to "it" - "gave us" "free will".  My big question is - why then do we spend the rest of our lives worrying about potential "wrath", judgement, penalties and "karma" that will result, because we  decided to exercise it?  If there are rules - other than the "BIG 10" specifically relating to the use and abuse of "free will" ... then I would like to know about it.

 

who has control of the budget to make changes and enhancements to the company website, IT or Marketing?

Jeff Antaya, CMO and member of the Chief Marketing Officer Group on LinkedIn, asked that question.  Lots of answers - 67... and growing. I contributed these thoughts...based on my experience with Marketing and working closely with IT in developing the internet and intranet presence for the company. 

Bilateral; co-ruled, co-chaired; IT owned the technology portion of budget; the infrastructure functionality - everything "behind the curtain" to make the user experience enjoyable, build-out requirements and actual implementation. Marketing needs to drive the site; defining feature requirements, control content, conceive the 'big' strategy and own "the plan". Even if IT didn't have 'budget' to create all the bells & whistles (in lean times) that Marketing might want, Marketing still had to come up with something useful, usable... and worthwhile as an interim solution. Often, when IT would enhance or upgrade functionality (and/or features) --- Marketing could work with that by way of customer experience and customer focus groups. I see it as a mutually reinforcing relationship.