John Todor
Business Acumen in Short Supply but Greater Demand
Business acumen is keenness and quickness at understanding and dealing with business situations in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome. (Wikipedia) There is a new elite group emerging—those who quickly grasp changing business dynamics and the potential of innovation, people...
Seizing Advantage: How Tacit Assumptions Rob Traditionalists and Innovators
Collaboration and Social Business are powerful concept with huge potential but realizing this potential is far from business-as-usual. Both traditional business and social business evangelists must challenge their assumptions—and then doing something different. The rise of the social web now sets the context for business,...
Mental Nimbleness for Executives and How to Enhance It
The more the business environment changes, the faster the value of what you know at any point in time diminishes. In this world, success hinges on the ability to participate in a growing array of knowledge flows in order to rapidly refresh your knowledge...
Dealing with Increasing Business Complexity
Growing complexity in business is a problem! An IBM study reported that the vast majority of business leaders recognize increasing complexity as one of their top business challenges. Yet, less than half of these leaders believe their organizations are capable of handling it. According Ron...
Why are Clever Executives Failing?
Why didn't General Motors or Blockbuster see it coming? Thousands of companies of all sizes, focusing on doing better what they are already do. don't see it coming. With hindsight the mistakes are clear. Yet, GM and Blockbuster employ some very bright people.. Many...
Distrust in Rising and it is Costing Your Company Money
The 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer is out and contains some distressing news for businesses in the USA and UK. There are, however, some insights on how a company can turn this situation into an opportunity. Trust in business in the United States and United...
Time isn’t Money Anymore. Time is more Important than Money
The first time I heard Adrian make this statement I thought "Okay, here we go, another pitch about making it quick, easy and convenient for customers." Then I got a chance to read a prerelease copy of her new book, The 24-hour Customer: New...
Follow-up Thoughts from Social Business Executive Summit: Session One
Yesterday, Axel Shultze, Chris Carfi and I had the privilege to open the Social Business Executive Summit. I hope you had a chance to listen in and plan to catch more of the excellent panels today and tomorrow. Time was short so we didn't get...
IBM Study: Companies Can’t Handle Growing Complexity – Here’s How!
An IBM Global CEO Study found that less than 50% felt their organization were prepared to handle a volatile and increasing complex business environment. This is not surprising since most corporation as still operating on a 20th century command/control business model that focus on internal...
Brands versus the Customer Experience
For at least the past 5 years, the tried-and-true formulas to boost sales and market shares of brands have been become increasingly irrelevant and losing traction with customers. (John Gerzema and Ed Lebar, The Trouble with Brands) To understand what is relevant and does get…
Customer Experience Lessons from the Boonville Hotel
Recently, my wife and I spent a lovely weekend at the Boonville Hotel which highlighted some key principles for delivering a great customer experience. First, a little background, Boonville is located in the Anderson Valley wine area of Northern California - a beautiful location for...
The Social Dynamics of Business IBM Style
IBM is a 114 year old company - one that is remarkable in its ability to reinvent itself, to adapt to current business conditions. Here are some of the ways they are shifting from a 20th century command & control enterprise to a flatter,...
The New Normal of Business: Social Media, Change and Your Career
Change is the only constant! We have all heard this before, but… …let me embellish and illustrate how it can impact your business and career in the immediate future. John Hagel, John Seely Brown and Lang Davison have been taking about the Big Shift, radical…
Social Business, Google-China and Thomas Friedman
In a recent opinion piece in the New York Times, Thomas Friedman took a very provocative stance on the Google-China struggle, one that puts the free flow of information into a much broader context. Here's the essence of what he had to say: If China...
What Type of Innovation Fits Your Company?
Hutch Carpenter's latest post on the Four Quadrants of Innovation caught my attention and provoked a few reactions. I guess that's the sign of a good blog post. His quadrants are the combinations of two dimensions: minimal technology change to radical technology change, and manage…
How to Adapt and Thrive in the New Normal for Business
We are experiencing not merely another turn of business cycle, but a restructuring of economic order. "Restructuring of economic order!" That's a very intimidating concept and many business leaders might inclined not to give it serious thought. Yet focusing on more tangible issues and leave…
Social Media won’t Save Dell
Over the past few years Dell has become a poster child for using social media. Their wake up call came in 2004 when an irate customer blogged about their horrible service. This prompted Dell to take Social Media seriously. They first discover was that there...
Customer Buying Patterns have Changed. What’s Your Plan?
Context is the conditions or circumstances that surround something; the conditions that define what is of value or what is meaningful. Well, the citizens of the USA find themselves in a new situation. There are those who have lost their jobs or had their home...
People will Consume Less but Aim to Consume Better
Thanks to the economic crisis, there are few of us who haven't cut back in our spending and many of us worry about our financial future. This jolt to our buying patterns is very likely last into the foreseeable future. We are weary and...
Building Customer Relationships is a Journey: Does Your Social Media Plan include a Map?
Strong customer relationships are essential to a company's ability to sustain profits and have a shot at growth. This was the clear finding of a worldwide study by the Economist Intelligence Unit. They found that 90% of senior executive concurred. Here's the way they...