What is it about routines that give us such comfort? We eat the same foods, hang with the same people, wear the same clothes, and keep the same hair style. We take comfort in the familiar, we use old habits to anchor ourselves and we delude ourselves into thinking this provides us with control. Jokes on us folks, control is just an illusion.
Now that our routines are upside down and we are faced with undeniable changes ahead, how are you meeting the challenge? Are you focused on identifying new opportunities or are you fighting hard to return to the “good old days”?
Many companies had it good before the crash; some of them are waiting for an opportunity to return to “normal”. No change necessary, no self-examination, and no consideration of new opportunities; let us get back to our old ways of doing things as that’s what we know and that’s what is most comfortable. Will these companies be able to compete in the new world that will emerge? It’s a risky strategy that speaks to the inherent fear people have of change. They are so change-averse that they are willing to return to the old ways rather than considering new ways of doing business. (Does anyone remember the definition of insanity?)
Whether we like it or not, we are surrounded by unprecedented upheaval that is financial, cultural and technological (and very, very global). There is small window as we wind our way through the next 12 to 18 months to seize the opportunity presented by this terrible circumstance to look at our world differently and develop new ways of doing business in the future. As a business leader, what will you do with this once-in-a-lifetime chance? Are you going to keep with your old ways or will you try something new?
There are some days when I am not sure who has it worse….my friends who lost their jobs or my friends who have them. Don’t misunderstand me; losing your job is never any fun. But in this economy, survivor guilt and fear of job loss is such an overwhelming presence in the workplace that it…
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I find the new social media world fascinating. But what I find even more fascinating is people’s reaction to it. There are a couple of things that are pretty clear about this new area. Its redefining the definition of personal (and in many cases, professional) privacy. There are lots of people leveraging it in today’s…
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My father got my announcement about our new website the other day – www.sophiathinkconsulting.com and he immediately shot back a link http://www.marketwatch.com/story/join-my-im-bitter-about-twitter-club-2009-07-29?siteid=nwtpm to indicate his opinion of social media. And while I appreciate the blog topic which contends that investing financially in Twitter at this time is risky business, I think my father is missing…
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I have a pretty high risk tolerance. For me, change is interesting and (dare I say it) fun. But in my years as a change agent and a skilled change management practitioner, I have come to appreciate each organization has a unique tolerance level that’s tied to its culture, its leadership and its history. Any…
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If you are struggling with the whole social media trend, you aren’t alone, but you might be dating yourself. While many people I talk to lament the passing of “old” ways of communicating (letter writing, the telephone call), others eat, breathe and speak all things virtual. For me, there is always a middle ground. Call…
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It’s really hard to listen to the news these days and maintain an optimistic outlook. Times are really tough. Fear is so de-motivating. It sucks up your positive energy and can leave you feeling so helpless. But I sustain myself by understanding that life’s trials can lead to triumphs. If I maintain a view that…
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Maintaining a social media presence or collaborating online takes a lot of work. It is also very seductive. If you hate being alone, this is the place for you – with a global user base of millions you are sure to find someone to talk to (or listen to) at any moment in time so…
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I attended a fascinating event in Foxboro, MA last week called the Inbound Marketing Summit. Hosted by a company called New Marketing Labs (http://newmarketinglabs.com/), a self-professed team of new media “evangelists” who are nimble, proficient users, this group hosts events around the country to educate business people on effective ways to use social media for…
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Alright, I’ll admit it, I was never a gamer. I was too busy sailing or running or cooking or biking or doing most anything physical (I have a hard time sitting still). As I got a bit (dare I say it?) older, I was very busy with my job. I was so busy doing things…
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I spend a lot of time speaking with business folks about change. Not surprising really given it’s my business and the general state of the world today is forcing everyone to contend with it. But under any circumstances, whether we like to acknowledge it or not, change is a constant. Convincing people to change (and…
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I listen to NPR all the time and one of my favorite shows is Marketplace Money . These folks are smart, savvy and easy to understand – it’s a great place to catch up on my financial news and hear what’s up in the consumer market. This weekend, they ran their normal “Getting Personal” segment…
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I had a conversation with one of my favorite three-year-olds this Saturday. He called me from his parents’ cell phone to ask me if I wanted to Skype with him to talk about my upcoming visit. He wanted to discuss his plans for my stay. Looks like I’m going to be watching a lot of…
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I read a disturbing article in the New York Times this weekend regarding the use of social networking to exact justice (or revenge?) on individuals. NPR’s On The Media also picked up the story. Dubbed “human-flesh search engines” or “renrou sousuo yinqing”, these tools of vigilante justice are tacitly overlooked, perhaps even encouraged, by the Chinese…
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I spoke with many interesting, smart people last week who are struggling with the whole social media, virtual networking thing. These people are small business owners, consultants, corporate citizens and people in “transition” (the new PC term for professionals currently between jobs). They are men and women, mostly over 40 who are trying to understand…
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It’s hard to go anywhere these days without bumping into social media in one form or the other. Many business leaders feel the urgency to understand the concept, but they are also trying to understand the real business value. As a leader, it’s up to you to spot the trends that give your business a…
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As a small business or “solopreneur”, it’s hard not to be dazzled by the array of “free” tools available at your digital fingertips. But “free” has a hidden price and sometimes it takes thousands of hours or a large chunk of revenue to figure things out. Many of us learned these lessons the hard way…
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As a professor at Bentley University, I have so much fun working with the next generation of digital marketers. Based on this experience, here are some tips for educators interested in designing dynamic digital marketing curriculum for their institutions. 1. Just because the students consider themselves “digital natives” doesn’t mean they know anything useful about…
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You are considering the option to join a virtual team and make the transition to working remotely – or maybe you are being asked to do so because of changes in your company/industry. Scary, right? Well not really if you take the following tidbits of advice offered by the virtual worker community. We’ve spoken with…
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In today’s technology-driven world; privacy professionals – particularly in regulated industries – have a unique and difficult challenge. Data, of all sorts, is the basis for much of the economy today and data use is evolving as new technologies are continuously introduced to the market. It is more than daunting to determine the best approach…
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New social technologies have become part of the mainstream and they will clearly impact the privacy landscape for the foreseeable future. However, the web 2.0 world is very much the wild, wild West with technology advances far outstripping existing consumer protections and regulatory statues. While we are strong advocates of the use of these tools…
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As today’s business students prepare for their future careers, new professions are opening up in social media even in the most mainstream businesses. Companies, eager to create an “online brand presence”, clearly understand the need for educated resources who are comfortable online whether its developing and/or managing social media sites, online communities, blogs, podcasts, video…
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I have had two experiences recently that left me scratching my head. This summer I flew to London on Virgin Atlantic…a nice enough airline – for an airline. As I was checking in, I was informed my carry-on was too heavy and I needed to remove some of the weight. The counter person watched me…
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