From push to embrace

a.k.a. from tell to inspire.
a.k.a. from selling experience to buying experience.

That times are changing is not a new concept , but how to deal with it is.
That is about connecting to the Right Brain, connecting to the FEEL, not the KNOW, it is about inspiring.
That is not about telling what you know, but creating a context with the knowledge you have, in which the other is constantly invited to contribute, to add value, ideas and feeling.

Co-Creation.
Not just ideas, but co-creating a common feeling of understanding and joy.
Right Brain Thinking is about embracing.
Ideas and each other.

The Social Media Effect of Margiving

I think marketing is an old word, with the wrong connotation.

One of the definitions I learned a long time ago was that is the contraction of Market and Getting, which was good for The time The word was invented. Reality is that it doesn’t work like that anymore. Unfortunately one might say, but I’m saying that it is great. It makes the profession much more interesting and I like to call it margiving.

The challenge of course is, how can you give as a company and make money. Making money by the way isn’t bad at all! That’s why companies are in business in the first place.
It is about balance, but not only that. It is the way new communication works as well. Spending millions of dollars on advertising doesn’t do the trick (anymore). It’s something else, yes it’s word-of-mouth!

Margiving is giving people something to talk about. It is pretty simple when you think about it. Who do you remember most of the last party you went to? Exactly, the one that had a good story (or was a good story by him or herself). It sparks something. That’s the power of margiving. Creating waves.

But waves need a drop, an initiator, a fire starter…
Margiving takes a different kind of person then the one that knows how to get a promotion in the air. It takes people that understand the brand, it’s soul and know how to translate that into giving. Like the law of three, but then for business.

The Pitfall of Simplifying Reality

Or why gut feeling isn’t that good anymore.

I meet a lot of people who oversimplify the complex world and that is really annoying. Strategists dig deep into any matter or market and when they come to a conclusion it is a simple conclusion, but with a very complex structure. It is important to understand the complex structure, in order to understand the conclusion. That is not based on gut feeling, it is based on knowledge.

Problem there is, that one either must take time to learn, or just trust the strategist and follow her or his conclusion. In a complex world you need to understand the complexity in order to make the right decision. If not a few things can happen:

1. Nothing happens at all and people keep talking without doing anything, holding on to the bits and pieces they understand. That is of course a way to keep busy, but generally just an expensive hobby. Thinking the same, doing the same and nothing happens

2. Wrong decisions are made and the results are more often bad then not. Just think about the number of new product introductions that are made every year and the number that is still on the shelves one year later (65% of all products won’t make it through the first year!). Most decisions are based on things people already know instead of based on new things or new insights.

Teams need to team up and build trust.
Everyone has a piece of knowledge or expertise, but the real power is in combining this power and trusting on the knowledge and expertise of the people in the team. In a complex world, more experts and knowledge is needed, so teams will become bigger.
The challenge will lie in managing the teams with this combined knowledge and expertise, drawing the right conclusions.

Closing the gap between fear and ambition

It is interesting to see.

Most people are ambitious in their lives and their jobs, but when it comes to the point to do that thing to realize the ambition, people get scared.

Not that I am a hero, but I’ve seen this happen many times, so I am aware. I am aware when my fear is paralyzing my ambition.

That reminded me of how close two words are, but with a world of difference. Paradise and Paralyse, especially when you speak it out loud (or in your mind).

And in general, I’m not having any problems with other people having the difficulty closing this gap, but when it comes to marketers, or CEO’s or managers, I have a problem.

The objectives clearly described, talking about touching their target groups and social media. But when the solution is presented, based on a lot of research and/or experience, they don’t ‘get it’. “No” they say, “this is not for us”, or “the company is not ready for it yet”.

But their target group is ready-ready-ready.

They all embrace Facebook, YouTube, Twitter or just the old-fashioned social media, real people talking to each other. Not embracing that as a company is missing out on the biggest the opportunity.

No, the problem is the ‘decision-maker’, that is basing his judgement solely on his or her own limited experience. Oh yeah, and they don’t make or won’t take the time to listen or to read about it. That, I have experienced many times. For a lot of them it’s even hard to read a clear and well-structured email, written for the purpose to take them by the hand and increase knowledge.

I say, how can you expect a different outcome when you do the things the same way, over and over again.

How can we get paradise without being paralyzed?

First of all it is about the ambition itself. Where do you really want to go. That is not a financial or a market share ambition, but an idealistic ambition.

That is about purpose, where do you want to go, what difference does your company want to make in this world. When the purpose is right, money will come as a result.

Tip: Think of a problem as the discrepancy between the current and the ideal situation and a whole universe of possibilities opens up!

Second is to gather knowledge and unrelated knowledge. Take the time, let it connect and mingle with the thoughts you already have. For a lot of people, this seems like a waste of time, but in the end it will save you time and make your decisions better and more effective. Believe me, knowledge will expand your possibilities (not your power..).

And thirdly, use this ambition as the ultimate source of energy. Believe in it, us it as a filter for the decisions you make. And don’t forget, it’s not always a straight line. But then again it is the journey, not the destination as such. The journey is the source of creativity. Open up, you’ll get there.

And last but not least: don’t be afraid. Have faith and do it step by step and don’t forget to enjoy the ride.

When I type these last words, I realize this is not just a business blog.

It’s a blog about life. Life and work, it’s a thin line.

Employer Bonding

I recently read a good post on ‘Dispelling Four Top Corporate Myths About Social Media’ by B.L. Ochman and I was wondering why the fear of social media exists in the first place.

The main reason is because of the fear that the employees might do something …

I believe this fear for social media is a result of a much bigger issue, being the lack of a strong, omni-present ‘company soul’, that is actively supported. When employees become soulmates (like at Starbucks’ or Apple or Virgin, or Google, well you know…), they will never harm the brand.

They will support and defend it at any price.

WHY? Well it’ like family or better friends. There’s this invisible bond, it becomes part of who they are. They identify with the brand. It is the result of good Employer Branding or better yet Employer Bonding.

With the unstoppable rise of social media, Employer Bonding is opening up a new stage of possibilities, but it also radically changes the way ‘companies’ think. They have to start seeing and treating employees as soulmates. Only then social media opens a huge potential of creativity, beyond imagination.

I read an interesting facebook post on this:

I do not tell my friends about you because I like brand, but because I like my friends….

Think about that.

The thing is, no matter what product or service you produce, there’s always someone that can make it better faster or cheaper. The only lasting distinction is made by the group of people who form the organization. They are your brand soul.

The impact of this phenomenon will increase more over time when skills such as ‘service’, ‘creativity’, ‘innovation’ and ‘leadership’ determine the differentiation and the success in the market (and that is besides the fact that talent is getting scarcer!). It’s the human talent and the impact it has on the ‘companysphere’, that makes the difference. Companies become communities, with shared values and believes and a common goal!

Employer bonding is all about involving and inspiring the existing group of workers and attracting new people to realize the promises made to the market. A great example is the Belgian Facebook group of Audi Brussels A1 factory. This is a facebook group of employees. It started spontaneously, without interference from management, because of one reason: They love the company they work for. They are the company they work for.

A goldmine of getting people involved and talking passionate about your brand or company, is the wonderful company stories. The challenge is surfacing the many fun/interesting/fascinating/… stories that already exist and use it for corporate communications, employer branding, “personal branding” and “social branding”.

It is the rise of the in-company-brand-journalist who finds the stories, organizes them into relevance’s, serving the specific audiences and objectives and makes them better (better written, better imaging (photographs, film, etc.). Companies need to makes them accessible for the soulmates. No secrets. Every company or brand can fake a good first impression, but will they get away a second time?

Times are changing: There’s only a second chance to make a first impression

The first chance is easy to fake…

So, what is your story?

Wearing a bra is great for business

No I’m joking, but was caught by a sentence spoken by Anne Skare Nielsen, she’s a futurologist from future navigator and was talking about how we have to adapt in order to do business in 2020.

She says that in order to move from adding crap to adding value we need to find smooth operators. In different words: a surrounding offering the right support at the right places, without feeling it is there. Like a bra

We have to create an environment for ourselves, in which we get the information we need in an instance, support when we need it and interaction when we ask for it. She calls that a Quality Fit.

Only in a situation like that we can really free our talents, spot opportunities in a complex world and changing them into opportunities and money. That is also the objective of Tangerine District, a project I am the co-creator of:

Creating the biggest chance to be successful, by supporting you at the right places by offering all kinds of business tools, like building a website, a CRM system, agenda, conference calling or any other kind of business tools.  For businesses and their success we are ready for the future and it’s for free! Besides, Tangerine District is fun too. A real Quality Fit.

Anne made a short video explaining her concept “quality fit”: http://tangerinedistrict.23video.com/video/3212115/anne-skare-nielsen-about

Check out Anne Skare Nielsen on future navigator.
By the way, feel free to join Tangerine District.

Gaming & Career

It seems like a strange combination, but when I saw Jane McGonial talking on TED, I changed my mind quickly. Her take out is that gamers can save the world and gives a very clear explanation on how to do that.

Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes.
What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can. She distinguishes 4 powers of gamers, being:

Urgent Optimism: Extreme self motivation, gamers always believe an epic win is possible.


Social Fabric: Research show that we like people better, after we played a game with them (trust, bonds, co-operations and we build stronger relationships).


Blissful Productivity: 22 hours a week, Gamers feel much happier ‘working hard’ on a game then sitting relaxed on the couch. By paying they train their skills.


Epic Meaning: Like to be attached to something to make a difference.

The result?
Gamers are Super Empowered Hopeful Individuals, these people are people who believe that they are individual capable of changing the world. Imagine people with this attitude working in a real world company. The only problem is that they believe they can change the virtual world and not the real world.

Her question therefore is:
How can we make this also happen in the real world and has dedicated her last three games on doing so. With one game as an example, they’ve collected over 500 brilliant ideas, which are actually helping in saving the world.
Talking about innovation!

Her conclusion: Make the real world more like a game and we’ll have super workers, with great ideas for any problem. A really interesting and well-spend 20 minutes of presentation on TED.