2012 - here comes the future.... what shall we do?

The past is the future for most of us.

We cling to misguided notions that persistence, endurance, and more of the same will result in a new future. It won’t.

99% of the conversations I have about the future are actually about the past. People try to create a future by cling to or modifying the past.

Frequently, the future is turning back to distant “glory days.” It’s futile.

Memories without dreams are anchors.

The future is made by those who face forward, not backward. Stand on your glory days, don’t repeat them.

Finding your future:

Stop defining yourself by past methods, accomplishments, and behaviors. In a turbulent world, methods that are moral imperatives destroy the future.
Your future is about people not projects or accomplishments. Current relationships tend to maintain stability; new relationships disrupt. Treasure both.
Get into social media; meet people succeeding where you want to succeed. (Becky Robinson thinks it can be done 12 minutes at a time)
Face timidity with small steps. 70% certainty is enough.
Systematically build your new future alongside your old present. Once your future is strong enough, fully embrace it.
Point of stability:

Focus on your values. Creating a new future is disruptive and disorienting. Determine three or four guiding ideals. Without them, you’re adrift.

Values guide-as-you-go without determining destinations.

Questions:

Who do you want to be?
What is your current legacy? What do you wish it was?
How can you step toward your preferred future, today?
How are you most useful to others?
What will you let go?
How must you develop?
Challenge:

While creating your new future you’ll be tempted to blame others for your disappointing present. That thinking destroys your future. Stop blaming others for the choices you’ve made. Your future begins when you own it.

With 2012 peeking at us, how can leaders take steps to create the future?

**********

Blogging and the new laws - ala Google.

Google however has made some changes recently in how they would like this done so it’s imperative that you learn this little trick so that, while others get penalized, you can increase your search ranking. Basically it’s meant so that the “blog-bots” don’t just farm content, driving the blog without anyone at the wheel or even worse, trying to pass the valuable post as their own.

Google does not mind if you mine for blog content as long as you have a reference backlink “anchor text” that recognizes the author. Jon Jantsch and Matt Cutts did a great job outlining how to go about this so that the Google spider will recognize it.

In an effort to place more emphasis on the original authors of content and perhaps further eliminate duplicate content, Google has begun focusing on an anchor text attribute – rel=”author”. For those that don’t know, to create an anchor text link you can just use your mouse to highlight a word or phrase, right click, select “hyperlink” and add a site address. From that moment on, clicking on that word or phrase will send the reader directly to the site address you specified.

Now, an “anchor text attribute” is just more information contained in the HMTL code of a link. In this case the use of the author attribute in conjunction with content, such as a blog post, signals search spiders that this is the original author.

So a link to my about us page with attribute would look like this:
a href="http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/about/" rel="author"John Jantsch

The reward for using this attribute has started showing up in search results with the image of the author placed to the right of the results in a growing number of instances. The Google author program kicked off formally a while back with a limited number of well-know bloggers and journalists and is slowly rolling out to others. (Here’s the official Google announcement)

The images Google is showing next to the selected articles are drawn from Google Plus profiles and link back to the author’s profile page. Some people have noted, incorrectly that this is a further extension of active Google+ users into the search results. The author program was actually in place prior to Google Plus and drew originally on the old Google personal profiles. In fact, some of the higher profile authors chosen have very limited Google+ activity.

I never knew that - Over 45s buy the most virtual goods

They're 18 per cent of the market, but they do 42 per cent of the spending. Amazing.

Stats from the US mobile social network MocoSpace surveyed nearly 500,000 gamers on its network of 22 million users.

It found older gamers spend the least amount of time playing games, while younger gamers (25-35) spend the most. But gamers over 45 buy exponentially more virtual goods.

The 18- to 25-year-olds, who made up 43 per cent of those surveyed, bought just 18 per cent of virtual goods.

Most active were the 25- to 35-year-olds, who spend nearly twice as much time gaming as any other group.

Mocospace reckons older demographics may have more disposable income, or a desire to progress further within games via virtual goods to save time.

Here are the key stats

18-25: 10 per cent of all gamers bought virtual goods
25-35: 22 per cent of all gamers bought virtual goods
35-45: 50 per cent of all gamers bought virtual goods
45+: 70 per cent of all gamers bought virtual goods

“We’re seeing parents go from spending money on buying games for their kids, to spending money on virtual goods in games for themselves. The time-versus-money balance seems to come into play here, where young people have more time than money, and the reverse holds true as we all grow up,” said MocoSpace CEO Justin Siegel.

Now this is interesting for all those who next year are moving into gaming :)

What are the most competitive areas for talent these days?

What are the most competitive areas for talent these days? Here's a look:

Worth thinking about when you are starting up your start up :)

Software Engineers and Web Developers

The demand for top-tier engineering talent sharply outweighs the supply in almost every market especially in San Francisco, New York, and Boston. This is a major, major pain point and problem that almost every company is facing, regardless of the technology "stack" their engineers are working on.

Creative Design and User Experience

After engineers, the biggest challenge for companies is finding high-quality creative design and user-experience talent. Since almost every company is trying to create a highly compelling user experience that keeps people engaged with their product, it is tough to find people who have this type of experience (especially with mobile devices including tablets) and a demonstrated track record of success.

Product Management

It is always helpful for an early-stage company to hire someone who has very relevant and specific experience in your industry. This is especially true for product management, since the person in this role will interface with customers and define the product strategy and use cases. However, be prepared, as it will be a challenge to find people with experience in these high-growth industries: consumer web, e-commerce, mobile, software as a service, and cloud computing.

Part of things I personally have been involved with with @goaugmented.

Marketing

I'm not talking about old-school marketing communications. Companies are looking for expert online marketers who know how to create a buzz of inbound marketing or viral traffic through the web, social media, and content discovery. Writing a good press release just doesn't cut it anymore, as everyone is looking for the savvy online marketing professional who understands how the current state of the web operates and knows how to make it work to their benefit.

Which is what we do at www.greatmarketingworks.co.uk - so rather happy about this one being included :)

Analytics

Since data is becoming more and more accessible, smart companies are increasingly making decisions driven by metrics. Analytics is becoming a central hub across companies where everything (web, marketing, sales, operations) is being measured and each decision is supported by data. Thus, we are seeing a high level of demand for analytics and business intelligence professionals who almost act like internal consultants; they help determine what should be measured and then build out the capability for a company.

Again something I train people to love and I am personally obbessed with - so great news there too.

Thanks to Forbes for the article - most enlightening :)

Entrepreneur vs Employee: the lowdown

Entrepreneur vs Employee: the lowdown

Here are the pros and cons of being an employee:

* Pro: You know exactly how much money you will make in an hour/day/week/year
* Pro: You know exactly when you are going to work (for the most part)
* Pro: ‘Safe,’ ‘Easy’
* Pro: ‘Benefits’
* Con: Layoffs at an all-time high, saturated job market
* Con: Left to fulfill the demand of the job market
* Con: Limited income potential, limited by time
* Con: You work for 45 years and own maybe a house and a few cars
* Con: Spend a lot of time away from family
* Con: Spend a lot of time with idiots and negative people (very bad for you)
* Con: Costs more and more with 4-8 years to get a degree / masters
* Con: Retire broke
* Con: A lot of your money goes to the worst money-managers: the government

Here are the pros and cons of being an entrepreneur:

* Pro: Set your own hours
* Pro: Lots of tax breaks!
* Pro: Set your own hours
* Pro: Unlimited income potential, limited by your expertise and product
* Pro: Retire young and wealthy
* Pro: Spend time with the people you want to spend time with (family friends)
* Pro: Spend time with leaders in your industry, with similar mindsets
* Pro: Can get started in a business and be "earning" with less than £5k
* Pro: Create the jobs that are filled by the employees
* Con: Need to buy your own benefits
* Con: Can take a lot of commitment and time to get started
* Con: Can be ‘difficult’ if you aren’t used to it
* ‘Con’: You don’t know how much money you will make… can be good or bad
* ‘Con’: Paid by results, can be good or bad

So it's up to you :)

Six Social Predictions to Ponder for 2012...

People much more clever than I write about things before they happen - I like to see what works and then test things before I give that new information to my client. So here is a lovely #greatmarketing blog from David Amarmo - all about what can we expect in 2012 in a world that seems to grow ever connected by the hour.


Here are six predictions to ponder, in no particular order:

Convergence Emergence. For a glimpse into how social will further integrate with "real life," we can look at what Coca Cola experimented with all the way back in 2010. Coke created an amusement park where participants could "swipe" their RFID-equipped wristbands at kiosks, which posted to their Facebook account what they were doing and where. Also, as part of a marketing campaign, Domino's Pizza posted feedback — unfiltered feedback — on a large billboard in Times Square, bringing together real opinions from real people pulled from a digital source and displayed in the real world. These types of "trans-media" experiences are likely to define "social" in the year to come.

The Cult of Influence. In much the same way that Google has defined a system that rewards those who produce findable content, there is a race on to develop a system that will reward those who wield the most social influence. One particular player has emerged, Klout, determined to establish their platform as the authority of digital influence. Klout's attempt to convert digital influence into business value underscores a much bigger movement which we'll continue to see play out in the next year. To some degree everyone now has some digital influence (not just celebrities, academics, policy makers or those who sway public opinion). But for the next year, the cult of influence becomes less about consumer plays like Klout and more about the tools and techniques professionals use to "score" digital influence and actually harness, scale and measure the results of it.

So here I am thinking more about Peer Index (Ed - Dan - As I prefer this metrix)

Gamification Nation. No we're not taking about video games. Rather, game-like qualities are emerging within a number of social apps in your browser or mobile device. From levels, to leaderboards, to badges or points, rewards for participation abound. It's likely that the trend will have to evolve given how competition for our time and attention this gaming creates. Primarily, gamification has been used in consumer settings, but look for it in other areas from HR, to government, healthcare and even business management. Perhaps negotiating your next raise will be tied to your position on the company's digital leaderboard.


Social Sharing. Ideas, opinions, media, status updates are all part of what makes social media a powerful and often disruptive force. The media industry was one of the first to understand this, adding sharing options to content, which led to more page views and better status in search results. What comes next in social sharing is more closely aligned with e-commerce or web transactions. For example, Sears allows a user to share a product or review with their networks directly from the site. Sharing that vacation you just booked, or recommending a product, or service from any site to a social network is where sharing goes next. We probably don't know what we are willing to share until we see the option to do it.

Social Television. For many of us, watching television is already a social act, whether it's talking to the person next to you, or texting, tweeting, and calling friends about what you're watching. But television is about to become a social experience in a bigger and broader sense. The X Factor now allows voting via Twitter and highlights other social promotions, which encourages viewers to tap social networks while they watch. Another way media consumption is becoming social comes from a network called Get Glue which acts as something of a Foursquare for media. Participants can "check-in" to their favorite shows (or other forms of media) and collect stickers to tell the world what programs they love. Watch for more of this this year as ratings rise for socially integrated shows.

The Micro Economy. Lastly as we roll into 2012, watch for a more social approach to solving business problems through a sort of micro-economy. Kickstarter gives anyone with a project, the opportunity to get that initiative funded by those who choose to (and patrons receive something in return). A crowdsourcing platform for would be inventors called Quirky lets the best product ideas rise to the top and then helps them get produced and sold while the "inventor" takes a cut. Air BnB turns homes into hotels and travelers into guests, providing both parties with an opportunity to make and save money. These examples may point to a new future reality where economic value is directly negotiated and exchanged between individuals over institutions.

These are a few emerging trends which come to mind. As with anything, looking to the past often gives us clues for what may come in the future. Please weigh in with your thoughts: where do you see "social" going in 2012?

The Entreprenuer can be alone and sometimes forgotten - and this is why....

There is something rather wonderful about this blog - and so I copy and pasted it.

It is all about being on your own - or thinking you are - or perhaps more importantly acting like you are.

It's a stark tale about how you can change the game but if you only do it for yourself in the end the people you came to change will forget you.

The phrase ‘on your tod’ comes from the Cockney rhyming slang, Tod Sloan – alone. While the saying has stuck the person who helped coin the phrase, James Forman (Tod) Sloan, has long since faded from memory.

The more I read about Sloan’s life the more I was struck by how his outlook and the challenges he faced were very similar to those faced by companies and entrepreneurs who, not content with business as usual, have gone on to create some seriously sticky brands.

Born in Indiana in 1874 James Forman (Tod) Sloan’s life didn’t get off to a promising start. Rejected by his parents and left to fend for himself Sloan overcame almost impossible odds to become one of the world’s best-known sportsmen and the greatest jockey of the late 20th century. The song I’m a Yankee Doodle dandy, was based on Sloan’s life. *

Undoubtedly Sloan was a gifted rider but it was his unconventional approach to riding that was to set him, quite literally, head and shoulders over his competitors. While other jockeys used long stirrups Sloan used short stirrups. By positioning himself over the animals centre of gravity he enabled the horse to achieve its maximum speed. Sloan was not the first to use this style of riding but he was the first to adopt and adapt it for professional horse racing.

Having won every race there was to win in his native North America he travelled to England – the epicentre of the horse racing world. In 1897 the Prince of Wales engaged Sloan as his principle jockey. At the age of 23 Tod Sloan was the undisputed king of the horse racing world.

While the America press were far from complimentary about his unorthodox style of riding the British press were, true to form, positively caustic, referring to Sloan as the ‘monkey jockey.’ Far from being praised for his winning ways Sloan was mocked.

The Jockey Club, a stalwart of convention, did not approve of Sloan’s maverick behavior and in 1900 the club’s steward, Lord Durham, stepped up pressure on the Prince of Wales to have Sloan fired. In 1901 Sloan, no longer in the employ of the Prince of Wales, was informed by The Jockey Club that he need not re-apply for a license.

Sloan never raced again. The Cockney rhyming slang that was to far out last his fame proved to be an all too prophetic one. Sloan died in 1933 impoverished and alone or as the Cockney rhyming slang would have it ‘on his tod’.

The phrase may well be slipping from everyday use – my son who is 15 has never heard of it – but Sloan’s unorthodox style of riding which is the one used by every jockey in the world today looks like it’s here to stay. Unless of course….

Like most entrepreneurs who go on to create sticky brands, Sloan cared less about what others thought and more about what he did. An attitude that allowed him to look outside the confines of his profession and change the way things were done. When the going got tough, and you can bet your bottom dollar it will, Sloan’s disadvantaged background gave him the drive to keep on going. Like many entrepreneurs before him and since Sloan was a born maverick. A little like many of my clients, especially goAugmented - as they are doing some very out there stuff but with very little money!

But I can’t help thinking that there is one big difference between Sloan and the Apples, Body Shops, Howies and Innocents of this world. And that difference is Vision. While Sloan shared their passion, talent, and ambition there is nothing in his story to suggest that he wanted to change anything other than his own world.

Sloan, like so many driven men and women and the companies they have created wasn’t moving toward something but simply trying to escape from it. Ultimately those entrepreneurs and companies that are driven purely by fear and the need to grow ever richer and larger with the sole aim of putting as much distance between themselves and their fear are, sooner or later, bound to come a cropper.

Perhaps if Sloan had had a vision of how horse racing ‘could be’ he would have changed more than just the way jockeys ride and in the course of doing so a small part of the English language.

A wonderful thought for the day, so we said so to the guy who wrote it Owen from Brand Orienteering.

Worth thinking about as we start work again with goAugmented. As our mobile technology of augmented reality might well change the world (or at least our part of it) and maybe that's the problem :)What are we at goAugmented moving toward? What's our vision?

Commerce - E, M and now F....

Over in the Americas it looks like a wonderful year for ecommerce. But not only E commerce but F and S commerce too. The newest of all the commerces, Facebook and Social.

According to comScore, an estimated $37 billion will be spent online over the festive period this year, up 15 percent on last year’s $32 billion.

Meanwhile, Shop.org’s eHoliday survey anticipates that 73.7 percent of retailers will use Facebook pages to reach out to shoppers, a marked increase from 57.1 percent last year.

Indeed, according to CNBC, 18 percent of chief marketing officers say that social media promotions are their top sales priority this weekend.

To be sure, Facebook users have an enormous selection of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals to tickle their fancy. eCommerce platform Payvment, for example, has launched a special Black Friday deals section for its Shopping Mall, offering up to 80 percent off products from its list of over 100,000 retailers.

But what about in the UK, what are we up to with our own Mcommerce? Well according to some -

24% of U.K. consumers have used a smartphone to access web sites while shopping, of which 50% accessed retail websites and 48% social media sites (Source: eDigitalResearch and IMRG Survey, 2011)

40% of U.K. consumers using a smartphone while shopping ultimately made a purchase in-store, online or via mobile (Source: eDigital Research and IMRG Survey, 2011)

55% of U.K. consumers have seen a QR code while shopping and 33% of shoppers who have seen a QR code have scanned one (Source: eDigital Research and IMRG Survey, 2011)

It is predicted that there will be 20.76 million m-commerce users in the UK in 4Q11 (Source: Mobile Consumer Trends, 2011) - so things are looking good.

Turning inexperience into an asset.

Some lovely wise words from Richard Branson - all about the key to turning inexperience into an asset.

He thinks it is to pitch what is new about your product or service. Classic #greatmarketing.

How does your approach differ from that of other businesses? How will you reach out to target markets?Some Why should people choose your products and services over your competitors'? Present prospective partners with a fresh take on a tired industry, and you will grab their attention.

I really hope this is the case - as this is what we are trying to do with goAugmented - based up in Manchester - and the UK's only award winning AR company.

Our group's history has taught us to target new industries and markets where we feel we can add something new, improve the customer's experience and carve out a successful position. Our move from publishing into music retailing is a case in point. When we sensed that Student magazine's circulation was reaching its peak, we looked for more ways to make money, and decided to start selling records by mail order. A postal strike stopped the business in its tracks, but we had caught the music bug. Instead we set up our first record store. So our inexperience did cause us a near-miss, and it's likely that if people are asking you about your lack of experience, your ability to spot problems is on their minds. But many startups fail each year; a founder's background has little correlation with success. A couple of failures on a beginning entrepreneur's record should not be considered an issue. Indeed, investors need to become better at accepting that as our dynamic, innovative economy constantly reinvents itself, businesses will inevitably become obsolete. A young entrepreneur who has dusted himself off and started again, learning from his mistakes, has proved that he has what it takes.

Constrained by a lack of capital after the strike, we found a former shoe shop on Oxford Street in London, and we talked the owner into letting us use the empty space. We were not trained retailers, but we liked music and wanted to create a cool hangout for young people. Instead of building displays designed to move merchandise quickly, with huge racks of records and no place to sit down, we brought in big, comfy cushions and built listening booths -- it was a place where you could chat about music with your friends and share your favorites with them.

All this added to the Virgin Brand experience - so perhaps sometimes having little money and no experience is a good thing. Great news for a lot of my clients :)

I met someone - at #SVc2UK - someone rather special

And only for an instant - but it was enough.

So tracked down his blog and found some goodenss. It didn't take long. Just two clicks and pow!

Here are some thoughts about leadership he scribbled down as he prepared to participate in IBM's THINK Forum.

Which I think was just after the Silicon Valley meets tech City event we met at.

Joi Ito - so wise that you could almost weep.


"The Internet has enabled the cost of the production and distribution of ideas and information to plummet nearly to zero-resulting in an explosion of ideas and a low cost of collaboration. This has prompted a great deal of innovation, but also a complexity, speed and capacity for amplification that makes the world a difficult and dangerous place for many organizations and human-made systems designed for a slower and simpler era.

The cost of planning, predicting and managing rapidly changing, complex systems often exceeds the cost of actually doing whatever is being planned and managed. In fact, it can be often easier to try something and iterate than to try to predict the outcome and manage the risks. Most great ideas as well as dramatic failures have been unpredictable and are only obvious in hindsight. (Don't get me wrong: foreknowledge and planning are useful and, often, necessary; they're just not sufficient.)

In such a world, leadership hinges on the ability to master a broad set of skills and character traits necessary for fostering a robust system, including courage, flexibility, speed, values and a strong vision and trajectory. It's more important to have a strong compass than a detailed street map since the map is probably outdated and wrong.

These kinds of decentralized models of leadership have been evolving and emerging in a variety of situations ranging from battle (virtual and real) to religions. The Internet has just super-charged the importance of this type of leadership in almost every organization.

Managers in large corporations no longer have the promise of promotions and long-term employment to keep employees obedient and hard working. Central corporate R&D and planning organizations can no longer provide detailed maps of the world to their staff and partners. Innovation is happening in the most unlikely parts of the organization-often outside of the organization.

Leadership today is about empowering those around you share your vision, embrace serendipity, have the courage to take risks and learn from failure rather than be crushed by it. Diversity must be embraced and organizational borders made porous. Assets such as intellectual property and lines of software code must not prevent aggressive agility. Organizations must be willing and able to pivot away from attachment to such assets lest these assets become liabilities holding back innovation and progress.

In this new world, leaders must be courageous, visionary and comfortable in an environment where control and complete knowledge are impossible and their pursuit futile and counterproductive.

Not saying we dont you so :)

Poorly designed websites cost retailers hundreds of millions of pounds per year in missed sales, according to research published today. The study suggests that they have lost a combined total of £500m over a three-year period as frustrated consumers log off.

Not saying we told you so.

Websites which are too complicated or not well-enough integrated with stores' stock levels and catalogues are a major source of frustration for consumers. "Companies need to realise that it is not like the high street, people who are not sure do not have to walk 100 yards down the road to go to someone else's store; they just have to click 'back'," said online retail expert Joshua March.

Researchers at digital agency Head London used analysis from Oxford Economics to find the worst hit were Morrisons, said to have missed out on £314m in sales between 2007 and 2010. The supermarket was followed by Dixons at £32.6m and Phones 4U at £17.5m. Yet, Tesco was found to have added around £255m in sales thanks to its website.

Yet again Tesco's smashing it with innovation and making the money because of it.

They are the main guys when it comes to innovation with mobile phones applications, loyalty cards, digital and even augmented reality of mobile phones.

Klout's lost Klout

A couple of you might not know what Klout is about: so let me explain.

Klout is / was a way of monitoring social influence online or more importantly online social influence. A greatmarketing idea.

It is one way out of a number of different ways - and a way I was due to be teaching about during Global Entrepreneurship Week.

But about a month or so ago - Klout changed its thinking - and heavily reduced many people's Klout scores - to a wail of protest (simple not listened to)

And at first I thought boo hoo - and poo - to the changes, such is life, so I thought, they own the platform they change the rules - just like Google does whenever it likes.

But much wiser men than I have had the time to look through the changes to Klout and it seems the games has been rigged, and not in a good way. It seems now that the more you act like a BIG brand i.e. those paying for the platform - the more you gain Klout.

Here are the findings.
Wise words from this man here.
http://bundlepost.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/my-klout-experiment-and-the-disturbing-results/

Results from many of his social networking experiments.

I noticed something that is even more disturbing. Based on my reduction in engagement and response to my friends and followers as well as blog comments, you would expect that the rate my score is declining would substantially increase. This did NOT occur. As you see in the image, it maintained the approximately the same level of decrease during the experiment.

Why is that important? It says that according to Klout’s new algorithm, responding and engaging with your friends, followers, fans and Blog “commenters” (which I might add builds relationships and therefore increases opportunity for ROI) has little to do with your influence in the social graph. Disturbing doesn’t even begin to describe my feelings about this discovery.

What’s more, the data in the image shows two additional frightening discoveries that should be pointed out:

1) Amplification Stabilized - Even though I stopped conversing at usual levels, my amplification stopped declining at the previous steady pace since the Klout changes. Seriously? How does that remotely make sense or be in anyway possible? So by not engaging and thanking people, how much I influence them increases? Disturbing to say the least.

2) Network Impact Increase – After a steep immediate decline at the beginning of my experiment, my Network Impact began to show a pattern of slow steady rise.

So while my overall Klout score continued its steady decline, my overall amplification influence and network influence became more stable or even started to rise.

As a previous proponent of Klout and someone that consistently saw their system as one with proper focus, leadership and focus on accurate depiction of the social graph, I am dismayed. As a heavy social media user, consultant and someone that has driven ROI and strategy for many businesses large and small, I am now almost speechless at what I have found.

Based on my experiment, it appears that Klout’s algorithm changes are not focused on improving their social measurement system, but a clueless attempt to prop up larger brands and celebrities anti-social behavior and stifle effective relationship building that leads to ROI for those that do it right. -OR- even worse, tech geeks and scientific formulas that have no real understanding of social media and it’s proper use in business.

Being a social media technology company, you would have thought Klout would have better managed their decision to release this new tech as well as get in front of this story with better answers that made some kind of sense. Instead, they decided to let social media do what it does and react to it, albeit poorly. This entire thing is an incredible example to other brands on how NOT to manage a crisis and to tech companies on how NOT to let your head get too big. Your customers and users should have a lot to say about the game, not just you.

I am not upset at all that my score lost 11+ Points. I am pissed that a company I trusted, upheld and cheered for has fumbled in such a horrific way. The only way Klout could save face with me at this point is to do what Bank of America is doing in the banking sector. Roll back to previous algorithm and make small incremental changes that are accurate and thoughtful.

*note – I did not add or remove any social media platforms during my experiment. I only altered my engagement pattern. Nothing more, nothing less.

Something I have been saying for years - inbound is best :)

Thanks to the Internet, marketing has evolved over the years. Consumers no longer rely on billboards and TV spots — a.k.a. outbound marketing — to learn about new products, because the web has empowered them. It’s given them alternative methods for finding, buying and researching brands and products. The new marketing communication — inbound marketing — has become a two-way dialogue, much of which is facilitated by social media.

Another reason why inbound marketing is winning is because it costs less than traditional marketing. Why try to buy your way in when consumers aren’t even paying attention? Here are some stats from the infographic below.

* 44% of direct mail is never opened. That’s a waste of time, postage and paper.
* 86% of people skip through television commercials.
* 84% of 25 to 34 year olds have clicked out of a website because of an “irrelevant or intrusive ad.”
* The cost per lead in outbound marketing is more than for inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing focuses on earning, not buying, a person’s attention, which is done through social media and engaging content, such as blogs, podcasts and white papers. This content is interesting, informative and adds value, creating a positive connection in the eyes of the consumer, thus making him more likely to engage your brand and buy the product. So it costs less and has better a ROI.

Some times I am proud of social media and Manchester.

Manchester the home of revolutions.

With The 'I Love MCR' campaign of Summer 2011 that was mainly won in the trenches of social media after the horrors of the real world riots.

It achieved:

22,000 Facebook fans;

£750,000 worth of media coverage;

350 supporting organisations;

1.8 million Facebook post views;

33,000 active Facebook users;

46,000 Tweets using #ILoveMCR; and national trending on Twitter worth £74,000.

£9,000 raised for charity; from campaign concept to launch in 12 hours.

This proves what can be done with social media and social causes, aimed at the right demographics using the right tools and the right intention.

But the question I have is...... #greatmarketing - yes. But what's next?

Surely something on mobile?

It might be over in America - but... what happens over there....

Just read this with interest and then some - all about mobile over in the States. And you know I be loving mobile marketing at the moment - as it's all Losomopho. And the future of #greatmarketing. Which I tweet all about :)

All the below are taken from a report created by Hipcricket Mobile Marketing Survey. The survey was conducted in October via email and is based on 607 respondents.

And they found that stunningly sixty-three percent of smartphone users have visited a retailer’s Web site from their mobile device, compared to 53 percent in 2010. Additionally, 41 percent have done so while in the retail store.

Interestingly, 50 percent have checked a competitor’s mobile Web site while in another store.

Historically, mobile retail sites were lightweight versions of retailers’ PC Web sites. They were mostly relied on for information such as store locations, directions and hours.

All of that has changed. Today, consumers expect mobile-specific retail sites to provide significant benefits to them. And, retailers need to be using their mobile Web sites as a tool to move consumers through the purchase funnel.

Seventy percent of all smartphone users use their device regularly to access the mobile Web.

Smartphone users are accessing mobile retail Web sites to research prices (46 percent), search for coupons and offers (36 percent), research products (28 percent) and purchase products (13 percent).

“Remember, you’re a guest on your customers’ mobile device,” Mr. Harber said. “Be respectful of the opt-in nature of mobile marketing but don’t overstay your welcome.

“Give them useful, compelling content – tips to save time at the holidays, special recipes – and special offers on things you know they want to buy,” he said.

“Whenever possible, use the data in your CRM systems in combination with mobile in order to stay relevant.”

Loyalty
Only 9 percent of survey respondents reported they are being marketed to by their favorite brands on mobile.

However, respondents showed a willingness to join mobile customer relationship management or loyalty programs for their favorite brands. In fact, 33 percent would be interested in joining such a program, but only 12 percent currently participate in one.

Additionally, 75 percent of consumers found value from participating in mobile loyalty clubs.

During the holidays, 61 percent of consumers will likely use their mobile device as a shopping companion.

Overall, 31 percent of all mobile phone users have interacted with a brand through their mobile device and 59 percent of smartphone users have done so.

Also notable, 33 percent of mobile phones users are interested in receiving offers based on time and location. For example, a coupon delivered at noon for $5 off a pizza at a local shop.

“Mobile’s got a seat at the table now – it’s a critical, cross-channel marketing element, rather than a discrete, siloed activity,” Mr. Harber said.

“Increasingly, our customers are seeing the benefits of connecting customer-facing mobile marketing technologies such as mobile retail sites or ongoing SMS campaigns with back-end CRM and enterprise marketing automation solutions,” he said.

“It’s not just about single campaigns any more. Savvy marketers are often beginning with mobile advertising and tying it into a post-click engagement strategy to build an ongoing relationship with customers and prospects.”

Now how we tie this into mobile augmented reality applications we do not know yet.

But we will.

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

You know the drill. I see it, I like it, it appears here.

Just thinking about starting something new. It's been over three years for Great Marketing Works - and the old model for training people face to face paid for by the public purse is dying (or dead.)

Someone a lot wiser than I told me this last year - but as ever I didn't listen.

So in an attempt to not make the same mistake several times I re read the below blog with more interest.

It's taken from http://brandorienteering.com/2011/10/11/value-driven-brands/

As recent events at News Corp have shown values, or the lack of them, play an important role in how a company is run. By values I am not referring to those that have been manufactured in order to provide a solution to a problem or rolled out because the research shows that they will improve the brand image.

The values I’m referring to are neither transitory nor disposable. They are authentic, ingrained, part of the woodwork, for the most part invisible, the very air we breathe. The driving force behind the brand, these are the values that provide a sense of direction and overarching purpose which helps further differentiate the brand from its competitors.

The outdoor clothing company Howies, and Lush cosmetics, have each used their core values to create two very distinctive brand strategies based around their common stance of providing ‘eco’ friendly products. Howies make clothes from natural materials that are designed to last. Lush cosmetics are made from natural ingredients and come with little or no wrapping. The expression of these values, Howies hand me down campaign and for Lush retail outlets that look like grocery stores differentiates both brands from their competitors.

Brands that do not have a ‘values driven’ agenda or are happy to go along with the flavour of the month struggle to develop their own distinctive voice. Adopting a ‘me too’ approach and with it a certain blandness customers are far more likely to find these brands difficult to distinguish from the competition.

In a market place that is overcrowded and where price and quality are no longer guaranteed to distinguish one product or service from another customers are increasingly looking for brands whose values and social outlook is in line with their own – aspired or otherwise.

An increasingly important part of the purchasing mix values provide sticky brands with a social status and with that status a language, which further defines and differentiates the brand.

Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream with ‘its gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough’ is in keeping with the company’s status as a ‘brand of the people.’ This language, which is quite different from that used by Haagen-Dazs, is underpinned by the founders commitment to social justice for everyone. Ben and Jerry’s ‘it’s not fair’ campaign is simply one more expression of this core value. As with all sticky brands Ben and Jerry’s communication never deviates from delivering its core values.

As well as being able to project a single well focused message which has provenance value driven brands have one other distinct advantage over those companies who are content to lead purely on product or service benefits.

While the latter look for people who are qualified, value driven brands look for those who share their values. Having a natural affinity with the product, service or/and underlying ethos of the company they are far more likely to represent the brand in a good light. By insisting that all their employees have a strong sporting background Oakley are ensuring that every department is the sales department.

Walking into a bookstore where the staff are interested in books and walking into one where they are not lends itself to two quite different shopping experiences. In the first the experience is friendly and embracing in the other you are likely to get the impression that they couldn’t care less not just about books; but about you. Not the sort of experience that lends itself to creating a sticky brand.

And I think it is this bit which I will take home the most.

Love what you do. And this will shine through.

I love marketing. So hopefully this will shine through.

But do all the development team at goAugmented love making AR applications for mobile phones. I think this is worth a chat this afternoon.

Should I stay or will I go? What kind of talk is that for a leader?

Leadership has around these parts become a bit of a dirty word as of late.

But as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.”

So with that in mind I read the following article from http://www.entrepreneur.com/leadersecrets with great interest.

Especially as I may have to forgo being the leader of one ship - for another.

But, as the article rightly points out becoming a great leader isn’t easy. And so deciding to move course mid adventure isn't either.

Successfully maneuvering a team through the ups and downs of starting a new business can be one of the greatest challenges a small-business owner faces. And one I feel might be done better by someone who knows more about the technical side of the business.

Leadership is one of the areas that many entrepreneurs tend to overlook, according leadership coach John C. Maxwell, whose books include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Thomas Nelson, 1998) and Developing the Leader Within You (Thomas Nelson, 1993).

“You work hard to develop your product or service. You fight to solve your financial issues. You go out and promote your business and sell your product. But you don't think enough about leading your own people and finding the best staff,” Maxwell says.

It turns out, the skills and talents necessary to guide your team in the right direction can be simple, and anyone with the determination can develop them. Here’s a list of 10 tips drawn from the secrets of successful leaders.

1. Assemble a dedicated team.
Your team needs to be committed to you and the business. Successful entrepreneurs have not only social and selling smarts, but also the know-how to hire effectively, says leadership trainer Harvey Mackay, who wrote Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive (Ivy Books, 1995). “A colossal business idea simply isn't enough. You have to be able to identify, attract and retain talent who can turn your concept into a register-ringing success,” he says. When putting your team together, look for people whose values are aligned with the purpose and mission of your company. Suzanne Bates, a Wellesley, Mass.-based leadership consultant and author of Speak Like a CEO (McGraw Hill, 2005), says her team members rallied around each other during the worst part of the recession because they all believed in what they were doing. “Having people on your team who have tenacity and a candid spirit is really important," she says. It is this team spirit that I need to find again.

2. Overcommunicate.
This one’s a biggie. Even with a staff of only five or 10, it can be tough to know what’s going on with everyone. In an effort to overcommunicate, Bates compiles a weekly news update she calls a Friday Forecast, and emails it to her staff. “My team is always surprised at all the good news I send out each week,” Bates says. “It makes everyone feel like you really have a lot of momentum, even in difficult times.”

3. Don’t assume.
When you run a small business, you might assume your team understands your goals and mission -- and they may. But, everybody needs to be reminded of where the company’s going and what things will look like when you get there. Your employees may ask, “What’s in it for me?” It’s important to paint that picture for your team. Take the time to really understand the people who are helping you build your business. “Entrepreneurs have the vision, the energy, and they’re out there trying to make it happen. But, so often with their staff, they are assuming too much,” says Beverly Flaxington, founder of The Collaborative, a business-advising company in Medfield, Mass. “It’s almost like they think their enthusiasm by extension will be infectious -- but it’s not. You have to bring people into your world and communicate really proactively.” Something I can fail to do.

4. Be authentic.
Good leaders instill their personality and beliefs into the fabric of their organization, Flaxington says. If you be yourself, and not try to act like someone else, and surround yourself with people who are aligned with your values, your business is more likely to succeed, she says. “Every business is different and every entrepreneur has her own personality,” Flaxington says. “If you’re authentic, you attract the right people to your organization -- employees and customers.”

5. Know your obstacles.
Most entrepreneurs are optimistic and certain that they’re driving toward their goals. But, Flaxington says, it’s a short-sighted leader who doesn’t take the time to understand his obstacles. “You need to know what you’re up against and be able to plan around those things,” she says. “It’s folly to think that just because you’ve got this energy and enthusiasm that you’re going to be able to conquer all. It’s much smarter to take a step back and figure out what your obstacles are, so the plan that you’re putting into place takes that into account.”

6. Create a 'team charter.'
Too many new teams race down the road before they even figure out who they are, where they’re going, and what will guide their journey, says Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute Manager (William Morrow & Co., 1982) and founder of The Ken Blanchard Cos., a workplace- and leadership-training firm. Just calling together a team and giving them a clear charge does not mean the team will succeed.
“It’s important to create a set of agreements that clearly states what the team is to accomplish, why it is important and how the team will work together to achieve the desired results,” says Blanchard, who is based in Escondido, Calif. “The charter provides a record of common agreements and can be modified as the business grows and the team’s needs change.”

7. Believe in your people.
Entrepreneurial leaders must help their people develop confidence, especially during tough times. As Napoleon Bonaparte said, "Leaders are dealers in hope." That confidence comes in part from believing in your team, says Maxwell, who is based in West Palm Beach, Fla. “I think of my people as 10s, I treat them like 10s, and as a result, they try to perform like 10s,” he says. “But believing in people alone isn't enough. You have to help them win.”

8. Dole out credit.
Mackay says a good salesperson knows what the sweetest sound in the world is: The sound of their name on someone else's lips. But too many entrepreneurs think it's either the crinkle of freshly minted currency, or the dull thud of a competitor's body hitting the pavement. “Many entrepreneurs are too in love with their own ideas and don't know how to distribute credit,” Mackay says. “A good quarterback always gives props to his offensive line.”

9. Keep your team engaged.
Great leaders give their teams challenges and get them excited about them, says leadership expert Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Free Press, 1989). He pointed to the example of a small pizza shop in a moderate-sized town that was killing a big fast-food chain in sales. The big difference between the chain and the small pizza joint was the leader, he says. Every week he gathered his teenage employees in a huddle and excitedly asked them: “What can we do this week that we’ve never done before?” The kids loved the challenge. They started texting all their friends whenever a pizza special was on. They took the credit-card machine to the curb so passing motorists could buy pizza right off the street. They loaded up a truck with hot pizzas and sold them at high-school games. The money poured in and the store owner never had problems with employee turnover, says Covey, who is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

10. Stay calm.
An entrepreneur has to backstop the team from overreacting to short-term situations, says Mackay, who is based in Minneapolis. This is particularly important now, when news of the sour economic environment is everywhere. “The media has been hanging black crepe paper since 2008,” he says. “But look at all the phenomenal companies and brands that were born in downturns, names like iPod, GE and Federal Express.”

And it is this LAST point which is the most important for me - and the take home moment. Perhaps I will lead the lads @goaugmented after all. It was just with so many people entering the Augmented Reality Mobile Applications market I was starting to lose sight of the end goal.

We have a great team and a great chance.

Now it is time for me to be a great leader.

So, what do you do if you’ve been put upon the planet with an insatiable desire to create, but not the ability to handle the potential angst that goes along with leaning into the unknown?

On a day like today when Steve Jobs passes - it's kinda got me thinking about innovation and why aren't there more people like Steve Jobs.

A chap called Jonathan Fields might just have the answer below.

He has spent the last few years interviewing everyone from Mullen Chief Innovation Officer, Edward Boches, to The War of Art author, Steve Pressfield, and devouring reams of research that spanned neuroscience to decision-making theory in a quest to find out.

What emerged surprised even me.

There may, in fact, be a very thin slice of creators who arrive on the planet more able to go to and even seek out that uncertainty-washed place that destroys so many others. But, for a far greater number of high-level creators, across all fields, the ability to be okay and even invite uncertainty in the name of creating bigger, better, cooler things is trained. Sometimes with great intention, other times without even realizing it.

And what surprised me even more was that so many creators, field-wide, work in a way that is in direct contradiction to the way your brain functions best. Not because it works for them, often it doesn’t, but because “that’s just the way it’s always been done.”

It’s possible to effectively build “uncertainty scaffolding,” practices that allow you to do what you do (a) without ending up a psychotic mess, and (b) giving you access to an often untapped reservoir of creativity.

This uncertainty scaffolding tends to fall into three different areas:

Workflow adaptations
Personal practices
Environmental/cultural shifts

Here are five examples to get you started:

1. Single-Task.
The part of the brain that helps keep fear and anxiety in check -- the prefrontal cortex, or PFC -- is also tasked with managing working memory. Problem is, it’s easily overloaded. Doing too many things as once lessens its ability to keep the discomfort that tags along with moving into uncertainty at bay and makes you more likely to shut down. Only by rejecting multitasking and focusing on a single task at a time can you harness your full brainpower for optimal performance.

2. Exercise Your Brain.
Meditation and exercise have well-documented mood-enhancing, stress-management, and disease-prevention effects. What you may not know, though, is that they also have a profound impact on creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving. Recent research even shows certain approaches increase brain mass, something that’s always been thought impossible.

Also, these two daily practices bolster your ability to go to that edgy place where the good stuff happens and stay there long enough for next-level innovation to emerge. Together, they combine to create the single most powerful mindset, creativity, and innovation force multiplier on the planet.

But not all forms are equal. High-intensity, cardiovascular training, for example, has a greater effect on the brain than moderate level activity. And mindfulness training has the added benefit of training creators in the art of observing, then dropping storylines, which creates the space for more empowering patterns of thought to emerge.

3. Reframe.
Reframing is the process of asking questions that allow you to change the storyline around a particular set of circumstances. We often become so close to a project, we lose objectivity about its viability and start to tell ourselves stories that not only stifle action, but stunt creativity. Reframing is a process that allows you to see an identical circumstance in a way that motivates action and fuels creativity. And, as noted above, one of the most effective tools to build the awareness needed to pull back and reframe is a daily mindfulness practice.

4. Pulse and Pause.
Though we often tend to work in 2-4 hour chunks of seemingly uninterrupted time, our brains are really only equipped to productively focus for a max of about 90-minutes. Beyond that window, we may feel like we’re cranking, but in reality our attention, creativity, and cognitive function decline rapidly. So, rather than push through and watch your frustration levels skyrocket while the quality of your output craters, rework your day into intense, 90-minute bursts with refueling periods in between.

5. Drop Certainty Anchors
Certainty anchors are repeated daily experiences where the decision-making aspect has been removed. They can be as simple as eating the same thing for breakfast every day, wearing only black t-shirts, or walking to work the same way. The key is removing the decision-making element from the experience and, in doing so, turning these moments into repeated occasions where you know in advance that you’ll be able to drop out of the creative ether and land on firm ground.

All of these we are going to start to put into practise @goaugmented - as it's all very well being able to create mobile phone augmented reality applications - but if you cannot be creative as well with them - then no client will be happy. That's just not #greatmarketing for them or us.

So where should you live - to feel economically free :)

Canada has surpassed the United States for levels of economic freedom, according to a new report released today by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank.

“In response to the American and European debt crises, governments around the world are embracing perverse regulations and this has huge, negative implications for economic freedom and financial recovery.”

The United States experienced one of the largest drops in economic freedom, falling to 10th place overall from sixth in 2010. Much of this decline is a result of higher spending and borrowing on the part of the U.S. government, and lower scores for legal structure and property rights.

Hong Kong again topped the rankings of 141 countries, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Australia.

Research shows that people living in countries with high levels of economic freedom not only enjoy higher levels of prosperity and greater individual freedoms, but also longer life spans.

“The link between economic freedom and prosperity is undeniable: the countries that score highly in terms of economic freedom also offer their people the best quality of life,” McMahon said.

“The political uprisings sweeping across the Arab World are the result of people wanting the outcomes of economic freedom – prosperity, job growth, political freedoms, and poverty reduction.”

The annual peer-reviewed economic freedom report uses 42 different measures to create an index ranking of 141 countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of private property.

Economic freedom is measured in five different areas: (1) size of government, (2) legal structure and security of property rights, (3) access to sound money, (4) freedom to trade internationally, and (5) regulation of credit, labor, and business.

International rankings

Hong Kong offers the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 9.01 out of 10. The other top scorers are Singapore (8.68), New Zealand (8.20), Switzerland (8.03), Australia (7.98), Canada (7.81), Chile (7.77), the United Kingdom (7.71), Mauritius (7.67), and the United States (7.60).

The rankings and scores of other large economies include: Germany, 21st (7.45); Japan, 22nd (7.44); France, 42nd (7.16); Italy, 70th (6.81); Mexico, 75th (6.74); Russia, 81st (6.55); China, 92nd (6.43); India, 94th (6.40); and Brazil, 102nd (6.19).

Zimbabwe maintains the lowest level of economic freedom among the 141 jurisdictions measured. Myanmar, Venezuela, Angola, and Democratic Republic of Congo round out the bottom five nations.

Several countries have substantially increased their economic freedom scores since 1990. Uganda saw the biggest improvement, climbing to 7.10 this year from 3.00 in 1990, followed by Zambia, which rose to 7.35 from 3.52; Nicaragua, which jumped to 6.76 from 2.96; Albania, which climbed to 7.54 from 4.24; and Peru, which increased to 7.29 from 4.13.

Over the same period, economic freedom has steadily regressed in Venezuela, whose score fell to 4.23 from 5.45; Zimbabwe, which dropped to 4.06 from 5.05; the United States, which slipped to 7.58 from 8.43; and Malaysia, which fell to 6.68 from 7.49.

About the Economic Freedom Index

Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The annual report is published in conjunction with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent research and educational institutes in 85 countries worldwide. The 2011 report was prepared by James Gwartney, Gus A. Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair at Florida State University; Robert A. Lawson, Southern Methodist University; and Joshua Hall, Beloit College.

How do we create a company people want to work in?

More than 100 studies have now found that the most engaged employees — those who report they're fully invested in their jobs and committed to their employers — are significantly more productive, drive higher customer satisfaction and outperform those who are less engaged.

But only 20 per cent of employees around the world report that they're fully engaged at work.

Which for me is scary as I love what I do for a living - it would be nicer if I was a multi millionaire as well - but I geniunely / usually love what I do.

But for others this is not the case - so what's the solution?

Where is the win-win for employers and employees?

The answer is that great employers must shift the focus from trying to get more out of people, to investing more in them by addressing their four core needs — physical, emotional, mental and spiritual — so they're freed, fueled and inspired to bring the best of themselves to work every day.

It's common sense. Fuel people on a diet that lacks essential nutrients and it's no surprise that they'll end up undernourished, disengaged and unable to perform at their best.

Our first need is enough money to live decently, but even at that, we cannot live by bread alone.

Think for a moment about what would make you feel most excited to get to work in the morning, and most loyal to your employer. The sort of company I have in mind would:

Commit to paying every employee a living wage.

Give all employees a stake in the company's success, in the form of profit sharing, or stock options, or bonuses tied to performance.

Design working environments that are safe, comfortable and appealing to work in. In offices, include a range of physical spaces that allow for privacy, collaboration, and simply hanging out.

Provide healthy, high quality food, at the lowest possible prices, including in vending machines.

Create places for employees to rest and renew during the course of the working day and encourage them to take intermittent breaks.

Ideally, leaders would permit afternoon naps, which fuel higher productivity in the several hours that follow.

Offer a well equipped gym and other facilities that encourage employees to move physically and stay fit. Provide incentives for employees to use the facilities, including during the work day as a source of renewal.

Define clear and specific expectations for what success looks like in any given job. Then, treat employees as adults by giving them as much autonomy as possible to choose when they work, where they do their work, and how best to get it accomplished.

Institute two-way performance reviews, so that employees not only receive regular feedback about how they're doing, in ways that support their growth, but are also given the opportunity to provide feedback to their supervisors, anonymously if they so choose, to avoid recrimination.

Hold leaders and managers accountable for treating all employees with respect and care, all of the time, and encourage them to regularly recognize those they supervise for the positive contributions they make.

Create policies that encourage employees to set aside time to focus without interruption on their most important priorities, including long-term projects and more strategic and creative thinking.

Ideally, give them a designated amount of time to pursue projects they're especially passionate about and which have the potential to add value to the company.

Provide employees with ongoing opportunities and incentives to learn, develop and grow, both in establishing new job-specific hard skills, as well as softer skills that serve them well as individuals, and as managers and leaders.

Stand for something beyond simply increasing profits. Create products or provide services or serve causes that clearly add value in the world, making it possible for employees to derive a sense of meaning from their work, and to feel good about the companies for which they work.

This is what we are trying to do with goAugmented - a leading augmented reality design company based in Manchester. But it's hard to be all the above and a start up at the same time. As Tony Schwartz, who wrote the article and Be Excellent at Anything says:

"In more than a decade of working with Fortune 500 companies, I've yet to come across a company that meets the full range of their people's needs in all the ways I've described above. The one that comes closest is Google. I'm convinced it's a key to their success."

We want to be like Google - which is why we have bright colours ;) Seriously

But other to you how does your company measure up?

What's the impact on your performance?

Which needs would your company have to meet for you to be more fully engaged?

Just seen myself in a video - interesting to watch myself on stage.

Didnt really know this was going online - so great to find it - and very proud to be working with Dragon's Den legend Doug Richard.

Sit yourself down - have a cup of tea ready - and enjoy an hours free marketing training courtesy of School for Startups and Great Marketing Works

Just seen myself in a video - interesting to watch myself on stage.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/26663591?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=ffffff" width="940" height="529" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe>

What we can learn from Salesforce's scruffy looking leader :)

Read this today - and made me think about our own leader in the advertising revolution i.e. me. We need a leader for augmented reality to become a house hold moment!

I think we can all learn a lot from Benioff, and not just from his business model and technology. Here are a few lessons we can all learn in terms of vision and leadership:

1. Be inclusive. At Dreamforce, I think I heard the term “you” (spoken to the audience) at least a hundred times. “You created the social enterprise.” “You told us you need mobility.” Every presentation involved customer case studies. Salesforce even featured a video from KLM, the airline, that wasn’t related to Salesforce.com at all, but just illustrated a creative use of social media. Benioff clearly wants Salesforce.com to be a community, not just a company. And a community is much harder to stop.

2. Be confrontational. Benioff is not afraid to pick a fight. In fact, he seems to enjoy it. You can’t listen to him give a presentation without hearing a swipe atOracle and a jab at Bill Gates. He wants to create a narrative about the Salesforce.com community being a revolution against the old guard. Indeed, he even referred to the Arab Spring and a revolution happening in corporate America, in which old guard CEOs, who don’t get the social enterprise, are falling like Qaddafi. He’s calling out his own customers. Many of us in the CEO role are afraid to be provocative. We want to make friends and avoid enemies. And this is good. But playing nice to a fault doesn’t make headlines. And, more important, it doesn’t inspire people—whether they are employees or customers.

3. Be evolving. The term pivot has become almost cliché in the startup world. But while changing directions is impressive and imperative, it’s relatively easy for five people in a garage and much harder forbig enterprises. Although Salesforce isn’t Hewlett-Packard yet, it’s not easy to get 5,000 employees to do a 180. Salesforce.com had a good thing going, crushing Siebel with software-as-a-service for CRM (customer relation management). But Benioff saw the arrival of cloud computing, and software-as-a-service was suddenly a thing of the past. Then, just as cloud computing became hot, he perceived the next trend in social media, and shifted his focus to redefining the “social enterprise.” Each time he pivots, he makes the previous phase (for instance, cloud computing) seem obvious and de facto, further cementing his company’s position. And none of his competitors can keep up.

4. Be imitating. For all the flak Benioff gives Microsoft for copying innovations from Apple and others, he’s absolutely willing to imitate where appropriate. Check out Chatter. Benioff openly admits that it’s designed to look like a Facebook inside Salesforce.com. He realized that people understood Facebook, and that enterprises needed a corporate equivalent. He didn’t try to reinvent the wheel and devise a user interface to be more “enterprise-friendly” than Facebook. He almost literally copied the look and feel we all know, down to the latest Chatter Now instant messaging feature, which is a doppelganger of Facebook Chat. The UI may not be innovative, but for corporate users who’ve gone blind after years of looking at 1980s-designed SAP user interfaces, Facebook at work is refreshing and exciting.

5. Be infectious. If you’ve ever been to an IT conference, you realize that if there is a hell it probably includes the typical IT trade show. Bored customers race past booths seeking out free T-shirts, watered down drinks, and scantily clad booth babes. If customers do stop at your booth, they are most likely just eyeing your giveaways, your staff, or both. Yet my company exhibited at Dreamforce this year and we were mobbed. And, no, it wasn’t because our cheesy giveaways were any better than our neighbor’s. Every booth was mobbed. Customers actually wanted to talk and learn. They were excited. In many ways, Salesforce.com has done the unthinkable and made customers feel that they aren’t fighting with vendors, that they and vendors are shoulder-to-shoulder together on the right side of history in an epic battle.

What I first saw as cheesy in Benioff, I now respect as genuine passion. He really believes there is a revolution. Or at least that’s what it feels like. And then you start believing it too.