AGILE - Implications for the Enterprise

In my last blog we looked at being AGILE in a VUCA world and ended with a link to a grid that would help identify people who could function and succeed in an environment that required agility. I hope you took the opportunity to place yourself and colleagues on this grid. The PetLynx team had an interesting discussion as they reported outcomes to the HHOP scrum we have every week. One observation was that self confidence plays into being agile and being a performer.


So what does all this have to do with 'BRAND'. As we move along I am intentionally building the case for how corporate brands are but an aggregation of the personal brands who 'ACT' for the company. Especially in a day and age where the lines are blurring between consumers and those who market to them, it is important to understand how the enterprise employee/actors are going to effect branding and brand values. 


In this blog, I want to illuminate implications for the brand enterprise. My observation is that most enterprises need a new paradigm. I call it the 3 R's of a new enterprise that attracts top performing agile employee/actors who can move the enterprise successfully into this new world:

• Relinquish (hand over/give up) control and structure in order to obtain agility as well as best performance, engagement and responsibility.
• Relax (ease up) on conformation and other enterprise thresholds allowing 'actors' to express their true nature so they adopt the shortest path to value for the enterprise.
• Re-purpose digital assets and information resources so they can be used by employees, clients, vendors and other stakeholders to assemble a truly personal experience/solution.

We will visit this paradigm from time to time but let's keep it in mind as we explore something really interesting - the concept of 'selfsumerization'.  In his recent leadership paper, Dr. David Jacobson, Director, Emerging Technologies, for PwC introduces and explains “selfsumerization”.  As Gen Y and Digital Natives arrive to the work force in numbers, Dr. Jacobson predicts selfsumerization will lead to many implications for the enterprise.  

Access the article

Why is this important - because of his prediction on timing - Dr. Jacobson suggests the enterprise will need to modify structure and understanding in the next 2 to 5 years.

Exercise:  Use the three R's to pick one thing that will move the enterprise toward this new paradigm.  Share the idea in the comments section so the rest of us benefit from your thinking!

AGILE - Dealing with a VUCA world

Thanks to Louis McCann, Executive Director of PIJAC Canada for thinking of me.


Louis heard Bob Johansen speak at the Top2Top Summit in California a few weeks ago and actually phoned me from the conference to tell me I needed to review Bob's approach to forecasting in a VUCA world. A few days later an unexpected parcel arrived from Louis with Bob Johansen's 'Leaders Make the Future' which I have now read. Wow!  I certainly found this a compelling read and a great contribution to my understanding of the role of leaders in 'future'.


My first contact with, and understanding of, a world which is volatile (V), uncertain (U), complex (C) and ambiguous (A) - a VUCA world, came to me from my son who is in the military.  In Aaron's situation/field training, he encountered this acronym and a military model for dealing with survival, sustainability and even success under these conditions. I'll write more of that in a future blog because I think there are things that may be helpful. But first a little about AGILE.


AGILE as a methodology was first developed to manage software development where it is still widely used today. I was first introduced to AGILE by Lori Dencsak who led the PetLynx development team in 2003. My exposure to AGILE convinced me that it was a methodology for execution that could be applied to any kind of business project. We have customized and made AGILE a methodology we use with PetLynx to execute virtually every element of the business plan. In my view, AGILE has important principles that will assist a small team of passionate people to achieve unexpected success in a VUCA world.


What has been missing, in my experience, is the ability to recognize and evaluate which human resources will excel in this environment. Not all people will do well. I have found the transparency required in communication and the focus on execution is a challenge to many. For me, Bob's book fills in some of the blanks as to the qualities leaders must possess. At the back of the book he has provided an important self-assessment tool that leaders and  potential leaders can use to understand the areas where they need growth.


Today, I noticed an article from Karl Moore and Brian McGowan in Forbes magazine that provides another important resource. Take a look at this article  and in particular, the relationship they see between agile leaders and a VUCA world.  The evaluation matrix they include, by Nick Horney and Tom O’Shea provides a really valuable overview to assess people who will be successful in this environment. I encourage you to place yourself and each member of your leadership team within the squares of this evaluation matrix. I think it will provide you with a better understanding of their 'leadership quotient'.


Why is this important?  The road into the future will be littered with brands and companies that aren't agile or don't have leaders who bring these qualities to every aspect of the organization. 


I'm just a farm boy but you can quote me on that!

SMARTPHONE YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH 45%

According to a study commissioned by CWTA, about half of all mobile users in Canada now own smartphones. Moreover, among 18 to 34 year-olds, that number jumps to almost 70%. 
Tablet owners are also on the rise. In 2011, Canadian consumers purchased tablets at four times the rate from 2010 – from 5% to 20%. The survey reinforces reported industry trends of rapidly increasing data consumption, with almost half of all cell phone users now having a data plan for their device. 
The study also reveals that apps continue to be widely used by Canadians, with significant growth from 58% to 70% of users over last year. Cell phone users who download apps have an average of 12 apps on their device, and typically two of those were purchased while the rest were downloaded for free. 
Furthermore, the survey also examined trends in mobile giving, and found that 90% of those who donated to a charity via a text message would do so again.


Why is this important?  Because the pace of change in communications is much more rapid than many expected. Brand 'influencer' and 'loyalty' programs as well as the programs that non-profits are using to raise funds will need to move quickly to this new paradigm or put the brand and organization at risk.



Access the 2012 Cell Phone Consumer Attitudes Study

Relationships - The Core of Brand Trust

I loved my early childhood on Grandma Evans' farm. My world, though it seemed large was really quite small. Most everything we needed was obtained 'locally'. Places more than 5 or ten miles away seemed distant to me.


Occasionally, 'travellers' came by the farm with things that weren't available  locally. They were regarded carefully until a relationship was 'proved up'. But as a kid, I always thought it was exciting when the Fullerbrush or Rawleigh's man came round. Not because of the products they brought, but because they often stayed for a meal and told exciting stories from their travels. On these occasions, I learned about a world that lay over the horizon. One that I would eventually explore as a marketer and 'traveller' myself.  


When our Fullerbrush man retired, he brought around a replacement for us all to meet.  At the time, I didn't realize that he was doing something very important - passing to the 'new traveller' a relationship he had earned over years of service to Grandma and our family.


We all know that relationships are the core of brand trust. Perhaps you  wonder if the internet is spoiling the deeper relationships you count on for brand success. In an earlier blog, I proposed that we need to establish conversations with those who 'serve' our brands to a network of trusted friends. As the barriers to social interaction come down, the 'digital maven' deserves our attention.


Stefana Broadbent is an ethnographer who studies the way our social habits and relationships function and mutate in the digital age. I think you will find her 2009 TED talk useful in understanding how digital is opening up the network of people we communicate with and why it is breaking down barriers to social interaction that were erected over the past 150 years.


Please feel free to share the examples from your experience.

Even Marketing Can See Why HTML5 is Important

Remember the promises of IT.  Less paper, a seamless approach to marketing on all platforms, agility in program development and etc.


Well it may finally be coming true with a new technology that allows the internet browser to become the place where desktop and mobile environments merge and where an intuitive consumer experience is finally delivered.


Why is this so important to understand?  Because marketing has been held hostage far too long by development and developer dependencies.


Recently I had the opportunity to see HTML5 in action and to see the simplified design requirements proposed for developing a new application.  It looks to me like we finally have a really useful tool in the arsenal of our market development toolbox. One that we won't even see if it works properly!


Early in May, Ian Hardy of the BBC wrote a useful article on HTML5 that will help you grasp the significance of this development.


In the meantime, we are taking a look at the PetLynx application to see where re-factoring this technology will give pet families and the pet industry a more complete experience.


Please add your experiences with HTML5 in the comments area.