I love my life working in the connected world, but even more, I am passionate about the Earth and the outdoors in the real world.  It’s why I live where I do.  My overall effectiveness and wellness is continually fed by an ongoing connection with the Earth. 

As vacations should be, this one was a time of reflection – a space to disconnect (for the most part) with my technologically connected world and reconnect with the real one: to breathe, to reflect, to think.  As you all know, it’s difficult to completely disconnect today.  The only way for me to do this, truly, is to not take the phone with me at all – and then I find myself reaching for it constantly in my empty pocket to look up information on a location, description, examine a map, or share a photo.  There are definite pluses to having a computer easily accessible at every moment.  And, there’s a great deal of satisfaction when the device provides valuable information at the right time and place.  On the other hand, I sometimes am a little sad about the fact that there are fewer surprises in the world because information about what to expect about nearly everything nearly everywhere in the world is accessible at our fingertips at any time. 

So, all of this leads up to my reflection on connectedness and specifically a recent Wall Street Journal article written by Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Director of Google Ideas Jared Cohen called The Dark Side of the Digital Revolution.  Schmidt and Cohen have penned a new book called The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business.  This article reflects on Schmidt’s recent visit to North Korea.  It’s a good read and if you haven’t already had the opportunity I would recommend having a look. 

Specifically meaningful to me were a few points:

1. Once technology becomes available and participation is experienced by many, even the most repressive regimes are unable to put it back in the box. 
2. The dark (and often ignored) side of a digital revolution is the turbulent transition following the adoption that is often ignored.  The specific reference point here is while technology enables citizens of autocratic regimes to come online, it also provides powerful new tools for dictators to suppress dissent and participation, and BOTH have to evolve.
3. In order to successfully drive a revolution, the empowered citizen needs to not just have technology skills, but also leadership skills and this requires the difficult journey of moving from activism to governance.

Though certainly not as profound in it’s strife or consequences, there are important lessons for Marketers in the Participation Age to consider here from both activists and regimes. 

1. The environment we live in is the environment we live in.  I’ve said it 100 times and I will say it again, the Participation Age is here to stay.  There is no putting this behavior back in the box.
2. We are in this time of turbulent transition because of the technology evolution and brands have a choice on how to respond similar to autocratic regimes:  a.  Apply the same old ineffective marketing techniques developed for a different time and place; b. Embrace the new marketplace and develop new methodologies and governance models; c. Build new technology tools to try to outsmart participation in an effort to continue to control the conversation.  Obviously, some are more effective than others.
3. Brands, like activists, can also become leaders in the Participation Age, not by driving clever “viral” campaigns, but instead focusing on being a leader among brands and participants by building support, credentials, experience.  Focus on the authentic real work of your brand.

As Schmidt and Cohen point out, “…historically a prominent (leader) position grew out of a degree of public trust.  The visibility of a high-profile leader corresponded with the size of his or her support base.  But in the future, with the broad reach of digital media, this equation will be inverted.  Prominence will come earlier and more easily, only then will a would-be leader start to build tangible support, credentials and experience.”  They go on to say “…groups will have to compete with each other to have the best plan for their country’s future, the best set of internal and external alliances, and the most useful operational tool kits and hubs for organizers.  …influence will be measured not only by the number of supporters you can get to a rally but also by the number of times your field manual is downloaded, the comments on your proposed constitution, and the guest posts on your blog.”

The above reminds me of how the old marketing funnel used to work and how the new world funnel is often described as inverted.  Can brands not learn from this?  How can we act as Nurturist marketers not only seeking to add “followers” but to also build tangible, credible support and participation?  How can we adapt our organizations to cope with this new environment?  It is comforting to know that this turbulence is a normal part of the process and that having the right tools, processes, and philosophies is key to thriving today and in the future.

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The study indicated that most participants (58%) pay more attention to brands that create social media experiences and spend more time on websites when social media is integrated as part of an overall communication plan.  And 62% say they are more likely to stay engaged with brands that integrate social media.  I am guessing this is likely because those interactions happen more often, even if it’s more passive ongoing interaction rather than direct interaction.  Think of it like your own personal Facebook experience.  You now have continuous visibility to what’s happening with individuals, even if you don’t talk with them or see them on a regular basis.  Participants are now expecting to interact with brands in the same manner.  So, what does participation mean?

If I see my local wine shop, Alpine Wines, is having an event on a specific night because of a tweet or Facebook post, I might attend the event.  Without that social connection I would not even be aware it was happening.  This is not only true of local brands, but other favorite brands whose physical store I frequent only occasionally.  Take Athleta, who recently reminded me of their semi-annual sale, prompting me to make an online purchase for those favorite polartec tights I wear nearly every day because they work equally well for horseback riding and Nordic skiing.

It is refreshing to think that in 2013 integrating social activities into all marketing activities is recognized as so important.  This is a far departure from five years ago when brands were struggling to “do something social.”

This post was previously published. 

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Hope to see you!

DM

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What’s striking about the health industry is that the same transformation of power is happening there as is in the general consumer environment.  While Healthwise was ahead of its time understanding that individuals sought empowerment managing their own health, much of the industry was still operating under the old model.  In general, patients have been referred to and thought of as individuals without a lot of information or power.  There is an implied hierarchical connotation to the word patient, not dissimilar to the word consumer.  Today, there is obviously much movement afoot to empower patients with information and choices enabling them to be accountable for their own health management.  Healthwise supports a number of initiatives, including technology that supports Participant empowerment in healthcare.

Fellow board member Ted Epperly, MD, has written an excellent book titled Fractured, about the underlying philosophy and approach to healthcare and why change is so vital in the Age of Participation, and critical to our economy and the overall health of our nation.  As a result, many physicians, hospitals, and health organizations are rethinking their approach and incorporating the Participation Way into the basic fundamentals of how they approach relationships with the people they used to refer to as patients. 

Because the political lines are so deeply drawn in today’s environment, the interest of the Participant may become lost in decision-making.  There are numerous examples of this currently happening in policy decisions at the state, local and federal levels.  As a result, progress is sometimes stalled or even lost.  Because of my board involvement I have visibility into these issues and opportunities, and thought I would share a different spin on the issues. 

As an employer of a large number of people, I also have begun to think about how I could formalize promoting employee health through programs and initiatives.  At Performics, we currently track employee satisfaction, attrition, and productivity.  I believe we might be missing an opportunity to think about how employee health affects these other measures, particularly productivity.  Our view might actually prove to be counter intuitive, meaning productivity generally means time spent with butts in seats or cost efficiency, when in fact this might actually not be the case.  Encouraging employees to take time to conduct healthy activities while on the job might in fact improve productivity as well.

Healthwise currently has a program designed to encourage, track and reward healthy workplace behaviors, and for years has experimented with the underlying philosophy that workplaces promoting healthy behaviors does indeed improve productivity.  For those of you interested in exploring other proven options, there is a company called Healthways that offers comprehensive solutions that improve well-being, decrease healthcare costs, enhance performance and generate economic value for employers.  Beyond productivity, implementing programs that encourage employee health and wellness might truly affect the bottom line if it reduces employee benefit costs and work lost from sick days.  I would love to hear from anyone who has experiences with such a program, its success, or thoughts and ideas about implementing one.

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Nearly immediately following the presentation, I headed out to New Delhi for an internal organizational conference.  India is an immediate assault on the senses.  At the moment of exiting the airport, the eyes and nose tingle as the body encounters air seasoned with burning incense sticks and spices.  There are splashes of vibrant colors everywhere.  Even the occasional truck is decorated for no apparent reason.  I saw one adorned with thick braided tassels dipped in sequins for good measure.  If that wasn’t enough, the sheer chaos of scenic contradictions can be overwhelming.  Cows and chickens pop up here and there in the streets.  A Porsche dealer surrounded by peddlers selling their wares street-side, and cows resting comfortably, bedded down chewing their cuds near the show room window.  The fascinating discovery of the individuality of power poles — no two are alike. There are simply too many incongruent examples to even begin to describe the experience.  India is like no other place I have ever visited and worth the experience if you have the opportunity.

At this conference I was lucky enough to hear frequent TED speaker Dr. Pawan Girdharilal Agrawal, CEO of the renowned Mumbai Dabbawalas.  For those of you who have not already heard this story, it’s worth checking out.  Dabbawala literally means “person who carries a box.”  In India it is a person, most commonly found in the city of Mumbai, who is employed in a unique service industry collecting freshly cooked food in lunch boxes from the residences of the office workers (mostly in the suburbs), delivering it to their respective workplaces, and then returning the empty boxes back to the customers’ residence by using various modes of transport.

The concept of the Dabbawala originated in 1880 when India was under British rule. Many British people who came to the colony did not like the local food, so a service was set up to bring lunch to these people in their workplace straight from their homes.  Nowadays, although Indian businesspersons are the main customers for the Dabbawalas, increasingly affluent families employ them instead for lunch delivery to their school-aged children.  Even though the services provided might include cooking, it primarily consists of delivery of lunches made from home.  The “tiffins”—an old-fashioned English word for a light lunch or afternoon snack, and sometimes, by extension, for the box it is carried in—are delivered by lunch time and taken back to residences in the evening so the process can be repeated the next day with amazing consistency and accuracy.

In 1998, Forbes Magazine found the Dabbawalla reliability to be that of a six sigma standard.  This implies that the Dabbawalas make less than one mistake in every six million deliveries.  More than 175,000 to 200,000 lunch boxes are moved every day by an estimated 4,500 to 5,000 Dabbawalas, all with an extremely nominal fee and with utmost punctuality, consistency and trust.  The YouTube link posted above (Dr. Agrawal) is worth a watch if you have a few moments.

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It all started when author James Erwin posted an original response to the following question:  “Could I destroy the entire Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus if I traveled back in time with a modern US Marine infantry battalion?”

This developed into a long-running Reddit thread, Rome Sweet Rome, where Erwin expanded the story after his response proved so popular.  The entire thread then found its way to the Reddit homepage, where it was spotted by Madhouse Entertainment’s Adam Kolbrenner, who contacted Erwin and began developing the movie script concept with him.  Kolbrenner then took it to Warner Bros., who bought the rights in October 2011.

Reddit opinions and comments helped to write key lines and guided the author around plot gaps, military knowledge, connections with former Marines, and the history and geography of Rome itself.  In addition to the added value of content, the motivation and support the Reddit community provided urging the author to continue may have influenced Kolbrernner and even Warner Bros.

Obviously, this type of crowd-sourced approach to creation is not only relevant to movies, but books, articles, ideas, artistic creations, etc.  There are other examples of authors crowd-sourcing their work.  Multiple participants involved in collective storytelling obviously contribute to the richness and realism over any single author’s contribution.  I have been thinking about this a great deal while contemplating the topic of my next book: women in leadership.  Obviously, involving the experiences of many women, not just my own, will make for a richer, more accurate and authentic experience for the reader.

This is an excellent example of participatory media and it will be interesting if the studio somehow treats its release differently.  Will it be just another movie release?  Or will the studio harness the power of existing fans and community to gain support and marketing?

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Over the years, I began to notice the effectiveness of the big idea seemed to fade.  In the early days of search, which has evolved allowing unprecedented access to information, and then with the rise of social media where people can tap into networks to acquire additional information, the notion of altering someone’s opinion with a singular message seems more and more irrelevant.  Today, effective marketing is about creating useful content and information that enables people to discover more about a product and service.  It is about creating experiences that empower them to be part of the marketing process itself.  And, finally, it is about building community environments that encourage people to connect not only with the product, service, or brand, but with other people who have similar interests.  This new marketing is about motivating people to participate, and we first named it “participant marketing” in 2008.  The idea has continued to grow as the new, digital, and interactive media world continues to evolve.

Today a number of businesses are using social media, digital video, and online experiences to inspire participants to join, share, connect and engage with their product, service and brand.  It’s a way for brands, large and small, to use a new marketing formula grounded in a science first created by sociologists and psychologists who were trying to understand what motivates people.  This new marketing framework encourages brands to invite customers to participate with their brand.  Participant Marketing is a new marketing philosophy that transforms uninformed consumers into active participants by empowering them to contribute, and by developing meaningful relationships that keep them involved.

This year’s Super Bowl ads are a good example of just how many companies are looking to creative interactive experiences with participants – even in a traditionally one-way view environment like television.  Lincoln, the luxury automotive brand, recently revealed the first-ever TV commercial written entirely through social media with participants contributing via Twitter.  Jimmy Fallon asked his followers to tweet responses to his questions about road trips full of unexpected events that ultimately created the script.

Over a three-day period in December, participants were asked to provide their most outrageous road trip experiences in 140 characters.  The best contributions were chosen from more than 6,000 tweets to create a 30-second spot that will run during the third quarter.  A longer 90-second version is available on SteertheScript.com.

This Super Bowl ad is another major example of how Ford has fully embraced Participant Marketing.  The company has been fine-tuning the approach for several years, which included creating unique strategies for individual brands within the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury umbrella.  For example, what works well for Ford Mustang, might not for the F-150.

Participant Marketing is about inviting people to contribute to the brand in an authentic, transparent way.   It’s about providing meaningful information and encouraging others to share that information or contribute their own, and the goal is to nurture participation more than just delivering a clever persuasive message. This way, participants are informed, empowered, and connected in a way that allows them to become truly engaged with your business.

There are significant benefits to creating marketing experiences that inspire and nurture participation, and it’s easy to measure the return on investment.  How many viewed the content?  Was it shared?  Did it spark conversation between participants?  As the public and businesses become increasingly “social,” Participant Marketing can make help to build stronger relationships between brands and customers, while differentiating a company from outdated persuasive marketing philosophy.

Businesses that embrace Participant Marketing can create a significant competitive advantage because in today’s connected world, improved brand participation means improved results and business growth, while simultaneously increasing credibility and relevancy in the marketplace.

(This blog was previously posted on http://www.business2community.com)

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I first met Robin in 2005 when I was working for Hewlett-Packard and I was lucky enough that Google assigned Robin to work on my business.  This set an immediate precedence.  To this day, Robin is still the face of Google for me.  I’m sorry Larry and Sergey and Eric, when I think of Google your faces do not come immediately to mind.  When I think of Google, I see the bright shining smile of Robin Hutto.

To me, Robin was, and still is, the manifestation of Google: smart, kind, honest, trustworthy, sincere, responsive, authentic, real.  I was lucky to work with her for a number of years.  We shared some amazing experiences together – in Paris – where I was fortunate to get to know Michael as well.  In Park City, at the Sundance Film Festival, where we brought to life YouTube’s first ever participant created short film competition: ProjectDirect.

Over the past five years our work worlds have not intertwined as closely but our friendship remained rock solid.  I could pick up the phone or meet her and we would resume exactly where we last left it – just as close, and personal and real.  I was lucky enough to see Robin for a few moments just a few weeks ago at CES.  I am thankful that I did because I had the opportunity to see her one last time. 

Even more significant than the CES trip was a trip here to the Bay Area right before the holidays.  Robin invited me to come to address the Women of Google.  Always an advocate for women leaders, she had arranged for me to come and talk about my experience as a woman in leadership.  Consistent with anything that Robin organized, it was a great event and afterward she took me around the halls of Google introducing me personally to individuals at their desks.  Then, we left and headed to dinner where she had invited a few special women I have worked with in the past.  The idea for the dinner was Robin’s, not mine.  But she knew me well enough to know exactly what would mean the most to me and she went out of her way to make it happen – for me.  That night meant so very much to me.  I was so touched by her act of kindness, generosity and sincerity.

This was Robin.  She was that person who took her time to see into your soul.  She went out of her way to understand and support every individual in a deep and sincere manner.  And in the process, she touched so many people.

Over the past week it has been extraordinary to read the tributes that are now posted in the online forums of Facebook and Google+.  She had an amazing impact on so many individuals, it’s truly extraordinary.  A few days ago I began collecting the content of comments and posts and fed them into a word cloud generator.  The words that stand out are telling.  Words like: leader, friend, mentor, passionate, fun, warm, laugh, love, energy – and most predictably – family and smile.  It’s a tag cloud that everyone should print out and post above their desk and aspire to be each and every day.

In all honestly, while I am flattered that Robin invited me to speak about leadership, she should have been up there speaking to these women.  Robin was a phenomenal leader – and not just an inspiration to women.  It’s clear that she had a significant influence on men as well.  What Robin did best was to balance work and life – proudly, openly, honestly. The sad truth is this is really rare today.  Somehow, we seem to believe that focusing on family will compromise work and vice-a-versa.  Robin is proof this is not the case.  You can be very good at both – maybe better at both by NOT compromising either.

As one of my good friends who just recently met Robin said so aptly:  Women (and I think this is just as true for men) in business have not always had the courage to be kind, caring, supportive, warm, strong, honest, real, vulnerable, trusted and trusting…

But THIS woman, and the women and men who surrounded Robin – all of you  – DO have those qualities.

What a wonderful gift for all of us to give to Robin by continuing on in the way we live and work, as friends and confidants, supporters and resources for our close friends, our teams, our business partners, and by teaching these positive and wonderful ways to those we mentor and by championing BOTH work and life.

As I composed these comments the other day I was overcome with my own grief and I had to leave my keyboard for a bit to breathe the fresh Wyoming air in my back yard on my cross-country skis.  I was overwhelmed wondering how life would be without her.  And, just then the sun came out on the fresh snow revealing millions of sparkles and I could feel the warmth through my black sweater.  I stopped to watch, struck by the beauty and I could just see her smile and hear her laugh and say to me “you’ve got this.”  And with that, I skied on.

I will leave you with a quote from one of my favorite authors, Karen Blixen who, bless her soul, had to write under the pen name of a man: Isak Dinesen.

 “One day at a time – this is enough.  Do not look back and grieve over the past for it’s gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come.  Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering.”

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As referenced in an earlier post, Sheryl Sandberg is passionate about the subject as well, and has been on the speaking circuit for some time providing observations and advice for women.  I also spend a fair amount of time speaking to groups and fielding questions, and the questions aren’t always from women.  A number of men also want to understand how they can support women who work for and with them.  This is why I tend to think of the next endeavor as a study of gender differences in leadership.  We all have much to learn in spite of the fact that the topic is not a new one.  I ran across an article today in Harvard Business Review that reinforces this thought and is pretty critical of Sheryl’s approach, which I don’t necessarily agree with, but the idea is that there is a good deal of work yet to be done.

I think that I am perhaps even more passionate about it because I am now experiencing the frustrations all over again through the eyes of my own daughter who is just entering the work place.  She is confident, articulate, competitive, driven, and beautiful.  Yes, these are all wonderful qualities and that should be quite a catch for any company.  Yet, these qualities have actually hurt her in two interviews, as she was criticized for being openly ambitious and confident – and leaning in I might add.  She was asked if, get this, she was “raised with humility and a serving type of mentality!!!”  Can you imagine a man being asked this question in an interview?  These questions actually did come out of the mouth of a man in a very senior position who used his position of authority to promptly put her back in her place.  So much for leaning in.  Men aren’t the only culprits however, she also had a not-so-great interview with a woman who criticized her for the same behavior, but instead of being derogatory and insulting, explained how terrible the job was, going into great detail on why it wasn’t for her.

In the coming weeks I will be asking for feedback on a number of issues related to gender differences in leadership and examples, tips, and ideas.  I am also exploring a new, creative, and technology-driven approach to brainstorm ideas with you . . . more on that later.  I learned from writing the first book that capturing information and copying it into Word and then into files is not an efficient or affective approach to book ideation and creation.  For now, drop me an email if you’d like to participate: daina@daina.middleton.com.

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