In all the loudness, the shouting, the telling, the one sidedness of it all, we’ve forgotten what really matters the relationship. The relationship you have with your people, with your customers, competitors and collaborators. Communication is out (far too one sided) and, as we know, conversation is in (its far more two way.)

As Christopher Locke said in The Cluetrain Manifesto, “genuine conversation flourishes only in an atmosphere of free and open exchange.” That means respecting people’s opinions, feeling what its like to be in there shoes, understanding their values and concerns. Attempting to help solve solutions, not absolve ourselves from responsibility by building robust, meaningful relationships.

2010 will mean us becoming more ‘real’ and the web and social media will aid us in this mission next year. Many still think of the web as not real, yet it’s never been more real, more alive, more exciting. It generates millions of conversations everyday. It transports important information every hour and it enables people to stay connected every second. It’s time for you and I to get a grip and think about how the web will help you develop and sustain great relationships next year.

Over the Xmas period I’m writing an eBook considering how business is changing including the fundamental shifts we are experiencing and, also the key things we possibly need to get back to. It will cover between 50 and 100 words all supplied by my colleagues, clients, followers, connections and fans. Although, I may throw a few into the mix.

I’m hoping to provide an overview of some critical factors that will influence the future of work and business. Some of you have been kind enough already to provide some interesting topics such as; value, adaption, substance, competition, talent, time and feel.

It would be great if you could join in! I’ll reference you in the book and provide a hyperlink to your website or blog. Hopefully, I can provide some thought provoking ideas and thoughts with a bit of humility too. Can’t wait for the conversation to start once it’s published in February/March 2010.

If you want to contribute a word or two, please just make a comment on this blog, direct message me on www.twitter.com/annholman or, email me at ann@annholman.co.uk

Thanks!

My post is made easier today by this mega post by www.scottgould.me

The case studies are starting to raise their heads above the parapet and Scott considers the recent race for the number one spot in the singles chart between Rage Against The Machine and the X Factor winner. In his usual style, Scott gives us an insight into how social media is impacting on the ’spreadability’ of ideas with a well researched article.

For those doubters, case studies are starting to appear from Dell, to the new VW Golf GTI, to how the music business is going to work in the future. Scott’s post is well worth the read and is telling us something fundamental….things have shifted!

http://scottgould.me/rage-against-the-machine-the-case-study-in-spreadability-vs-reach/

If you run a business, department or division, your role is about to change, big time! Your ego better go and bury itself comfortable cos’ it’s going to be spending a long time there. As a manager you have huge responsibilities. Those self absorbed, selfish, controlling vain days are over. They may have been suitable for a functional state of management but they no longer endear you to a world that has suddenly realised that it’s about relationships. Behaviour will have to change.

Perhaps, business is moving from the ego status to the self actualisation role as in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? Your new accountabilities will not be based soley on financial performance or achievements based on numbers. It will centre on:

1. Developing relationships that are mutually beneficial.

2. Developing differentiation, even if it is unfortunately based on price.

3. Creating a common purpose that is authentic, makes a difference and has meaning to people.

4. Building trust and credibility.

However, enabling people to feel valued is going to be your most significant contribution. Financial performance? That’s just the result of getting the stuff above right, we’ve just always managed it the wrong way round!

We’ve launched my new series of lectures for 2010 today. They are a little radical, thought provoking and mind shifting…well that’s what I intend! Six seminars starting in January running through to November, I can’t wait! You can book the whole lot for £200 including vat (you make a £100 saving) or, wait until 11th January 2010 to book them individually at £58 each including vat.

They all take place in Exeter, with a venue to be decided once we know the numbers! To get more details or to book, click on this link http://www.eventbrite.com/event/509148878

Be great to see you there, sharing ideas and thoughts on the future of business and work. I love my job sometimes!

I think we are heading for more trouble, well some brands both big and small. We’ve spent the last fifty or so years (perhaps more) encouraging several generations of customers to demand more and more even when they didn’t need it. Now those demands are outstripping businesses ability to meet it.

Overnight, technology, people and economics have collided to create a new market, a new desire, a new need. No longer can we control and exploit customers. We can’t keep them on the threshold of our businesses and carry on with a transactional relationship. We have to invite them in to fully participate in what we are doing.

Like it’s employees/managers, customers are just as important stakeholders as the owners of the business. The word ’shareholder’ will have a very different meaning in the future.

The walls built up over so many years between customers, employees, management and shareholders are collapsing. This dictates a new type of relationship and commands a new approach. Openness, honesty, transparency, sharing and collaboration that result in mutual benefits and value will drive business performance and, more importantly, business sustainability.

It’s time to throw away the job descriptions, brush aside ego’s, change the emphasis to people, realise your product is as good, or, crap as your competitors and be aware that not one person has the power/decision making role anymore. Leadership too is fundamentally changing.

The impacts of these changes are creating new vulnerabilities and ’sore thumb’ opportunities for businesses. It will mean friction and tension. Fabulous, however, usually great ideas and innovations come out of that!

Frankly, a lot of the business world, in the last 18 months, has looked like a custard pie fight, a lot of mess but nowhere near as much fun. Those people that think we are out of the woods yet, really are only seeing the trees! I’m concerned about the people that have lost their jobs and/or homes, but what scares me more is that we may not have learnt a damn sensible thing, especially in the finance industry. But hey ho what did we expect?

The little, tiny light at the end of the tunnel (or is that the train coming the other way?) is that the customer will demand a new way of doing things, at least some will. Most of us will go back to ‘customer as normal’ and ‘business as normal’ and ignore the inevitability. Disguised as our mythical view of an inability to change things.

Others, though, will create merry hell! They will demand integrity and transparency and that will change how brands are judged and how they are led by their managers/owners. Whilst business attempts to gain true customer loyalty, something it has bought in the past, they will have to, first, be loyal to their customers. A complete, fundamental shift in thinking. I think of how BT, Nat West and the utilities are going to do this? I also think of small business too!

Just a quickie post today but hopefully a thought provoking one! Wouldn’t it be interesting if we looked at our business, department, division, even ourselves and asked these questions:

1. What if we encouraged our market to be driven by need rather than huge profits?

2. What if we stopped ’selling’ our products and started ’selling’ our people?

3. What if we removed all of the contradictions we have have in our business? Well some of them anyway.

4. What if our business plan was about evolving our company rather than it doing the same old, same old?

It would be intriguing content for a team meeting and brainstorm session. The answers would be even more enthralling!

Business in the past was valued on it’s financial performance, it still is. Increasingly, it will also be based on influence, followers and fans. If we own something we try to protect it. In fact, we can become over protective. For years we have been conditioned to think that we own stuff at work; our team, our customers, our products. Tesco thinks it owns it’s suppliers!

This over exuberance can be detrimental, if not a tad delusional. We can spend lots of money defending something that we actually don’t own. The future, we know, will be based on the value of our relationships with our fellow humans. You can only part own a relationship. You will only part own a product as we collaborate more, you have never owned your people, especially in a war for talent. And customers just ain’t buying that ‘priviledge’ thing anymore.

You don’t own the buildings you work in, you probably don’t own that car you drive and your company probably only lease that computer and mobile you use. We need to shift our mentality from one of ownership to partnership. That way we can work positively on the things that really are meaningful and rationally focus our efforts.