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!

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!

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!

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.

It’s an interesting question. If social media is to, actually it has, taken over and because of the demands of the new marketing approach that’s emerging, why do we need a marketing department at all? In his blog post http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/becoming-p2p-principal-characteristics-of-the-new-social-business/ Olivier Blanchard sets out that a P2P business (people to people) doesn’t even need a Social Media Director citing that social media is completely embedded in the organisation. He has a point!

Social media removes the need for one department to be responsible for marketing. Indeed, perhaps if a company does have a marketing department, they are completely subverting what social media can do. Marketing, in the future, will be about valuable conversations, enlightening collaborations and strong connections, all wrapped snuggly in a ‘word of mouth’ blanket!

In fact here’s a suggestion, if we are moving from B2C/B2B to P2P, perhaps we need to merge human resource and marketing departments. They have a lot in common in the suggested P2P environment. Retention of staff/customers, loyal customers/staff, great conversations, cultural shifts in expectations and bevhaviour, the way we treat people, the relationships we have, brand equity and so on and so on.

It makes sense, there is so much synergy between the two disciplines now that it would be a shame to miss an opportunity to add value to the P2P relationships we have both internally and externally. By the way, Olivier’s post is well worth the read!

When was the last time you let your people play? Not throwing a ball around the car park or the games we all get on our computers and mobiles nowadays, but serious play.

Play is the essence of innovation and idea creation. It requires freedom from constraints and freedom from conditions.. Watch the kid in the school yard with his/her tractor. Complete absorption in the activity, unadulterated imagination and clear determination is at work.

Play is critical, it’s serious stuff and it encourages us to look at things differently. With your team look at something mundane in your customer process or consider that boring waste management project. Play with it, modify it, destroy it, build it up again. Completely go wild, break it open and come up with 10 new ideas and see where that takes you!

As Joesph Chilton Pearce said “Play is the only way the highest intelligence of mankind can unfold.” Not a bad quote really.

It’s easy to get trapped into doing everything. After initial start up, you’ll get dragged into all sorts, particularly if you can’t say no! Then it gets all messy and complicated, something us humans have turned into an art form. Cut to the chase, keep focused on building value and concentrate on these five aspects:

1. A proven track record. It builds reputation

2. Develop word of mouth mechanisms that reinforce your track record. Keep marketing costs low by adopting this strategy. Creates credibility.

3. Continuously grow your skill base, knowledge and understanding. Become an influencer in your area of expertise.

4. Let your character come through, it’s the only unique thing you have.

5. Identify what you are really good at and thrust yourself into that.

Refresh it, change it, reinvent it occasionally but never stop working on them.

If this is true, we need to start focusing on the people aspects of our business, rather than the sometimes unhealthy, overbearing focus on our products. There are no crap products in the world nowadays just similar ones. Our true competitive advantage is in how we tap the brains of the people around us. Here’s two ideas:

1. Get together some customers and influencers and discuss the future. This new way of doing things. How the mortality rate for lots of business models is rising. What trends will come true what won’t. Have a debate about the implications, the impact, the positives, the negatives.

2. If you’re the boss, get your team together on a monthly basis and initiate an interactive and engaging chat about various topics. Not the usual stuff like “how many new customers can we generate,” or “how do we reduce wastage.” But, stuff like “How can we be more authentic?” “How can we influence customers rather than control them.” “How can we work collaboratively with competitiors.”

The point; use a little imagination. If you are going to take time out of peoples day, make it interesting, make it provocative, take people out of their comfort zones. They will find it challenging, possibly terrifying, perhaps liberating. At least you will have acted as catalyst for thinking and, in today’s knowledge economy, thats really what its about.