New Position Open: Emerging Concepts Director

In many organizations, a key role is missing to keep the organization relevant. Companies want and talk about collaboration, creativity, innovation and “new”. But, are they doing anything about it. I’m going to walk through an outline that describes the role that is missing. I’m calling it the “plus sign in the equation.”

Emerging concepts…a purposely vague title. Culture, branding, digital and trends capture the current landscape, but what’s the next thing? It’s hard to take a big picture view when you’re focused on day-to-day operations.

Who works and thinks about emerging concepts in your organization?I’m proposing a position in your company COMPLETELY focused on emerging concepts The ‘bubbles’ I’m going to discuss, but shouldn’t be limited to, are culture, branding, digital and trends.

“Culture is the set of habits that allow a group of people to cooperate by assumption rather than by negotiation”/http://www.flavourcountryfeedlot.com/2010/10/environmental-sensing.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+flavourcountryfeedlot%2Fsap+%28the+sap+also+rises%29

“You can't be special, distinctive, and compelling in the marketplace unless you create something special, distinctive, and compelling in the workplace.” / http://feeds.harvardbusiness.org/~r/harvardbusiness/~3/ozwlBb7-9Ys/brand_is_culture_culture_is_br.html

Here are a few desired qualities in an organization’s culture from potential incoming employees. There’s a new generation of workers entering the workforce – they EXPECT these.Open communication: employees want to know what’s going on and want to feel they can openly communicate their ideas Skill sharing: acquiring new skills creates a stronger, more talented work forceFreedom to play: Employees want time to create. Let them have work time to work on side projects. Empower them to innovate within the company. Data rich: Measure everything. Data is being used in a number of ways – infographics, quantified self, trend analysis Information distribution: tied closely to open communication, distributing of information is important to get information in the proper handsJust a few trends companies are focusing on to enhance their culture and attract talent. Little things…You may laugh and say this stuff is frivilous and a waste of time. But I can assure you that is not true. Etsy is a recruiting machine. They are getting the best talent in NYC to come to their company now. It is not just the vibe for sure. They have big and interesting engineering challenges. They are doing cutting edge things in marketing and customer service. But little things like socks on the ducts and fresh and healthy food for lunch three times a week also makes a big difference. / http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AVc/~3/kmFoBJv5QdQ/the-office-matters.html

Warren Buffett knows the importance of workplace culture as shown in the 2010 Annual Report (with this quote), “Our final advantage is the hard-to-duplicate culture that permeates Berkshire. And in businesses, culture counts.”Culture can be a be a business advantage. But it can also be a disadvantage.Success as a company is about caring more than other companies --about customers, about colleagues, about how the organization conducts itself in a world with endless opportunities to cut corners and compromise on values business advantage.

A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization. But, an organization can do many things to affect it’s brand image.An example…Singapore airlines is the pinnacle of sensory branding and offers a full scale assault on our brains. Like any other airline, Singapore airlines employs common consistent visual themes. Unlike other airlines the company incorporates the same scent, Stefan Floridian Waters, in the perfume worn by flight attendants, in their hot towels, and other elements of their service. Flight attendants must be physically attractive and wear uniforms made from fine silk which incorporates elements of the cabin decor. The airline strives to make every customer interaction both appealing, and, equally important, consistent from encounter to encounter. It’s no wonder the airline is perennially at the top of travelers’ preference rankings./http://1440-68131.blogspot.com/2010/06/whats-most-recognizable-scent-in-world.html

A company’s culture is closely linked to its brand. “Your brand is your culture, your culture is your brand.”

Want to be an “innovative brand”? Let people innovate (and fail).keep the org as lean as you can, because true innovation will always come from outside, where people are exposed to more stuff and aren’t worried about our internal stuff. Keep it lean and staff it with folks smart enough to spot the things that can work for the company, and empower them to make those things happen. And if they fail? At least we learn./http://www.rennygleeson.com/2010/11/19/what-makes-companies-innovative/encourage collaborationco/workinghotelingextreme telecommuting

Digital strategy seeks to bridge the gaps between technology, the creative idea, the target as user, business objectives and the brand – and brings grounded creativity to technology.Digitals use their web savvy to execute and often improve upon the ideas and briefs they are provided with – they are responsible for infusing technical, digital and creative expertise into everything they touch.

Harvard Researchers defines digital natives, “They interact with the peers across the globe: This impacts employers, brands, teachers, parents, as this first generation enters the workforce.Always online: By age 20, kids will have spent 20,000 hours online –the same amount of time a professional piano player would have spent practicing Urs Gasser, paraphrased Multiple identities, personal and social, shared online and offline (blurring): Online representation is the same as physical representation: what your clothes, friends, vehicles say about you.”/http://www.digitalnative.org/#homeDigital strategy should be a continuous and iterative process, informed by a steady flow of measurement and used to guide tactical adjustments in pursuit of the client’s primary online objective./http://www.mikearauz.com/2009/05/digital-strategy-is-process-not-product.htmlPlanners need to find new ways to touch all parts of the agency and help them be more creative, whether it’s helping HR make smarter hiring decisions to enabling digital and traditional teams become better integrated. Rather than being guitar soloists in the spotlight, planners should strive to be more like jazz musicians by being exploratory, sensing who they’re addressing in their presentations, and opening up their insights to negotiation. / http://www.psfk.com/2010/10/how-companies-can-design-a-culture-of-creativity.html

The Company is an extension of the people“Our company’s online brand is really the sum of the online brands of the individuals who work there.”/ http://www.mikearauz.com/2010/01/personal-brands-vs-company-brands.html

trend analysis is collecting information and attempting to spot a pattern in the information and applying it functionallySpotting trends is rather easy. Putting trends to functional use is difficult and a talent.

Here’s a Harvard Researchers definition of digital natives, “They interact with the peers across the globe: This impacts employers, brands, teachers, parents, as this first generation enters the workforce.Always online: By age 20, kids will have spent 20,000 hours online –the same amount of time a professional piano player would have spent practicing Urs Gasser, paraphrased Multiple identities, personal and social, shared online and offline (blurring): Online representation is the same as physical representation: what your clothes, friends, vehicles say about you.”/http://www.digitalnative.org/#homecompanies are embracing collaboration as part of their strategy to grow…but this won't work unless employees work effectively across silos. / http://feeds.harvardbusiness.org/~r/harvardbusiness/~3/GC3hMNjAMxY/who_should_be_your_chief_colla.htmlCognitive surplus - Google gives employees 20% of their time to work on side projects that interest them - Rising tides.

Emerging concepts (digital strategy) seeks to bridge the gaps between technology, the creative idea, the target as user, business objectives and the brand – and brings grounded creativity to technology

Emerging concepts…a purposely vague title. Culture, branding, digital and trends capture the current landscape, but what’s the next thing? That’s why I’m proposing a position in your company COMPLETELY focused on emerging concepts …Discuss why a Director level and not Manager or C-suite position…Etsy has a person who is focused on the office, company culture, and making the work space as comfortable as possible/http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Swissmiss/~3/hJ52K_vEWBU/etsy-headquarters-nyc.html

NinjaSWOT teamCompanies are embracing collaboration as part of their strategy to grow…but this won't work unless employees work effectively across silos. / http://feeds.harvardbusiness.org/~r/harvardbusiness/~3/GC3hMNjAMxY/who_should_be_your_chief_colla.html“The new "power couple" inside the best companies, I concluded, was an iron-clad partnership between marketing leadership and HR leadership” / http://feeds.harvardbusiness.org/~r/harvardbusiness/~3/ozwlBb7-9Ys/brand_is_culture_culture_is_br.htmlGoing back to a previous comment…Planners need to find new ways to touch all parts of the agency and help them be more creative, whether it’s helping HR make smarter hiring decisions to enabling digital and traditional teams become better integrated. Rather than being guitar soloists in the spotlight, planners should strive to be more like jazz musicians by being exploratory, sensing who they’re addressing in their presentations, and opening up their insights to negotiation. / http://www.psfk.com/2010/10/how-companies-can-design-a-culture-of-creativity.html