The headline was inspired by my new friend Manuel Diaz, president of Emakina.fr. It’s a wise observation that he shared with me while talking about the future of brand and experience in Geneva recently. Luckily, Manuel’s team was on hand to document the experience for an episode of Marche Ou Crève and I wanted to share it with you here. It was the kind of conversation you have in a café in Europe over a glass of champagne…and although this was…
The P2P Business Advantage: People to People, Peer to Peer
Guest post by Leo Bottary (@leobottary), coauthor of The Power of Peers There are two fundamental truisms in business and in life: 1)Who we surround ourselves with matters; and, 2) We can help each other in ways that can’t be realized anywhere else. No book, business course, coach or consultant will give you what you can get from a group of peers who share your skill and commitment to excellence. A 2013 study conducted by the Center for Leadership Development…
The Embrace: Creating Experiences that Nurture Attention into Engagement
Attention is a currency. We spend it. We earn it. And, sometimes we waste it. Experience is something special. It’s all the rage at the moment, yet, we often talk about it as is if it’s a thing. But, as we know, deep down, the best things in life aren’t things, they’re experiences. One of things that makes it so hard to make experience a strategic and actionable part of our work is that the word “experience” means so many…
The Future of Retail: Stop Iterating and Start Innovating
The team at OneStop invited me to Los Angeles to speak to a wonderful group of digital marketers, etailer/retailer, search and commerce strategists. Among the many things I’m studying and speaking about these days, the future of retail is fascinating to me personally and professionally. The future of retail isn’t just about new technology, the latest gadgets and all of the incredible startups that are pushing retail, commerce and everything else forward. It’s also shaped by connected/mobile customers who are more…
Customer Experience is the Sum of Emotional Reactions
As 2015 drew to a close, I flew to Düsseldorf from London to close out NEOCOM, an annual event for multichannel retail and commerce. There I spoke about “retail re-imagined,” redesigning the online and offline shopping experience based on the incredible technology and behavioral trends playing out now and over the next few years. Following the event, I met with the NEOCOM team to shoot a short three-minute video that I would love for you to see. Video Topics/Questions: –…
Top 10 Retail Banking Trends and Predictions for 2016
I’ve been spending an increasing amount of time studying the state and future of finance, banking and retail. Behind the scenes, I’ve spent time with several national and global finance companies/banks as well as several retailers all looking to understand the connected customer and their expectations and preferences when it comes to money, banking and shopping. When Jim Marous, co-publisher of The Financial Brand reached out to talk about the 2016 trends and predictions in retail banking, I was ready…
Will You Be A Part of Change Or A Victim Of It? An Interview with @TheYoungTurks
Right before everyone left for the Christmas/Holiday break, I flew down to Los Angeles to visit the The Young Turks studio. My good friend Francis Maxwell invited me to sit down with Cenk Uygar, host and co-founder of TYT to talk about the story of X and upcoming trends affecting business and society. While we did talk about those things, we got there via a conversation I don’t usually have, which is the story of (me) and how I got to where I am today. Perhaps…
The Miss Universe Design Fail and the Importance of Design
A short story on the importance of design. Following the Miss Universe debacle, conversations continue to focus on Steve Harvey and his incredible mistake announcing “Miss Colombia” as the winner, then correcting himself two minutes later, saying Miss Philippines was the rightful winner. Aside from whether or not beauty pageants should still be a thing and why was it that Steve Harvey missed a good portion of the rehearsal, I wanted to turn the spotlight over to the importance of design. Shortly…
Speaking Topics for 2016: Business (R)evolution, Culture 2.0, Innovation, Experience, Digital, WTF
I’ve been speaking professionally for just over 10 years and I’ve learned many things along the way. One lesson though stands at the top, which is no matter how much I think I know, I must always keep learning. Like everyone and everything, I must compete for relevance now and in the future by re-thinking and re-imagining my purpose and the value I hope offer others. So, once a year, I take time to reflect on what’s important and also…
Experience as a Competitive Advantage
There’s this wonderful magazine, yes a print magazine, in France called INfluencia. While it’s also equally lovely online, I thoroughly enjoy the intricate design work that goes into each page. When INfluencia reached out to talk about X and the future of experience design, I jumped at the chance. If you speak French, it’s online here. Below is the translated version if you prefer English. INFluencia: Les start-up, l’avenir de l’expérience client ? When I read the pitch of the…
