The Pivot Conference in NYC in October is unique among events in that, each year, it shifts  focus to deeply reflect the needs of its community of senior business transformation executives from leading brands and organizations. To make that happen, I serve as Pivotâs Executive Producer along with Pivot CEO, Mike Edelhart. For four years in a row, weâve put our heads together to develop a story arc that covers the hottest, emergent trends, presented by the industryâs most engaging…
A Manifesto for Building Relationships in the Digital Era
Not too long ago, my dear friend Hugh MacLeod (@gapingvoid) and I set out to explore a new world of visual communication that combined an intentional form of written storytelling illustrated through clever yet pithy cartoons. That work was originally brought to life in #WTF (What’s the Future of Business). The engagement around Hugh’s work eventually spilled over from print to online with readers sharing their favorite Hugh cartoons via Tweets, Instagrams, Vines, Pinterest, et al. We were inspired to…
WTF of Business at Saddleback Leather Co.
Guest post by John Bergquist (@JohnFlurry), who leads Content and Communications at Saddleback Leather Co. So much has changed in business in the past 20 years. And it continues to change daily. As Brian has said before, today a business has to engage⊠or die. And you know what? That delights me. It is the way it used to be. Shopkeepers knew their customers very well. They didnât need mechanical analysts or teams of test consumers to determine how to…
Made in Detroit: How Shinola’s Good Ole Fashioned Business Values Outperform the Status Quo
You don’t know shit from Shinola. Ever heard that saying before? This World War II era colloquialism caused a movement to revive the American watchmaking industry and with it bring to Detroit yet another chapter in its storied history in manufacturing. This year at SXSWV2V, I was fortunate enough to interview Shinola president Jacques Panis live on the main stage. He’s not only the president of a thriving lifestyle company contributing to the resurgence of Detroit, he’s also incredibly genuine and…
The 2014 State of Digital Transformation
Today, I’m proud to announce the release of Altimeter Group’s second report on Digital Transformation. This new report is aimed at executives and digital strategists to help them (you) further understand the state of digital transformation as you plan your next steps and investments. In our initial report, “Digital Transformation: Why and How Companies are Investing in New Business Models to Lead Digital Customer Experiences (DCX),â we learned that digital transformation was as much about technology as it was about…
Live Your Brand the Way Your Customers Do
I recently spent some time with PRNews editor Steve Goldstein. As part of a fireside chat we’re doing at the upcoming 20/20 Summit in San Francisco, Steve asked a few questions that lead to a pretty deep conversation. I wanted to share it with you here. Digital Darwinism is Real: Compete for the Future (Compete for You) Now PR News: In your book âWhatâs the Future of Business?â you suggest that while itâs a good thing that companies are investing…
The Top 25 Socially Engaged Companies on LinkedIn Invest in Employee and Customer Relationships
LinkedIn and Altimeter Group published a joint report on the value of corporate social media and its role in customer and employee engagement. To do, we formed a baseline of companies that were actively engaged on a platform we could effectively study. After eight months of research, we assembled a list of the Top 25 Socially Engaged Companies based on how they use LinkedIn to engage employees and customers in the following areas: 1. Content marketing 2. Employee engagement 3….
Broadcast Yourself(ie): If You Think Gen Y is Different, Wait Until You Meet Generation Z
How teens use social media and why it matters to you. Generation Z = (Todayâs Teens, Preteens and Children) If you want a glimpse of the future of technology and its impact on society, study how younger generations interact with one another today. While everyone is talking about Millennials these days, thereâs another, potential more disruptive generation behind themâŠGeneration Z. With the sting of a face palm, youâll experience a sheer rush of humility as you realize that everything you…
Disrupting the B-to-B-to-C Model
Guest post by Gib Bassett (@gibbassett), Global Program Director, Consumer Goods, Teradata Business disruption sometimes happens very quickly, almost too fast to react. Consider what happened to Blockbuster as movie rentals shifted online. Other times it happens more slowly but is no less impactful. Case in point: how online, mobile and social channels are transforming the way we shop and make purchase decisions. The industries most affected â retail and branded consumer products â possess entrenched business models that pre-date…
10 Quotes on The Future of Business
10 quotes by Brian Solis on the Future of Business from Prezly Every now and then, I receive a nice surprise that gives me pause. Today is one such moment. I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to share it with you. The team over at Prezly put together a wonderful Slideshare that features some key quotes from my last three books Engage, The End of Business as Usual and What’s the Future of Business (WTF). I could only…
