Adam Soccolich interviewed Brian Solis for the December 2021 issue of Entrepreneur. The article made the print edition and is also available at Entrepreneur.com (subscription required). Your Top 4 Questions About 2022, Answered By the World’s Top Superforecasters Consumer Behavior What will customers want or expect more of? Beyond the oft examined categories of millennials and centennials, a new generation of consumers that I call Gen N — thatʼs N for ‘novelʼ — are now driving business transformation. It comprises…
Special Report: A Blueprint for Becoming a Customer-Unified Company; Making the Customer’s Experience the Heart of the Enterprise
Customer experience is the number one priority as ranked by executives around the world. Even though most may say they’re already “customer-centric,” the reality is that only 15% say they have both a single (360-degree) view of customer data and the organizational structure to make use of those insights. At Salesforce, I recently had the opportunity to work with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services (HBRAS) on a survey of 1,100 executives around the world exploring how to meet the future…
The New Playbook for the Future of Marketing and CX Will Be Written by You
Recent McKinsey research uncovered a “growth triple play,” where successful companies integrate creativity, analytics, and purpose to deliver at least two-to-three times the growth of their peers. But even for those companies that used just one of the capabilities—either creativity, analytics, or purpose—they experienced an average growth rate of more than 6%. Those that added a second component saw growth rates climb to more than 7%. And for those that employed the full triple play, growth rates climbed to more…
Shifting Mindsets from Customer Experience to the Customer’s Experience
I recently had the opportunity to partner with my colleague Jon Suarez-Davis on a fireside conversation for the CMO Club. What an incredible experience to hear from so many CMOs leading through change in these uncharted times. Jessica Denny summarized the conversation at CMO Perspectives and it’s well worth your time. Please take a moment to read (and share!) Thank you. The pandemic transformed us into a digital-first society, and now digital-first customers are driving total market transformation. World-renowned digital…
What is the purpose of a logo? It’s more than design…it’s about purpose and experience
My friend Spencer Chen, CMO of BRD and Blockset, blew up Twitter a while back by observing that many hot tech companies have apparently borrowed their logos from previous designs. While there is a finite set of possibilities specifically for logos based on a single character, the resemblances are striking and uncanny nonetheless. Furthermore, the logos of Airbnb, Beats, Flipboard and Medium all seem to be based on designs featured in a 1989 design book, “Trademarks & Symbols of the World:…
Frost & Sullivan: The Rise of “Generation Novel” aka Gen N and the Novel Economy
Frost & Sullivan recently presented a Webinar Week Series, consisting of five days of 30-minute virtual presentations designed to help participants generate effortless and efficient customer experiences. On Wednesday, June 17th Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce, shared his insights and predictions about The Rise of Generation Novel aka Gen N and the Novel Economy. Read on for a summary of his key take-aways and heartfelt advice about letting go of the “old normal,” and looking ahead to new ways…
Employing an AI Futurist To Navigate the Post-Corona World
What does the world look like post-COVID? It’s an interesting question because the answer is limited to our own imagination and ideas of what was good and what wasn’t in the world before COVID (BC). As a contributor to Singularity University, I was excited to join Kris Østergaard on his Corporate Innovation Podcast for SingularityU. In this thoughtful episode, we explored a new concept I’ve been pushing to employ the role of an AI Futurist to navigate the Post-Corona, aka the…
This is not the new normal or the next normal: that’s for everyone else
We talk about the ‘new normal’ or the ‘next normal’, but for world-renowned digital anthropologist and author Brian Solis, ‘normal’ was part of the problem. In this powerful talk, he explains how the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation for the better and paved the way for disruptive innovation with technologies like 5G. Now more than ever, we need new ideas, partnerships and mindsets that unlock creativity and imagination to deliver sophisticated new experiences for business customers and consumers. I recently…
The Future Needs a Hero
My friend Nick Davis leads innovation and customer experience at Reaching the Future Faster and faculty chair for corporate innovation at Singularity University. Late in 2019, Nick and I were talking about his upcoming book, “Future Ready: A Changemaker’s Guide to the Exponential Revolution.” When I read the draft, I immediately had an idea for a foreword. We agreed. My request was that I could share it here with upon release. Future Ready is a how-to guide for changemakers who are…
How I Help Business Audiences Embrace Innovation, Disruption and Change to Lead the Way Forward
We live in an era of #DigitalDarwinism. These are disruptive times and they challenge everyone…leaders and executives…employees, customers, and partners…and, you and me. AI, Crypto, Quantum Computing, Blockchain, AR/VR, facial recognition, wearables, IoT/IIoT, 5G, automation and 20 other disruptive technologies will only continue to change everything as we know it. Digital transformation, innovation, and new leadership are needed to survive and thrive. The future either happens to us or because of us. I’ve spent my entire career as a digital…
