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 Internet of Things Connects the Future of Business
The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most incredible feats of modern technology. With the right vision and architecture, IoT will bring to life new possibilities and experiences. It’s also one of the most confusing and ambiguous. To make sense of it all and specifically understand how IoT applies to business, I assembled a short list of examples of companies successfully employing this new web in interesting applications. Why is IoT so mystifying? First, it’s the name. The…
In 2016, Resolve to ‘Disrupt Yourself’
Guest post by Whitney Johnson (@johnsonwhitney), author of Disrupt Yourself Oft-spoken though it is, ‘disruption’ is not a catchword; it’s a powerful force transforming organizations, communities, and ultimately the world. But it starts small, as an individual choice to change. Companies and organizations don’t disrupt unless their people do. Individual disruptors upend their companies in ways not always welcomed by their associates. Disruptors can be seen as a fifth column, undermining the familiar and comfortable status quo, not to mention their colleagues’…
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…
Hello Flexon: I Can See Clearly Now the Strain is Gone
This is a personal story… After a successful GDOL event in Istanbul a few years ago, my friends and I enjoyed cocktails overlooking the Bosphorus. I believe it was TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher who made a comment about an advertisement on a building across the water. I couldn’t read it at all but I could see that there was something there. I also remember questioning whether he could read it or if he was just playing around. So I borrowed his…
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…
Disruption as an Ecosystem
I miss Paris. Just as I was thinking this, I discovered an interview I did with EuroNews while in Paris in 2014 for LeWeb. I watched it for the first time and immediately I was sent back to that moment, in a small media room a few floors above the conference. It’s a glimpse into hot new tech trends and a conversation into iterations, innovation and disruption based on my presentation at the event. We explore the differences with each,…
