That was the question I was recently asked by my friend Vivienne Neale. I wasn’t sure how to reply. After all, we all have our “thought leaders” whom we follow. Me, I always wanted to be part of a community where doing meaningful things made belonging matter. Honestly, I don’t consider myself a thought leader. I simply shared my ideas and work because I felt alone in my mission to change the future of business. I’ve always believed I couldn’t do…
The Key to Creativity and Innovation is Empathy
Growing up in Los Angeles and living in Silicon Valley for 20-plus years has plugged me into a unique network of creativity and innovation. Although many would say that I technically live in a bubble, I have practiced the art of participation and observation to earn a balanced perspective when it comes to ideation and design. While I am surrounded by some of the most amazing minds, I am also inspired by those shaping innovation hubs. If it’s one thing I’ve learned,…
Experiences Become Brands and Great Brands Become Experiences
These days, it seems that I travel to events overseas more than in the United States. While many companies around the world believe they are behind U.S. companies, I can say that from first hand experience, any company pursuing the future of customer experience, innovation, and brand is ahead of the game…regardless of where it’s based. When I receive an invitation to present, it exemplifies, at least to me, that those attending the event are keen on learning about how to…
Top 10 Retail Banking Trends and Predictions for 2017
Every year, my good friend Jim Marous organizes a “top trends and predictions in retail banking” for the annual Digital Banking Report. I do my best to support his efforts as its an important topic and it’s also a discussion that applies to almost every industry. The report features 99 global financial services leaders plus me ;). The crowdsourced panel includes bankers, credit union executives, industry analysts, advisors, authors and fintech followers from Asia, Africa, North America, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East…
I Answer Your Questions About the State of Digital Transformation
Where are companies at in their digital transformation efforts? This was the question I set out to answer in, “The 2014 State of Digital Transformation” report. After two years, it was time to check-in on the digital transformation landscape again to learn how companies are changing, what challenges they’re facing now and what opportunities they’ve uncovered. Recently, I hosted a webcast on behalf of Altimeter and Prophet to share the findings from the latest “State of Digital Transformation” report. Over…
Innovation is a gift worth getting: Competing for the future starts with letting go of the past
Change happens to you or because of you.
The Human on the Other Side of the Screen
I was in New York recently meeting with the IBM Watson team. While there, I had the the opportunity to sit with Robert Schwartz in the company’s Astor Place studio to record a podcast for a new series, “THINK Leaders,” which provides insights and advice on data-driven leadership for the C-suite. The conversation and the topics were quite provocative and eye-opening. So much so, that I wanted to share it with you here so that it may help, in some way,…
The Human Dimension of Digital Transformation
Seems that everyone is talking about digital transformation these days. Not a day goes by when I don’t hear a new voice or see a new book, post, report or conference on the subject. It would be wonderful if all work in digital transformation was aligned. But it’s not. With every expert that joins the conversation, it becomes increasingly difficult to sort the signal from the noise. I suppose that’s not unlike everything in life. The challenge is that those learning about or trying to…
12 Innovation Imperatives
Innovation suffocates in a culture of mediocrity. Here’s how to breathe life into company culture to compete for the future. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Everyone seems to have one or more. I just wish that more organizations would appreciate how plentiful and beneficial ideas are to the future of their business. The challenges are all too common. Often, ideas are shared in fleeting moments with the same zeal as observing the weather. Once expressed they recede from view,…
To improve CX, companies must rethink the customer journey to cater to Gen C
A (r)evolution is brewing, and most companies are not prepared for it. It’s no secret how, with an overabundance of new devices and platforms available every day, customers are more empowered and finding new ways to either hack or completely ignore company touchpoints. With this complex customer journey unfolding, great marketing, products and services are not enough to win. Now, companies need to create and cultivate meaningful experiences for their customers. This starts with designing a more intuitive and efficient…
