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created by: Zola Dube, Strategist New York City, July 2014

 @PlanetOfTheAnts  

5 BOLD  new  ones  5 OBSOLETE business models and

the age of social media & digital consumer marketplace  

©  ZOLA  DUBE  

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INTRO: Lessons from FB and Kodak, pp.2-3 #1 UNLEARN the algorithm, p.4

#2 RISK the secure revenue streams, p.5 #3 REVAMP big business culture, p.6

#4 RETHINK the talent pool, p.7

#5 REDESIGN the office, p.8

©  ZOLA  DUBE  1

“Moving fast enables us to build more things and learn faster. However, as most companies grow, they slow down too much because they’re more afraid of making mistakes than they are of losing opportunities by moving too slowly. We have a saying: ‘Move fast and break things’. The idea is that if you never break anything, you’re probably not moving fast enough.”

- Mark Zuckerberg

IMAGE SOURCE: QMED

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scenario: Once Facebook realized the quality of Instagram photos beat theirs, it moved fast.

action: Facebook acquired instagram, rather than compete with it.

Chunka Mui, How Kodak Failed Forbes, January 2012 “…1981 with the support of Kodak’s CEO, Barabba [Head of Market Intelligence] conducted a very extensive research effort.

…The ‘bad’ news was that digital photography had the potential capability to replace Kodak’s established film based business. The ‘good’ news was that it would take some time for that to occur and that Kodak had roughly ten years to prepare for the transition.”

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scenario: In 1981 Kodak determined it had 10 years to transition to digital photography. action: Inaction. Kodak had intelligence and resources to create (an) instagram, but, was later obsoleted by it.

#1 UNLEARN conventional approach to the marketplace

shifting consumer habits Be architectured to embrace and smoothly transition into new technologies better suited to capture your target market - reemerge, transform and engage consumers to maintain visibility and brand relevance.

bodies in motion stay Consumers never sleep, so your brand can’t either. Be wired to swiftly react to consumer activity anywhere, anytime, online and off, directly and even indirectly related to company’s brand.

this era, not the last The Information Era has ended and completely disappeared - with it, all previous “time-zoned” business paradigms and strategies suited for a static, one-dimensional environment. The Knowledge Era is globally, socially, digitally connected, 24/7, fast-paced, dynamic and multi-dimensional.

OBSOLETE: The Algorithm. And other complex mathematical models that empower companies to predict consumer market behavior and view the real world, used to inform strategic decisions.

 ZOLA  DUBE  4 ©  ZOLA  DUBE                            @PlanetOfTheAnts  

#2 RISK radical change in focus, direction and action

it’s all about the brand It’s the intangible asset – familiar stories, cool, niche and aspiration factors that hold consumer attention. Large companies tend to focus more on operational costs, less on the right use of social media content geared towards consumer interaction and experience with brands.

big business be small Creative people understand branding. Assign your business processes to creative people who are passionate about your product and industry. Not just the artsy pants in marketing & PR, but across entire company - finance, sales, technology, R&D… (see “micro-corp” strategic game-changer p. 6)

big mistakes reap big rewards Let your workforce’s innovation thrust be pushed by consumers. Expect failure. In time, even “epic failures” become innovative solutions. Document systematically - failure, recovering and lessons learned are what create the organization’s knowledge/learning culture and increase and replenish the consumer insights trove.

OBSOLETE: The Secure Revenue Streams. The reliability of routine, low-risk business practices, where bulk of energy and resources are devoted to revenue, not profit growth.

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         ZOLA  DUBE  

#3 REVAMP micro-corp. the big business game-changer OBSOLETE: Big Business Culture. Top down management style characterized by command-and-control of the Industrial Era. Decisions on company strategy, direction and policy are mandated to employees.

Gary Hamel, The Future of Management (2011)

”…in an age of wrenching change and hyper-compet i t ion, the most valuable human capabilities are precisely those that are least manageable. Nerve. Artistry. Élan. Originality. Grit. Non-conformity. Valor. Derring-do. These are the qualities that create value in the 21st century.”

micro-corp strategic game-changer “small business” model within big Appoint digital strategist early to coordinate brand activity: - simple startup: one micro, one brand, one simple/exciting brand message - vetting right workforce: creative, thoughtful and holistic approach to talent

search (internal pool first) - consumer-driven enhancement research (what do consumers want in faster,

friendlier, practical…?): build engaging digital media campaign, social media story and well planned brand open life-cycle around consumer insights

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#4 RETHINK the traditional HR model

about that big data… The value of Big Data is in its context and historical timeframe – the path to finding correlations that provide insights and intelligence. It takes a visionary sensibility. Seeing the big picture is a gift, not a study in learning.

OBSOLETE: The Talent Pool. Ivy League, GPA and MBA define workforce readiness, intelligence about business world and provide tap in to social networks, trumping all other benchmarks for talent.

         ZOLA  DUBE  

“consumer-driven” The chase has changed - consumers are the new social network drivers, brand pushers and pop culture dictators. Globally connected through various transforming and emerging apps, social media has obsoleted the long-standing logic that linked social network access to talent with prestige.

the new talent pool – quirky, networked & unswayed by the wild They have a radically agile knack for chasing. Undaunted by the wicked virtual terrain; they dip, drive, reemerge, transform and seldom misread what’s trending. Highly intelligent, creative, motivated and experienced; they bring their virtual networks and “chase” skills to the job.

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#5 REDESIGN dedicate space outside the box

open space = open innovation •  Allocate open space for your micro-corp •  Greater face-to-face fosters speed of decision turnaround •  Reduce silos and organizational divisions •  Unleash the collaborative spirit, increase human engagement,

knowledge-sharing and learning

design layout of the consumer-driven enterprise •  Long tables - plenty of space for laptops, sketching, stretching •  Collaboration Hubs, featuring

- comfy and standard, light/moveable furniture for reconfigured seating - dedicated wall space for post-its, chalkboards, presentations

•  Shared art & tech lab and functional design & work stations •  Conference rooms outfitted for virtual meetings, “closed door” for

confidential and outside agencies meetings

OBSOLETE: The Office. Private offices, cubicles and neutral color schemes.

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