 My predictions from the 1990s and beyond about the disruption of “careers” and “work” have been coming true at an increasing pace, so here I’ll offer a quick retrospective of key trends as well as numerous how-to resources for using these disruptions to your advantage. Disruptions change the rules. Although most people don’t like “the rules” at times, we all take comfort in them because we have a clue about how to manage and get what we want. No one likes to feel clueless, but that’s how disruption causes most people to feel, so they try to avoid it. However, by facing the world head on and understanding the profound economic and social changes that are happening, you can see where the proverbial puck will be and skate there before most other people. Let’s go!
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 Based on numerous executive conversations I’ve had over the past few months, I’m struck by the staying power of 20th century “communications” rules, which still govern many brands today. Therefore, I’ll reveal hidden assumptions that lurk in too many boardrooms in the desire that you root them out before your rivals, so you can outmaneuver them before they disrupt you.
20th century success formulas offer very thin ice on which to skate, and many brands will have a cold awakening. Periods of disruption make assumptions lethal because disruptions change past rules or invalidate them completely, which leads executives and brand stewards astray. In this brief treatement of a complex subject, I’ll show why executives unwittingly sabotage social business’s network-based communications by using mass communications principles.
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It’s nice to see dawning recognition that social business needs some structure and planning to produce business value, and this post from SocialMouths offers a quick treatment. It presents 5-part approach to generating leads: start with strategy, conduct due diligence, connect content to prime stakeholders, connect social media to marketing, and involve the sales team. […] […]
 ZDNet reports on “research” that finds that websites provide 7 times more sales leads than “social media.” Unfortunately, the writer doesn’t appreciate the self-irony in the second paragraph: “A company’s corporate website was found to be the top source of new sales leads online — second only to personal referrals..”
As B2B continues to adopt social business, more word of mouth, i.e. personal referrals, happens online. Another reason I’m calling out this post is that it misinforms readers by treating “sales leads” as a homogeneous category. Our clients don’t care about general adoption; what’s more relevant is adoption by their prospects. This post treats all leads as the same, so it’s really the equivalent of informational fast food.
To end on a dour note, misinformation can work to your advantage because your rivals may read it and believe while you can see through it, invest and pull ahead.
B2B Customers Getting Social Fast: How Marketing and Sales Can Evolve explains how clients/customers are smarter and want a new kind of relationship | The new economics of business reputation
 While preparing to launch Social Business Services for B2B Sales in January 2012, I have been engaged in its Ecosystem Audit. I have plumbed online conversations about B2B Sales and Marketing adoption of social business (erstwhile social media). I have been struck by a recurring realization: a large part of Marketing and Sales as we know them is significantly out of alignment with B2B customers. Social business is permeating customer networks throughout the economy and changing customer behavior and expectations. This has created a rare opportunity for B2B marketing and sales people who understand and respond ahead of the market. If I’m right, this could be one of the most important posts you read this year.
Two quick examples of misalignment: one of Marketing’s underlying assumptions is that it is not economically feasible to have large-scale one-on-one customer conversations, so marketing must […]
 New Age of Socialized Engagement: Monte Lutz, Edelman continues the Alterian 2010 series. In this presentation, Monte gave his impression of the profound changes in marketing Edelman sees.
Social media is about story—and trust. Citing the Trust Barometer, he asserted that trust was at an all-time low among consumers. The 18-29 age group has more trust, but they don’t consume traditional media [maybe that’s why they trust more?] Trust in experts is up and “people like me” down. Billiam the snowman had the highest trust according to one survey [don’t know what to make of that, is he an expert? ,^) ]. When people are facing uncertainty, they will accept a new idea as truth when they hear it from 3-5 sources on average. This gives people peripheral vision. […]
 At the enterprise social business engagement Engaging Times Summit, Mike gave an overview of the Alterian software stack and a preview of their new platform. The key takeaway is that Alterian is not a social media company, its core competency is deep marketing data analysis. That said, their SM2 platform is one of the social media monitoring leaders [disclosure, I’m an SM2 client].
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Social Business Engagement Summit Panel: Brands at Risk featured: Donna Rossi, Vice President, Global Customer Experience Management, Western Union; Rob Singer, Senior Vice President, CRM, Bank of the West; Geoff Sherman, Director Pricing, Promotions & Trade Funds, Walgreens; Kathy Hecht, CMO, American Greetings Interactive; Michael Fisher, Senior Vice President, Alterian.
The message of this panel was that senior marketers and brands that don’t understand and embrace the changing landscape will feel the pain. Realize that the environment is changing fast:
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Social networking insights from the Miami Dolphins’ Jim Rushton, SVP Corporate Partnerships and Integrated Media […]
Behind the curtain preview of the Executive’s Guide Business Social Networking Bootcamp in Chicago: grow your business and career by using advanced LinkedIn, Twitter and blogging tactics. […]
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