THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS IS
DIFFERENT THAN WE MIGHT THINK.
IT’S PART TECHNOLOGY.
IT’S PART PEOPLE. IT’S PART CHANGE.
This special series of cartoons, with short insights from both Hugh MacLeod and Brian Solis, will help you see things differently.
Why this collaboration happened:
Hugh MacLeod is not only a dear friend but also one of my biggest inspirations. His artwork is a magnificent harmony of emotion, wit, logic and satire. When I thought about the future of business, I pictured it beyond words on a page, I hoped to bring together art with the art of storytelling. I couldn’t think of anyone other than Hugh to visualize what the future (WTF) is and should be…I hope you are inspired by his work the same way I am.
– Brian Solis
Why this collaboration happened:
Besides being a favorite old drinking buddy from the early blogging/Web 2.0 days, Brian is one of the few people who really *gets* how all this Internet-enabled social stuff is changing business — how it’s totally messing and rearranging its entire DNA — and then also, being able to explain it to people in a way that (1) they understand and (2) they can implement. It’s pretty neat stuff.
– Hugh MacLeod
Nothing personal. Just business.
The internet is a collective of people, data, and things.
Understand that it is what it is. Also understand its true nature and potential are yours to define.
This brave new world is really difficult to get used to at first. But that’s how it should be…The question is, what are you going to do about it?
We cannot assume that others have figured anything out. The rules are being written as we go. Seek inspiration beyond the oversimplified. Become disenchanted with anything that takes complex subjects and breaks them down into “Top 10” lists.
They may still be children in the eyes of the law, yet the way they’re beginning to interact around technology is already changing the world, including the boring ol’ adult world we old fogies are occupying.
The impact of Millennials, Generation Z, and every digital native that follows them is either generalized or simply underestimated. Why? Because their behaviors and experiences are different and difficult to understand. They are the future and they are changing the world…their way.
Welcome to the new realities, people.
Studies show that digital natives can text, check social networks, publish updates all while doing their work. But wait, other studies show that they’re actually spreading themselves thinner with greater reach but with less depth.
Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Who cares?
The Funnel doesn’t care about people because the Funnel isn’t alive, the Funnel is a thing. Stop treating people like things.
Today, technology automates and scales engagement. The funnel seems to exist for the benefit of the funnel. Decisions though are influenced by shared experiences….
Between people…and they influence the new customer journey
They’re not new toys anymore, they’re daily tools. Communicating, researching, reviewing. No matter what the product is it’ll end up on a customer’s phone.
Are you ready for that?
The Zero Moment Of Truth is when you search. The Ultimate Moment Of
Truth is a shared experience. The future of business and branding is when those two meet. To Generation C, the smart phone isn’t the second screen, it’s the first screen…and that changes everything.
Everybody remembers the great epiphanies, almost as easily as they forget the slow, boring, day-in-day-out schlepping it required to reach there in the first place.
In a world of shared experiences, it’s not what you say about you, but what others say.
These experiences don’t vanish, they bind to one another, intensifying over time.
Shared experiences influence every moment of truth.
Just as a great book is a window into other possible worlds, the same is true with great products. They tell us that things don’t have to be the way they currently are.
