by Daria Steigman on March 11, 2010
by Daria Steigman on January 26, 2010
During the IABC/Washington panel discussion on 2010 trends, I posed the following question: Is 2010 the year we break down silos? In retrospect, I asked the wrong question.
Breaking down silos is critical, but it’s not about whether we do it–it’s about how. In the communications world, I’m finally hearing more conversation around “integrated” again, but I still see media separated from PR separated from marketing within organizations. Agencies are often worse (think digital practice groups, for example).
When will companies be ready to stop organizing their operations around tasks? And how might this new look take form?
Photo by accent on eclectic (Flickr).
Tagged as:
Business,
Innovation,
Silos,
Workflow
by Daria Steigman on November 25, 2009
As if I didn’t have enough to read already, I’ve added a few new blogs into my Google Reader recently. Mostly focused on business and technology, but also one great new find on entrepreneurship.
If you haven’t bookmarked (or subscribed to) the Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, here are three reasons to check it out:
- The focus is global. While much of what I read is looking at U.S. policies and activities, this blog covers the world. So recent posts have featured stats from the OECD and developments in Egypt, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
- A solid foundation is key. While there is always a temptation to jump right into how to do something, having the right policies in place to foster innovation matters. This blog focuses on the policy side. Not always fun, but fundamentally important.
- The authors are smart, and they write well. Talking about why Global Entrepreneurship Week matters, they write: It’s not just a collection of concurrent networking, ideas competitions, and mentoring events designed to spur young people to consider entrepreneurship. It’s also affirmation that upstream there is a larger pool of innovative entrepreneurs about to enter the world stage just when they’re needed most.
This is good stuff.
Tagged as:
Entrepreneur,
Entrepreneurship,
Global Entrepreneurship Week,
Innovation,
OECD
by Daria Steigman on October 7, 2009
A double-decker second look covers two weeks of top posts, surveys, and other news that I have read and/or tweeted about that you may not have seen. As the name implies, I think they deserve a second look:
- Netflix, Innovation, and ROI: The second place team in the Netflix $1 million contest lost the money, but their search for a better predictive model yielded huge insights. Great article looks at why companies spent millions on the Netflix contest and the innovation payoff.
- Social Media Side Trips: Paul Chaney, author of The Digital Handshake, talks with Toby Bloomberg about social media. A sample: If social media is a road trip, then “the ’side trips’ have to do with the people we meet and the relationships we forge along the way.”
- Business Loans, Personal Collateral: Should you use personal assets as collateral for a business loan? While it might be unavoidable, you need to negotiate carefully, borrow only what’s essential, and recognize the risks. Open Forum article looks at how to manage those risks. Shout out to Gini Dietrich for alerting me to this one.
- Mobile trends: Rather than another post about apps and geo-location, the Economist takes an in-depth look at how mobile technology is changing the rules in the developing world. Key trends: availability, Chinese telecom companies, and the rise of mobile services.
- Negotiating Tips: Three keys to good negotiations–empathy, win-win, and it’s not about contracts–by Palo Alto software founder Tim Berry.
Tagged as:
Business,
Gini Dietrich,
Innovation,
mobile,
Negotiations,
Netflix,
Paul Chaney,
Social Media,
The Economist,
Tim Berry,
Toby Bloomberg
by Daria Steigman on October 1, 2009
Not surprisingly for a business conference, the state of small business was the topic of much discussion at GrowSmartBiz. The anchor: the Small Business Success Index, a survey of the competitiveness of small businesses (defined as privately-owned, with 100 or fewer employees, and/or contributing at least 50 percent of the owner’s household income).
The report is a useful snapshot of why some companies soar while others flounder. The survey measured success across six areas: access to capital, marketing & innovation, workforce, customer service, computer technology, and compliance.
Here are a few of my takeaways:
- Only 24 percent of small businesses are “highly competitive” (with 28 percent marginally so). Those that are most successful tend to have multiple owners, are more likely to be women-owned, and are more likely to be mature businesses.
- Small business owners are generally satisfied with their career choices (i.e., we’re a pretty happy group).
- Small business owners are typically optimistic about their long-term prospects (65 percent), although the short-term outlook appears more mixed (with 38 percent thinking the economy will improve in the next 12 months and 28 percent thinking it will decline).
- Plugged in businesses are more competitive, which makes sense when you realize that only 53 percent of small businesses have a Web site. More use e-mail, but this suggests they’re relying on Hotmail, Yahoo, and other provider accounts instead of securing a domain of their own.
- Companies who report a social media presence: 17 percent (up from 12 percent six months earlier).
The entire report is short (6 pages), but the insights seem to reinforce the fact that innovation and business savvy are key. What’s your takeaway?
Photo by mkreyness (Flickr).
Tagged as:
Customer Service,
GrowSmartBiz,
Innovation,
Small Business Success Index,
Social Media
During the IABC/Washington panel discussion on 2010 trends, I posed the following question: Is 2010 the year we break down silos? In retrospect, I asked the wrong question.