The balance of power is shifting away from the exclusive domain of huge monolithic organizations and creating enormous market opportunities.  We are witnessing an exponential growth in creative destruction.  Old ideas are overtaken by new ones.  Despite our nostalgia for how it used to be, our existence depends upon this continual drive for innovation.

What formerly required mass sums of capital, large nation-states, and proprietary global networks, can be accomplished with a handful of people armed with laptops, internet access, and small handheld devices.  Why?  What is driving this Broadband Revolution?

 Three elements have converged to create the current possibilities:

1. Engaging content can be created with ever decreasing costs - Twenty years ago, the cost of video production equipment required to create high quality video pieces was outrageous.  Because it was all driven by physical media (i.e. celluloid film), editing and post-production was unwieldy.  Today, a modest laptop computer and off-the-shelf software can far outpace what was cutting-edge ten years ago.

2. Universal internet access – Thanks to wireless technologies and millions of miles of fiber optic cables, we can tap into the collective consciousness of the internet from pretty much anywhere we want now.  Our ability to access the internet with unlimited bandwidth and mind-numbing transmission speeds is only becoming more and more of a reality (read more here).  Thanks to the current generation of smart phones, e.g. iPhones, we can carry the internet in our pocket.  Just imagine what will be possible three years from now.

3. Advanced Web Applications - Gone are the days of buying your software in a box and loading it directly on your computer.  Websites are our software now.  From any computer in the world, you can check your email, update your financials, track your contacts with prospective clients, and a myriad of other essential and non-essential tasks.   

Where these three elements converge is where the Broadband Revolution is happening right now.  Citizen journalists can upload their news stories (see Real News Network and iReport), amateur politicians are disseminating political videos across the globe (see YouTube’s YouChoose Channel), and everyday people are creating a 3-D map of the world (see Google Earth).

Every industry, company, organization, and individual is being affected by the Broadband Revolution.  How you come out of this revolution depends on how you decide to harness it.  Those who seek ”transformation” are those who want the revolution to go their way.

What do you seek to transform?  How can you ensure the revolution goes your way?

Read More

As I was eating lunch under blue skies yesterday, I looked out over a field covered with the yellow hues of the infamous dandelion.  Ever since buying my first house, I have been fascinated with the polarizing nature of the dandelion.  People either curse its existence or relish its role as a harbinger of Spring.  However you feel about them, dandelions provide an apt metaphor for digital media.

Spend a few moments reading upon on dandelions on Wikipedia and you’ll find out a number of interesting facts.  One that caught my attention: “There are usually 54 to 172 seeds produced per head, but a single plant can produce more than 2000 seeds a year.”

Okay, so what do dandelions and digital media have in common (aside from starting with the same letter of the alphabet)?  At its very essence, a dandelion seed is nothing more than data.  More specifically, it is code – genetic code in this case.  Even better, it is code packaged up in a form that is easy to transport over long and short distances, with help from the wind.  

When that seed lands on fertile soil, it can take root and grow into a mature dandelion that produces head upon head of seeds.  If, by chance, it lands in rock, sand, and other infertile environments, the seed wastes away.  

If your scoring at home, here’s how the metaphor can be dissected:  

• The dandelion seed is some sort of content (video, blog post, news story, website, or some other idea).  
• The soil is your mind, which either engages with the content or not.
• The new dandelion plant is the platform you choose to replicate and share this content (Forward-to-a-Friend email, a blog post, Facebook application, Twitter, etc.)
• The seed head is the accumulation of all the times you’ve shared it.
• The wind is the internet.

Now, I’d like for you to understand and appreciate that this metaphor is born from my frustration.  For the past few months, I have been attempting to document the global travels of the “Are You Relevant?” video we launched via a microsite in December of this past year.

This witty video was created for the Association of Fraternity Advisors, who wanted an opening video that would shake up their annual conference and define the conversation for the entire weekend.  Even before it debuted, we knew we had a potential viral video on our hands.  When the conference ended, we went to work on launching a microsite for everyone who attended to share the video with anyone they though could benefit from it.

In the following months, we have fielded inquires from a wide variety of industries and geographic locales.  A hospital CEO in Dekalb, Illinois, the CEO/owner of a record storage company in Cincinnati, state and national leaders of masonic organizations from Illinois and Nebraska, Head of Information Services at Toorak College in Australia, and a university bookstore manager in Vancouver, Canada are among the random people who have reached out to us because they stumbled upon the video.  At least one has even become clients.

Each time I heard from someone outside our typical market (defined by geographic boundaries and industries we have penetrated), I would inquire how they found out about us.  It was kinda like my personal game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.  With enough inquiries, I figured I could find one or two people I could connect directly to the AFA conference in someway, no matter how many degrees of separation.  What I found, instead, was that the more time passed, the more difficult the task became. 

So far, I have been able trace a few inquiries back 2 degrees, but that’s as far as I have gotten until I reach someone who cannot remember where they came across the video.  Most people either got it from a speaker at some other conference, read about it on a blog, or saw it on their Twitter stream.  

The one thing that I was able to find was the one thing they all had in common.  They were wrestling with the concept of relevance.  Librarians seeking ways to redefine their roles away from just print collections.  Membership-based organizations who have seen their membership roles shrink.  Community hospitals trying to prove they can serve the community outside the walls of their clinics.  Companies who are seeing their traditional income sources dry up and new market opportunities arise. 

So as I was eating my lunch looking over the field of bright, yellow dandelions, the realization smacked me upside the head.  I was like a groundskeeper trying to trace the genealogy of the dandelions in my yard back to the “Eve” of the dandelion species.  The best I could do was find nearby patches of dandelions – like Jenny Luca’s blog who got it from Stephen’s Lighthouse blog.

Now that we’ve come a pretty long way in this post, it’d be nice to walk away with some sort of lesson.  In that spirit, here are a few things to keep in mind when you want to create your own dandelion experience:

1. Make your story engaging
2. Make it easy for people to find your story
3. Make it easy for people to share your story 

That’ll guarantee that your one dandelion creates fields upon fields of dandelions around the world.  And for those who have an aversion to the yellow menace – just replace “dandelion” with the name of another flower/seed combo that works for your sense of style. 

So what kind of “dandelion experiences” have you had lately?

Read More

As I was participating this week in a blogging workshop taught by Sarah Robbins, our director of emerging technologies, I began to reflect on the various blog entries I have written over the past couple months.  Who am I trying to connect to with these thoughts and ideas?

Here’s who I want to reach:

Leaders who want to pull off big things.  Leaders who want to transform their companies or industries.  Leaders who want a partner to help them harness the power of digital media.

From experience and education, I know that leadership is not tied to title or position.  Leaders are individuals who can influence and organize others.  Whether you are on the front lines of your organization, behind the scenes sweating and toiling, or surveying your organization from 30,000 feet, I want to converse with you.

I don’t care what industry you are in.  I just care that you want to transform your space in the world.

Whether you have been reading my posts for awhile or just getting connected, we can share and explore a wide variety of ideas tied to leading transformational change.  Mixing everyday life (Mobile Mutton), leadership principles (Growth Rooted in Truth), current events (Rallying the Cause: Lessons from the 2008 Election), and philosophical debates (Answer to the Chicken or Egg Question), I’ll help you make sure the broadband revolution is your time to change the world. 

So who is your target audience? How can you better connect with them?

Read More

Despite being in denial for about two years, I must admit I am a Starbucks addict.  I have always enjoyed a strong cup of coffee and a place to gather my thoughts.  With the road warrior life my career has provided me, the green and white Starbucks logo is like a beacon of calm for me when I am away from home.

In recent years, the Starbucks experience has become diluted as the company kept a burning pace of global expansion.  At the end of last year, Howard Schultz returned to the helm of CEO, a post he held when he transformed a small Seattle coffee roasting company into the behemoth we know now.  

Most of what he has done has been to bring Starbucks back to its roots. A renewed focus on top quality espresso-based drinks.  A new daily brew that celebrates their original location in Pike Place Market.  De-emphasizing their hot breakfast sandwiches, which created competing aromas with the coffee.  And, the return of their original logo on the cups (for a limited-time only). 

Two new things have piqued my interest.

First, they have launched the My Starbucks Idea website.  Think of it as a turbo-charged suggestion box.  Not only can you submit ideas for how they can improve the Starbucks experience, you can vote on other people’s ideas, discuss ideas with our people, and see which ideas they decide to consider.

Second, they have connected the entire country to Top Pot Doughnuts. Based on a 1920s secret recipe, these “hand forged” creations are a cult sensation in the Seattle area. Blending retro chic design, amazing architecture, bold coffee roasts (interestingly not Starbucks), and the delicious ambrosia of fried dough, Top Pot Doughnuts has certainly been my obsession since I first tried them last month.

Thanks to their strong web presence, my obsession continues to build despite the fact I have never been to any of their three locations. I just get my fix of their doughnuts at my local Starbucks drinking the new Pike Place Market blend. (According to Cakespy.com, the Starbucks version triumphed over the retail Top Spot version.) Take a moment and visit their website. It is a multi-sensory experience.

With all the word of mouth advertising I’m giving both companies, I’m beginning to wonder if I need to match every dollar I spend on these coffee and doughnuts with the same amount towards stock purchases.

What do you think of how Starbucks and Top Pot Doughnuts are fueling the obsession of people like me?

Read More

Accompanying my parents to the local AAA office prior to our family vacations was always an adventure.  It seems odd now, but at the time there was no better place to get travel information.  All the maps, travel books, and travel brochures you could ever want for any destination in the world.  

My favorite item from the AAA travel treasure trove? The customized Trip-Tik.  (You can still order them at www.aaa.com, if you’re a member.)

For the uninitiated, the Trip-Tik was a door-to-door map showing you the exact route you were to take for your trip.  Each page was about 1/3 of the size of a regular sheet of paper, assembled in the order you were to follow, and bound together by a plastic comb binder.  For those stretches of road with construction, one of AAA’s finest had hand stamped “Road Construction” along the appropriate areas.  At the time, it the closest thing to “real-time” information.

As I was driving back from Atlanta last week, I began to wonder where I could eat dinner that night.  Fortunately, I have an improved version of the Trip-Tik – my iPhone. Remembering something about good barbecue in Lexington, Kentucky, I whipped out my iPhone and googled “Kentucky barbecue” to see what popped up. After reading up on Owensboro out in the western stretches of the Bluegrass State, I narrowed the search to Lexington and found a link to Billy’s Bar-B-Q near the University of Kentucky campus.

After reviewing their menu, I came to realize Billy’s would be the experience I was seeking.  Genuine mutton barbecue, Kentucky Burgoo, and a short drive to my hotel that evening. I pointed the car in the right direction and followed the hickory smoke to dinner.  I’m glad I did.  If not for Billy’s website and my iPhone, I would have eaten at the Cracker Barrel next to my hotel.   

Read More