“Our intuition about the future is linear. But the reality of information technology is exponential, and that makes a profound difference. If I take 30 steps linearly, I get to 30. If I take 30 steps exponentially, I get to a billion.” Ray Kurzweil No one can predict the future. But one thing is sure. If your company is designed for success in the 20th century, it is doomed for failure in the 21st century. If you want to stay in business you have to be the designer of disruption. You have to re-invent your product, find new markets, stay hyper-relevant, create brand value, leverage better technology and create brand eco-systems. In short, reset the game of your business and become a living brand. In this article, we explore the 10 growth trends set by Gartner and elaborate the opportunities that lie ahead in the rapid pace of technology innovation and the clear challenge for brand and business leaders. Keep in mind though, it is up to us, as individuals and collectives to shape the future. 1. Voice Search Will Increase Digital Commerce Revenue by at least 30% With the rise of personal assistant devices, combined with the improved accuracy of voice recognition technology, voice search adoption is being embraced in the digital commerce. To prepare for the impact of voice search on B2B SEO, marketers should take steps now to begin optimizing for voice queries. 3 tips from Search Engine Land to optimize your site content for voice search 1. Mobile Managed Voice searches are most likely to be conducted on mobile devices, so mobile optimization is more important than ever. But optimizing for mobile goes beyond simple responsive design — you’ll need to improve page load speeds, remove intrusive interstitials, abandon drop-down navigation menus and format videos to display in full-screen when held vertically to improve the mobile user experience. 2. Target long-tail keywords Voice search queries are more likely to be longer than their text counterparts, and use more conversational language. Find relevant long-tail keywords, and target them in site content to cater to natural language queries. 3. Target featured snippets When a featured snippet is populated for a query, voice search devices read the snippet and source aloud. This is a huge boost for brand recognition and authority, as Google essentially declares one company the expert. As far as voice search is concerned, “position zero” is the new page one. 25 Voice Recognition Innovations The next generation of visual search turns a smartphone camera into a visual discovery tool. It uses image as a search query, which allows consumers to search for styles and objects that they would otherwise struggle to define. Popular visual search technologies are Google Lens and Pinterest Lens, but Amazon, Bing and a growing list of major retailers are all investing heavily in this area. Visual search is also a building block for augmented reality and virtual reality interactions. Read the other 10 tips here. 2. Technology Leaders will Self-Disrupt Themselves to Create Next Leadership Opportunity Brands are grappling with disruptive business models, disruptive channels, and disruptive technologies. Examples of market leaders that failed to keep up with innovation include, Borders (failed to anticipate the the e-book revolution), Blackberry (missed out on the touch-screen smartphone market), Blockbuster (busted by Netflix and online movies), and Kodak (which didn’t foresee the huge popularity of digital cameras), are just a few. In hindsight it is easy to see why these companies lost their market lead to more disruptive competitors. But anticipating a future market disruption is much harder. On the other hand, “when Apple released the iPhone, it disrupted the MP3 industry, in which its iPod made it a leading competitor. While the phone created competition for Apple’s own product, it also opened avenues to other industries when it began to replace navigation systems, digital cameras and other previously discrete technology.” Now, Apple is making mega strides in DIY HealthTech. It just so happens, over the next two years, residents of Singapore will be able to collect up to S$380 (£212) in rewards and vouchers while using an Apple Watch app known as LumiHealth to complete fitness challenges. With the onslought of COVID-19, and purchases moving online, brands are gushing towards digitization at breath-taking speed. 3. The Banking Industry is set to Derive 1BN of Business Value from the Use of Block-Chain based Cryptocurrencies Adopting blockchain technology does not need radical transformation in the banking and the finance sector. Australian Securities Exchange is planning to use a new blockchain-based system to manage the Australian financial market at the end of 2020. A recent PWC report states, 77 percent of financial institutions are expected to adopt blockchain technology as part of an in-production system or process by 2020. Delve into Commerce of Fintech Blockchain Disruptors in the 21st Century Trade and Commerce 4. By 2022 Majority of the Individuals in Developed Economies will Consume More Fake Information than True Information Yes, it is happening now as we speak. Liam Porr, a computer science student in Berkley used GPT-3, an AI content generating tool, to produce an entirely a fake blog under a fake name. It was meant as a fun experiment. But then one of his posts found its way to the number-one spot on Hacker News. Few people noticed that his blog was completely AI-generated. Some even hit “Subscribe.” “While many have speculated about how GPT-3, the most powerful language-generating AI tool to date, could affect content production, this is one of the only known cases to illustrate the potential. What stood out most about the experience, says Porr, who studies computer science at the University of California, Berkeley: “It was super easy, actually, which was the scary part.”” Fed with billions of words, this algorithm creates convincing articles and shows how AI could be used to fool people on a mass scale. 5. Through out 2022 Content Created by AI to Devise “Counterfeit Reality” will Outpace AI’s Ability to Detect it. Digital Distrust is our Immediate Destiny Until Face to Face Starts Gaining Traction “While fake news is currently in the public consciousness, it is important to realize the extent of digitally created content that is not a factual or authentic representation of information goes well beyond the news aspect.” Brands need to monitor what is being said about them both in context and content. In the era of fakeness, face to face interactivity becomes paramount. Because, “AI can create counterfeit reality or manipulated media faster than it can detect it.” 6. By 2021 more than 50% of the Enterprises Will Spend More on Bots and Chat Bots Creation The Emergence of “Post-App” era — traditional apps will not go away. 80% of sales and marketing leaders say they already use chatbot software in their customer experience or plan to do so by 2020 (source). They will be one of the many options available to customers. “Chatbots will become the face of AL and bots will transform how apps are built.” 7. By 2021, 40% of the Information Technologists will be Dealing with Business Related Job Functions than Dealing with Technology A New Concept — Versatalist: The Multi-Faceted Role of Tech Worker IT staff who once only focused on closed stand alone systems and data centers now focus on systems in the public cloud as well. “Over the past several years, industrial organizations have started to incorporate cloud into their operations to glean insights from large volumes of data that are helping achieve key business outcomes including reduced unplanned downtime, higher production efficiency, lower energy consumption and so on. The cloud still plays a critical role in enabling new levels of performance through the Industrial IoT, where significant computing power is required to effectively manage vast data volumes from machines. But as more compute, store, and analytic capability is bundled into smaller devices that sit closer to the source of data — namely, industrial machines — “edge computing will be instrumental in enabling edge processing to deliver on the promise of the Industrial IoT.” — Hence, the need for versatality in the IT profession. What Small Business Owners Should Know About Cloud Commerce 8. By 2020 AI Becomes a Positive Net Job Motivator; Creating 2.3 M Jobs, while Eliminating 1.8M Jobs Other Predictions: PwC predicts up to 38% of U.S. jobs could be at high risk of automation by the early 2030s, higher than Germany (35%), the UK (30%) and Japan (21%) (source). Forrester predicts cognitive technologies such as robots, AI, machine learning, and automation will replace 16% of U.S. jobs by 2025. Of those jobs, office and administrative support staff will be the most rapidly disrupted (source). The impact of AI technologies on business will boost labor productivity by up to 40%, according to Accenture (source). “The big game changer is AI, and how much value potential is up for grabs. AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030, more than the current output of China and India combined. Of this, $6.6 trillion is likely to come from increased productivity and $9.1 trillion is likely to come from consumption-side effects.” “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn” 9. By 2020 IoT will be Embedded in 95% of the New Electronic Product Designs Traditional Businesses will Develop New Business Models Out of IoT A number of small, rural utilities have begun to sell broadband services by leveraging their investments for smart meters in a new way. Large utilities and manufacturers study plans to commercialize their in-house IoT applications for predictive maintenance. Equipment makers are attaching value-added services to devices they sell. Companies initially invest in IoT to save money, but over time they will look to the same systems to generate revenue as well. Questions for you to explore: Why real-time data will rule and how industrial applications could drive market growth, and why the need for edge computing will become more urgent. 10. Through 2022, Half of all Security Budgets for IoT will go to Fault Remediation, Recalls and Safety Failure, rather than Protection The Internet of Things fuses products with communications technology to make daily life more effortless. Think Amazon’s Alexa, which not only answers questions and plays music but allows you to control your home’s lights and thermostat. Or the current generation of implanted pacemakers, which can both receive commands and send information to doctors over the internet. IoT security has been a predominant topic of discussion, both for IoT businesses and their end users, for the last decade. Several widely publicized incidents demonstrated how easy it was for unsecured IoT devices to be manipulated for malicious intent. Get the IoT Checklist “The future is filled with technology-based innovation and disruption. Yet, the pending disruptions are taking on new forms and increasing in speed. Most organizations are struggling to keep pace with the latest technological advances. Before one innovation is implemented, two others arrive. To cope and compete, CIOs in end-user organizations must learn to develop an appropriate pace for digital change.”
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Updated December 2020 When Mangalyaan successfully orbited Mars, it was the finest news of the hour. India was not only, the only country to complete the trip on its maiden attempt; she achieved it at an astonishing three quarters cost of the Oscar winning movie Gravity. This phenomenal feat is perhaps, one of the growing markers of a shifting culture that is poised to expect more from us, as human species. We are expected to do more, create more, sustain more and save us more from more of ourselves. In other words, "we are the ones we were waiting for". Today, we are expected to be more creative in problem solving; not, when it comes knocking on our door; but by looking into the far horizon and anticipating it! One of my favorite writers Daniel Burrus says, you need to be pre-active to future known events rather than be proactive, which means taking positive action now. Now wonder, some brands were ripe for the march of robots when the pandemic striked. Keep reading and you will get the drift. It is a compilation of research that I have used for my study and my projects. And, now, I have put it in a way that is hopefully palatable for you. My writings are usually, introduced by a big visual to satisfy the artist in me that more often is in conflict with the designer in me. And, in this case it is no different. But I do say, the content of this article is rich with resources that is sure to enrich your existence in some shape or form. Enjoy! [More] Mindfulness As our world wide web of connections have grown broader, our interactions have become shallower. We are living in an an age of alienation that would have been unimaginable to our previous generations, and yet we have never been more connected. A society that is consumed by novel modes of socialization, we have less and less of actual society. "We live in an accelerating contradiction: the more connected we become, the lonelier we are." Perhaps to combat this, more of us are walking away from the instant gratification of the 'likes' and making more time just to 'be'. This "state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present” has given rise to ethical decision making. As a result the ethical status of the things we do, buy and support are becoming increasingly important. Yet, ironically this has given rise to "guilt-free" consumerism. Will robots make you irrelevant? The future is here. How some brands are coping with change. [More] “Guilt-Free” Consumerism Sure, we are divided by countries, culture and casualties. But, we are united by one factor. We are all merchants of consumerism. There is not two ways about it. We see how it defiles our planet, yet, we are torn apart between the values that we hold and the actions that we take, that run counter to those kind of values. This tension has given rise to a "new kind of consumption: one free from worry (or at least with less worry) about its negative impact, yet that allows continued indulgence." A recent global study identified 2.5 billion of these 'aspirational consumers' (representing one third of the global consumer class). These consumers are defined by their love of shopping ( 78% ), desire for responsible consumption (92%) and their trust in brands to act in the best interest of society ( 58% ). BBMG, GlobeScan and SustainAbility, October 2013 This guilt-free consumerism has given rise to high status, high priced, high valued cross-sectional creativity. Now, your old pair of jeans may launch a limited edition area rug priced at USD 599, while averting gun violence, all as a part of a day's work. [More] Caring The ‘Internet of Things’ has brought about some daring imaginations to life. Any uniquely identifiable embedded computing-like devices can be inter-connected within the existing Internet infrastructure. Due to the ubiquitous nature of connected objects, any number of devices may be connected to the Internet. And once connected – monitoring your health, saving you money, doing your errands or for that matter doing anything extraordinary that ‘connected objects’ can do, will be done for you. Just to give you an idea, machine washable shirts will be able to monitor your breathing and your heart rate, as you walk, play or hike. As you are driving to work, the ECG heart rate monitor that is embedded in your drivers' seat, can help avoid mid-journey driver heart attacks and subsequent accidents. “The Internet of Things will add USD 1.9 trillion dollars of economic value to the global economy in 2020.” Gartner, October 2013 Stay Centered, Drive with Passion, Value Relationships [More] ‘Self ’ Knowledge Recently, I have learned a new term MYCHIATRY. A rising trend amongst consumers is to manage ones' mental well being. After all, this is a natural progression of Mindfulness. Now, technology is providing us with that extra little push to combat our daily stress and get to know our true calling. For example, you have melon – it connects to your phone to help you track and train different mental states, including focus, meditation, and relaxation. Real time tips alert you when you need to take breaks to maintain your focus, relaxation or meditation. Then, you have shadow, that records and remembers your dream. Tracking dream and sleep patterns allows you to make connections between your past and the future. Over time, you will see a pattern emerge that will clue you on the the life that you ought to be living. You have another device called, mico whose sole purpose is to inspire you by playing music that speaks to your sub-conscious. [More] Doing Good "The single most-important content marketing opportunity that brands face today is to create moments of inspiration to send people on a journey." Andrew Davis Pioneering advances in technology and a leap in the creative evolution are now at cross-roads. The result, brands are doing more. More brands are emerging as 'story doing' brands. Powerful stories with different narratives across multiple platforms, allowing the message to drench our sub-conscious, inspiring us to take charge. We are no longer satisfied as passive on-lookers, but active (or passive) participants in the story of the brand. When, Beijing Subway introduced 40 ‘reverse vending machines’, which enable passengers to offset their travel costs by recycling plastic bottles – it set in motion the active participation of the consumers in the folds of it's 'story doing'. And, when Nike’s launched it's concept store in Shanghai, a creative concept in the retail business was born. This store is entirely constructed from trash, including drink cans, water bottles and old CDs and DVDs. The store can be adapted to different retail layouts and the no-glue construction ensures all materials can be re-reused. We are living in an age of hyper-change and hyper-connectivity. We are becoming global, flatter, local, cosmopolitan and hyper efficient. Above all, we are discovering ever-smarter ways to solve our perennial problem of limited resources. With this growing awareness of limited resource comes imagination and fearless creativity. I say fearless, because we are pushing our ideas to chart new, untapped territories, all because, NOW WE CAN. Somewhere, along our journey we were led to believe that creativity is only for the chosen few. When in fact, the truth is; somewhere within us resides a poet, a painter or for that matter an aspiring ballerina. It is for us to decode ourselves and find out who we are, why we are here and what is our rightful place in this grand creation. Articles that might interest you:
On May 15, 2013 when Nasa announced that the days of Kepler are numbered, the whole scientific community mourned. Geoff Marcy, [and his team] who discovered over 250 extrasolar planets was of course saddened by the news and he turned to poetry for solace. When asked why poetry? His answer simply was: "I did not think. I just felt." "Kepler was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week, no weekend rest, My noon, my midnight, my talks, my song; I thought Kepler would last forever: I was wrong." When a hardcore scientist combats his sadness with poetry, it makes you wonder of the magic that lies in the echoes of poetry. Often, we are enthralled by its mystery. Why? you may ask. The short answer is "Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood." It is the language in which you explore your own wonderment. It gives you "the illusion of having had the experience without actually going through it." It is a powerful vessel that engages your emotion, inspires your will and makes you do. “Emotion recollected in tranquillity,” gives birth to poetry. Emotion – once a largely ignored field of cognitive psychology – has become accepted as a major spring of consumer behaviour. So much so, that many advertisers now view the creation of emotional engagement as their primary objective. – David Penn, md, Conquest Research Major leaps in neuroscience has overturned the traditional view of consumer being driven by rationality to the one being dictated by emotions and subconscious. The science of the our firing neurons teaches us these key lessons:
Know the uniqueness within you, unveil the creativity within you, and your poetic grace Hence, the rush for brand marketers to capture the emotional sentiments of the consumers. If emotion is the driver in decision making then, our responsibility is to find ways to perpetuate it. And there lies the limitation in traditional approaches. Because, "When you ask someone about an emotion, you change the emotion." And requesting consumers to quantify or rank emotional responses, such as on a scale of 1 to 10, is even more difficult for them. Source: Marketing and Neuroscience What Drives Customer Decisions Here is where memory metric plugs in. In order for memory to work, you need to be recalling memory and creating memory all at the same time. So, you bombard those neurons with creative repetition and arouse the synaptic nerves with poetry. Yes, Poetry. Let's just try this. Shall we? Read the poem below and as you are reading be mindful of the visuals that your neurons are formulating to help you digest this information. How do you feel? What do you see? Every word in this poem strikes me with its' aching beauty. The truth is tender, yet glaring. I am haunted by the words “unanimous blood" – that we are all, even in our difference, part of this complex interconnection. It reminds me of the basics: the oxygen that sustains us and our memories that write the poetry of our tiny lives. [The Salvadorian revolutionary poet was twice sentenced to death and jailed by the State for his beliefs and both times he evaded fate. The escape would become an essential part of his myth: the revolutionary the dictatorship couldn’t kill, the trickster poet favored by the gods. However, at forty he was eventually murdered. Perhaps he wrote with this eventuality in mind. With eyes wide open, a joke dying on his lips; in this poem and in others, "he expressed the vividness and universality of that which sustains us: poetry and bread."] What is so special about poetry? Using fMRI imaging, Professor Adam Zeman, a cognitive neurologist from the University of Exeter Medical School, led an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the fields of psychology and English. They found that emotionally charged writing, like poetry [not prose] aroused several regions in the brain, predominantly on the right side; very similar regions that had previously been shown to produce the “shivers down the spine” emotional reaction to music. Also poetry, not prose, was found to activate areas of the brain associated with introspection and recollection. These preliminary findings does point to the fact that it is poetry that lights up more regions of your brain, thus paving way for more synaptic connections. And we all know, “neurons that wire together, fire together.” “Biologically we are feeling creatures that think.” --Dr. Jill Taylor Bolte If you feel nothing. You do nothing. And, poetry makes you feel. It makes you "laugh, cry, prickle, be silent, makes your toenails twinkle, makes you want to do this or that or nothing, makes you know that you are alone and not alone in the unknown world, that your bliss and suffering is forever shared and forever all your own. All that matters about poetry is the enjoyment of it however tragic it may be all that matters is the eternal movement behind it – the great undercurrent of human grief, folly, pretension, exaltation and ignorance – however un-lofty the intention of the poem…" Today, you are inundated with insurmountable mount of data—demographic data, purchasing data, search data, social data, and web data. With this data you are able to understand the need, desires and the mindset of your customers based on their behaviour and their journeys. With your creativity you make the engagement interesting and desirable, not just functional and utilitarian. And, poetry strengthens you in your creative journey that prevents your brand from fading into mere commodities in both engagement and product experience. “Creativity is a means of controlling chaos, finding order. Business and poetry draw their waters out of the same well.” —John Barr, President, Poetry Foundation In her book, What Poetry Brings to Business, Clare Morgan and her colleagues demonstrate how the steaming creative energy, emotional power, and "communicative complexity of poetry" contributes directly to human innovation and problem solving. “Poems put down their roots in the no-man’s-land between thinking and feeling,.. the borderland where logic shades into the non-logical, where a world defined and delineated by language gives way to the more diffuse territory of what psychologists sometimes call ‘the feeling state’. This is the same strange land, in which twenty-first-century business executives and [marketers] routinely find themselves, a world in which facts and data are never enough and there is rarely a right or a wrong answer. " For the first time in the written history of mankind, we are flourishing in a society (i.e the matured economies) of having more than enough. This "more than enough" is being spent on products and services that have more than mere utilitarian function. As we transition from an Information Society towards a Dream Society, we expect more from the brands and the companies that we do business with. We now value one "human ability that can't be automated: emotion." We want to be inspired. We want products and services that have a design, a story and a heart. Don't just persuade and promote. Empower me — Make me dream, make me laugh, make me cry, make me high! Articles you might like:
“When god created the horse, he said to the magnificent creature: I have made thee as no other. All the treasures of the earth lie between thy eyes. Thy shalt carry my friends upon thy back. Thy saddle shall be the seat of prayers to me. And thou shalt fly without wings, and conquer without sword; oh horse.” Anonymous This piece is in honor of the horse. After all, it is 2014 . It is the Year of the Horse! In doing my research, I was astounded to find the unfading nature of this symbol that spanned across centuries and influenced cultures across the globe. Ancient wisdom traditions have used symbols to communicate between the two worlds: the seen and the unseen. The horse has been used as the super highway between them. Why? perhaps, they are a projection of our dreams about our higher selves – free-spirited, strong and beautiful. They remind us to nurture our spirit the dwells the flesh, to emancipate ourselves from our mental slavery and possibly to inspire us into thinking that we are not prisoners of this three dimensional world but "voyagers through it." In the Hindu scriptures our 5 sense perception has been compared to the horse. "Know the self as a rider in a chariot, and the body, as simply the chariot. Know the intellect as the charioteer, and the mind, as simply the reins. The senses, they say, are the horses, and sense objects are the paths around them.... When a man lacks understanding, and his mind is never controlled; His senses do not obey him, as bad horses, a charioteer." ... Katha Upanishad {translated by Patrick Olivelle (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996 To know the self that dwells the flesh, curb your sense perception. Journey inwards, explore the richness that is you. It is beyond time, space and all material consumerism. "The internal universe, the real, is infinitely greater than the external, which is only a shadowy projection of the true one. This world is neither true nor untrue; it is the shadow of truth. It is imagination – the gilded shadow of truth." Swami Vivekanada This eternal truth is reflected in the sentiments of Harvard neurosurgeon: “Our eternal spiritual self is more real than anything we perceive in this physical realm, and has a divine connection to the infinite love of the Creator.” ― Eben Alexander, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife In buddhism the horse is a conduit of the mind. It symbolizes the energy or "prana" that runs through the channels of the human body. In the mountain hermitage which is my body, In temple of my breast At the summit of the triangle of my heart, The horse which is my mind flies like the wind He gallops on the plains of great bliss. If he persists, he will attain the rank of a victorious Buddha. Going backward, he cuts the root of samsara. Going forward he reaches the high land of buddhahood. Astride such a horse, one attains the highest illumination [Milarepa's "Song of the galloping horse of a yogi." Translated by Losang P. Lhalungpa] "Pegasus the winged horse will appear and gallop aloft in the heavens. It will bring forth people endowed with swiftness of movement and limbs alert to perform every task." [Manilius, Astronomica, 1st century AD, book 5, p.350-353.] In Greek mythology, Pegasus carries the divine thunderbolts of Zeus. It unites the heavens and the earth. It carries the treasure of the mind. It was his hoof pawing the ground that the Hippocrene (horse-springs), the inspiring fountain of the Muses sprang forth. "Everywhere the winged horse struck hoof to earth, an inspiring spring burst forth" The 'ancient midddle-men' of culture - the Phoenicians were also known as the 'horse people' by the Greeks. These astute sea seafarers adorned their mighty ships with horses’ heads in honor of their god of the sea, Yamm. These horse heads were purposeful tributes to the might of Yamm and were used on the ships to reign in the chaotic force of the sea. The great Pharoah Ramses II glorifies his horses for the victorious battle against the Hittites. In utter devotion he proclaimed, “Henceforth their food shall be given them before me each day when I am in my palace ....” The horses were loved and adored for their unshakable spirit. It is said that the warriors of the desert when "mounted on their finest Arabian steed, proved to be invincible as Islam's power spread throughout the civilized world.".... “They spurned the sand from behind them – they seemed to devour the desert before them -- miles flew away with minutes, yet their strength seemed unabated . . . Over the ages the horse has been cherished for its loyalty, speed and unyielding valor. Because of their sensitivity, consistency, and patience, the various creation myths have endowed them with elegance, poise and mysticism. They inject us with unshakable strength and assures us that “we have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The Labyrinth is thoroughly known. We have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god. And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves. And where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.” Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces With your "beauty unsurpassed, strength immeasurable and grace unlike any other"– it is up to you to decide as to how you will ride the horse. Illustration inspired by Andy Scott. Articles you might like
As I was toying with the title of this article, fear creeped in me: "am I asking you to go out on a limb here?" But, the inner critic was quickly shot down by the ambiguous creator within. "Let's see where is goes. Let's see how it manifests. Let's see what the ancient seers had to say about it". And, so I start my journey… Let's see if I can pull if off… (funny, how the critic always have to have the last say) We designers are immersed in this cycle of continuous creation, radical rejections and ebullient exaltation. It is a part of our daily life. A life of ceaseless seeking that we lead. We do not know what that is. All we know, this is not good enough and there is more to it. Martha Graham puts it very eloquently, "[There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others." In this search for something that is transformational and transcendental, the brain often puts up an instant resistance…."oh no, that cannot be done." But, if you trick the brain into believing that you are just tinkering with the idea; the brain not only relaxes, it gets stimulated by “what ifs”, “what then”, and “why not”. The intimidating big picture of creation, completion and acceptance gets buried somewhere in the cortex and eventually make it’s journey into your sub-conscious. Once, the sub-conscious takes over, the process of effortless creation ignites into motion and unleashes the creative force that is within you. Modern science is just now figuring out the profound power of sub-conscious in our daily lives. This non-verbal space of highly productive action and associative connection is very much conscious in our current stream of consciousness. This is the space that gives birth to Effortless Creation. There’s a concept in Taoism, “wei wu wei”, which is often translated as “action without action” or “effortless doing”. "Do less and accomplish more." is the cardinal principle of the vedic science. Inspired, by this high science Dr. Deepak Chopra in his book The 7 Laws of Spiritual Success mentions that "when your internal reference point is the ego, when you seek power and control over other people or seek approval from others, you spend energy in a wasteful way... When your internal reference point is your spirit, when you are immune to criticism and unfearful of any challenge, you can harness the power of love, and use energy creatively for the experience of affluence and evolution." I believe, when Mexican Yaqui Indian sorcerer, don Juan Matus told Carlos Castaneda, "…most of our energy goes into upholding our importance.... If we were capable of losing some of that importance, two extraordinary things would happen to us. One, we would free our energy from trying to maintain the illusory idea of our grandeur; and two, we would provide ourselves with enough energy to ... catch a glimpse of the actual grandeur of the universe." he had the vision of the coming future. Seeking approval of others is so rampant in our age of tweets and likes and subscribes that we have forgotten the uniqueness of our own creativity. The goal is to master the law of least effort and nail it down so that it becomes part of your daily living. It is not a step by step guide but a set of precepts that you might want to incorporate as a part of your life style. (This is not me talking. This is the high knowledge that has been handed down by the ancient seers and has successfully been put into action by the leaders of our times.)
When you have the exquisite combination of the above factors, you will experience life flowing with effortless ease. “Effortless action is a way to not only achieve focus in a world of chaos, but to be effective without stress, to respond to any situation with economy of effort and action, and to pursue our passions while beating procrastination”. Leo Babautam, Focus: A simplicity manifesto in the Age of Distraction Articles you might like
Change ... is Lord of the Universe. Everything is in a state of becoming, of continual flux. [Heraclitus, Panta Rhei] There is a concept in Buddhism called anicca. It means impermanence is the bedrock on which everything thrives. It is this single word that is the core of Buddha's teaching. Everything is in a state of movement. Change is the only permanence. The great master, the "Knower of the Worlds" flourished some 2500 years ago. Yet, his teaching of dynamic reality propels us to achieve material gain with amazing success. He has successfully handed you the master key to open any door you wish, to fulfill any desire you have. If change is the only constant of this material reality then growth is your only option to survive as a business. Because, as brand marketers, we all know that preferences change, demographics shift and somewhere along the way customers has to be replaced. In the face of this continuous state of becoming, you have to constantly evolve, re-package re-wire your brand perception. The GM story of becoming is still very vivid in my mind. From being the legendary company that once sold half of the cars on block, overnight the company was forced into a yard sale with Saab, Opel and Hummer. 2008 marked the collapse of the old way of doing business and companies like GM were forced to carve out a new and essential discipline: brand renewal. On the flip side of the coin, Toyota is the brand that lives and breathes the principle of becoming and renewal. How do you stay centered in the swing of inevitable changes? Holistic brand wisdom from the master himself. Peace “Resolutely train yourself to attain peace.” ― Gautama Buddha The Buddha says, peace can only be achieved by understanding and embracing impermanence. It…"comes from within. Do not seek it without.” This holds true in understanding your self and in understanding your brand proposition. Define the core purpose of your brand with clarity. Strong brands grow from the core. It is about understanding the context where the brand resides. When obesity, diabetes and heart disease became the public outcry of our times, the global icon McDonald's responded by revisiting its core and came up with an evolved brand promise. “Simple, easy, enjoyment” expresses the classic McDonald’s proposition–good foods, delivered quickly. However, it went further by giving the brand permission to translate that promise into something more in context for today–fresh salads, new menus highlighting calories intakes and gourmet coffee. McDonald’s has peacefully evolved because it grew from the core. Having a Plan B in place is another critical factor in attaining your individual peace and sustaining the vitality of your brand. Build contingencies in place, to deal with the unknowns and uncertainties. The Buddha literally advised married couples to buy property insurance to deal with the unknowns of flood and fire. I kid you not! Check it out. Anguttara Nikaya 8:49; IV 269-71 Fearlessness “The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.” ― Gautama Buddha "There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder." It is fear that haunts you like a mistress paralyzing your potential to evolve and touch your wisdom. Fear is the enemy of creation, fear is the enemy of innovation. Fear is the comfort of staying within the known faculties. Being fearless, you meet your expanded yourself—you are onto something bigger. When you are on this quest "dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” You inspire your customers. Your brand becomes a powerhouse of new ideas that are sought after by new businesses.. Apple is a clear example of a brand that is fearless to demand premium price because it fearlessly shouts out loud and clear “man should not be subservient to machine.” The campaign "Talk to Chuck" embodies the principle of fearlessness by the brand Charles Schwab. The brand fearlessly courts investors who felt disrespected by other financial outfits. “I don’t have to qualify to get guidance. I just get it.” Understanding your clients' emotions gives you a competitive edge. Fearlessly skate the edge! Intellect “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” ― Gautama Buddha It is intellect that puts ideas in the form of thoughts, gathering and organising the thoughts at the same time. There are great ideas which lie beyond the ordinary human mentality, which can put on all possible forms. These great ideas tend to descend, they want to manifest themselves in precise forms. These precise forms are the thoughts; and generally it is this, I believe, that is meant by intellect: it is this that gives thought-form to the ideas. Centre for Consciousness Studies How does this high philosophy apply to your brand nourishment? When you think of Tide, you think of it as a cleaning agent that does a pretty good job. But did you know that Tide is a "biochemical masterpiece, without technical peer in the detergent world." It all happened because of an idea that was contradictory to the accepted science of the day. Who knew that reducing the proportion of cleaning agent would form the chemical basis of the popular detergent. "No one could figure out why it worked, but it worked." Moral of the story invest in customer-focused innovation. At the end of the day it gives you the economic leverage specially during the times of economic hardship. "The greatest quality is seeking to serve others." "The greatest precept is continual awareness." "The greatest action is not confirming with the worlds ways." "The greatest magic is transmuting the passions." "The greatest generosity is non-attachment." "The greatest patience is humility." "The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances." A brand that adheres to these precepts is a brand that stands the test of time. It stands on the high ground of transparency, authenticity and accountability. Question to ponder. Does my brand make the cut? Articles that you might like
We are living in exciting times. The concept of traditional marketing is being challenged every day. Fresh waves of ideas are consistently hitting the shores. The blogosphere is inundated with articles describing the fact that brand equity cannot be linked to actual firm equityor any other recognized financial metric. There is a huge uproar that in a world infused with social-media madness; "traditional marketing and sales not only doesn't work so well, it doesn't make sense." A lot of speculation rolls around the market place as to what is going to replace the old medium; new possibilities of peer influence-based, community-oriented marketing hold much greater promise for creating sustained growth through authentic customer relationships.” In the past, marketing would decide how they want their brand to be perceived amongst their potential buyers and then the message would be forced fed to people via advertisements. Now, the dice has rolled in favor of the consumers! Consumers have more and more technologies like DVRs, caller ID, and spam blockers that enable them to avoid unwanted advertising and messages. This means that, in order to get their attention, you have to earn their permission. How do you earn it? One such method is being skilled in the Art of Enticement! Not often used in our everyday vocabulary, enticement is a key factor in trade show marketing, media, public relations as a means of persuasion. Persuasion leverages the art of enticement to achieve a set goal. Focus on your goal. In our case, decide on why are you going to trade shows. Often, I am told by clients that procuring leads is only one of the factors that dictates them to exhibit. Increasing brand awareness and sustaining brand memorability are some of the dominant factors that urges them to engage in this sort of face-to-face marketing. Enticement starts at the beginning of the design phase. Design your booth with flow, lighting and augmented presentation. Highlight a concept product. Ask for viewer feed back as to how they will improve on the design (to give an example). Have them participate in your social media channel and digitally carry the conversation beyond the venue. As you do so, always keep in mind marketing is always about them (your clients and prospects), not you. You always offer your prospects an enticing factor to pay attention to your marketing. The enticement may be a prize for playing a game as simple as: turn the wheel and you get something. It could be knowledge about your industry that prospects consider to be valuable. Perhaps it's membership to a privileged group such as, once a month session with the CMO of your company or an entry into a sweepstakes. It might even be a discount coupon from one of your partners. All you ask in return is permission to market to these people. Nothing more..... The secret sauce. Give people something great to talk about your brand. Trade shows are great venues where you may access each person as a node in a community and this, my friend is the new era of community marketing. Articles and design you might like:
When speaking at meetings or being engaged in conversations at conventions and trade shows, the conventional advice for preparing is to tell yourself you're great, there's no way you can fail. The more effective stratagem: Instead of saying "I'm the best and I can do it," ask "How can I do it?" It's called "interrogative self-talk," and has been shown to be more effective than positive statements alone. Asking questions leads to answers. It gives you strategies for carrying out your task right at the top of your mind, and reminds you of your motivation. Source: To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others Welcome to the Age of Enlightenment. Enlightenment is not about knowing as much as it is about unknowing; it is not so much learning as unlearning. It is about surrendering and letting go rather than achieving and possessing. It’s more about entering the mystery than arriving at a mental certitude …On the Threshold of Transformation We need a different set of tools to navigate in this new paradigm. "It's multidisciplinary. It involves elements of design, empathy, and symphonic thinking. It's self-directed rather than "managed." And it's animated by a sense of purpose." Below is a snapshot of 'do's that work! Smile: It is Contagious “The world is like a mirror; frown at it, and it frowns at you. Smile and it smiles, too” ― Herbert Samuels Professor Ruth Campbell, of University College London, professes the idea of 'mirror neuron' in the brain that triggers the part responsible for the recognition of faces and expressions and causes an instant mirroring reaction. In other words, whether we realize it or not, we automatically copy the facial expressions we see. Science has proved that the more you smile, the more positively you will be accepted. This is the baseline when it comes to the Rules of Conduct. Be Interested. Uphold Transparency "When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." ― Ernest Hemingway It easy to read off a script and go into features and benefits. Engaging at trade shows is not about you. It is about them. Inquire about their needs and how you may satisfy them. What are they here for? What are they looking for? Perhaps they are here for the IPAD contest. Listening to your demo is only a pretense. Whatever, that may be, identify it and be transparent in the conversation. Transparency leads to better lead analytics. Be Interesting. Respond with Humor and Grace. "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." ― Charles Swindoll Every potential prospect is a "viral sparkplug". Use targeted words that captures their attention and augments their curiosity. Be brand specific and benefit intended. Surprise and Delight "The most delightful surprise in life is to suddenly recognize your own worth." ― Maxwell Maltz The element of surprise often consists of giving away things for free — “This one’s on the house” — and can make someone's day. The 'coolness' of the "free" give away sparks delight. "A great gift is buzzworthy; it’s organic, it’s exceptional, and it makes people unable to not say something". A surprised person is a delighted one. Word-of-mouth take a life of its own. Draw a Crowd. Propagate your Brand. According to convergence theory like-minded people come together to form a crowd. At conventions and trade shows, comedians and tricksters propels the formation of crowds. However, when you pepper their act with the features of your product, observe what happens. The crowd goes through a distillation process. What remains is the cream of the crop. This is what you want. The Art of KISS “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”― Leonardo da Vinci We live in an international age of inter-connectivity. We are faced with increased complexities and the need to adapt to the changes is fast and furious. Perhaps to maintain our sanity we are leaning more towards simplicity. Employ simplicity in your exhibit design and in your product presentation. Break down complex ideas and numbers and express them in its simplest form. Simplify your product message to amplify your brand resonance. The Act of Gratitude "I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." ―Gilbert Chesterton Gratitude is the bedrock for building strong code of conduct. Express your commitment. It is not just in your mind but in your heart and gut as well. Thank your customers, appreciate your prospects. “The New Paradigm requires a leap of consciousness. It invites us to find the balance between rationality and intuition, between inspiration and application. This balance has always been a feature of great geniuses like Leonardo and Edison but now it must become the standard for all.” Articles you might like:
This self-portrait was based on a drawing made by Arneson’s son Kregg when the artist and his first wife was in the midst of a marital crisis. Although the representation echoes Renaissance bust of mortally wounded martyred saints, the wildly exaggerated grotesque details—such as the exploding gun, bloody knife and arrow, and globs of blood and snot—recall the style of cartoon and comic strips. The sculpture is one of Arneson’s most emotionally expressive self-portrait. He was prolific in creating self-portraits using photographs, mirrors, and drawings. Each expression seemed to reveal a different emotion. These self-referential portraits iconic and humorous are vehicles to render universal concepts of feeling, sentiments, reaction and response. That what is true for sculpting is also true when crafting concepts for your trade show booth graphics. The emotion of the sculptor is set in motion as he uses his tools to carve out forms out of formless. In a similar fashion, the visual that you are composing should be emotionally captivating. Instead of addressing raw data of features and benefits (that addresses the verbal brain), it should highlight one aspect of the pain point that your audience can associate with. By evoking emotion, your message becomes engrained in their long-term memory. Every time they encounter the pain-point they will sub-consciously visualize your brand, your message. Because, emotion happens, it is not something that we do or don't do. When creating graphic that embellishes your trade show booth, here is another path that you may want to explore. Start with the intangible aspect of your product and that happens to be your brand. Think about what emotion your brand triggers. After all, your brand does not dwell inside the four walls of your company. It resides in the hearts and minds of the people in your market. For example when you think of Nike, what comes to your mind? It is superior athleticism and the thrill of victory (of course leaving aside the negative press). Now imagine all the visuals that Nike as generated over the years. They all actualize the intangible concept of the brand. Classical mythology is a great avenue to derive inspiration for your visuals. Stories of passion, tragedy, war, and heroism (all trigger points for making emotions happen). Again, did you know Nike is the goddess of victory in the Greek Mythology. "Frequently she is seen hovering with outspread wings over the victor in a competition." That is how the powerful Nike swoosh has been brought into existence. Obviously Nike corporation knows very well what they are doing. Reading poetry, visiting museums, attending lectures on the odd, the improbable, or merely interesting are some of the things that I indulge in quite often. These are the silent seeds that gets sprinkled in my subconscious only to find its outlet in some sort of creative endeavors. Assassination of a Famous Nut Artist was my find in one of my visits to one of the many museums that I frequent. It is this sculpture that inspired me to write this article. Articles you might like:
We live in very dynamic times. "We are shifting from a managerial society to an entrepreneurial society." "Intuition becomes increasingly valuable in the new information society precisely because there is so much data." John Naisbitt Intuition, insight, discernment, perception, awareness, understanding, comprehension, apprehension, appreciation, penetration, acumen, judgment, acuity, vision, wisdom, savvy are some of the words that constantly pop up in different journals and business books. The word that I am hooked to is Insight. The dictionary defines insight as the act or outcome of grasping the inward or hidden nature of things or of perceiving in an intuitive manner. A great example that comes to mind is the discovery of penicillin. During those times it was the norm to throw away moldy blood samples. However, Sir Alexander Fleming, the Scottish bacteriologist, had an instinct to study the mold on a blood sample that had gone bad. That instinct ushered in the era of penicillin and antibiotics. There are thousands of example: perhaps the most studied being Mr. Steve Jobs in our our recent memory. Overnight the IPhone was a best seller because the learning curve was substantially reduced. "The percentage of users actually utilizing all of the features that a smart phone offers was higher than other phones we've tested. The iPhone was more intuitive than other devices." Even a few years ago who would have thought about a technical device being intuitive. Experts do acknowledge that insight is a learned skill. Asking a lot of questions does build strong intuitive muscles. In design discovery meetings, the most powerful creative intuitions shows up after a long question and answer sessions. Don't be fearful to ask any questions. Ask questions that does not particularly pertain to the project. See where it goes. To get a feel for the clients emotions' layout a visual map of the conversation. Ask more questions based on the map. Then walk away from the project. Let your sub-conscious take over. Find solitude. Listen to yourself in solitude. Training yourself to listen to your inner voice when you aren’t alone and will lead to catching powerful intuitive ideas right when you need them. Strangle the inner critic within you. Turn off your negative barometer. If your inner voice say this is a dumb idea. Make a conscious choice to ask “what part of this idea will work?” This way you will embark on a journey of asking positive questions and your sub-conscious will feed you with solutions in the form of insight - the art of seeing what is invisible to others. Insight or creative intelligence comes from deep within you. It helps generate not only solutions for your design projects but new opportunities and options for you. Beware! often, it will take you to the less trodden paths that leads to nowhere. "Intuition makes much of it; I mean by this the faculty of seeing a connection between things that in appearance are completely different; it does not fail to lead us astray quite often." Andre Weil Articles you might like
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Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly. Franz Kafka |