The effect of Web 2.0 on leadership

I came across an interesting article by Soumitra Dutta and Matthew Fraser titled “Welcome to the Web 2.0 World”. Here are a couple of extracts:

"The Web 2.0 model encourages proactive use of platforms like blogs and Twitter to have authentic conversations with key stakeholders both inside and outside the company. For CEOs, engaging directly and honestly with stakeholders not only enhances their credibility, it also generates trust in the company’s brand and products. Communicating is not a “push” function; it’s a conversation based on a two-way dialogue. Sometimes it’s even a networked discussion."

"The time for the CEO 2.0 has arrived."

How is the leader of the company, you work for, using Web 2.0 tools?

Just the way you are - Billy Joel

Gartner's 2009 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies

In this interesting Gartner press release, I learned about Gartner's 2009 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. Notice, for example, that corporate blogging is placed on the "Slope of Enlightenment". To enlarge, please click on the image.

Improve the customer experience through more cool product design

The other day, I bought these 2 bottles of olive oil and balsamico respectively at ALDI in Zürich. I was not least fascinated by the design of the bottles. Really cool I think. Contributes well to improving the customer experience.

By the way, the fresh basil in the background, I bought at COOP. If you prepare a starter with mozzarella and tomato, I recommend that you - besides olive oil and and balsamico - use fresh basil. It's delicious.

Google Health

I came across an interesting 4 minute video about Google Health:

Improve the shopping experience by putting wheels on the shopping baskets

At COOP and Migros shops in Switzerland, I noticed that shopping carts and shopping baskets are offered for customers to transport products, they want to buy, through the supermarkets. Customers, who choose to use a shopping basket, need to carry it.




COOP in Denmark improved the shopping experience for people who prefer to use a basket to transport products, they want to buy, through the supermarket. They literally put wheels on the shopping baskets. The photo below, that I took as I was in Denmark earlier this month, makes the point powerfully, I think. Good innovation making it more convenient for people to buy groceries.


What other changes do you think are the most urgent for supermarkets to make in order to improve the shopping experience?

Kids these days

I came across this on Indexed.

Using Twitter for education

In this 7 minute video, Christine Morris shares experiences using Twitter for education.

Twitter - in the classroom from Christine Morris on Vimeo.

Impressions from Ree Park in Denmark

I visited Ree Park in Denmark earlier this month. I had a great time there. Ree Park is an interesting Experience Economy contribution. Here are some impressions from the day, I spent there:


The lemurs in the park look really cute and come really close to guests.


The Cheetahs are really agile and can run more than 100 km per hour.


This is what the cheetahs had for lunch. Listening to the guide talk to the large number of people watching the feeding of the cheetahs, I learned that it's horse meat. The white powder on the meat is, as I understood it, vitamins.


Here's a coke machine in the park that is adapted to the surroundings. Good innovation.


I think it’s a good idea to split up the park in different continents. That way, it’s easy for guests to learn about on which continents different animals live.


If you’re interested in watching videos from Ree Park, click here.

Education's sacred cows

Over at the Education Innovation blog, I came across this posting with a list of "education’s sacred cows". In your opinion, which one most urgently needs to change in order to create more value?

Top 10 myths about blogging

On ForaTV, I came across this 6 minute video in which Mr. Scott Rosenberg presents his top 10 myths about blogging

Encourage people to self organize

I came across an interesting McKinsey conversation with Mr. Eric Schmidt, Google. Here’s an extract:

"One of the things that we've tried very hard to avoid at Google is the sort of divisional structure and the business unit structure that prevents collaboration across units. It’s difficult. So, I understand why people want to build business units, and have their presidents. But by doing that you cut down the informal ties that, in an open culture, drive so much collaboration. If people in the organization understand the values of the company, they should be able to self organize to work on the most interesting problems."

For more inputs on how to encourage self organization and collaboration across organizational borders, have a look at my July 29th posting.

What do you do to encourage people you work with to self organize and collaborate with other people across various borders?

We and I

In her speech on the Swiss National Day yesterday, August 1st, Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard spoke about “We and I”. Ms. Leuthard said, for example this:

"Meine Damen und Herren, die Doppelnatur des Menschen, einerseits frei sein, selbstbestimmt sein eigenes Leben einrichten zu wollen und sich anderseits in einer Gemeinschaft aufgehoben zu wissen, sich in der Not auf diese verlassen zu können, ist eines der Kernelemente unseres Staates."

Having a look at the dimension "individualism" of Geert Hofstede’s research on cultural differences, I noticed that there are relatively large differences between countries across the world. With a score of 91, The United States of America leads the individualism dimension. Countries such as Guatemala and Ecuador (scores of 6 and 8 respectively) have the lowest scores. Switzerland has a score of 68 on the individualism dimension.

Reflecting on this topic, I came to think about a couple of questions for you:

Question # 1: Thinking about a job you do, which of these motivates you the most?
A. The money you earn.
B. The people you work with – including customers and suppliers.
C. The job itself.

Question # 2: How big do you think the difference between the highest and the lowest salary of companies, you work for, should be?
A. Less than factor 1:10, i.e. the person with the highest salary earns less than 10 times more than the person with the lowest salary.
B. Between factor 1:10 and factor 1:30.
C. Higher than factor 1:30.

Art that looks back at you

Watching this 15 minute TED video, I learned about an artist and engineer, Golan Levin, who makes art that looks back at you. I find it valuable that guests are encouraged to participate when learning about the art, themselves, and about other people. What do you think?