5 Benefits of Using the Cloud

May 21, 2015May 29, 2015 / Josh Green / Leave a comment

One of my favorite advances in technology that has benefited me in my career is the emergence of The Cloud. I was first introduced to cloud computing in a previous job when I joined a new team towards the end of 2009. Since that time, I have been using cloud computing in one form or another on a daily basis. My main platform is Dropbox, but I also use Google Drive from time-to-time. Through my years of using these tools, I have developed a specific perspective on a few aspects of the technology.

Access: By using a cloud service, there is a great deal of flexibility given for working outside of an office. I am constantly traveling for work and do not always have my laptop with me. By using Dropbox, I can easily access all of my information on any computer with an internet connection. This makes giving a presentation easy because there is no need to create duplicate copies through emails or flash drives.

Mobility: Not too long after I started using Dropbox, they developed a mobile app for my iPhone. For me, this allowed for an almost exponential increase in functional use. By having access to all of my documents at all times through my phone, I had the ability to provide better customer service because answers that I would have needed to go back and check on were always at my fingertips.

Safety and Security: The nature of The Cloud is that information is not just sitting on one computer waiting to be lost at any moment when a hard drive fails or someone spills water on the keyboard. Backing up is almost redundant because your information is not just on one computer or device. Additionally, files are secured directly through protection from Dropbox. While hacking of their system does occur, I don’t believe the risk to my non-sensitive information outweighs the benefits.

Time Savings: The Cloud has also allowed me to save time on several different fronts. The first is for sharing files with myself on various computers. If I need to print a document, my files are already on the desktop I use for printing. This also saves time when sending a document to someone else. They are provided a link that will remain the same as I make updates; one location to find the latest draft.

Collaboration: Specific to Google Drive, being able to collaborate with others – in real-time – is one of the greatest benefits available. This is particularly useful when I am working with coworkers who are 3000 miles away. Again, this eliminates redundant drafts left out for people to mistakenly use.

The Cloud has greatly changed how I work and my productively. I wouldn’t call myself an early adopter, but I have been using this resource for many years and have tried to maximize the benefits with each new feature. I am certainly interested in seeing where the technology will go next.

If there are any other benefits you find from using The Cloud, please post them in a comment below.

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Put a Little “Play” in the Office – FISH! Philosophy

May 14, 2015 / Josh Green / 2 Comments

I recently wrote a post about the FISH! Philosophy and choosing your attitude at work. That got me thinking about the other ideas in the book and, specifically, the idea of play. This came up in my office just the other day and I have been thinking about its impact ever since. I began a good bit of self-reflection about what play means to me.

To me, play is all about adding smiles to the office. This comes in many shapes and forms, but I feel it is about making people happy to the point where they show it on their face. Below are a few examples of what has stood out to me from my own experiences.

Trivia: Something that many people do for fun after work was started a few months ago by an intern at my office. Each day he writes a new question up on the board and most everyone gathers around in the intern room to offer up a guess. Gradually, everyone has gotten into it and there is real competition against those who are in the lead.
Donuts: While it doesn’t have to actually be donuts themselves, when someone brings in a treat (on all levels of the healthiness scale), there is commotion in the office. The discussion that comes about from people bringing in treats gives everyone a reason to come out of their office and socialize; that typically leads to jokes and laughter. Even those who gripe about having the temptation of eating sweets end up cracking a smile.
Retreats: These can range from an hour spent outside together doing some team-building exercises to a weekend at a wilderness retreat with a ropes course. Both can be really impactful and provide many benefits for the office, but should also be a lot of fun. If you don’t come back from a retreat filled with purpose and fully engaged, then something wasn’t done correctly.
Culture: To me, this is the most important part of play. Everyone needs to be involved. The Man can’t be walking around wanting to stop all of the fun being had. This also means that it can’t be forced – assuming that celebrating a birthday is going to get everyone having a good time. Creating a culture is a much larger issue, but one that must be in place to truly get the most out of play.

These are just a few of the elements that I have seen that make an impact on play in the workplace. Creating smiles and improving happiness has a dramatic effect on performance. With that being the case, there is no reason that everyone in a company or business should not get on-board with play.

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Time Management: The Almighty Checklist

May 9, 2015 / Josh Green / 1 Comment

One of the most important elements of being a leader is keeping track of information and time. As I have progressed from simply being led, to also leading, there are many practices that I have picked up along the way that have helped to keep me on track. This has come about as the result of trial and error, as well as taking from the practices of others. It is important to remember that everyone must find their own style and practices that work for them.

Checklists, for me, are one of the most important aspects of my time management process. Keeping track of what I need to accomplish has been a fluid process over the last few years. One of the practices that I established early in my career was to centralize my action item lists. The first iteration was my email inbox. Those who emailed me would automatically be on the list because their message was kept in my inbox. As soon as it was taken care of, I would file it away. For the other items I needed to accomplish, I would simply email myself.

Email has two positive features as my checklist. First, it is easy to access as it is on my computer, as well as my phone. And the second, if I accidentally delete something, I can go back to my sent folder and retrieve it. Next, I added in calendar reminders, which have their own characteristics that are beneficial and each is emailed right to my inbox.

My calendar is where I put appointments in red to ensure they stand out, and everything else is in blue (as an Arizona Wildcat, those are the only two colors I know how to use). I set calendar reminders to accomplish certain tasks on a regular basis, such as submitting timesheets, but it is also makes it easy to push things back when needed. Something I learned, early on, with the calendar as a checklist, is that care must be taken to prevent it from getting out of hand. By setting a calendar reminder to come up when items need to be accomplished, it leaves less clutter on my email checklist. I have found the email and calendar checklist system to be very effective, and it has long been a part of my life.

The most recent element added to my checklist process is a desktop sticky note. Sitting on the right side of my screen, I track my major work, school and personal items. It is always there and, again, very easy to update. This has only been for around for three weeks, so it is still in the experimental phase, but it has been working so far.

Finally, while at work, I also use written sticky notes (my only non-digital reminder) to keep track of urgent and important items. These are generally for phone calls, emails and meetings that must be taken care of within 24 hours. I write them down and put them in front on my keyboard so they cannot be missed. When accomplished, I simply throw them away.

My current process has only come about after traveling on a long road. While the system I have used has changed over the years, it has done so usually as I become more involved and have more responsibilities; needing something to keep me on track. These have been excellent methods that keep me about 99% focused on what needs to be accomplished and when. It isn’t perfect, but that is why it is a journey.

What is your best method to keep track of your information and to do list? Please leave your ideas in a comment below.

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Working Remotely: Maximizing the Benefits

May 5, 2015 / Josh Green / 5 Comments

I am a big fan of working remotely, and there are many pros and cons. My previous post focused on those. Here I will discuss what I feel allows me to be successful and productive when working outside of the normal office environment.

Set alarms: They are not just for waking up, but for when to start and stop projects, break for lunch and end for the day. Over time, they may no longer be needed, but they can help keep you on track as you get started – especially not over working.
Use Your Commute Time: By not having to drive, that can add anywhere between ten minutes and three hours to your available productive time each day. The average American spends 6 hours and 18 minutes commuting per week. That is almost an entire extra day of work. This means you can work almost one full day less per week, or you can look at it as time to be more productive. If you are a salaried employee, think about the massive amount of extra work you could get done and stand out among your peers. At 50 weeks a year, an extra 6 hours per week is 300 hours that could be used for being an all-star; at home and for work.
Run Errands More Efficiently: My goal with working remotely is to minimize wasted time. Run errands during the middle of the day when traffic and lines will be shorter, if there at all, is another way to do this. I am a big proponent of waking up early and taking breaks as needed. By running personal and business errands in the middle of the day, you are saving time that can be better spent with family or accomplishing more objectives. A work/life balance is extremely important. Even if this only saves you an hour a week, that is an extra hour that you wouldn’t have otherwise had.
Distractions: This is one of the toughest parts of working remotely. They come in all shapes, colors, sizes and ages. Everyone has their own items that will pull them away from work, so there is no point in trying to list them out. However, they fall into a few categories that I will discuss. If it is a spouse or roommate, then let them know what you need to get done and when; keep them in the loop and set boundaries. Sometimes that is easier said than done, but it is a great test on relationships. If it is little people – children – then I am truly unqualified to make any recommendations. If this issue is TV, food, or nice weather, then find ways to focus on work. Perhaps spending the few minutes to put on business attire will get you in the mindset of work; this can certainly be a helpful tool when you first start working remotely. Tracking exactly how many hours you worked in a day by writing it down will let you know if there is a distraction or focus problem.
Work Station: It is easy to sit on the couch, or in bed, when working remotely, but that may not be your most productive location. Find a place where you can focus – the kitchen table, an actual desk, etc. Like distractions, when you first get started, it is easier to transition from a work desk to a desk at home.

Working remotely is an opportunity to work on your own terms. I have found it is the chance to maximize the amount of work that can be accomplished, as well as the amount of extra time dedicated to your personal life. For some, it needs to be eased into because it is a big step and there are many potential distractions. However, I have always looked at working remotely as the opportunity to get ahead while having more personal time to keep the batteries charged.

Please share your own helpful hints for staying focused or maximizing your time while working remotely in a comment below.

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Being a Catalyst: Fresh Ideas and Positive Change

April 25, 2015February 14, 2017 / Josh Green / 2 Comments

Over the years, many people have described me as a catalyst; I spark ideas, promote action and encourage change. This is, in my opinion, my greatest asset and strength. After someone brought it up to me earlier in the week, I wrote down a few ideas about what elements go into being a catalyst. These are the items I felt contribute to my own process.

Creativity:

I believe creativity comes from two approaches – systematic thinking and organic development. It does not have to be something an individual is born with, but I feel having it from a young age makes the process easier. The skill can certainly be developed with understanding how to specifically focus one’s thought process. The essence of creativity, in my opinion, comes from the ability to open your thoughts to multiple categories of information at once; meaning you can draw information from everything you have learned in different areas at one time. When needing to be creative on the fly, I will usually try to merge past experience and the current context to create an idea. When there is additional time to really think and develop, I focus in on different topics and projects I have worked on; systematically going through relevant and non-relevant comparisons. This allows you to connect elements in your mind that spark creation. It is the ability to be creative and generate ideas that is the first element to being a catalyst as it can prompt desired change.

Collaboration:

The secret element for creativity is collaboration, in my opinion, because it uses crowdsourcing to bounce ideas off others in the group, rather than placing the requirement on a single individual. Sitting around a room with others and sharing ideas is when the real magic happens. I think back to my first engineering class in college when I was introduced to the idea of the “deep-dive,” which came from IDEO and has since been sold to Deloitte. My favorite story was the birth of the ATM. It went something like this: bank leaders were sitting around a table and one says, in frustration, “I wish we could just put a box of money in front of the bank with paper and a pen to leave a note.” While that idea wouldn’t work out well, the comment prompted someone else to think about taking the idea one step further. Poof! The birth of the modern ATM. Now, I am not sure if that story is true, but I love it. Someone taking an infeasible idea from another and making it applicable, that is what collaboration does; it provides a venue and opportunity to bring about new ideas. This is an extension of how creativity can prompt desired change.

Courage:

One of the most important, and sometimes the most important, elements of being a catalyst is courage. Change can be one of the largest hurdles to overcome, especially if you are not the decision maker. The difficultly comes from individuals not understanding that change is needed, don’t want change or if suggesting change comes with negative consequences. Simply sharing an idea that is outside of the norm can be stressful because there is no knowing how others will react.

However, sharing ideas can be one of the best decisions when it is done consistently. It shows others that you are using your intelligence and are working to help make improvements, but also shows leaders that you have courage to be vulnerable. Courage is the final step that allows a catalyst to share their creativity. It takes extreme courage the go against the status quo. If there are current policies, practices or events that go against the purpose or values of a company, then courage is the element that will allow for positive change. It doesn’t come easy, but this is the most important element of a catalyst.

~ ~ ~

Being told that I am a catalyst is one of the best compliments I have ever received. It comes down to two situations where being a catalyst comes into play; when a fresh idea is needed or a reminder to take actions in line with one’s values. There have certainly been times where I have fallen short on the courage, but I get genuinely excited about positive change and using my creativity to fuel that process. Anyone can be a catalyst when they focus their actions and develop their own process.

Push yourself to improve your own creativity, work in a team to generate ideas and practice sharing to develop your courage. That is how change will happen.

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Choose Your Attitude – FISH! Philosophy

April 22, 2015April 22, 2015 / Josh Green / 5 Comments

Many years ago, I was asked to read a book before I started a new job. The book was FISH! by Stephen C. Lundin, Ph. D., Harry Paul and John Christensen. This was my first job out of college and I was raring to go and excited to have some reading material prior to starting. I had never heard of the book and only initially knew what I read from the cover; 2 million copies sold and a remarkable way to boost morale and improve results. I thought that was interesting and took the few hours to read it; at only about 100 pages I just sat at my desk until I was done.

I took a lot away from FISH! and would encourage everyone who works anywhere, so pretty much everyone, to read it. However, there is one topic from the book, in particular, that I would like to focus on here. That is to choose your attitude. Having gone to the bookshelf and pulled it out, I will likely reread it and discuss the book itself in detail later. For this post though, I specifically chose not to reread the book yet because I wanted to be able to discuss the ideas I have formed over the past seven years.

Getting the Idea: The idea of choosing your attitude has to come from somewhere, be it this blog, the book itself, a coworker mentioning the way of thinking, etc. No matter how it comes to be, the important thing is to understand what it means; or at least means to you. For me, choose your attitude means to deliberately act in certain way when at work – regardless of what the specific situation. Understanding that the most important time to choose your attitude is in difficult situations that overwhelm the senses.

Thinking about implementing it: Once you have head wrapped your head around the idea, you have to think about how this can fit into your general way of thinking at work. Run a self-assessment on how you feel. Do you like your job? Do you like your coworkers? Do you like your boss? Do you like the work you are doing? Do you like your desk, office location, parking situation, etc.? After you have answered these questions for yourself, you can think about how you can choose to be positive about it. Short of quitting your job, which is always a possibility, you have the opportunity to view your situation in a positive light. Sometimes this can be very difficult, I certainly understand and have lived that, but I have always tried to hold to having a positive attitude which results in positive behaviors.

Testing it out: Now comes the fun part. Go to work and be positive. When you see the person you don’t particularly care for, simply smile and say, “good morning.” At your desk, put up a picture of your loved ones. If you already have that up, put a picture of your favorite vacation or a place you are looking forward to going to next. If you need something more challenging or would like to explore another aspect of your job, talk to your manager/boss/supervisor about taking on a project to try it out. When something goes wrong, be objective and try to learn from it and share your thoughts. If you need ideas, just ask me and I will try to help you out.

Making changes as needed: After you have started to actually choose to be positive, especially when it is difficult, think about how it went. Are there changes you need to make? If so, test out new ideas. For me, the easiest way to get in the mindset, especially during tough times, I find a mirror (and with no one looking at me) and just smile. I smile into the mirror and see the happy guy on the other side. It may sound simple, or corny, but it can really work for me. If you see yourself happy, then it is easier to get in that mindset. You can try what works for me and/or come up with your own process.

There it is, just that simple. Writing has made me think about what I have learned about choosing my attitude over the last few years. While I generally have a positive outlook on life and it may be easier for me to look through rose-colored glasses, I still have rough days just like everyone else. That is when I am truly tested and have to put in extra effort to choose my attitude.

Please share your ideas for keeping a positive attitude in a tough situation at work in a comment below.

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Elements of a Top-Notch Culture

April 19, 2015 / Josh Green / 2 Comments

As I was writing about how cultures can be established, I began to think about the cultures I have experienced throughout my career. Thankfully, I have been a part of many very positive cultures, which is what I will discuss here. However, negative cultures exist in many companies, but I will save my thoughts on that subject for another post. I look back at what I have experienced in order to build a framework for any future company a work for or build myself. Below are the ideas and practices that I feel make the largest impact on a company’s culture (in no particular order).

Unlimited Days Off: A practice from a former employer that meant a lot to me was not having a set number of days off for the year. This was an incredible amount of trust placed on individual employees and allowed for an excellent level of work/life balance. Studies have shown that these policies end up yielding fewer days off taken, on average, per year compared to individuals with a set number, but the job satisfaction in those with no limit is higher. I believe the reason for this is the comfort of knowing those days are always there if you need them. For me, I ended up taking about 15-20 days off over a six-year period. That’s not to say I didn’t take a lot of half days, but I was also highly productive and never worried about the time I spent working or taking off. I found a great article that lays out reasons this can and cannot work with different companies.

Autonomy: Trust is a major factor when it comes to job satisfaction. One of the aspects that has allowed me to be the most engaged is autonomy to completely control the work that I am responsible for. This really does take an incredible amount of trust, especially for a new employee. It comes down to making sure your hiring process is excellent. However, the results prove, at least to me, that the effects of autonomy allow for higher-level results. That is not to say that mistakes are never made, because I have certainly made them, however it is about the learning experience that comes as a result. By having to find solutions myself, I am put into a position where I will continue to grow and enhance my skills. Daniel Pink discusses autonomy and how it relates to intrinsic motivation in an excellent Ted Talk.

Setting, Knowing and Living Your Values: At the heart of what builds a culture are the values a company is built upon. It isn’t enough to simply have them, but they have to be established as the fundamentals upon which all decisions are based. The way this is done is by living those values. In a previous job, my employer paid special attention to holding regular discussions on the topic of values, as well as discussing how we made decisions based on them. This had a tremendous impact on me regarding what we did and, more importantly, why we did it. This is probably the most important aspect of creating a culture that I would want in every employer I work for.

Creating a Team: Working to ensure everyone in the company (or everyone in some work unit depending on the size of the company) is integrated and understands they are part of a singular unit with a common purpose is vitally important. Unless there is a negative culture built-in, I will choose to be part of a team, rather than work alone, 100% of the time.

Transparency: Knowing what is going on and how your work is contributing to that of the success of the entire company helps to create a real connection between the employee and the company. Free flowing information about how things are going and where work needs to be focused has made me a more engaged part of the team. While this doesn’t have to mean that every detail is announced to everyone, knowing the big picture creates an atmosphere of trust. However, this does not need to go as far as sending all emails to the “all staff” email group.

In every aspect of work I have experienced, the items above are the ones that have stood out the most as having contributed to creating a positive culture. It is the culmination of these experiences that has guided me in how I have and will choose to manage and lead in the future. Culture has become one of the most important leadership and management responsibilities that I have learned during my career and I will continue to absorb as many ideas as possible.

To read about establishing a culture, click over to my previous blog post – Company Culture: Setting the Tone.

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Company Culture: Setting the Tone

April 18, 2015April 19, 2015 / Josh Green / 3 Comments

The basis for everything that happens in the work environment, good or bad, can be traced back to a single major factor – the company culture. The culture of a company is the sum total of the group behaviors within the organization. I have seen and lived in very positive and also negative company cultures, which has given me a very particular belief on the subject. Culture has also been a major topic within the coursework of my MBA program. There are several key lessons I have learned about creating and changing culture.

Like most everything else in life, starting with a clean slate is the easiest way to create a company culture. With no baggage, past practices or status quos, there is a unique ability to set the tone for what the culture will become following the startup phase. It is vitally important that specific decisions are made, early on, to determine what type of culture is desired and will be carried into the future. This topic could easily be pushed aside as not important, but like a mission statement or values, establishing the culture of a company is another crucial element for setting a strong foundation. As a leader, setting the tone by deliberately creating policies and practices that fall in line with the company’s mission will start down the desired path. These practices then need to become what is lived every day.

There are fewer opportunities to create a culture from scratch. It is more likely that a culture will be in need of change. This doesn’t mean that a culture was started off on the wrong foot, but it does mean that there is a desire to change current beliefs or practices. In order for this to happen successfully, and truly take hold, it must come from the top. A lead is entirely responsible for setting the tone and establishing any change in culture. It is very difficult for an entire organization to change without initial adoption from the man or woman in charge. And, it can’t be for show, only authentic adoption will lead to the desired results.

The most difficult cultural process is attempting to make a change the leader has not, or will not, adopt. This is, in my opinion, an effort in futility. Should you try to establish a, slightly, different culture in a department you oversee, then that is possible. The reason is because you are the leader and have the power and influence over those in the department. However, it cannot be radical enough to interfere with the culture established for the greater company. Even if using your department’s unique culture to find success, the company leadership must buy in for any other department to be able to mirror that success. The reason for this is coming up next.

Finally, the least effective means of changing culture is simply benchmarking, copying, another successful company’s practices and assuming the new culture will come as a result. By simply imitating the practices without understanding the underlying basis for how a culture started will lead to undesired outcomes. When United attempted to copy the success of Southwest Airline’s customer satisfaction and aircraft turnaround times, it wasn’t able to achieve the same outcomes. The reason? United’s efforts only copied was they were able to see on the outside, and weren’t able to copy Southwest’s heart and soul.

Culture is the basis of everything that happens in a company. It can’t be forced and any changes that happen can only come from those in charge. It has to be organic and connect to the values at the core of what a company is based upon. Anything less will fail to take hold and be brushed aside. This does not have to be the end-all-be-all, but are needs to be considered if you are planning an attempted culture change.

To read about best cultural practices from my own experience, read my next blog post.

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A World Gone Social: Six Months Later

April 16, 2015April 17, 2015 / Josh Green / 2 Comments

Immediately after I finished reading the book A World Gone Social, I was very fortunate to be able to have one of the co-authors, Mark Babbitt, come speak to my personal branding class. Mark knew the entire class had just read the book, so he discussed what he, and co-author Ted Coiné, had learned since the book was published in September of 2014. If you have not read the book, click over to my takeaways to get a brief review of the major points (but make sure to put it on your reading list).

There were several direct follow-ups on the book that stood out to me.

A World Gone Went Social: It is here. While the Social Age is still in the first ten years of existence, it has taken hold and many are beginning to fully adopt the practices and ideas. Phase I for companies was setting up social media accounts and just blasting out information. Phase II has been more social, less media; understanding value vs. noise.
Blue Unicorn: The leader who has fully embraced social media was described in the book as a rarity, but there were several great examples. Following publication, many business leaders and CEOs who Mark or Ted didn’t know began to tweet at them about being a blue unicorn. They are out there and more than first thought.
Social is the mindset now, not just Twitter and Facebook: With so many different platforms, companies are no longer just thinking about Facebook advertising or one specific platform to create an account, but thinking about their entire social media presence.
After seeing more examples of different hierarchy styles, Mark prefers a holacracy system over a flat system.
OPEN (Ordinary People, Extraordinary Network): Starbucks no longer has a research and development arm as they started their own crowdsourcing platform to have customers give ideas. They are now a leader in crowdsourcing with over 150,000 ideas being generated a month; including the nifty green sticks that prevent coffee splashing around in the car. This puts “the right people, in the right room at that right time” by going digital and putting it on a central location. Crowdsourcing is used to find those ideas and the community itself monitors the idea box.

Mark mentioned recent examples of Social Age situations that have been organic and gone well, and forced situations that have not gone well:

A young man walked into a Target looking for a clip-on tie. The store had none, but an employee taught him how to tie a real tie. Before the young man left the store, the photo taken of the interaction had already gone viral and Target was inundated with great press.
For a Super Bowl commercial, McDonald’s asked customers to do something nice instead of paying for their meals with money. The commercial that aired showed some excellent customer responses. However, several cell phone videos showed what happened when things didn’t go well and accounted for some awkward situations.

There were also some really great quotes I really liked:

What we say about us is marketing, what others say is our brand.
We are in a testimonial economy and it is all on social media.
Be a relentless giver. Share your knowledge as a gift. Make those around you stronger. There is power in building a community. Enable others on purpose.
Employees first, customer second. Create an OPEN culture worthy of top talent. Let attrition tame trolls and ask-holes. (Trolls are always on social and being counterproductive. Ask-holes connect on social media only to ask for stuff.)
Beware the “social lynch mob.”
There are hiring mistakes. We have learned that in the last six months. Even the people who have been there 20 years. If they are not willing to change, then they have to go.
Hire really good people and trust them. Give them a voice and make them happy. Those employees are thing going to treat customers well.
Mark mentioned a situation he found on social media that was thought-provoking: CFO asks CEO, “What happens if we invest in developing our people and they leave us?” The CEO responds, “What happens if we don’t and they stay?”

The biggest lesson I learned from Mark’s comments was that the world truly has already moved into the Social Age. Now, it is only a matter of getting bigger and more efficient. If you haven’t already, check out my biggest takeaways from the book by clicking here.

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A World Gone Social

April 13, 2015April 17, 2015 / Josh Green / 2 Comments

One of the best lessons of this semester has been the in-depth review my personal branding class had done on the power of social media. Not the power to sell, but the power to build Youtility and community. I just finished A World Gone Social by Mark Babbitt and Ted Coiné, which covers an amazing amount of information on the birth and impact of the Social Age. I was also very fortunate to have been able to hear follow-up from Mark Babbitt last week when he came to speak to my class.

Mark spoke about what he and Ted have learned in the six months since the book was published. A post regarding Mark’s comments will come later this week. I would first like to review the topics covered in the book that stood out to me the most. If you are looking to own or be a part of a relevant business in the 21^st century, then you should really read this book.

The Dawn of the Social Age: The last six years have been seen as the birth of a new age. And, much like that of the transition to the Industrial Revolution, those who do not learn to accept the new paradigm will be left behind. What does this mean? Society is no longer limited by the lack of information, rather they are empowered to learn and understand the relevance and quality of products and services on their own. Social media is presented as the platform that puts the power in the hands of the customer. This can either go very well, or very poorly.

More Social, Less Media: This principle is quite simple, use social media as a platform to be social and engaging, and build community, rather than a venue for promoting the newest deal or product that a company is pushing. Engagement is in full affect in the Social Age, and those who don’t join in, if they have not already, will become obsolete.

Nano Groups: One of the most intriguing ideas from the book is that of the nano group; a team created to solve a particular problem that is then disbanded following completion. This has been a staple of the movie industry for many years, but is making its way into business more and more. I found this idea so interesting that it will receive its own future blog post.

Flat Hierarchy: By empowering a company’s staff and allowing them to make and be responsible for their own decisions, there is less and less need for a massive management infrastructure. What comes from keeping that structure in place is called the “management tax.” This tax comes in the form of paying salaries for managers who no longer serve a vital role in a company; employees make decisions based on evidence, not on experience. A company that can do the job and not have to account for additional overhead can sell their product or service at a lower price. Change comes as a result of insurmountable market pressure and those businesses that do not change will end up falling away.

OPEN (Ordinary People, Extraordinary Network): The OPEN concept is one that is quickly becoming the mainstay of finding solutions. Whether it is asking a question about a book recommendation on Twitter or looking up information on Wikipedia, crowdsourcing is now a major factor. Working with a collective of intelligent problem solvers can find solutions that have long been issues.

The Blue Unicorn: Leaders who have truly embraced, and participate in, the Social Age are called “Blue Unicorns” by the authors. The reason is that they are so rare. Culture starts from the top and trickles down from there. It is not born out of retreats that happen once a year. The authors provide the following equation: Leadership + Service + Culture = Profits. Leaders must set the example, which will allow for real change towards a social culture to take place.

Looking through my notes, there are about five other topics that I could include, but will need to be saved for another post. Of the items listed above, what stands out to you as the most intriguing? Please let me know your thoughts in a comment below.

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