Ten Questions with a Driven Climber: CIO John Golden

My newest IT leadership interview with CIO John Golden is out today in TechRepublic. Along with driving the technology decisions behind insurance giant CNA, John also went through 23 surgeries to allow him to walk. Then, instead of just walking, he decided his rehabilitation also ought to include an expedition to the top of Mount Everest, and a couple of the other significant peaks in the world along the way.

I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. Thanks to John for sharing his inspirational story and for creating the LiveActive Foundation. Watch for the full version to come out on the Discovery Channel next month.

VW is having fun with video marketing

In "The Illustrated Man," Ray Bradbury describes videos and beer becoming the new ersatz for books and wine.

A year after its debut, YouTube was acquired by Google. Three years later, traffic is at over a billion videos - per day, that is. At the top of the list is: Charlie the finger-biter (here's an article with a complete list of the top ten).

What does this mean for business? The world's biggest company (VW) has undoubtedly made some significant investments in marketing distribution, but what about a shift toward content? What if, instead of investing a much smaller amount in creating a one-page ad (paying the graphic designer, photographer, and copywriter) and then paying Car and Driver to print it, the distribution were free? The savings could go toward a more elaborate message like "we are all about using 'fun' to influence people's behavior," and then depend on the viral spread to get over three million views in its first week at no cost.

Good idea.

The Newspaper Museum

Back in the day, I was one of those entrepreneurial urchins with a burlap sack over my shoulder taking a daily walk through the neighborhood to unload sheets of inked paper on people's doorsteps. I still see a paper on the sidewalk every once in awhile but those days are likely numbered. As Conde-Nast sheds 68-year old Gourmet Magazine this week, Jim Tyree's solo bid appears to be the last hope for the Sun-Times.

Is that kind of shift in the crystal ball for phone carriers as well, to what David Pogue calls "the right thing?" AT&T has announced it will allow VOIP as a service on its iPhones, which will certainly spread to Palm and other smartphones faster than a gps app. Even more than GoogleVoice, this development promises at the very least to change the way we think about minutes and calling plans.

Ten Questions with Tony Hsieh of Zappos

OK, let's dig in our heels and get Q4 off to a great start. Tony Hsieh of Zappos has some valuable insights to offer us that point to his success with Zappos as a result of a simple focus on great customer service, and not being distracted by comparisons.

Whether or not you're selling millions of pairs of shoes and partnering up with Amazon, delivering customer happiness is a goal all of us in business ought to be shooting for. Frankly, this economy demands it. Link here to read the full interview in today's TechRepublic.

Do you trust the mob?

One of my son's (jr. high) teachers told him he wouldn't be able to use Wikipedia as a reference source for his term paper.

The footnote was substantiated with citations, but an open-source reference couldn't be considered entirely legitimate for pedagogical purposes. OK, I can understand where this thinking is coming from, but the truth is I'm tending to trust mob-sourcing over traditional sources on some topics.

It does seem cheatingly easy to have such ready access to information and answers on any imaginable topic. When I was a kid I had to bike to the library (ten miles each way in the dead of winter!), head for the card catalog and start writing down the shelf numbers. Now the question is whether to look it up on your laptop or your phone.

What about the general legitimacy of "crowdsourced" information? Depending on what kind of information you need, there's a litany of different venues popping up where you can get a decent answer very fast, even if you still can't use it in your doctoral thesis.

Especially on questions where you are specifically looking for consensus or a majority vote on the "best answer," the web comes through in a pinch. How to decide when you need new tires? What dogs are good with kids? How do I simplify this equation on my homework? Sources like Yahoo! Answers, Aardvark, or even throwing it out to your twitter/LinkedIn/Facebook network may get you a better answer than your first pair of searches on Google or Bing. Write and tell me if you agree.

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Top 10 Twitter Rules

Speaking of twitter, if you're a twitterphile/twitterholic with half a million followers, you already know what works for you. If you're still skeptical that there's any real value in conversations made up of 140-character sound bites, here are ten rules that will help you to keep it real in both your "following" and "followers" columns.

10 Rules for the Twitter Neophyte

(don't follow the white rabbit.)

* does twitter stand to gain from a "Facebook Exodus?"

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Healthcare and Twitter

If you've been watching the news, you've seen a kind of grass-roots approach to politics in the recent proliferation of "town hall meetings" on healthcare. Rather than just a platform for lawmakers to describe their positions, these are advertised as forums for discussion. Healthcare is a perfect topic as it resonates with so many people on different levels, especially the notion of adopting a federal "one-payer" system, but the number of people taking the time to attend an open meeting in August is still remarkable.

With the new hyperindividualism of the web, especially the rise of social networking sites, we think differently about who's listening. Just a few short years ago, there was much more "rational indifference" to this part of the political process. Showing up at the polls or watching a primary debate were still a duty and privilege, but with no expectation that your voice would stand out from the buzz. Enter Twitter, where you can have anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands (in short order if you're @Oprah) listening in at a given moment to whatever you can fit into 140 characters or less.

It isn't even that surprising that if we stand up at one of these meetings it may show up on youtube or even national news the next day. (Jewel thieves in London this week burst out onto the street and were immediately being recorded on cell phones of passers-by.) Better get used to it. Everyone gets their ten minutes of fame - anytime.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayinslee/ / CC BY 2.0

That footprint in the moon-dust

Forty years ago today, when the Cadillac was undisputedly the best mass-production automobile on the planet and Woodstock was still a place and not a thing, the United States pulled off the coup de grace of the space race by planting a human footprint in the shallow moon-dust of the Sea of Tranquility. A popular colloquial phrase to come out of this achievement was, "Yep, we can put a man on the moon, but we can't... (make a car that doesn't rust out in five years or insert your favorite pet-peeve of technological shortcomings)."

This was before anyone had cell phones, the internet, cheap handheld calculators, microwave ovens, digital watches, and yes, even before post-its or velcro. We don't talk so much about the shortcomings of ingenuity or the lack of technological marvels designed specifically for mass consumption anymore. The free market and the global flow of goods and capital since the 60's and now, even more importantly, the free flow of information, have made you and me some of the most fortunate people to live in any time or any place in the history of the world.

As if that weren't enough, here's another bit of recent news: When Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the moon forty years ago, mid-life for the babies being born was right about now, in 2009. But a new study puts mid-life at 50, so you who are 1969 babies will now have to wait until 2019 to get that shiny red MLC Corvette. And those of us born in the ten years prior to that have no longer officially reached middle age. Nice!

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The new transparency

Being a web 2.0 business has become synonymous with using the internet to become more "open and transparent." Does transparency in commerce mean that your community discussions are live, spontaneous, interactive and accessible?

For a hyper-individualized, billion-dollar company like Zappos that is built on service and also happens to sell shoes (and other neat stuff), it seems to come with the territory. For other businesses, it may still be safely diluted down to discussions that are recent, honest but controlled, and filtered by qualifying criteria.



What about the federal government? Can it follow a business-collaboration meme? In this C-Span clip, White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs weighs in on how questions coming from Facebook and Twitter give the new Town Hall meetings a sense of openness and transparency. (Chip and Helen are not buying it.) I have a feeling Helen Thomas wins the transparency award no matter which side of the aisle you're on.

Video Marketing (Evian)

Does this make you want to go out and get some Evian water or what?

Changing the rules

Have you ever gotten directions from someone with descriptions of one mile, two left turns, three stoplights, but no street address? And the ending address is what you really need to plug into your map application or GPS. The rules about giving directions have changed.

In business, you can adapt to the new rules like Verizon is doing with its rollout of 500 downloadable applications for their phones, (although new iPhone apps like copy & paste or a radio player came loaded on Verizon's Palm Centro last year). You'll also see the new rules about using your database to create most-popular and recommended lists, as well as offering text updates.

Or (sometimes) you can change the rules. Amazon changed the way we think about customer data, reviews and feedback. Now they're changing the way we think about books, as Adam Penenberg points out in the latest Fast Company, to adapt to the kind of rules Apple has already introduced for music.

The other option of course is to ignore the rules, as in the company formerly known as GM (of which you are now part-owner) and the major newspapers.

Skiing In July (not just in the Alps)

If you're a summer skiier, get ready to save your plane fare to Zermatt this year. Briton Engineering has already built several of their "Snowflex" runs in Spain, France, Scotland, England and Denmark. Now for the first time in the US, you can ski or snowboard year-round at this new synthetic-surface slope in Virginia. (It's also pretty cool that the guy promoting it in this video is my son Axel.)

photo credit: plasticsnow aka Kat

Inflight Wi-fi - still disconnected?

Last year I wrote a piece for TechRepublic about wi-fi on domestic airlines. I'm still suspicious that encroachment into this last haven of being disconnected may not be welcomed across the board, but inflight web access continues to expand its reach every day.

The Gogo Inflight offering by Aircell is at eight dollars for mobile access and ten for normal wi-fi on flights of three hours or less. American Airlines and Delta have this now. United has a plan in the works. Here's a link to the corporate video from Aircell's CEO.

Tip: you can also save 25% by using promo code "wifi25" through 7/3/09.

Making IT visible at Accenture

Here's an interview I just did with Bob Kress of Accenture that was published today in TechRepublic. Bob is a very interesting guy and has streamlined their technology at the same time the company has been going through phenomenal growth. His philosophy of showcasing the efficiency of his IT operation at Accenture is a model other companies should (and Bob says they can) emulate.

A Nation's Gratitude

"Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from his honor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan."

- General John A. Logan, from the general order proclaiming Memorial Day on May 30, 1868.

Logan echoed Abraham Lincoln's words of three years earlier calling on our divided nation to "to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan," of which there were many at the time.

Earlier this month, the three young men below died in battle near the village of Nishagam, in Konar Province, Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. William D. Vile, 27, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas
Specialist Ryan C. King, 22, Dallas, Georgia, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
Sgt. James D. Pirtle, 21, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas

As a soldier and the son of a soldier, I salute you and your sacrifice on this day of remembrance.

The Price of Security

This three-part "free security suite" is touted by Consumer Reports as being "on a par" with the ones that will cost you, and better than last year's versions. 

(links to free downloads)

1. Avira - Antivirus Personal 

2. MS Windows Defender
(If you're running Vista, this is already included.)

3. Spamfighter Standard

Beats complaining about it.

Unthinking Marketing

OK, so the KFC Grilled rollout on Oprah didn't work out so well.

Many locations were quickly out of any kind of chicken, and now that it's back, it's for paying customers only. (Is this the best path to new customer acquisition?) Your coupon is still good for about another week, you just have to mail in the accompanying form.

Wow. Grilled chicken is just not that revolutionary for me, and a form to fill out is the wrong response. If you're thinking like I am, you're unthinking KFC. A bad marketing plan has the potential to leave your business worse off than you started.

On the other hand, how about this deal: would you move up your scheduled plan to buy a new car if you had a chance to get it free? What if whether you pay or not were entirely dependent on the weather?

Weld County Garage in Greeley, CO is giving away their cars and trucks if it rains more than an inch on Memorial Day. If they do end up giving away cars, you can bet the publicity will be enormous, maybe even better than a spot on Oprah. There's something fundamentally intriguing about the outcome being based on the weather - kind of like the Spanish Armada.

Is it likely to happen? Better odds than the lottery - or free grilled chicken.

Before there was Zappos there was Ben Stein

Ben Stein recently wrote this New York Times piece about the art of sales. I personally think there's actually more here about marketing than sales.

He writes about his first job in shoe sales which, as he says, "entailed selling shoes." It's not always glorious is it? But the way Ben describes it, he remembers it with a certain penchant for getting back to the drama/ballet/high-wire act of selling those shoes.

Interestingly, along with being a lawyer, writer, actor and economist, Mr. Stein is also a highly regarded commencement speaker.

Intentionality - Pointers and Filters

The transformation is all but complete. Ten years ago, for a given network's broadcast there were a certain number of viewers watching at any one time. Some were watching intentionally and for some it was just channel surfing. In some cases a show might be replayed again later and get a small second wave of viewers.

Now think about the huge change going on not just in the technology at work but in the social element and the reduction of randomness. A piece comes on somewhere in the world like Susan Boyle in this Britain's Got Talent from last Saturday, gets posted to youtube in various forms and has five million hits in three days. A posting of the same show's Paul Potts video from two years ago has over 43 million views. Most of the new viewers didn't watch the original airing, and almost all are watching it intentionally.

The link for a viral video gets sent to you (like it was to me), someone e-mails it, finds it in a Google search, or sees it in a school, club meeting or a church (i.e. the Jason McElwain basketball video). I probably wouldn't have come across Penn Jillette's videoblog about sincerity in your beliefs and being a "good man" if someone hadn't pointed me to it. The pointers, blogs, twitter, facebook, social bookmarks are ubiquitous (and they're all over the place too), and they have all but replaced cold-callers in qualifying an audience.

Whether it's the design of your car, the news you watch/read, or your presentation next week, there's a lot more intentionality involved - and expected in the details. "Leave nothing to chance" has taken on a new meaning. You get to choose, and with freedom comes... yes, responsibility.

Adapt, or be ignored.

Your audience expects it.

Technology and the 2016 Olympics

If you're interested in what kind of part is played by technology in the 2016 Olympics, and specifically the bid by the city of Chicago against the other contender cities, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Madrid, here's an interview I did with Ellen Barry for TechRepublic.

Ellen is the CIO of the MPEA, which includes McCormick Place and Navy Pier. The level of technology, overall space and versatility Chicago offered to the International Olympic Committee in their recent visit is astounding. I'd say we've got a good shot at it. Be sure to check out the photo gallery link for some great shots - nice screensavers for Chicagoans (or former Chicagoans).

Apropos government, happy day between tax days! Today falls between Tax Freedom Day and Tax Day (the regular IRS one).