Rise of the Change Marketing Agency

Rise of the Change Marketing Agency

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, where technological innovation and rapidly evolving consumer expectations are the norm, organizations need to manage change more adeptly than ever before. Introducing unique products or transforming internal processes is not just about logistics anymore; it’s also about aligning emotional, perceptual, and experiential shifts among stakeholders. This is where the nascent concept of a “Change Marketing Agency” comes into play — a specialized entity that bridges the gap between traditional change management and strategic marketing.

Understanding Change Marketing

Traditionally, change management has focused on the frameworks and toolsets that help an organization steer through the tumultuous waters of transformation. However, the human-centered aspect of change often takes a back seat. Enter change marketing — a philosophy and practice that utilizes marketing principles to enable effective change by addressing the emotional and behavioral aspects of the transformation journey.

Change marketing is not about selling a product, but about securing buy-in and engagement for transformative initiatives from stakeholders. It’s about narrating a compelling story that aligns vision, communicates benefits, and inspires action. As such, a Change Marketing Agency can play a decisive role in ensuring that change resonates with the inherent values and expectations of both internal and external stakeholders.

Difference Between Change Marketing and Change Communications

While change marketing and change communications are related, they serve different purposes and utilize different strategies. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences:

  • Objective:
    • Change Communications focuses on the dissemination of information necessary for awareness and understanding.
    • Change Marketing aims to build desire, alignment, and engagement, often by tapping into emotional and psychological triggers.
  • Approach:
    • Change Communications typically involves one-way communication to inform and instruct stakeholders.
    • Change Marketing uses a multi-channel, interactive strategy designed to engage stakeholders through storytelling and experiential campaigns.
  • Key Tools:
    • Change Communications may employ memos, emails, FAQs, and newsletters to share updates.
    • Change Marketing leverages branding, narrative development, workshops, multimedia content, and feedback loops.
  • End Goal:
    • Change Communications strives for clarity and understanding among stakeholders.
    • Change Marketing is focused on creating advocates and fostering a shared sense of purpose around the change initiative.

The Emerging Role of Change Marketing Agencies

The necessity for such agencies is increasingly clear as organizations recognize the limits of traditional change management methodologies. With new demands to personalize and humanize change, companies need partners adept in storytelling, audience segmentation, and behavioral psychology.

Change Marketing Agencies deliver services that range from crafting narrative-driven communication plans, creating engaging content that aligns with company culture, to analyzing stakeholder response and refining strategies dynamically. By integrating these services, they help organizations facilitate smoother transitions during times of change.

Case Study 1: The Digital Shift of a Legacy Publishing House

Imagine a traditional publishing house, steeped in decades of heritage, transitioning to a digital-first model. The challenge was not only technological but also cultural. Employees accustomed to paper-based processes were resistant, stakeholders questioned the shift’s efficacy, and long-time readers were apprehensive about abandoning the tactile experience of a physical book.

Enter the Change Marketing Agency. They embarked on a campaign that highlighted the richness of digital storytelling. Through a series of engaging multimedia experiences showcasing enhanced storytelling possible with digital tools, they shifted the narrative from a departure from tradition to an evolution of it. Internally, workshops and storytelling sessions were organized to visualize the new possibilities for employees, turning apprehension into curiosity and eventually enthusiasm.

Externally, the agency crafted a series of customer stories showcasing individuals enjoying enriched reading experiences in the digital ecosystem—aligning the change with customer lifestyles. This multi-layered narrative approach not only facilitated the transition but redefined the brand’s image, leading to a spike in digital subscriptions and an embrace of digital-first culture by resistant employees.

Case Study 2: Retail Giant’s Sustainability Transformation

Another compelling example is a major retail company, whose goal was to rebrand its image around sustainability and eco-friendliness. Despite comprehensive internal policies and sustainability initiatives, both employees and consumers were skeptical about the company’s genuine commitment to these values.

The Change Marketing Agency did not simply broadcast the changes; they nurtured a movement. They launched a transparent campaign sharing stories from every level of the company, emphasizing transparency and genuine impact. By spotlighting employee-led green initiatives and community collaborations, they personalized the brand’s sustainability narrative.

For the consumer base, they designed interactive experiences that allowed customers to see the environmental impact of their purchase decisions, fostering a sense of participation in the larger sustainability mission. As a result, the company observed not just an enhancement in public perception but tangible employee engagement, manifesting in innovative, ground-up sustainability projects internally.

Conclusion

The rise of Change Marketing Agencies highlights an evolving recognition of the power of integrated human-centered narratives in managing change. By marrying the art of marketing with the science of change management, they do not just manage transitions—they animate them. For organizations, this means deeper engagement, less friction, and transformative change that resonates on a personal level.

As we forge into an era marked by continuous change, the role of such agencies will likely expand. Their ability to humanize, narrate, and communicate complex transformations stands poised to redefine how organizations and individuals embrace the evolving future.

In closing, I encourage all change leaders and enthusiasts to continuously pursue learning and adaptation. Engage with new methodologies, share your stories, and remain open to experimentation. The future of change management rests in our ability to be both innovative and empathetic facilitators of transformation. One great place to start is to get a copy of Braden’s best-selling book Charting Change, which is now in its Second Edition with several new chapters!

And, if you need help marketing your change, please let me know.

Image credit: Pixabay

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Innovating for Social Good

Innovating for Social Good

GUEST POST from Janet Sernack

The Coach for Innovators Amplifiers, a small group of global business game changers, started engaging in monthly dialogue sessions in 2022. As alumni of the Coach for Innovators, Leaders, and Teams Certified Program™, we intended to apply our knowledge, skills, and experience to discover and explore how we might collaborate to support countries, organizations, and education institutions in achieving the World Economic Forum’s Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals by innovating for good.

We are a small, cohesive, committed group of corporate executives, consultants, educators, coaches, and trainers who connected and maximized the differences and diversity of our group by debating how to apply innovation as the glue to achieve sustainable change everywhere. Our mission is to amplify and catalyze innovators, organizations, and communities to stimulate and achieve sustainable development everywhere. It is based on the values of ethical practice, systems thinking, social entrepreneurship, civic change, alignment, deep learning, humanity, collective action, openness, curiosity, courage, experimentation, and well-being by innovating for good.

We set about adding value to the quality of people’s lives by engaging and influencing people to lead the transition towards co-creating societal shifts ethically, equitably and sustainably.

Our target market consists of passionate and energetic young people engaged in learning to teach the core elements of the Being side of social entrepreneurship to enable them to be ecologically resilient by innovating for good.

A different approach to innovation

Our approach was based on three core principles that emerged during our research and testing process:

  1. Innovation is like drinking water; it is essential for life and belongs to all life to sustain it in all contexts.
  2. Innovation is a duty; people have no right to pollute and destroy all life and the planet.
  3. Innovation allows us to consciously manifest different ways of being and doing to co-create a future we want to have and sustain. 

This requires people to unlearn old mental models and irrelevant perspectives in a 21st-century disrupted world and relearn and learn to adopt an innovative mindset. Which focuses on supporting sustainable and positive economic growth and de-growth and on developing circular economies to do better with less by:

  • Challenging people’s illusions and inertia regarding the future, confronting harsh realities, and addressing problems to enhance people’s quality of life.
  • Transitioning from competition to co-petition within ecosystems, fostering genuine collaboration across boundaries to co-create solutions on a global scale.
  • Moving away from competition towards co-petition in ecosystems, embracing collaboration across boundaries to co-create global solutions.

Meta-learning model – Innovating for good

This became the basis for developing a meta-learning model constructed on what we had encountered as the key systemic problems that largely inhibited innovation. We tested and validated it using a small, diverse target market sample of global students studying here in Australia.

We incorporated our findings into pivoting The Start-Up Game™ Boardroom Version and into the book Janet Sernack is currently writing – “Conscious Innovation – Activating the Heart, Mind and Spirit of Innovation.” Both are due for release in June 2025,

 Concept/Stage  Problem/Explanation  Question
Awakening process  Igniting the light of consciousness People can shift their values, beliefs, and mindsets by applying various approaches and methodologies to develop the new perspectives required to innovate.How might we alert people to the importance of innovation?
Letting it go Exposing the landmines Actions speak louder than words. What activities, exercises, and challenges will mobilize people to participate in the innovation challenge?What do you think people might need to let go of to make the space and time to innovate?
Initiating the shift 
Embracing new perspectives
Actions speak louder than words. What types of activities, exercises, and challenges will mobilize people to participate in the innovation challenge?How might we best introduce and engage people with embracing new perspectives on innovation?
Communicating  Shifting gears Communication is key. People need clarity and coherent messages to understand and appreciate the importance and benefits of innovation.What are the key messages that might resonate with you?
Sharing the story 
Setting the torch alight 
Stories inspire us and provide evidence of success; what stories do you consider important to share to ignite people’s motivation to innovate?What kinds of stories might inspire you to take up the innovation challenge?  
Stories inspire us and provide evidence of success; what stories do you consider essential to share to ignite people’s motivation to innovate?Actions speak louder than words. What activities, exercises, and challenges will mobilise people to participate in the innovation challenge?Many people don’t know how to make sense of innovation and are unaware that all change and growth require innovation of some type to be effective and sustainable. 

Inner development supports outer development – Innovating for good.

The Inner Development Goal Framework was initiated in 2023 by the 29k Foundation, Ekskaret Foundation, IMD Business School for Management, LUCSUS Center for Sustainability Studies | Lund University, Stockholm Resilience Center | Stockholm University, The New Division, Flourishing Network at Harvard University, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). It has been set up as a not-for-profit initiative to address the pressing need to increase our collective abilities to face and effectively work with complex challenges. Based on the pre-supposition, “without a foundational shift in human values and leadership capacities, external solutions to our global challenges may be limited, too slow, or short-lived”.

Inner Development Goal Framework

The framework consists of five dimensions across twenty-three skills:

  • Being; relationship to self,  
  • Thinking, cognitive skills,
  • Relating, caring for others and the world,
  • Collaborating, social kills,
  • Acting, enabling change.

This great initiative inspired our group, as it was closely aligned with ImagineNation’s™ approach that the group members had learned in The Coach for Innovators, Leaders, and Teams Certified Program when innovating for good.  

Our goal was to enhance the quality of people’s lives, specifically focusing on “being the change” you wished to see in the world. We aimed to develop people’s confidence, capacity, and competence in being change-ready and responsive, accepting responsibility, and becoming emotionally energetic, agile, and adaptive.

These six elements are foundational and learnable in developing an innovation mindset to help people make mandatory, impactful, ethical changes aligned with the seventeen sustainable and five inner development goals dimensions when innovating for good.  

We co-created a toolkit to enable us to mentor, teach and coach a tribe of doers/young people to create a movement that:

  • It encapsulates their dreams and inspires their hopes and optimism about the future.
  • It fosters a safe space for healing and for their voices to be heard.
  • It cultivates their potential through innovative uncertainty tolerance to co-create new forms.
  • It instills a sense of urgency to collectively advocate for the changes essential to shape and own the future they desire for their children and grandchildren.

Power of Agency, Development and Hope

In a recent article, “Five Global Trends in Business and Society in 2025,” Insead identified the top five global trends for 2025: climate change, geopolitical crises, income and wealth inequality and social instability, and inflation or recession. How we react to and manage these five trends by innovating for goodwill tests the resilience of our global society, economy, governments, academic institutions, corporations, and civil societies in an increasingly uncertain, unstable world.

To have any sense of agency in the face of these emerging challenges, our Coach for Innovators Amplifiers group and the Inner Development Goal group have boiled it down to a fundamental principle: “To be the change you wish to see in the world,” develop your skills and be hopeful, believing and even trusting that by innovating for good, things might eventually turn out well for everyone, everywhere.

This is a short section from our new book, Conscious Innovation – Activating the Heart, Mind and Spirit of Innovation, which will be published in 2025.

Please find out more about our work at ImagineNation™.

Please find out about our collective learning products and tools, including The Coach for Innovators, Leaders, and Teams Certified Program, presented by Janet Sernack. It is a collaborative, intimate, and profoundly personalised innovation coaching and learning program supported by a global group of peers over 9-weeks. It can be customised as a bespoke corporate learning program.

It is a blended and transformational change and learning program that will give you a deep understanding of the language, principles, and applications of an ecosystem-focused, human-centric approach and emergent structure (Theory U) to innovation. It will also upskill people and teams and develop their future fitness within your unique innovation context. Please find out more about our products and tools.

Image Credit: Pixabay

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Are You a Leader?

Are You a Leader?

GUEST POST from Mike Shipulski

If you have to tell people what to do, you didn’t teach them to think for themselves.

If you know one of your team members has something to say but they don’t say it, it’s because you didn’t create an environment where they feel safe.

If your new hire doesn’t lead an important part of a project within the first week, you did them a disservice.

If the team learns the same thing three times, you should have stepped in two times ago.

If you don’t demand that your team uses their discretion, they won’t.

If the project’s definition of success doesn’t correlate with business success, you should have asked for a better definition of success before the project started.

If someone on your team tells you you’re full of sh*t, thank them for their truthfulness.

If your team asks for permission, change how you lead them.

If you can’t imagine that one of your new hires will be able to do your job in five years, you hired the wrong people.

If your team doesn’t disagree with you, it’s because you haven’t led from your authentic self.

If your team doesn’t believe in themselves, neither do you.

If your team disobeys your direct order, thank them for disobeying and apologize for giving them an order.

If you ask a new hire to lead an important part of a project and you don’t meet with them daily to help them, you did them a disservice.

If one of your team members moves to another team and their new leader calls them “unmanageable”, congratulations.

If your team knows what you’ll say before they ask you, you’ve led them from your authentic self.

If you haven’t chastised your team members for their lack of disagreement with you, you should.

If you don’t tell people they did a good job, they won’t.

Image credits: Pixabay

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Time to Stop These Ten Bad Customer Experience Habits

Time to Stop These Ten Bad Customer Experience Habits

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Recently, Bob Newhart, a famous comedian and actor, passed away. He started his career as a stand-up comedian and eventually hit it big on television, starring in a TV series aptly named The Bob Newhart Show. His awards include three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. In 1960, his comedy record The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart reached No. 1 on Billboard’s pop album chart.

But enough about Newhart’s history and accolades, why is he showing up in an article about customer service and experience? The answer can be found in one of his TV specials in a funny sketch titled Stop It.

Seven years ago, I first shared a link to the Stop It video in an article I wrote titled Just Stop It. The focus was to stop doing the things that customers complain about most. To honor and remember the late Bob Newhart, I’d like to bring back the theme of Stop It, and this time, focus on stopping bad habits, systems, or policies that destroy a good customer experience. With that in mind, here are ten (10) things that, if you notice they are happening, will make you want to say, “Stop it!”

  1. Stop putting customers on hold for too long. If you must put customers on hold, tell them how long and provide an option to be called back.
  2. Stop transferring customers multiple times. Get them to the right person the first time!
  3. Stop asking for feedback if you’re not going to take advantage of it. Our CX research (sponsored by RingCentral) found that 71% of U.S. customers assume the company won’t make changes based on their responses to a customer satisfaction survey.
  4. Stop using company or technical jargon your customers might not know or understand. This makes them feel uncomfortable and may make them feel like you’re “talking above them.”
  5. Stop making promises you don’t keep. For example, if you say you’ll call someone back in an hour, don’t be late.
  6. Stop making it hard for customers to talk to a live person. If you have live agents to support customers, don’t make it complicated or hard to get to them.
  7. Stop relying on too much automation. Some companies have gone 100% digital, eliminating customer service agents. Even Amazon, the most digital retailer in the world, has customer service reps to help when problems arise.
  8. Stop blaming others for a mistake or problem, even if it is someone else’s fault. Customers don’t care who is at fault. What they care about is talking to someone who will help them. Even if it’s not your fault, it’s your opportunity to make things right. No blame is needed for that.
  9. Stop being anything less than easy to do business with. This is a big one. Customers want friction-less, no-hassle experiences. Evaluate your processes, systems and policies to ensure they are customer-friendly.
  10. Stop being average! Even an experience that is the tiniest bit better than average, as long as it’s consistent, will get customers to say things like, “They are always so helpful (friendly, knowledgeable, etc.).” The consistent above-average experience will make customers say, “I’ll be back!”

Shep Hyken Bad Habits Cartoon

This list of ten ideas to stop is just a start. Sit down with your team and use this list as an idea starter to discuss the issues, problems and complaints you hear about more often than others. Then, as the late Bob Newhart said, “Stop it!”

Image Credits: Shep Hyken, Pexels

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Innovation is Dead. Now What?

Innovation is Dead. Now What?

GUEST POST from Robyn Bolton

Innovation has always had its problems. It’s a meaningless buzzword that leads to confusion and false hope. It’s an event or a hobby that allows executives to check the “Be innovative” box on shareholders’ To-do lists. It’s a massive investment that, if you’re lucky, is break-even.

So, it should be no surprise that interest and investment have dried up to the point that many have declared that innovation is dead.

If you feel an existential crisis coming on, you’re not alone. Heck, I’m about to publish a book titled Unlocking Innovation, which, if innovation is dead, is like publishing Lean Speed: How to Make Your Horse East Less and Go Faster in 1917 (the year automobiles became more prevalent than horses).

But is innovation really dead?

Yes, Innovation is Dead

The word “innovation” is dead, and it’s about time. Despite valiant efforts by academics, consultants, and practitioners to define innovation as something more than a new product, decades of hype have irrevocably reduced it to shiny new objects, fun field trips and events, and wasted time and money.

Good riddance, too. “Innovation” has been used to justify too many half-hearted efforts, avoidable mistakes, and colossal failures to survive.

Except that it is also very much not dead.

While the term “innovation” may have flat-lined, the act of innovating – creating something new that creates value – is thriving. AI continues to evolve and find new roles in our daily lives. Labs are growing everything from meat to fabric to new organs. And speaking of organs, three patients in the US received artificial hearts that kept them alive long enough for donor hearts to be found.

The act of innovation isn’t dead because the need for innovation will always exist, and the desire to innovate – to create, evolve, and improve – is fundamentally human.

Innovation is Metamorphosing (yes, that’s a real word)

Like the Very Hungry Caterpillar, innovation has been inching along, gobbling up money and people, getting bigger, and taking up more space in offices, budgets, and shareholder calls.

Then, as the shock of the pandemic faded, innovation went into a chrysalis and turned to goo.

Just as a caterpillar must break down completely before becoming something new, we’re watching the old systems dissolve:

  • Old terms like innovation and Design Thinking were more likely to elicit a No than a Yes
  • Old structures like dedicated internal teams and “labs” were shut down
  • Old beliefs that innovation is an end rather than a means to an end faded

This is all good news. Except for one tiny thing …

We Don’t Know What’s Next

Humans hate uncertainty, so we’re responding to the goo-phase in different ways:

  1. Collapse in defeat, lament the end of human creativity and innovation, and ignore the fact that cutting all investment in creativity and innovation is hastening the end you find so devastating
  2. Take a deep breath, put our heads down, and keep going because this, too, shall pass.
  3. Put on our big kid pants, muster some courage, ask questions, and start experimenting
  4. I’ve been in #2 for a while (with brief and frequent visits to #1), but it’s time to move into #3.

I’ll start where I start everything – a question about a word – because, before we can move forward, we need a way to communicate.

If innovation (the term) is dead, what do we use instead?

We’ll explore answers in the next post, so drop your words and definitions in the comments.

Image credit: Google Gemini

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Harnessing Human-Centered Change for Lasting Impact

Harnessing Human-Centered Change for Lasting Impact

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

Greetings on this Global Change Management Day! Today I would like to highlight the work of Braden Kelley, an internationally-recognized thought leader and best-selling author passionately committed to advancing human-centered change and innovation. Today, I want to share insights that emphasize the importance of placing people at the heart of transformation efforts and how this approach fosters sustainable change.

Change management, at its core, is about guiding human behavior and perception. While organizational strategies, structures, and systems are critical, they mean little without addressing the human side of change. This is where human-centered change comes into play, an approach Braden Kelley has dedicated much of his career to developing and promoting.

The Essence of Human-Centered Change

Human-centered change is more than a methodology; it is a philosophy that reclaims the importance of empathy, communication, and collaboration in organizational transformation. It’s about understanding the human experience and designing change initiatives that align with the intrinsic motivations and needs of individuals.

When people feel heard and understood, they become genuine advocates of change. This approach leads to not just short-term success but long-lasting impact, turning change-resistant cultures into adaptable ecosystems thriving on innovation.

Insights from Braden’s Journey

Throughout his career, Braden has created frameworks and tools that encapsulate the essence of human-centered change. One such resource is the Change Planning Toolkit. It provides a unique visual framework to help change managers plan, implement, and sustain change initiatives with meticulous precision and empathy for those involved.

The toolkit is grounded in the principle that every change journey is unique, yet structured guidance can illuminate paths to common goals. This is reviewed in various workshops and talks where he emphasizes iteration and engagement over top-down mandates. This toolkit — and many others he has developed — aims to demystify change management by involving stakeholders from the ground up and serves to get everyone literally all on the same page for change.

Empowering Change Agents

One of Braden’s objectives with creating tools and resources is to empower change agents—those individuals within an organization who understand the importance of human-centric transformation. By equipping them with comprehensive tools, such as canvases and diagnostics, these change leaders can effectively convey and execute change efforts.

For those interested in exploring these resources, be sure and get the 10 free human-centered change tools that Braden makes available here on this web site – including a visualization of the ACMP Standard for Change Management®.

These tools serve as a starting point for embedding human-centered practices in change management projects. They are crafted to encourage dialogue, understanding, and alignment among all stakeholders.

Celebrating Progress and Looking Forward

Global Change Management Day provides an opportunity to reflect on our progress and set aspirations for the future. As we acknowledge the evolving challenges facing businesses and societies, it becomes imperative that change management professionals continue to evolve, embracing approaches that prioritize humanity.

Moving forward, the objective is to foster communities of practice where change professionals can share insights, challenges, and successes. Through collaboration and shared learning, we can enhance our understanding and implementation of change practices that honor the human spirit while achieving our organizational objectives.

In closing, I encourage all change leaders and enthusiasts to continuously pursue learning and adaptation. Engage with new methodologies, share your stories, and remain open to experimentation. The future of change management rests in our ability to be both innovative and empathetic facilitators of transformation. One great place to start is to get a copy of Braden’s best-selling book Charting Change, which is now in its Second Edition with several new chapters!

Image credit: ACMP, Braden Kelley

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A Tumultuous Decade of Generational Strife

A Tumultuous Decade of Generational Strife

GUEST POST from Greg Satell

The physicist Max Planck made many historic breakthroughs, including a discovery that led to quantum theory. Still, he lamented that “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”

Clearly, that’s not only true for scientific truths. Every generation rejects some notions of their elders, explores things on their own and adopts new ideas. Some of those ideas will survive, but others will ultimately be rejected, which always causes some acrimony. Even Aristotle complained about the “exalted notions” of the youth.

Yet this time is different. Because the Boomer generation was so large, and Generation X so small, those who came of age in the 1960s essentially ruled for two epochs. The rising Millennial generation, which is now the largest, holds starkly different values than Boomers. Over the next decade, as Millennials come to predominate, we can expect tensions to rise.

Revamping The Workplace

I still remember one incident early in my career. I had taken a job in national radio sales and the first few months were devoted to an intensive training course. One day that featured particularly nice weather, my fellow trainees and I decided that, instead of bringing our lunch back to the office, we would eat it in the park.

Our Boomer bosses were irate and insulted. The problem wasn’t that we took too much time for lunch, but rather that we took too much pleasure in it which, in their eyes at least, violated the social contract. As trainees, we were supposed to “pay our dues,” not to enjoy ourselves and our brief respite from the daily grind was seen as something akin to insubordination.

Millennials won’t stand for that kind of treatment. As this article in Harvard Business Review explains, they require a better work-life balance, more flexible schedules and constructive feedback. They demand to be respected and chafe at hierarchy. The younger generations of today don’t expect to “pay dues,” they seek a greater purpose.

Businesses that do not heed the Millennial’s demands are finding it difficult to compete. Millions of Boomers retired early during the pandemic, which led to severe labor shortage and the Great Resignation. Over the next few decades, as the younger generations take charge, we can expect a very different workplace.

Rethinking Economics

In 1970, the economist Milton Friedman proposed a radical idea. He argued that corporate CEOs should not take into account the interests of the communities they serve, but that their only social responsibility was to increase shareholder value. While ridiculed by many at the time, by the 1980s Friedman’s idea became accepted doctrine.

It wasn’t just Friedman, either. As the Boomer counterculture of the 60s and 70s gave way to the Yuppie culture of the 80s a new engineering mindset took hold. Much like the success of business was boiled down to its stock price, the success of a society was boiled down to GDP. “You manage what you measure” became an article of faith.

It has become clear that approach has failed. In fact, since Friedman’s essay the American economy has become markedly less productive. Our economy has become less competitive and less dynamic. Purchasing power for most people has stagnated. By just about every metric you can think of, our well-being has declined since the 1970s.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the younger generations have rebelled. While the Boomers remember the Reagan years of the 1980s fondly, Millennials and Zoomers only see a record of failure. From the Great Recession to the Great Resignation, they see a dire need to change course and will not be assuaged by rosy economic statistics. They want a better quality of life.

Reshaping Society

When the Boomers came of age in the 60s it was an era of rising prosperity. Perhaps not surprisingly, many prioritized self-actualization and sought to “find themselves.” The scandals of the 1970s made them suspicious of the establishment and the Reagan years, along with the fall of the Soviet Union, reinforced their faith in individual agency.

Millennials have seen this ideology fail. Besides the lack of productivity growth and stagnation in wages, they have seen 9/11 traumatize the nation and pave the path for an ill-considered war on terror that cost trillions and devastated America’s standing in the world. Many carry significant educational debt and had their careers derailed by the Great Recession.

Research from Pew finds other important differences. While the Millennial generation is the most educated in history, with almost 40% holding a 4-year degree, they are worse off financially than their predecessors. Many continued to live with their parents as adults and delayed getting married and starting families. They are also far more multicultural than previous generations.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Millennials have rejected the 1980s “greed is good” ethos of the Boomers and tend to focus on experiences rather than materialistic signaling. Also, while the younger generation’s passion for inclusivity is often overstated, they have grown up in a world far more accustomed to seeing marginalized groups in powerful positions.

Brace Yourself for a Tumultuous Decade

The almost seismic shift in values that the transition from Boomer to Millennial dominance represents would be enough to set the stage for conflict. What will make this decade even more difficult is that the demographic impact is hitting at the same time as other important shifts in technology, resources and migration patterns. The last time society has endured this much of a pressure cooker was the 1920s, and that ended badly.

We are already feeling the effects. The mismanaged “War of Terror,” the Great Recession and then the Covid pandemic undermined faith in institutions and paved the way for the rise of popular authoritarianism and the decline of democratic institutions. The battle for the liberal world order is being fought in, of all places, Ukraine, as I write this.

What I think should be most salient about our situation at this point in history is that we are here because of choices that were made. Yes, there were cultural and economic forces at play, but the Boomer generation chose to value the individual over the community, shareholders over other stakeholders and to embrace GDP as a proxy for the overall health of society.

We can, as Ukraine has been doing for the past twenty years, make different choices. We can choose our communities over ourselves, resilience over optimization, and to nurture rather than to dominate. Most of all, we need to invest to increase the productive, environmental and human potentials of our society so that we can better face the challenges ahead.

Make no mistake. This will be a struggle, as all worthy things are.

— Article courtesy of the Digital Tonto blog
— Image credits: Pixabay

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Audacious

How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World

Exclusive Interview with Mark Schaefer

Mark W SchaeferThe rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to a tsunami of AI-generated content, and according to Gemini these are some of the concerns for marketers:

  • Erosion of Brand Authenticity: AI can generate marketing copy, social media posts, and even personalized emails. The fear is that over-reliance on AI-generated content could lead to a loss of genuine brand voice and connection with customers, making marketing feel impersonal and manufactured.
  • Decreased Content Quality and Creativity: While AI can produce grammatically correct and seemingly relevant content, it may struggle with nuanced storytelling, truly innovative ideas, and emotionally resonant messaging that connects deeply with human audiences. This could lead to a decline in the overall quality and impact of marketing content.
  • Over-Saturation of Generic Content: If many marketers use similar AI tools and prompts, there’s a risk of the internet becoming flooded with repetitive and unoriginal content. This could make it harder for brands to stand out and capture attention in a crowded digital landscape.
  • Misuse for Deceptive Marketing Tactics: AI could be used to create highly targeted but deceptive marketing campaigns, such as generating fake reviews, creating convincing but misleading product descriptions, or even impersonating real people or brands. This could erode consumer trust and damage the reputation of ethical marketing practices.
  • Loss of Control Over Brand Messaging: While AI can assist with content creation, marketers may find it challenging to maintain complete control over the messaging and tone of AI-generated content. This could lead to inconsistencies in branding and potentially even PR crises if the AI produces something inappropriate or off-brand.


Now that we’ve got the ironic bit out of the way of asking AI to tell us what marketers have to fear from AI (in italics), let’s dive into the heart of this article and hear from the humans.

The Audaciousness of Humans

I had the opportunity recently to interview Mark Schaefer, a globally-acclaimed author, keynote speaker, and marketing consultant. He is a faculty member of Rutgers University and one of the top business bloggers and podcasters in the world. Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World is his eleventh book, exploring how companies can create more effective marketing by being audacious.

Below is the text of my interview with Mark and a preview of the kinds of insights you’ll find in Audacious presented in a Q&A format:

1. We are seeing a marketing evolution from messages to stories, agree or disagree? Or is the evolution to something else?

This is an interesting question. Marketing is about creating customers. Our ability to do that has been dramatically changed by technology.

Let’s say 50 years ago, messages and taglines were about our only options. Advertising is expensive. Space was limited.

But in the Internet age, we have virtually unlimited space to tell a story at no cost. And stories can be created by anyone. I think the evolution of marketing right now is when we can do something so worthy, so memorable, so useful, that our customers can’t wait to tell the stories for us.

2. What impact are we seeing from AI on marketing?

There are two types of marketing – performance and brand marketing.

Performance marketing is about repetitive acts like ads that create traffic for the top of the funnel. These activities will almost certainly be dominated by AI.

Brand marketing creates meaning – an emotional expectation for your company or product. In this respect, AI can still have a major impact on creativity and planning, but I forecast that there will still be a human role to play for years to come.

The most effective connections still come from relationships with people!

3. Product, service, solution, experience… In today’s world, which is the most important?

The beauty of our world is that it is filled with people who have diverse perspectives and needs! Some people might buy on value, some might buy on performance, or even the status they feel when they own a product.

However, at the very highest level, I think experience is an interesting opportunity for brands. Let’s look at Patagonia, for example, it does not product the cheapest clothes, or the most functional or beautiful. But the brand MEANS something to a devoted fans because of a shared experience or responsible outdoor recreation.

4. With people drowning in content, how are marketers supposed to reach their target customers?

This question really cuts the heart of my research and writing over the last 15 years and it is the theme of my new book Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World.

The book reveals research that shows that the vast majority of marketing and advertising is boring and ineffective and AI is making it more so. I would say we are in a pandemic of dull.

Competent doesn’t cut it. Competent is ignorable. So we need to ignite human creativity in a new way by disrupting traditions and norms. Changing HOW we tell a story. Changing WHERE we tell a story. Changing WHO tells the story.

It is time for audacity in our marketing. That is the only way we’ll cut through the clutter to be seen and heard. Audacity is now a survival skill.

5. Shock and Awe, which one should marketers focus on and why?

Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing WorldI actually address both of these in the new book!

Awe is an under-appreciated source of success in marketing. It’s not just about something that is vast and overwhelming. It can be something as simple as bringing people together in a meaningful new way that creates a shared experience. Wouldn’t it be amazing if people added more awe to their marketing?

Shock is also an overlooked idea. I don’t mean being offensive or reckless, but just waking up the sense to something completely different. A good example of this is Liquid Death, the fastest-growing beverage brand in America.

Nobody calls their product “Death.” So right from the start they have your attention. Their advertising features water boarding and kids chugging glasses of sugar. It is difficult to watch. But you don’t forget it, either.

6. You’re in charge of marketing the iPhone 17 and it’s basically the same as the iPhone 16, except now it’s available in Magenta. How would you change the marketing for a product that basically hasn’t changed?

This product introduction might actually work, but not for everyone.

You might recall that Apple introduced a black “U2” iPod many years ago. It sold out. It only worked because Apple already had a massive base of loyal fans – and so did U2! So even though the product wasn’t very different, the meaning for the fanbase was.

Normally, introducing a product with no discernible new value would be foolish but it is possible if the brand has meaning.

An example from my book is the game Cards Against Humanity. People invested in a hole in the ground and dried cow turds because they just wanted to be part of the fun. The value was in the meaning, not the product.

7. What does disruptive marketing look like now and in the future? What will become normalized?

The irony is, disruptive marketing is rapidly normalized. Here’s what I mean. The cover of my book is a world first – a QR code that creates an evolving, morphing cover based on the stories in the book. That is disruptive.

But you can only be disruptive once. From here on out, anybody who has QR code book cover will simply be copying me. The disruption has been normalized. You can only be audacious once.

8. Why are there so many damn QR codes in the book? 😉 (wink)

My book is full of “oh wow” moments. But a lot of them are better viewed than described. For example, a star of the book is Michael Krivicka, the king of viral video. I have never met a person with a keener sense of storytelling. There is no way you can appreciate his skill without seeing a video, so I provided QR code links so everyone has the chance to do that!

9. Where should marketers be careful as they challenge the standard ways of marketing, to be audacious?

There are lots of reasons why marketers should be conservative and traditional, especially when following laws and regulations.

However – if you’re staying in a boring box because there is fear in your organization, because dull is normal in your industry, or simply afraid, then you are vulnerable. The AI bots are here. They are competent, and in most cases more than competent. But you still own crazy. The companies that unleash the unique human fireworks of creativity will thrive in the AI era!

Conclusion

Thank you for the great conversation Mark!

I hope everyone has enjoyed this peek into the mind of the man behind the inspiring new title Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World!

Image credits: BusinessesGrow.com (Mark W Schaefer)

Content Authenticity Statement: If it wasn’t clear above, the short section in italics was written by Google’s Gemini and the rest of this article is from the minds of Mark Schaefer and Braden Kelley.

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Four Keys to Building Psychological Safety at Work

Four Keys to Building Psychological Safety At Work

GUEST POST from David Burkus

Psychological safety is the bedrock of a high-performing team. It’s more than just trust; it’s about fostering a climate of mutual trust and respect. Building psychological safety at work is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that requires conscious effort and commitment. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels safe to take risks, voice their opinions, and be themselves without fear of judgment or punishment. It’s about creating a culture of openness, transparency, and inclusivity.

In this article, we’ll explore four key strategies to employ when building psychological safety at work. These strategies include admitting weaknesses as a leader, asking for feedback regularly, celebrating failures, and amplifying unheard voices. By implementing these strategies, you can contribute to a cycle of psychological safety that leads to higher performance.

1. Admit Weaknesses

Admitting weaknesses as a leader is a powerful way to demonstrate trust and inspire trust in return. It shows that you are human, vulnerable, and authentic. Leaders are not perfect, and admitting weaknesses is a way of acknowledging this fact. It sends a message to your team that it’s okay to make mistakes and that you value honesty and authenticity over perfection.

When leaders admit their weaknesses, it encourages team members to trust and respect them more. It creates a culture where people feel safe to admit their own weaknesses and mistakes, fostering a climate of mutual trust and respect. So, don’t be afraid to show your vulnerability. It’s a strength, not a weakness.

2. Ask for Feedback

Asking for feedback regularly is another effective strategy to build psychological safety. It shows that you are open to criticism and eager to improve. By regularly asking for feedback, you can understand how to better serve your team as a leader and meet their needs.

Don’t just ask for feedback, though. Ask specific questions to get constructive feedback. This will show your team that you value their input and are committed to improving. Applying the feedback you receive not only helps you grow as a leader but also builds trust and encourages open and honest conversations within your team.

3. Celebrate Failures

Failures are often seen as something to be avoided at all costs. But in reality, failures are opportunities for growth and learning. By celebrating failures, you promote transparency and emphasize the value of learning from mistakes. Discussing failures and what can be learned from them creates a culture where people are not afraid to take risks and make mistakes.

When you celebrate failures, you send a clear message to your team that it’s okay to fail. It’s okay to try something new and not succeed. What’s important is that we learn from our failures and use them as stepping stones to success. This fosters a climate of psychological safety where people feel safe to take risks and innovate.

4. Amplify Unheard Voices

On any team, there are voices that are not heard often. These could be individuals who are introverted, less confident, or simply overlooked. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to identify these voices and actively seek their input. This not only makes them feel valued and included but also brings diverse perspectives to the table, leading to better decision-making and problem-solving.

Amplifying unheard voices is about creating an inclusive team environment where everyone’s ideas are considered and valued. It’s about recognizing and valuing the unique contributions that each team member brings to the table. By amplifying unheard voices, you foster a culture of inclusivity and mutual respect, which is key to building psychological safety.

Building psychological safety at work is crucial for high performance. It’s about building trust and respect, which contribute to a climate of safety. By admitting weaknesses as a leader, asking for feedback regularly, celebrating failures, and amplifying unheard voices, you can foster that climate on your team. This will lead to higher performance, better team dynamics, and a more positive and inclusive work environment—one that helps everyone do their best work ever.

Image credit: Pexels

Originally published on DavidBurkus.com on November 13, 2023

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Turns Out the Tin Foil Hat People Were Right

Turns Out the Tin Foil Hat People Were Right

by Braden Kelley

Turns out ‘Havana Syndrome’ is most likely the result of a directed electromagnetic, not ultrasonic, attack against CIA, U.S. military, F.B.I agents and State Department personnel and their family members. I couldn’t figure out how to embed this YouTube short, so here is the link.

It’s not new information, but it’s new to me that the traumatic brain injuries from these attacks are something that the trusty tin foil hat might prevent.

These attacks include the initial incidents in Havana, a well-documented case in Moscow, and incidents in Vienna, Colombia, China, Vietnam, and in at least one Central Asian country according to JustSecurity.org.

This is notable as the title suggests, because it means that there is a defense against these kinds of attacks that damage the brain. So, has anyone out there invested in protective headgear for their travel to certain regions that is a little more modern than the tin foil hat?

For more detail on the investigation into these attacks and their source, here is the most recent 60 Minutes episode:

And if you’re feeling a real risk, or just a little paranoid, a quick search for “EMF Hat” on Amazon or your favorite electronic retailer will return A LOT OF OPTIONS for your modern tin foil hat. Here is a sampling of the Amazon results, which you can see includes baseball cap, beanie, and even hood options.

EMF Protection Hats

Anyone out there wear one of these on a regular basis? Is it just for peace of mind or are there noticeable benefits that you can describe?

Any manufacturer out there want me to try one and document my experience?

Should the countries of the world come together and ban these weapons?

Do domestic laws need to be updated to classify this kind of attack as attempted murder?

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons, screenshot from Amazon

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