I own an iPhone and a Blackberry, and I use both constantly. Read articles. Set meetings. Watch videos. Send and receive emails. Check my Twitter feed. Find the best lunch spot in a new city. Chat with my friends and colleagues.
As one who's start-up small business thrives on social media - particularly, constant communication with my team, my clients, and my potential clients - I cannot imagine maintaining my current level of productivity or efficiency without my smart phones. As such, I would imagine other business leaders share a similar perspective, particularly as mobile devices become increasingly intuitive and practical.
For those leaders still on the fence, however, here are 8 reasons why I think mobility is critical for leadership:
- Every bad product review left unattended or complaint unresolved is an open wound for your company. Imagine the impact on a customer if you, the CEO, responds to his or her complaint, and actually fixes it. Imagine the ripples in the pond when word spreads of your customer-centricity. Little bad, and great good, can happen from genuine attempts at real-time problem-solving – and mobile web technology enables it more quickly.
- A definitive trend of the 21st century media has been an increase in velocity. You cannot ignore the pace of change – the speed of news cycles, the acceleration of your own company’s operations, and the ferocity of your competitors. Allowing yourself to be disconnected is to make way for others to sprint ahead.
- Crises – big (Toyota) and small (Google Buzz’s privacy hiccup) – do not wait for normal 9 to 5 business hours. As Bill George has so often noted, the first and most difficult step in resolving a crisis is facing the reality of your situation, beginning with yourself. Advanced mobile technology allows you to gather data, conference with your executive team, observe customer complaints, and mobilize around a response with the constraints of boardroom sitdowns. Akio Toyoda failed for a number of reasons, but his sluggish response was one of the most glaring.
- Your employees live in the mobile web. Ask Zappos’ Tony Hsieh or Google’s Eric Schmidt – each can attest to the inherent cultural benefits of open, active, mobile communication across social networks with employees.
- Your competitors live in the mobile web. And they are taking your customers.
- Your family and friends live online. Mobile technology offers much needed opportunities to connect with your spouse, children, friends and extended family to get a fresh perspective whenever you want or need to. No leader is successful without an active support network. Today’s mobile technology ensures you always have one.
- Your Web 2.0 culture-conscious customers expect you to be accessible by mobile, just as they expect your company employees to be. Mobile facilitates an even simpler and accommodating evolution in customer-interaction, and will allow you to monitor that evolution in real time.
- Mobile usage increased by 110% in the U.S. in 2009, and 148% percent worldwide as measured by growth in pageviews (see: January Quantcast report). Do you really want to have zero frame of reference as to the mobile lifestyle? That’s a dangerous concession. Get started now – if you’re new, there is a steep learning curve.
As my team, my family, and my friends often remind me, there’s always the “Power” button to set the necessary boundaries. Set them and stick to them, but actively engage in the meantime.
In my experience, you’ll be a better informed, more genuine, and more effective leader for it.
I was very excited to hear about the Pepsi REFRESH project when it was announced at the beginning of the year. CEO Indra Nooyi’s decision to allocate marketing dollars to a community-reinvestment effort deserves great applause as it stands as a prime example of progressive, conscientious 21st centruy leadership. By shifting Super Bowl advertising dollars to philanthropy, Pepsi is making a smart investment in marketing and in communities.
The program is simple. Pepsi REFRESH invites anyone to submit a grant proposal for a project - all proposals are then judged by the Pepsi's online community, from their dedicated Facebook fans and Twitter followers, and beyond. Grants of $5,000 to $250,000 are awarded to dozens of applicants every month.
This project is exciting on multiple levels. First, it marks an encouraging departure from a dated era where corporate philanthropy and community empowerment was seen
as a “nice-to-do," only done to enhance a firm’s public image. Over the past generation, corporate philanthropy has been impacted by Milton Friedman’s view that business is a “profit maximizing” entity, rather than an institution chartered by society as a steward of its financial and social well-being. But now, the idea that philanthropy is better left to shareholders is fading away - and I am glad to see Pepsi reinforcing a new ideal.
Second, Pepsi Refresh represents a marketing innovation. Indra Nooyi has long been at the forefront of progressive leadership, but green-lighting this project shows that she and her team at Pepsico are committed to exploring new ways of engaging customers. Instead of bombarding viewers with Super Bowl advertisements, Pepsi is seeking out their customers where they live – offline and online – and delivering value to their communities. Millions of Pepsi customers are engaging in social media and connecting online, actively seeking company engagement on this level. People want companies that seek out their advice and ideas, companies that talk with them in the way they want to communicate.
Third, this project is an investment in the next generation of leaders. The Pepsi REFRESH project empowers community activists, students, small business owners, and non-profit overseers in an unprecedented way - with no-strings-attached investments in their projects and complete corporation-backed empowerment. Not only is Pepsi providing funding for these projects, they’ve left the decision-making in the hands of the masses. Votes online will dictate what project - what up-and-coming leader - receives funding, not votes around a boardroom.
The Pepsi REFRESH project represents a monumental effort to be a trend-setter by redefining corporate marketing and customer engagement. If Pepsi is “the choice of a new generation,” then Pepsi REFRESH may well be “the empowerment of a new generation.”
At the World Business Forum this past September, I had the pleasure of hosting a reception with the top business bloggers in the country who in attendance cover the events.
I’ve remained in contact with many of them, and recently connected with Jonathan Fields for a podcast to discuss my latest book, 7 Lessons for Leading In Crisis. We also took a deeper dive on crisis-time leadership and social media.
Here’s what Jonathan had to say about the conversation:
“In this candid interview, Bill and I cover everything from leading in a time of crisis to the true meaning of success on a personal level. He reveals not only his thoughts on business, but on family, life, passion and people. And, you’ll never believe what he’s been doing twice a day since the 70s; it’s something he says has been instrumental in his success.”
You can listen to the entire conversation here: Behind The Leader: A Candid Conversation with Bill
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WBF alum, Steve Todd was gracious enough to review 7 Lessons for Leading In Crisis. I’ve included a few excerpts below:
“Overall I enjoyed the unique point of view on the financial crisis, as well as the framework for evaluating leadership. It's a good reference book to keep handy during tough times.”
“If I want to evaluate my own leadership skills during a crisis, the book is an excellent place to turn. If I want to evaluate a public official, or a corporate executive, and formulate a thoughtful opinion of their performance during a crisis, I would refer to this book.”
You can read the rest of the review here: Book Review: 7 Lessons For Leading In Crisis.
Many thanks again to Steve and Jonathan!
I recently sat down with Tim Brunelle at Hello Viking to discuss issues surrounding leadership, my lifelong passion, and social media, my recent fascination. It was a great conversation stretching across the morning, and I've included some video highlights here, courtest of Hello Viking:
How important is humanity, transparency, and authenticity in corporate leadership?
How do you coach corporate leaders with regard to social media?
