Over the last year, I partnered with BMC on a new podcast series called “Digital Outliers.” We hand-picked 11 incredible guests working in critical areas of digital transformation and the future of work including IT, humanities and innovation. The result was humbling. Each episode dives into the trends shaping how companies work and compete. Our guests also offer prescriptive guide points for executives and change agents driving digital efforts to modernize culture, productivity, innovation, and experiences. My first guest in Episode 1…
Innovation Begins with a Shift in Perspective; It’s Personal
The team at Ode Management asked me to introductory video for their audience of event planners, speaker bureaus and agents. The topic was innovation and my mission was to keep it casual and brief, with a target length of two minutes. I guess I was too excited. On my first take, I overshot that goal by 10 minutes and needed to re-record it. However, I couldn’t bring myself to delete this though! Instead, I wanted to share it with you here. This video was meant…
Why tech companies are uniting to fight Trump’s immigration ban
In February 2017, My good friend Matt Kapko of CIO asked a few tech pundits, “Why tech companies are uniting to fight Trump’s immigration ban?” The result was published here. A group of 127 technology companies, including Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Snap and Twitter, filed an amicus brief (official friend-of-the-court brief) in the pending lawsuits opposing the administration’s executive order. Per the filing, the heavy hitting tech consortium attested that immigration is core to technology innovation. “Immigrants make many…
Culture is Either the Roadblock or Highway to Innovation – We Need Leadership not Management
After studying customer experience, digital transformation and innovation for so many years, I’ve found that the next big thing in business (r)evolution is culture. The other most interesting thing I’ve learned is that while businesses are readying or investing in change, the definition of meaningful culture is elusive or inconsequential. Yet, company culture is either the number one catalyst or inhibitor to progress. Culture needs a champion. As Peter Drucker once famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast…” Like most aspects in business, management…
Dear Startups: Disrupt Yourself To Disrupt The Industry
Here’s something you may not know about me…Before I focused on studying digital transformation, innovation, culture and digital anthropology, I used to exclusively work with enterprise tech companies and startups going back to the (gasp) early 90s. I’ve been through Web 1.0, 2.0, the rise of digital, social, mobile, cloud and every SW/HW/online/app consumer and enterprise trend in between. In all my years, I’ve probably helped launch/advise over 1,000 companies. I’ve even started and exited a few myself (note: I…
What Makes Someone a Thought Leader?
That was the question I was recently asked by my friend Vivienne Neale. I wasn’t sure how to reply. After all, we all have our “thought leaders” whom we follow. Me, I always wanted to be part of a community where doing meaningful things made belonging matter. Honestly, I don’t consider myself a thought leader. I simply shared my ideas and work because I felt alone in my mission to change the future of business. I’ve always believed I couldn’t do…
The Key to Creativity and Innovation is Empathy
Growing up in Los Angeles and living in Silicon Valley for 20-plus years has plugged me into a unique network of creativity and innovation. Although many would say that I technically live in a bubble, I have practiced the art of participation and observation to earn a balanced perspective when it comes to ideation and design. While I am surrounded by some of the most amazing minds, I am also inspired by those shaping innovation hubs. If it’s one thing I’ve learned,…
Experiences Become Brands and Great Brands Become Experiences
These days, it seems that I travel to events overseas more than in the United States. While many companies around the world believe they are behind U.S. companies, I can say that from first hand experience, any company pursuing the future of customer experience, innovation, and brand is ahead of the game…regardless of where it’s based. When I receive an invitation to present, it exemplifies, at least to me, that those attending the event are keen on learning about how to…
Top 10 Retail Banking Trends and Predictions for 2017
Every year, my good friend Jim Marous organizes a “top trends and predictions in retail banking” for the annual Digital Banking Report. I do my best to support his efforts as its an important topic and it’s also a discussion that applies to almost every industry. The report features 99 global financial services leaders plus me ;). The crowdsourced panel includes bankers, credit union executives, industry analysts, advisors, authors and fintech followers from Asia, Africa, North America, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East…
I Answer Your Questions About the State of Digital Transformation
Where are companies at in their digital transformation efforts? This was the question I set out to answer in, “The 2014 State of Digital Transformation” report. After two years, it was time to check-in on the digital transformation landscape again to learn how companies are changing, what challenges they’re facing now and what opportunities they’ve uncovered. Recently, I hosted a webcast on behalf of Altimeter and Prophet to share the findings from the latest “State of Digital Transformation” report. Over…
