So, then…let us reflect together for a while, consider what matters, what really matters, and then in our wonderfully separate ways, fare forward together.  ~ James Hollis

It’s the season to reflect on a year that’s winding down before we turn the page. It feels right to look back on the year.  What interesting times these are!  Tom Friedman describes this as a period marked by the collision of two forces, the Great Recession and the Great Inflection – referring to the rise of cheap, plentiful technology.

The good news is that the economy is forcing us to adopt new tools more rapidly, accelerating business innovation. But, more tools bring more “noise”, and decibel levels are soaring. Noise distracts us from focusing on what’s important and we seem to be suffering from a collective case of “focus-deficit disorder”.  I think it’s hampering our performance.

I say this as an unrepentant geek who loves technology as much as anyone. Like so many of my peers, I have slavish attraction to small, shiny objects and the applications they run.  And for the most part, I can endure the noise they make, but I wonder about the impact all the noise is having.

Complaining about the incessant noise has become a national pastime. At a holiday party last week, a friend confided that she seldom has time for talking with her kids, let alone her clients.  “I’m on a treadmill,” she admitted. “And, I can’t slow it down long enough to hop off”.

Who among us can’t relate? At times, the noise is deafening.

We’ve coined metaphors like “signal-to-noise ratio” and “information overload”.   I’m reminded of Clay Shirky’s famous talk, “It’s Not Information Overload. It’s Filter Failure”.  He’s right of course. We need better filters, but the root of the problem is far deeper than the tools can reach.

We’ve met the problem…

It might sound radical, but the noise isn’t the problem, it’s the excuse. To the extent that noise is bothersome, we’re the problem. We make choices — conscious or not — every minute of the day about where we place our attention.  We can choose to be distracted, or we can focus on what matters to the people whom we serve.  In any case, the choice is always ours to make.

If we avoid distractions, we can focus on crucial questions: What do our customers value, and do we have what it takes to build and deliver value better than our rivals?  That’s a tough one because if we’re honest, the answer is sometimes “no”.  And, if that’s the case, we have our work cut out.

These big questions can be daunting, so it’s understandable that we’d want to avoid them. It’s easier to let the distractions consume our time and soon we drift away from what’s important.

Here’s the thing: I think that if  we’re committed to what’s important, distractions can actually serve as helpful warnings.  When I’m annoyed by distractions, I’ll try to figure out why I’m choosing to be distracted.  If I’m being honest, I’ll notice that there’s something bigger and thornier that I’m avoiding.

It feels right to step back and reflect on where we’ve been before going forward.  But the time is always now to focus on the signal and not the noise.

The time is always now to rediscover what matters to the people whom we serve. The time is always now to figure out smarter ways to deliver our offerings. And, the time is always now to be accountable to the people we serve, and to the people who serve us.

So, before we turn the page, let’s take this moment to reflect on where we focused our attention during the last year.  Let’s be fiercely honest about it.  Let’s also know that it’s not too late to focus on what’s most important.

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As always, I’d love to know your perspective on this topic…

I’m indebted to my friends, Connie Jones and Harry S. Bradley, for their fierce and steadfast commitment to the truth.  This post is dedicated to them.

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It’s a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. -Lev Grossman, Time Magazine

The Urge to Connect

History shows that that when robust tools serve a powerful human drive, revolutionary changes occur. That’s happening now as social media enable people to satisfy their primal urge to connect with each another. Social media are ubiquitous, cheap, and accessible, and their widespread use is having a profound impact on business.

While the technology is grabbing the headlines, the more interesting story is how people around the world are using social media. They’re fulfilling their desire to connect with each other, forming communities in the process. The communities function like virtual beehives — amorphous, dynamic structures where members coalesce to share information.

Smart companies recognize the commercial value of communities. They treat community members more like stakeholders than consumers. Instead of broadcasting their messages at them, they engage followers in dialogue. In time, followers can be converted to evangelists.  In a hyper-connected world, evangelism carries messages fast and far, boosting the value of the brand.

Follow the Leaders…

I’ve lauded Zappos, Virgin America, and Comcast for their skillful community-building initiatives. Starbucks, WholeFoods, and BestBuy are also out in front with exemplary strategies. But, lately I’ve been impressed with JetBlue’s community-building strategy which can serve as a model for other companies.

The airline (@JetBlue) has been mastering the art of community-building on Twitter and, in the process, has grown its base of followers to almost 1.5 million.

Last August, the airline promoted its All-You-Can-Jet-Pass (for $599) to its community. To the company’s delight, the campaign went “viral” quickly, selling out earlier than expected after creating a buzz.

The campaign succeeded because JetBlue had already built a community of ardent followers where its message reverberated.  How did the company do it? The airline’s staff of rotating community managers engages followers in a manner reflective of the airline’s brand personality. Their tone is informal, conversational and hip — an attitude particularly suited for Twitter that traditional airlines can’t match.

The airline hasn’t been afraid to experiment in this space either. They’re learning about their community based on trying successive low-cost, low-risk campaigns.

To herald its new NYC-Barbados route, the airline announced a contest where participants take a photo in front of a New York landmark that incorporates both Barbados and JetBlue. The top 20 receive tickets to a concert featuring Rihanna, a popular Barbadian-American singer. JetBlue is counting on the community to spread the word.

So far, JetBlue’s social media strategy seems to be resonating with its followers. The size and influence of their community is substantial and growing rapidly. And, they’re harnessing the power of the hive.

Three Lessons from JetBlue

What can we learn from JetBlue’s success? Here are three things:

1) “Engage with” rather than “broadcast to” followers

2) Experiment to find out what works

3) Above all, stay focused on community-building

For me, social media stories always raise more questions: What can be done with new tools that couldn’t be done before? What else can we learn from leaders? And, how are they dealing with the new set of challenges that come with the territory?

One thing seems certain: for companies with the curiosity, imagination and the good sense to ease up on the reins-of-control, this is an interesting and promising space.

What do you think?  As always, I’d love to get your take on this post. What community-building “masters” would you cite and why?

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Want to learn more about this subject?

Read Clay Shirky’s book, Here Comes Everybody, about which he writes:  “… one of the things I most hope readers get out of it, is an excitement about how much experimentation is still possible, and how many new uses of our social tools are waiting to be invented.”

The book explores the broader context of communities including the sociological drivers. Here is a brief excerpt:

Human beings are social creatures—not occasionally or by accident but always. Sociability is one of our lives as both cause and effect. Society is not just the product of its individual members; it is also the product of its constituent groups.

The aggregate relations among individuals and groups, among individuals within groups, and among groups forms a network of astonishing complexity. We have always relied on group effort for survival; even before the invention of agriculture, hunting and gathering required coordinate work and division of labor. You can see an echo of our talent for sociability in the language we have for groups; like a real-world version of the mythical seventeen Eskimo words for snow, we use incredibly rich language in describing human association.

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