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"The key is to control and shape the three most important levers of sustainable business growth—the Brains, the Bones, and the Nerves.
The brains of a business are its vision and strategy, and here the enterprise leader must shape and set direction.
The bones are the organizational architecture, and here the enterprise leader must design the organization in order to execute the strategy.
The nerves refer to the culture and climate of the organization, and here the enterprise leader must foster a culture of longlasting excellence.
Just as the human body needs all three systems—the brain, bones, and nerves—functioning in perfect harmony to maximize longevity and performance, a business needs its strategy, architecture, and culture to work in harmony in order to maximize results. As an enterprise leader, you should focus on these three as your most important focus areas; everything else must be delegated."
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"Thanks to the digital age, today's buyers can research, select and purchase their products without getting you involved in the decision. You won't even know they were buying. Everything shifted. Your choices: shift, too—or get left in the past.
We all know that people buy because of their perceptions. Today's perceptions are created through the Internet and word of mouth. You no longer have tight control over the way your market sees your business, the information that is available about you or the buzz about your brand.
Marketing, the way we've always done it, doesn't work anymore."
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"Everything has gone global. Communication. Work. Politics. Relationships. Faith.
We get it. In fact, by this point, the statement almost sounds a bit trite. Any organization knows that the word "global" better find its way into its messaging and strategy.
But how do we move beyond mantras about cultural sensitivity and global awareness to successfully adapting to various cultures while simultaneously remaining true to ourselves? Both sides of the equation are essential—being true to ourselves and adapting to different cultures. And being true to our organizational identity and brand while also responding to an onslaught of culturally diverse markets."
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"We First capitalism posits that we can no longer accept the myopic, short-term, profit-for-profit's sake practice of capitalism we invite corporations and consumers to engage in today. Allowing every individual, every investor, every corporation, and every nation to think solely about its own self-interests and its own profits is not the solution to creating a more peaceful, prosperous, and equitable world. The transformation from Me First to We First is no longer an option, because we now live in an interconnected, complex, globalized world of 7 billion people, all of whom need a portion of the resources and the prosperity that the Earth provides. Capitalism can no longer be an elite economic system whose results fund a limited group of people, leaving billions of others living without opportunity or hope. Our connections to each other are growing ever tighter, such that the actions of a single individual, bank, corporation, or nation can have an immediate and deleterious impact on millions of other people.
In the We First paradigm, we need to recognize that prosperity is the well-being of many, not the wealth of a privileged few. The We First mindset helps us cut through the quagmires of so many philosophic debates and economic analyses so that we can focus on pragmatic, realistic and actionable solutions driven by meaningful goals to collaboratively advance our world."
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"Progress requires change. And, change provokes resistance. However, customers do not necessarily resist change itself. They accept change when they get a vote; they embrace change when they can participate. They resist the perception or prediction of being controlled or coerced without their involvement.
Migrating customers toward self-service, for example, can bring an array of time-saving benefits to everyone—service provider and service receiver. But the manner in which that migration typically occurs—without influence from customers—can be viewed as devaluing the co-creator, thus adding another spark to the flame of their opposition. Today's customers are already picky (all about value), fickle (reluctant to show loyalty), vocal (quick to comment on poor or indifferent service) and vain (only interested in tailor-made offerings). Armed with a computer and a network, the new normal customer becomes wired and dangerous if frustrated."
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