The Future Of Work Begins With Binding Commitments
We have traditionally utilized contract law to enforce compliance with business promises. In a world which is hyperconnected, increasingly transparent, and morally interdependent, all business relationships are personal. As such, instead of enforcing legal compliance as the first response, we should inspire binding commitments through shared purpose and shared values. The metric for distinction today isn’t just financial performance, but relationship capital that is earned.
Now, more than ever, our individual and shared success in business are being determined by the quality of our social relationships. Relationships have always mattered but with the new dimension of digital and social networks, how we connect, collaborate, engender trust, keep promises, and earn relationship capital is the source of competitive advantage and distinction.
You need to have a competitive product/service at a competitive price that is for sure. But this is only table stakes and only keeps you in the conversation but does not assure any long-term advantage.
Strategy no longer provides a sustainable advantage. The moment you execute your strategy, it is most likely already being challenged by new and possibly more nimble competitors with different strategies. Do not get me wrong, strategy is still important to your business success. It just doesn’t provide a long-term advantage. Information Technology no longer provides a long-term sustainable advantage. Rapid technology innovation pretty much assures that the technology you invest in and deploy to operate your business model is being leapfrogged by new businesses and/or entrants to the markets you serve.
The paradox to all this technology innovation (Social Media, Mobility, and Big Data, for example) is that it is reawakening the “Human” dimension and it’s importance to long-term sustainability and distinction in a world of rapid product/service commoditization.
Relationship Capital (RC) has always been important to success, but up to this point, entrepreneurs, independent workers, and enterprise organizations have not leveraged this intangible asset in this new hyper-connected and digital world of social business.
Relationship Capital is providing insight into what arguably is the greatest asset on the balance sheet: The quality of your connections and social relationships. Those stakeholders who buy from you; advocate on your behalf, and even defend you when you make mistakes. This RC asset needs to be nurtured and managed more effectively going forward. Why? Without capturing, measuring, and utilizing relationship capital, a business cannot sustain or defend it’s reason for existing if the digitally engaged stakeholders do not advocate and defend your products/services, people, and business ecosystem.
Introducing Peer SaaS
Building trusted relationships with people from different organizations or within the same business involves a good amount of “reciprocity”. In today’s Peer-2-Peer business world, you must compete for attention, like-ability, respect, and commitment opportunities to display your talents, gifts, and ability to deliver results.
Peer SaaS or “PE-ER: Performing Engagement-Engaging Recognition” is an on-demand platform for requesting and making commitments. It leverages gamification techniques to recognize, reward, and appreciate peers. Building trust and credibility by earning Relationship Capital or “RC” is critical to achieving the benefits and reducing the difficulties with in-person teams or virtual teams. Whether you are a large enterprise, small business, or solopreneur, building a track-record of verifiable performance with your teammates, customers, and partners is the source of distinction and competitive advantage.
Conclusion
Building your credibility today by keeping your commitments and earning relationship capital that deposited in to your “RC account” that you can track and share is critical to distinguishing yourself and your business. Not just because of legal enforcement but because keeping your promises in a transparent p2p business world should always be considered “binding” for your people and company to standing out from the crowd.
www.StandardofTrust.com
