Weekly Digest #10 [Building Business, Transforming C-Suite roles, Bad News, Internet Censorship, Workplace Culture, and Leadership]

A snapshot of article summaries that we enjoyed reading ( Jan 7— Jan 12)

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
— Arthur C. Clarke

Building Business: A successful business is not just about products and profits but also trust and relationships. While new brands come and go, a few exceptions stand out. Levis, Ford Motors, Apple are well-known and enduring names that have survived over a number of decades. What’s the secret to some brands’ staying power? Wary of scams, rip-offs and shady marketing tactics, customers are starting to see the world more in terms of real and fake. If you’re thinking of launching a startup or developing a brand, here are 7 rules on being open and credible that can help you to lay a solid foundation and build for lasting success. First- Define Your Values and Mission. Decide what your authenticity lies in. You’ll need to choose which values you are ready to commit to unwaveringly. Is it your commitment to supporting a specific cause? Is it your dedication to building products that will change people’s lives? Whatever it is, it’s important to own it, so choose something that you’re passionate about. Second — Get to Know your Personality and the Personality of your Brand. Is your personality and your brand’s personality aligned? You are the face of your company, and it’s important to make sure your branding is compatible with who you are. Third — Set your Boundaries. It’s important to be aware of your boundaries and understanding the difference between stretching for growth and allowing others to push you past your comfort zone. Fourth — Determine How and Where you will Showcase your Authenticity. Whether it’s online with social media or your blog, or in behind-the-scenes interactions, get to know your audience and allow them to know you too. Fifth — Release your authenticity. Determine where you will demonstrate your values and how far you want to go. Then make a plan for your release. Sixth — Be Consistent. The messages that you’re sending out through marketing, promotions and social media should be in line with the in-person experience that you provide to customers. Seventh — Prepare for Backlash. When you gain a certain level of publicity, you’re going to have haters. Don’t be discouraged and stay true to your beliefs, and you’ll gain respect from those around you. Your loyal customer base will have your back! In the end, embracing authenticity isn’t for everyone, but those who choose to use this as the basis for establishing a business or a brand will find that building a company on a solid foundation provides tremendous, lasting stability

Affinity For Bad News: There are many reasons why we prefer listening to bad news and why people are appealed towards pessimism. People are ignorant as they believe they know many dire things about the world that are, in fact, not true. People also cling to pessimism about the world even though there is enough conclusive evidence to prove that human conditions have improved with time. Studies show that people in developed societies tend to be pessimistic about their world but optimistic about their own lives. Like Martin Seligman says we are in control of our own fortunes but not those of the wider society. There are many causes of concern in the world from global warming to terrorism but the persistence of pessimism requires some explanation. One reason is that bad news is more sudden as compared to the good news which is gradual. A terrorist attack, bombings murders, disasters dominate the news but a gradual reduction in poverty levels does not splash the headlines. Psychology calls this as the availability bias where people vastly overestimate the frequency of crime. Another reason is that bad news matters more than the good news. It turns out that when people say they want more good news actually means that they are more interested in bad news. There exists a negativity bias. People think in relative terms and not absolute terms. When circumstances get better, people take those improvements for granted and reset their expectations. This relativizing behavior affects our most intimate relationships. Being told that others are doing well is bad news. As the world improves, people expand their definition of bad news. Psychologists have defined something called prevalence induced concept change which means that the rarer something gets, the more broadly we redefine the concept. Other psychological concepts also apply. A tendency to remember the good things about the past and forget the bad things called the reminiscence bump also exists. Another effect would be what the author calls as turning- point-itis. The tendency to think that things may have improved in the past but will no longer do so in the future because we stand at a point of inflection.

Internet Censorship won't work: Technological progress creates problems for which solutions are difficult due to constantly changing variables. One problem is the censorship of Internet companies. Regulating speech is difficult even in the best of the conditions and the Internet with its patchwork system of regulation by private entities is far from the best system. Yet it will endure a foreseeable future. In the case of the Internet, if the regulating authority is centralized and the environment is controlling, then the utility of the Internet can be hampered by regulation as it could result in inefficiencies and will have problems in scalability. It will be difficult for external users to trust the company’s judgment. Human intervention would be required at different times and decision making will lead to bureaucracy. An alternative approach is to let all use the platform and not engage in regulation of speech. Another option is to ensure platforms are governed by algorithms. Algorithms work well initially but however offensive posters will find out a way to game the system. Algorithms also lead to false positives which are postings that the algorithm identifies as harmful but aren’t. As these processes evolve, each internet platform will not be consistent across all its users as some might get away with being offensive whereas others would be censored or blocked. This leads to a trilemma when it comes to private platforms and speech regulations. You can choose two out of three — scalability, effectiveness, and consistency. You can’t have all three. One view is that platforms should appease us by at least trying to regulate effectively whereas another view is where platform regulation of speech is not a big issue. The problem is once you get used to the fact that you can’t have a platform which is scalable consistent and hostile to bad agents them its difficult to accept the fact. Platform companies will continue to try harder and critics of the companies will get louder and louder.

Workplace Culture and Success: Key tenets of empowering work culture is that every employee from management to the lower level is empowered, can communicate with each other fluidly and is not in a hierarchical system. To achieve such a culture, one needs to focus on the following. First — Leave All Doors Open. In order to empower employees, let them know the communication lines are always open. Most importantly, remain open to feedback and get creative! There are tons of great ideas that your people have from working in the trenches with your actual customers on a day-to-day basis. Second — Let Your People Know There’s Room For Advancement. Promoting from within is a great way to let your people know that with diligence, leadership, and determination, they can climb the ranks and become supervisors, managers, and executives. This further inculcates the practice of meritocracy. Third — Empower Employees To Use Critical Thinking. When your employees are at their most efficient, you spend less time, energy and money solving customer problems. This is true of any business. In the case of an answering service, what better way to solve customers’ issues quickly and efficiently than by having your first line of customer service be the very receptionists who answer the phones? Fourth — Bringing It All Together. Sir Richard Branson famously said, “If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers.” By establishing a work culture that empowers employees rather than restricts them, your employees will take care of your customers above and beyond the normal call of duty. Sure, there will be employees who feel uninspired and are simply there to punch the clock. There will also be tons of people who are there to become part of your unique organization and will take advantage of the room for growth. A better experience for the employees invariably will lead to a fulfilling experience for the customers as well.

Robots and the C-Suite: Robots will share a key space in the future workforce. This change would mean a tectonic shift for the employees to learn new skills. There are two kinds of robots: industrial robots and service robots. Industrial robots are found in factories that use assembly lines to build products or pick and pack orders at a fulfillment center. Service robots stand for humans and are an application of AI and RPA. Not only will top executives lead the charge for automation in their business operations but they must also be prepared for their job to be changed. They must address their knowledge gaps, structural issues, people issues and build a harmonious workforce of humans and robots. CEO: they will need to provide their company’s vision and leadership, drive change and guide through the digital transformation journey. They’ll be responsible for helping foster a culture in which humans and robots coexist with trust, respect, and dignity. CFO: they will oversee compliance with regulatory authorities by building trust, check payoffs in the automation of processes, have a keen understanding of physical and digital relationships and our necessary controls in place. COO: they will formulate and follow a digital strategy that incorporates AI and robotics to reshape manufacturing footprint and streamlining the supply chain which may incorporate IoT and blockchain. Their job would be to increase safety, capacity and lower costs. CHRO: they will address cultural issues like how to manage and train robots for the same work. Issues are upskilling, reskilling, etc would be required to address skill gaps. Encourage employees to embrace the idea that automation makes their job more meaningful and fulfilling. CMO: they will increase the use of data analytics to personalize product and content in sectors like retail and media. Advanced analytics will help executives with the product road map and set strategy. CIO/CTO/CDO: they will work with finance to chart a landscape of rules and compliance. Cybersecurity, analytics, and other trends will be incorporated into the digital road map. Collaboration with IT startups would be needed to enhance infrastructure and upskill IT capabilities. Data-driven thinking can shadow commitment to purpose and leaders will need to be proactive about incorporating both ways of thinking. As the workforce begins to integrate robots, it would be interesting to have a sketch of the expected c suite roles and responsibilities.

Role of Leadership in forming culture: Good leaders shape the way things work and the overall culture of a group or an institution. Each employee impacts an organization’s direction, but leadership has by far the largest and most direct effect on company culture, which revolves around employee engagement, environment, atmosphere and the success of the company and its clients. Leadership cultivates the foundation of culture to empower employees to achieve the company mission. There are four key ways how this is mostly done. First- Leaders Embody the Change They Want to See. The most successful leaders have a responsibility to demonstrate the beliefs of the company and reinforce behaviors that reflect those values. Second— The Leader Drives a Thirst for Continuous Learning. Leaders hold in-depth knowledge of how the engine of their company works, learning about each employee as more than a cog in the machine. The leader expresses and demonstrates an interest in employee growth. Third— The Leader Focuses on Social Good for Employees and Clients. the successful leader focuses on the social good of both employee and client. This approach transforms a stagnant leader into an inspirational one who solves issues creatively while measuring the larger impact of the company’s services and products. Leaders place their attention on the deeper needs and desires of humanity which drive what supply and demand truly are in life and business. Fourth— Leaders Care About Employee Well-Being. An employee’s well-being directly impacts how they perform and engage at work. Though 80 percent of employers offer wellness information and resources, leadership struggles with the “how” aspect of wellness initiatives. Employers can meet their staff’s needs by providing more flexibility, investing in professional development, encouraging socialization and building better leave policies than the government requires for example. Additionally, leadership shifts and every leader influences the changing work culture, which can easily go from good to bad or from bad to worse. Leaders must honor those who came before if the engine runs well, but change is inevitable — employees and leaders all play a part.

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The link to the original articles is hyperlinked in the title of each summary.