Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Learning to Learn

It's not a play on words, it's a necessity. I've often said that learning is as important than teaching, if not more. In fact, the ability to learn efficiently and quickly is today's competitive advantage. My first love is the love of learning, so I'm fortunate in that respect. The reason why I'm spending less time chatting online is that I am dedicating a greater slice of time to learning by doing. Being embedded in a company that builds digital products makes it a must. It's not just about the technology itself -- it's about how technology changes the way... Read more →

How to Continue Reading This Blog

Today is the last day you'll be able to use Google Reader. Many of you subscribe to this site by email, that won't change. If you subscribe by feed, there are several options emerging. I imported all my feeds to Feedly weeks ago.The iPad app has been working very well for me -- feeds are easy to organize, read, and share. Another option is the Old Reader. We're going to keep the conversation going during the summer while managing a platform transition. +++ Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety... Read more →

3 Problems with the "Be Human" to Connect Advice

The problem with the "be human" to connect narrative is that it's generic and overused, often an attempt at promoting the narrator as solution in search of a problem. The continuous repetition of this narrative, and the broader "social" culture it spawns is a distraction from the more productive conversation on promises. Monitoring and closing the gap between promises made and promises kept is the engine of commerce. Connections are specific Achieving goals and completing projects are activities filled with definition, measurement, monitoring and feedback, development, and optimization. Almost without exception, building a sustainable business requires a commercially-minded group of... Read more →

How do we Make What we do More Personal?

[Naz Hamid] Along with communicating becoming a lost art form, we risk losing the ability to be okay with who we are and open to sharing a physical and emotional space with others. In the same way that place, the environment in which we operate, plays a big role in the type of opportunities that come our way and our outlook, the people we choose to collaborate with influence the texture of our experiences and quality of our lives. Choose wisely -- both how to be and your associates. +++ Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker... Read more →

How to Stay Employable and Achieve Your Full Potential

I have a confession to make: I finished college and then university, defended a (I was told impossible) translation dissertation in front of a hard-nosed panel of professors, and completed successfully several professional and industry-specific accreditation and certification programs. All the while working full time jobs. Starting with a very demanding non profit long term assignment overseas from my school at the beginning of my career. Quitting what you started is not the only option to succeed at something you're passionate about. Even though it's become part of the story for so many aspiring entrepreneurs. Sticking with your commitments trains... Read more →

CMOs Play Greater Role in Delivering Customer Experiences

A recent survey (requires email to download) from Neolane and The CMO Club found that 9 out of 10 CMOs say they are personally responsible for the overall customer experience for their brand, yet may not be fully equipped to lead this critical function for the business. Among the findings: 90% of CMOs are personally responsible for the overall customer experience for their brand. However, only 11% actually own the customer P&L. CMOs at $1 billion+ companies rely less on financial KPIs to measure customer experience than their counterparts at sub-$1 billion companies. CMOs ranked customer interaction management (39 percent)... Read more →

Visualize Your Story Automagically

Use your own script or find among an inventory of existing ones and create a storyboard with Amazon Storyteller. As described on the site: Amazon Storyteller is a new application from Amazon Studios that lets you turn a movie script into a storyboard. You choose the backgrounds, characters, and props to visually tell a story. A successful storyboard can tell the full story of a script, or capture its essence in short form, like a trailer. Either approach can be a great way to build an audience for your story and see how people respond to it. The tool is... Read more →

Why so Many Companies Fail to Deliver on Customer Service

It is disheartening to experience such a race to the bottom. This past week I made three separate inquiries about a recent booking to American Express Travel, the last one on Twitter because I was hoping against hope... No response. From a company where I have been a loyal customer since 2002. American Express refers to its cardholders as members. Is the yearly fee customers pay the only sign of that membership? Membership alone is not enough According to a new survey by J.D. Power and Associates#, membership -- in the example is a club associated with a sporting goods... Read more →

What I'm Reading Now

Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy -- McKinsey Global Institute, cuts through the noise and identifies 12 technologies that could drive truly massive economic transformations and disruptions in the coming years. + The One Thing that Makes a Company Last Forever -- by Marina Krakovsky, Stanford Graduate School of Business. Staying competitive calls for ambidexterity. Instead of choosing between exploiting current opportunities and exploring new ones; you have to do both. The companies that last for decades, according to the author, are able to do so time and time again. + The Future of... Read more →

Become a Master at Connecting

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet two incredibly talented and generous pros in person. They both work in the field of innovation for growth, and we discovered we have many more things in common than we thought, even though we have lived in distant parts of the world from each other. It's uncanny how that happens, isn't it? This idea that making connections is also (and I'd argue especially) about helping others get what they want is a good practice. Characteristics of good connectors Good people are fairly easy to spot, even though they are usually head down getting... Read more →