Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Finding the Future First

Read the headlines, and you would think we are now living completely immersed in a world of “me first.” Everyone shouting from every available social network, digital presence, minutes of fame about how they made tons of money, got the girl, and have the only answer... at least, that is the impression they give. All to eager. Of course, the reality is much more nuanced than advertised. For staters, the opportunities with social and direct connections are still very much unexplored. Throwing tons of utility vocabulary and value-creation nation talk at the issues is an attempt to reduce the complexity... Read more →

Creating the Roadmap for a Life that Works

“Coming at a new work requires a certain amount of patience and energy, and there’s always the risk of disappointment. You can’t really blame people for preferring more of what they already know and like. The trade-off, of course, is that predictability is boring. Repetition is the death of magic.” [interview with Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbs] The title of this post was the name of a worklab I worked on and offered a few years back in partnership with two exceptional consultants -- leadership consultant and executive coach Faye Patterson Ciccotto#, and behavioral scientist Jeff Sternlieb#. Creating... Read more →

Burberry's Angela Ahrendts to Head Apple Retail Operations

Apple has had its fair share of transitions in its retail operations recently. Tim Cook's announcement# the company chose a top digital/retail performer in the luxury brands arena to head both online and store operations last night has quickly made the rounds both in the fashion and tech worlds. According to The Guardian#, Cook is banking on Ahrendts' experience building a global network of stores to build Apple's position as a global luxury brand, particularly in China where Burberry has grown rapidly while the tech company has struggled. High Fashion, High Tech While it was Rose Marie Bravo (formerly of... Read more →

How to Build Momentum

The skinny: it is easier to keep moving, staying productive, making contacts, and getting things done, than pausing and restarting -- except when you are focusing on impact. When I look back and reflect over the most rich moments in my creative work life, I see years, months, weeks, and days packed with projects to deliver on, proposals, article deadlines, conversations at events, and across blogs/sites. Rather than being overwhelming, all the collisions and collaborations fueled my curiosity and supercharged the building of capacity. I traded effort for growth, intense feedback for improvement, and focusing on the work task for... Read more →

Twitter Most Media-Ready of all Social Networks

Three years ago I wondered is Twitter the news system of the future? All news that fit in a tweet Remember the Hudson River plane landing? The attacks in Mumbai? How about the California and Haiti earthquakes? Twitter is great for short news alerts, as long as we do keep vigilant about red herrings. It was 2009, and CNN lost ground to crowdsourced news. During the Fort Hood shootings, interested citizens and locals, then mainstream media publications, showed how Twitter lists can be used for breaking news and to deliver information about what is happening at the scene. News sources... Read more →

How to Become a Confident, Independent, and Wise Decision-Maker

A few weeks ago, I participated in a three-day experience with a psychologist trained in deconstructing and helping re-construct group dynamics who teaches at Wharton. With me were a diverse group of eleven peers anywhere from business development to creative direction, client services, analytics, project management, user experience design, and content strategy. The experience made a strong impression on me and created a bond that only deep neglect and indifference will be able to sever. I felt the most beneficial aspects of the experience were the awakening of self-awareness, curiosity, desire for clarity, and motivation around collaboration that were rewarded... Read more →

Social Continues to be a Core Strategic Business Driver

And now mature teams are starting to treat it that way, and getting better at coordinating and scaling the effects of their work across the organization, its brands, and customer communities. Smart CMOs are championing the opportunities social presents to collaborate with customers, go with what helps people express themselves (even when in some cases it makes them a bit uncomfortable), and have some fun in the process. On AdAge [hat tip David Berkowitz], Antony Young shares takeaways from a recent Association of National Advertisers (ANA) event. I have a slightly different take to offer: From single channel or tactic,... Read more →

What Keeps Marketers up at Night?

Gaps in confidence about measurement, creative execution, and customer response management. Marketers are also unsure about personalization and targeting and have a hard time with eCommerce. Digital is an acquired skill, learned on the job and from colleagues. Most organizations need help navigating the ever changing digital landscape. They are some of the findings in a recent survey by Adobe#: Marketers are not confident in their digital ability. Only 48% of digital marketers feel highly proficient in digital marketing. Marketers have low confidence in their companies’ marketing performance. Only 40% think their company’s marketing is effective. Sixty-eight percent of marketing... Read more →

It's Too Easy to Skip Past the Day-to-Day Toil Involved with Making a Difference

“At the end of the day, it’s still the makers that matter most. Listening to the stories of entrepreneurs and instigators that have worked on causes for years and decades with little support or recognition is inspiring. When we listen to people’s stories, read about history, or look back at any sweeping changes, it’s too easy to skip past the day-to-day toil that’s involved along the way.” [Taylor Davidson] True innovation takes focus, commitment, and discipline. It also takes a support network who is unafraid to step behind the maker, entrepreneur, and visionary to lend a hand where appropriate. And... Read more →

Eugene O'Kelly Had it All, Then One Day...

In this video about persuasion and the power of story, Jennifer Aaker narrates why she believes stories can affect our happiness. She believes stories are more meaningful –- more memorable, more impactful, and more personal –- than statistics alone. Writing that is rich with stories can be illustrated like I did when I explored where is the story? and can be imagined, which is the reason why good fiction writing is a good place to find engaging ideas. Compelling content takes into account both sides of the brain -- it appeals to the emotion, and combines statistical data in support.... Read more →