Southwest Air WiFi: Real or Myth?

14 Wednesday Sep 2011

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Business, Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, History, Honor, Independent Studies, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Privacy, Public Relations, Travel

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Business, Dave Ridley, Gary Kelly, Howard Lefkowitz, Internet, Row 44, Southwest Airlines, SWA, Travel, WiFi

USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Southwest Airlines (SWA) has been talking about in-flight WiFi service for over four years, but today most Southwest passengers will find that going online is still something that happens on the ground, not in the air. Even if a Southwest plane has the ‘WiFi hump’ and is labeled as a WiFi HotSpot, it doesn’t mean the service will be turned on during the flight.

Southwest’s goal of in-flight Internet service has had its challenges in getting airborne. A brief history of their communications on the topic:

53 months agoª – In an interview about restructuring fuel contracts, SWA CEO Gary Kelly mentions that his airline is considering adding WiFi service. Kelly is quoted as saying,

“We are very seriously exploring that. We’d be acutely interested in the cost of doing that. It would be a very exciting development if we could make that work.”¹

A Southwest Plane with the WiFi 'hump' satellite antenna located on the top of the plane in front of the tail

44 months ago – Southwest announces it will be testing passenger WiFi service on four planes in the summer using Row 44 as it’s Internet service provider.²

25 months ago – Southwest announces that testing is completed and that they will start equipping planes with WiFi in the Spring of 2010.³

20 months ago – Senior Vice President of Marketing and Revenue Management Dave Ridley states in SWA’s blog, Nuts About Southwest, admits, “… the road to onboard wi-fi has been a long one…,”¹¹ but said that starting the 2nd quarter of 2010, SWA will start installing WiFi on 15 planes a month and increasing it to 25 planes a month. He added:

“…we estimate that our full fleet of more than 540 planes will be outfitted with wi-fi service by early 2012.”

11 months ago – SVP Ridley announces in the Nuts About Southwest blog that only 32 planes have WiFi installed and he adds:

“…we are adding to that number weekly.”¹²

2 months ago – In a call to investors CEO Kelly reveals a timetable revision for in-flight WiFi:

“…Kelly said he feels “very comfortable” with the “2013 timeframe” for fleetwide Wi-Fi installation…”¹³

Last week, after two separate incidents of the WiFi service being turned off on WiFi designated Southwest planes, uniformed Southwest employees had different explanations of the status of the company’s on board Internet service. One claimed that the system ‘worked yesterday’ and another said confidentially that their were problems with the Internet service provider and that the Southwest was no longer using them.

Howard Lefkowitz, Chief Commercial Officer

Not so, says Chief Commercial Officer Howard Lefkowitz of Row 44. Lefkowitz, the former CEO of Vegas.com who joined Row 44 about a year ago, said in a telephone interview that Row 44 is still Southwest’s Internet and entertainment provider and that they are continuing to equip the planes. He said that “…over 100…” planes now have WiFi Internet service and thousands of people are using it everyday. Lefkowitz said he would check into why two of the WiFi equipped flights were not in service last week.

Southwest Airlines was contacted by phone and email, but did not respond to requests for information.

This article first published as
Southwest Air WiFi: Real or Myth?
on Technorati.com

NOTES AND REFERENCES

ªGary Kelly’s original remarks were recorded in the Dallas Morning News; however, that link is broken. The link appears in an April 19, 2007, blog in WNN WiFi Net News. The remarks are from another blog referenced below on the same date.

¹Author Unknown. The Wireless Weblog (2007.) Southwest Airlines Wants WiFi. Retrieved September 13, 2011 from http://www.wireless-weblog.com/50226711/southwest_airlines_wants_wifi.php.

²W. Safer. Switched. (2008.) Southwest Airlines Adding In-Flight WiFi Internet Access This Summer. Retrieved September 13, 2011 from http://www.switched.com/2008/01/24/southwest-airlines-adds-in-flight-wireless-internet-access-this/

³B. Parr. Mashable. (2009.) Southwest Airline: Wi-Fi On Every Flight by Early 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2011 from http://mashable.com/2009/08/23/southwest-wifi/. ¹¹D. Ridley. Nuts About Southwest. (2010.) It Is Official–Wi-Fi Is On The Way! Retrieved September 13, 2011 from http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/it-is-official-wi-fi-is-on-the-way

¹²D. Ridley. Nuts About Southwest. (2010.) Southwest Airlines Media Day 2010: WiFi Details (Including Price) Revealed. Retrieved September 13, 2011 from http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/southwest-airlines-media-day-2010-wifi-details-including-price-revealed.

¹³Dennis Schaal. tnooz. (2010.) Southwest Airlines: Fleetwide Wi-Fi Won’t Come Until 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2011 from http://www.tnooz.com/2010/07/29/mobile/southwest-airlines-fleetwide-wi-fi-wont-come-until-2013/.

Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?

25 Friday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Club Leadership, Communication, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

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Blogging, Blogs, Club Members, denver post, History of Rotary, London Times, Los Angles Times, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, New York Times, npr, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International, Social Media

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - Public Relations Chair, Rotary District 5190

On July 1 of every year Rotary rolls out a new administration. From the club level to the 18th floor of One Rotary Center the leadership for our organization makes quietly dramatic team substitution. Each year starts with the hope of pushing Rotary to new levels of success and each year ends with a long sigh of relief.

When I first joined Rotary on July 5, 2001, I learned quickly that a new adminstration was not to take any action, including planning, until July 1, which meant that it was late August before the club leadership could get organized. This concept of not ‘stepping on the current President’s toes’ was an outdated, destructive dogma that held back the club from being prepared and in motion when the first bell rang in July. Somewhere around our Centennial in 2005 I noticed that the attitude was changing and clubs were being encouraged to get the new leadership trained and ready before July 1 and each subsequent year the quality and preparedness of clubs has improved. At least in our District, the class of 2010-11 is perhaps the best prepared for putting words and ideas into action when they stand up in front of the club on Week 1.

Theme for 2010-11

But preparing and training only set the stage, it is performance that counts. The world has changed and the role of a service organization that is not bound by religious, political, or ideological motives is more critical than ever in a world where those motives are driving a wedge between people instead of uniting them. Rotary’s constitution and history have freed our members from judging our fellow world citizens before we offer to serve, nor do we serve them with the intention of converting them to our beliefs. Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self means that we are in the unique position of unrequited care and service to others. In 2010 and beyond, the world is in desperate need of that which is the core of a Rotarian’s heart.

But we are faced with a challenge that has been dogging us for years. Despite multiple years of great Rotary International (RI) Presidents, and District Governors, one year looks much like the previous year any many of our key club functions. Our new themes and leadership fail to make any significant headway with the-way-we-have-always-done-things paradigm.

One area that demonstrates this is in Membership. An organization that is stagnant in membership growth cannot expect to meet new challenges and yet for seven years we have sat at 1.2 million members. In our District (5190) the average size of a club has been steadily shrinking. Last year I researched the last five years and found that we have dropped from an average of 53 members per club (June 2005) down to 47 members (September 2009.) As of April of 2010, that average has dropped to 46 members per club. This is not a criticism of our District because I suspect I would find the same data in all the North American Districts. It is apparent that not only is our growth stagnant, but our clubs are shrinking, which means fewer members to take on a bigger role.

2010-11 RI President Ray Klinginsmith

The question for each of us is whether this will be another year of Retread Membership or a year of rebirth, (Renaissance,) in Membership? To have a rebirth we must have a new approach and not be locked into medieval thinking. Current RI President John Kenny gave us the theme, The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands, and upcoming RI President Ray Klinginsmith challenges clubs to ‘get bigger, better, bolder’. Both invite Rotarians to not make a Retread of the 2010-11 year, but to spawn a Renaissance of our organization. So what holds us back?

(Rotary meant for young professionals? Click here for story.)

I have had many conversations with Rotarians about membership. I often hear about the barriers and challenges. But what I know is that the difference between a Retread Rotary year and a Rotary Renaissance will be determined not by a theme, or by the words of the RI President, or by great work by a District Governor. Creating a Rotary Renaissance will be determined by individual club members who decide that there are no excuses and that failure in membership growth is not an option. Robert Kennedy is credited with saying, “If not us, who? If not now, when?” Two questions every Rotarian should ask themselves in this new Rotary year.

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The shock of the McChrystal story: Story is over before the article is published

24 Thursday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Communication, Crisis Management, Ethics, Human Resources, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Print Media, Public Relations, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Traditional Media

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Afghanistan, Army, Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, David Pertraeus, denver post, Executive Management, Facebook, General Stanley McChrystal, latimes, Magazines, Management Practices, McChrystal, Military Command, New Business World, Newspapers, npr, nytimes, President Obama, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rolling Stones Magaizine, Rotary, scandal, Social Media, Social Networking, traditional media, Twitter, US Military, War

by Paul Kiser [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

Today is an amazing day! It may not seem that different to some people, but they just don’t realize what today signifies in the world of social and traditional media. Still, not clear? Think about this:

General Stanley McChrystal

Monday, June 21 – Reports surface that President Obama is angry about an article that would be appearing in Rolling Stones magazine. The article has several remarks by General Stanley McChrystal that were derogatory in nature about several people in the Administration. It is announced that McChrystal has been ordered to appear in person at the White House for Wednesday’s staff meeting, normally done via a secure video transmission.
Tuesday, June 22 – Thousands of articles, blogs, and news stories on television and radio discuss the article, the General and what should be done. All this happens while the General is in transit to Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, June 23 – General McChrystal reports to the White House, his resignation is accepted and it is announced that General David Petraeus will assume his command.
Thursday, June 24 – Continued discussion around the world about the article, the General, and President Obama’s solution to the issue. A Google search of the terms ‘McChrystal runaway general Obama’ nets 464,000 hits (many refer to another situation in October 2009) and the same terms appearing in blogs nets 92,000 hits.

So why does this make today an amazing day? The article that is the cause of bringing down the US Commander of the war in Afghanistan, the President making a swift, major change in his top military administrative staff, and has been the subject of discussion around the world for days…isn’t published in print until tomorrow.

But that isn’t even the best part! The best part is that no one is amazed by this bizarre situation. We have become so accustomed to the Internet trumping print media that no one sees the significance of the reaction to a news story superseding the news story actually being published.

What does it mean?
There is no better example of what has happened in the worlds of Social and Traditional Media than the events of this week. Print media used to ‘be’ the news but now print media is only a historical account of news. It is impossible for print media to have any impact on the world because it is too slow. Yes, television and radio were leaders in promoting the story; however, it was the Internet that provided the mechanism for so many ‘civilians’ to react to the story. The story was discussed in blogs, on Facebook, and on Twitter…all in real-time, not on a news cycle.

For the business person it is simple. If you think that Social Media is a waste of time and that it has no ROI (return on investment) for your company then know that your business could be dead before you even know why. If you are not plugged in and aware then you are flying blind in a world that quietly watches you and everything you do. The Google search will give your customer access to the good, the bad, and the ugly about you.

Think about this: a very powerful and successful military man was brought down by one reporter through some inappropriate remarks. In this situation he worked for a major publication, but it could have been a blogger with a video and the impact would have been the same. Social Media is not about how much time it will take out of your day, nor is it about the return on your investment. It is about your survival.

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Tony Hayward: The very model of a modern Major General

23 Wednesday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary

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Blogging, Blogs, BP, British, British Petroleum, CEO, Conservatives, Deep Water Drilling, Disaster, England, Executive Management, Great Britain, Gulf of Mexico, King George III, Management Practices, Mega Oil Companies, New Business World, Oil Companies, oil leak, oil spill, petrol, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Republicans, Social Media, Tony Hayward

by Paul Kiser [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Tony Hayward - Modern Major General

Enough with the BP CEO bashing! Regardless of any verbal gaffs, or ill-advised yacht racing, if Tony Hayward, the shining star of BP, is guilty of anything he is only guilty of being the perfect CEO. A corporate executives first and last duty is to his investors and when we measure up Mr. Hayward he is, in fact, the very model of a modern corporate executive. If it please the court of the business world I’ll present my case:

POINT ONE: When he took the reins of BP (that does not stand for Bloody Petrol) he immediately weeded out all those people who, and I quote, “….wanted to save the world.” Saving the world is not the goal of business, making money is, and no one can say that Mr. Hayward didn’t make money for the investors of BP. Score one for the British! They’ve become as obsessive about profit as the an American conservative!

The Public Image of Tony Hayward...but it doesn't count

POINT TWO: After the fire and rescue of the victims from the platform Mr. Hayward’s legal team leapt into action to detain the survivors until they signed a release saying that they were not injured…which, in legalese is to say they were signing a waiver of all liability, not a just that they were not physically injured, but that BP could not be sued for any mismanagement, negligence, etc. This reflects devotion that Mr. Hayward and his team have for the investor. Duty first and last!

POINT THREE: Within hours of the disaster BP’s crack crisis response team sprung into action securing all information and potential access to protect the corporation from negative portrayals by the world media. First there was no oil leaking, then only 5,000 barrels, then, well, no comment. Carefully crafted statements were released to reassure the investors, (not the public,) that the event was a minor setback and the amount of oil would have a minimal impact on the excessive amount of water in the Gulf of Mexico. Textbook Public Relations work!

POINT FOUR: Unfortunately, BP could not hide massive oil slicks from the cameras of the media and that could scare the investors…but wait a minute…they could hide them by pouring millions of gallons of toxic dispersants on the oil at the point of origin! Yes, it would make collection the oil impossible, but that was save-the-world thinking, and this was not the time to shirk the duty to the investor with ethics. Again, Mr. Hayward shows us his stuff!

POINT FIVE: The pièce de résistance (my apologies to the British for resorting to French) was the yacht race that Tony Hayward took leave of the United States to attend. As outrage among the American public reached a fever pitch it was a stroke of genius by a perfect corporate executive to again restore order with the investors by demonstrating that this oil spill event is all much ado about nothing and normal aristocratic life is alive and well in this man’s corporation.

It is true that not since King George III have the average, non-conservative American been so incensed with a British national, but the public is passé (again my apologies for using French) in the corporate world, especially in the world of big oil companies. The public will trade ethics for petrol (I’m trying to compensate for using French by using British words) any day of the week. The public’s role is to buy their product, not tell them how to obtain it. Tony Hayward has been true-blue to the investors…I wouldn’t be surprised if his urine is blue! No one can dispute that as a model of the corporate executive, Tony is the best of the best.

I rest my case.

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Public Relations and Ethics: Cover up or come clean

18 Friday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Management Practices, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Social Media Relations

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Blogs, BP, Management Practices, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotarians, Rotary, Social Media

by Paul Kiser [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

In an ideal world a Public Relations person would be the liaison between the organization they represent and the community. The problem with that concept is that the community doesn’t pay the salary of a Public Relations person. If someone wishes to be paid in a PR career they have to serve the interests of the organization, not the community. In the world of publicly owned corporations the interests of an organization are always about profit, not what is right or wrong. The job of the PR person is to protect the public image of the corporation….sometimes even if it sacrifices a person’s ethics to do it, and there’s the rub.

Public Relations should be exposed to full light

Public Relations is not inherently evil. The purpose of PR in any organization should be to educate the public on the organization and address any misperceptions or misunderstandings that would put the company in a negative light. Unfortunately, corporate executives don’t always stop at misunderstandings. They want the company to look good even when they have screwed up. The pressure on the PR staff to cover up or mislead the public can be oppressive, including requiring employees to sign non-disclosure agreements that extend beyond employment (even though they may not be legally enforceable.)

The difference between ethical and unethical PR tactics is not always clear. In the case of criminal situations, such as a violent employee, an organization has an obligation to withhold certain information to protect the dignity and privacy of the victims and the rights of the accused. At the same time a company has an obligation to inform the community of any potential danger, even if it may reflect negatively on the company or reveals corporate negligence.

A good example of questionable ethics is the PR strategy that BP has used during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. They have clearly sought to minimize the scope of the spill and kept information closely guarded. It will be years before we know the truth, but the use of massive amounts of toxic oil dispersants seems more of an intent to hide long, black, visible oil slicks from news media cameras than a logical strategy to mitigate the problem. This is textbook example of an unethical PR tactic of deferring the bad news from being today’s feature story on CNN in the hope that it will be a footnote in history when the truth surfaces.

Tony Hayward - BP CEO

Many people may think that Tony Hayward is the bumbling fool responsible for the PR mess at BP; however, anyone in our field knows that the PR staff will be radioactive when they apply for a position at another company. For the person in Public Relations, how the organization responds to a major PR crisis could end her or his career. This may not seem fair, but it is appropriate. People who work with unethical executives always have the option of saying no, and if needed, resigning before they sacrifice the truth or the well-being of the public or their fellow workers.

How to Draw the Line
So how can you decide when your ethics are being compromised by your organization? Here are four tests used in Rotary to determine if what you are doing is ethical or not:

Is it the truth? – Truth can be elusive, but in this context it means are you not lying and you are not attempting to be deceptive by what you are saying or not saying.

Is it fair to all concerned? – A company wants to be treated fairly by the media and public, but there is an obligation for the company to do the same.

Will it build goodwill and better friendships? – This is the best part of public relations and should be the foundation of every organization’s efforts with the community. Goodwill and an offer of friendship may be interpreted as manipulation at first, but by being consistently genuine will eventually dispel the cynicism.

Will it be beneficial to all concerned? – This is not for the short-term, but for now and into the future. There is no reason that a difficult public relations issue cannot be made into a win-win for everyone…providing the company is willing to act responsibly and look out for the public’s interest as well as that of its shareholders.

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War Declared on Social Media: Desperate Acts of Traditional Media

02 Wednesday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, About Reno, Branding, Communication, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Public Relations, SEO, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Website

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Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, copyright infringement, Elmer, Facebook, Freedom of Speech, journalism, journalists, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Sun, LinkedIn, Management Practices, Nevada, New Business World, Newspapers, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Reno Gazette-Journal, reporters, Rotary, Sherman Frederick, Social Media, Stephens Media Group, The Old Conservative Times, traditional media, Twitter

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

(NOTE USE AND REPRINT INFORMATION BELOW)

For the most part, the people in the traditional media (newspapers, magazines, TV, etc.) have seen the tidal wave of Social Media coming for years. They have typically adopted an if-you-can’t-beat-them-join-them strategy. The editors of our local paper have pushed their reporters (from here forward I’ll refer to them as journalists) to use Twitter and to blog in order to keep pace with the millions of reporters online that inform the world of everything from the cute thing their toddler did this week to the world event that everyone will be talking about in tomorrow’s newspaper.

Social Media has given voice to everyone and now journalists are but one voice among many, which is a problem if your living comes from your ability to be paid to have people read your stuff. In the days before blogs and Twitter, publishers and editors had the ability to control who could be heard and who could be silenced, but Social Media took away all their power and at least one publisher is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. He has declared war! He is going to sue!

The rationale for the suit is legitimate. A certain publisher (let’s call him, Elmer) at a certain Nevada newspaper (let’s call it The Old Conservative Times) has called out the demons (let’s call them lawyers…on second thought, let’s stick with demons) and is going after any website that uses copyrighted material of the The Old Conservative Times. What’s more, Elmer wants everyone else in the traditional media to get on the bandwagon with him.

I agree that anyone who steals an article from another website without crediting or revealing their original source of information is wrong. If possible, they should also link back to the original source. That’s the way Social Media works. We share information and let our friends, followers, readers know from where we got the information and, in turn, help publicize their work. Journalists, for the most part are professionals, and to steal their work and claim it as your own is unethical.

But that is not what this issue is really about for Elmer and the methods being used by The Old Conservative Times demonstrate that this is not an act of preserving the work of professional journalists. Elmer and his demons have decided to sue first and ask questions…never. Rather than contacting the offender and telling them to remove the copyrighted information, Elmer and his demons are going for the throat and filing suit with the intention of stealing the domain rights of the organization. That’s right, Elmer is using the nuclear option. No warning, just show up in court and turn over everything to Elmer. Freedom of Speech be damned, Elmer is here to tell us what we should think!

I should note that according to Elmer’s blogs he is a conservative. He hates President Barrack Obama and he takes any opportunity to spin a situation to cast a negative light on our President, or Democrats, or the elected government of the greatest nation in the history of the world. It seems about every third blog is pounding home the conservative dribble that proposes hate for our government, hate for our elected leaders, hate for the citizens of Mexico, ….you get the picture.

So Elmer is lashing out at Social Media, which is composed of people who want to be informed, but not by just those who hate, but those who can love, and everyone in between. Elmer wants traditional media to regain control of people’s hearts and minds and this Social Media thing is not acceptable! So Elmer and his demons are not seeking to correct the issue of copyright infringement, which could be done with a phone call or an email, they want to take away the voices of the Social Media, one domain at a time. Elmer also wants all his publishing friends to join him as he strikes a blow against freedom of speech for all and raises a flag on the land of the uninformed.

Hey Elmer, let me know how that works out for you…but don’t quote me, or I’ll sue you.

(Any use or reprint of part or all of this article is expressly ALLOWED for anyone,-except The Las Vegas Review-Journal, its staff, Stephens Media Group, or any affiliates, or any conservative-based organization that has made derogatory remarks about President Barack Obama, Senator Harry Reid, or Speaker Nancy Pelosi,-providing credit is given to Paul Kiser and, if possible, a link to this web address is included with the appearance.)

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Pay It Middle: The Balance between Too Much and Too Little Compensation

01 Tuesday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Communication, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Science, Social Media Relations, Violence in the Workplace, Women

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Abraham Maslow, Blogs, Compensation, Employment, HR, Management Practices, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, New Business World, Pay for Performance, performance reviews, Public Image, Re-Imagine!, Rotary

by Paul Kiser [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Yesterday I wrote an article about research that shows that too much compensation actually makes performance worse. A fellow Rotarian (thanks Skip!) sent me a link to a great video by RSA Animate that illustrates the issue and the research. If you haven’t seen it take a look:

Dan Pink: Drive and Purpose YouTube Video

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

The article is here: (Mega Executive Pay Leads to Poor Performance)

But the question is why does mega pay negatively impact performance? Here’s my theory.

The Psychology of Making Too Much Money – Barney and the Manna ATM
A man named Barney goes to withdraw $500 from his local ATM. Instead he is given $5,000. When Barney checks his balance it shows that no money was withdrawn from his account. He could go to the bank and let them know that he thinks the ATM has made a mistake but he doesn’t. Initially he is afraid that someone will discover the mistake and take the money away, but no one says anything and eventually Barney’s fear eases. Each week he goes back to the same ATM for another withdrawal and the same thing occurs. He tries other ATM’s, but he learns that it is just this one that gives him money for nothing. Soon he has built a life around getting $5,000 every week from this ATM. His fear has now subsided, but he feels a little guilty, but also a little evil.

One evening Barney is in a rush for the money and pushes a woman out-of-the-way to make his transaction. The woman is irritated but stands to the side while Barney enters in the information. When the money comes out she notices that he received $5,000 but only requested $500. She points this out to him and he denies it. She knows what she saw and she won’t be convinced. Barney offers to give her half of the money and she refuses the offer. She says she is going to tell the bank….What will Barney do to keep his lifestyle?

When examining behavior by executives and managers in the banking crisis of 2007-09, the answer to that question: “What will a man do to keep his lifestyle?” (I’m not being sexist, just accurate) is answered by the unethical business decisions that led to massive financial failures in 2008-09. Pay might purchase a person’s talents for an organization, but at a certain point, too much compensation begins to purchase the person’s ethical compass. Good decision-making is replaced by self-preservation and the future of the business is sacrificed for the financials of the current quarter.

The lesson is that too much compensation becomes a trap that will often lead to unethical decisions. Mega pay not only doesn’t improve performance, it lures executives to the dark side.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

The Psychology of Making Too Little Money – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The other side of the issue is paying too little. In 1943, a researcher named Abraham Maslow published a paper titled: A Theory of Human Motivation. The work was based on examining successful people and their living situations. From his research he concluded that there is a Hierarchy of Needs that must be met in steps, with each step supporting the next level.

In Maslow’s paper he proposes that humans must meet their basic survival needs that contribute to sustaining life as the base level of life; however, security and safety needs are the next level. All levels above that (Belonging, Esteem, and finally, Self-Actualization) are dependent on the needs of the first two levels being met.

This is the key. Employers that fail to compensate their team to the point of a living wage should expect their staff to be in a constant state of crisis and that means they cannot expect these employees to be creative and innovative in dealing with the common issues that might arise with the customer. An underpaid employee will be in a constant state of personal crisis that will lead to many issues including reliability, focus, and attitude.

The question is how much is a living wage? That takes an individual examination of the job, the market, and the economy of the region. As the video suggests, you should pay enough to take money off the table as an issue.

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Mega Executive Pay Leads to Poorer Performance

31 Monday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Customer Relations, Human Resources, Management Practices, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Science, Social Media Relations, Women

≈ 1 Comment

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Blogging, Dan Pink, Employee evaluations, Employment, Executive Compensation, Executive Pay, HR, job standards, LinkedIn, Management Practices, MIT, New Business World, performance reviews, Public Image, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Value-added, YouTube

by Paul Kiser [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

Mega executive pay and bonuses do not work. Mega executive pay and bonuses do not work. Mega executive pay and bonues do not work. Got it? No? Then watch this RSA Animate video by theRSAorg posted on YouTube featuring Dan Pink discussing pay and motivation:

Dan Pink: Drive and Purpose YouTube Video

In research and the real world the idea that mega pay makes for mega profit has been proven wrong over and over, yet we still have corporate directors handing out millions of dollars to single individuals…even when that person has led the company to failure. Why? Let’s go back to cognitive dissonance.

We are conditioned to believe that the more we pay, the better the quality. That is drilled into us. Value is determined by how much money we pay for a product or service. How could it possibly be different in paying an executive? So when MIT research, or Goldman Sachs, or BP, or Massey Energy, or General Motors , or Washington Mutual, or Merrill Lynch (the list goes on) demonstrate that mega pay does not equal mega performance…or even good performance, then people overlook the evidence and begin to use irrational logic to justify mega executive pay. Earlier in May, Bill Virgin wrote a piece for The News Tribune in Tacoma, WA to justify corporate exec pay where he said:

“Corporate CEOs have employees, labor unions, investors, customers and government regulators to worry about.”

One might think that CEO’s were alone on a white horse fighting off evil with a shiny silver sword according to Mr. Virgin. The fact is that often the workers under the CEO have a much more stressful environment and in some cases lives hang in the balance, so the CEO’s typical responsibilities fail to be a good reason to pay them hundreds of times more than the workers under them.

The surprise is how little is written in support of mega pay for executives. I believe this is due to the people who make the decision (corporate directors) having no reason to adopt executive pay policies that are based in common sense and every reason to maintain the status quo, but they also have no reason to justify their reasons to anyone. Massive pay means the appearance of importance and if you are the person handing out the massive pay you are even more important. From a corporate director’s boardroom chair the investors aren’t revolting and the customers are still buying, and Republicans are still protecting the practice, so there is no issue to discuss publicly.

But the practice has to change. Not only is it ineffective, it is immoral. Many years ago I worked in a retail store and I learned that the corporate CEO was making $4 million per year and each store was only making an average of less than $250,000 net profit per year. That meant that the work of thousands of employees in over 16 stores were dedicated to providing the salary of one person…and I can tell you, he wasn’t worth it.

If you watched the Dan Pink video you’ve learned that human motivation is based on many factors. I think the important thing to remember is that ‘satisfaction‘ is the most fleeting of all our emotions. Money is junk food in the world of motivation and performance. Too much just makes you sick.

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Relationships and Thin Slicing: Why the Other Person Knows What You’re Really Thinking

28 Friday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Book Review, Branding, Communication, Customer Relations, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Retention, parenting, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Science, Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Violence in the Workplace

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Blink, Blogs, Club Members, Employee evaluations, Employee privacy, Employment, Four-Way Test, HR, job standards, John Gottman, Malcolm Gladwell, Management Practices, Membership Retention, negative relationships, New Business World, performance reviews, positive relationships, Public Image, Public Relations, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International, Social Media, Social Networking, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Thin-slicing

by Paul Kiser [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

You’ve been warned about ‘this person’ and now you’re being introduced to them. You smile and shake his hand and say, “nice to meet you.” Visibly, you are polite and friendly; however, inside your hoping to be able to move on because even though you’ve never met him before you are preconditioned to not like him. The introduction ends and you move on believing that went things went smoothly. He walks away knowing that you dislike him and he begins to form a negative impression of you. In less than five seconds you have cemented a negative relationship…and you didn’t even know it. What happened?

Malcolm Gladwell

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, it is called it thin-slicing and it is based on solid research. Gladwell uses many examples of how the human brain picks up seemingly unseen and unheard clues and can accurately identify what is going on in a given situation. In one example, researcher John Gottman and his team coded conversations between married couples using 14 emotional identifiers (1=contempt, 2=anger, etc.) and found that they could accurately predict whether or not the couple was heading for a divorce by the subtle clues that betrayed the inner thoughts and attitudes of each person. Most of these signals lasted a second or less, but the signal clearly indicated the inner feelings of the person and the pattern of their relationship.

Gladwell argues that in a thin-slice experience we usually do not know what we know, nor why we know it, but the evidence is conclusive, we do know it. It is often described as a ‘feeling’ and people usually cannot explain it to others, so it is usually dismissed as being oversensitive. Gladwell‘s research suggests that the feeling is real and that our unconscious mind is the source of the analysis that creates a tangible, and accurate feeling and/or assessment of the situation.

: Conversations Are Never Just Casual

Based on the information in Blink one can conclude that when someone has a dislike for someone, or when people discuss someone else behind their back, the attitudes felt or expressed privately will be exposed in subtle hints the next time we meet the subject of the gossip. We are taught as children to not gossip about others, which was a valuable lesson based on what we now know; however, in the business world people often discuss work performance of subordinates with their peers or superiors. Those discussions then shape our attitudes about the subordinate, which are then revealed in our next interaction with the worker. The same can be said of any relationship, whether it be a superior/subordinate, peer/peer, Club member/member, parent/child, spouse/spouse, or any interaction between two people. Simply put, strong attitudes and opinions about another person can and will be read by that person at the next meeting.

But what is worse is once a negative relationship is formed it is almost impossible to revert it to a positive relationship. Gladwell says that if a person has contempt or other negative attitudes towards someone, even a kind or reconciliatory gesture will be misread as manipulation or motivated by a hidden agenda. That idea is reinforced by the theory of cognitive dissonance, which suggests that once we have an opinion or belief about something we will reject evidence that contradicts our opinion or belief and will even go so far as to manufacture evidence or examples to support our version of the truth.

Do We Have to Like Everyone?
Certainly we don’t have to have a positive relationship with everyone, but negative relationships tend to expend more of our energy and time. This is especially true for people in positions of leadership. Consider the time spent on emails, meetings, phone calls, and emotional stress that involve interactions with people who we have an adversarial relationship versus the support and positive reinforcement we receive through friendly relationships. It is obvious that a negative relationship that is based on our preconditioning to dislike them is not only counterproductive, but also an unnecessary waste of time and emotion.

The first step in avoiding the downward spiral of negative relationships is to recognize that our internal dislike for someone is not hidden from that person. Our actions, behaviors, and responses will be picked up and will, in turn, dictate their response to us. Gossip, whether it is causally done with friends, or professionally sanctioned as part of ‘assessment’ of subordinates is dangerous to our relationship with that person and will ultimately make our life more difficult. Most of us were taught at some point to never say anything about anyone unless you are prepared to say it to their face….it is a good rule in the home, at work, or anywhere else.

Rotary's Four-Way Test

Rotary has a Four-Way Test that is a guide to any relationship. It is meant to take Rotarians to a higher standard in business and in life. The ‘test’ is as follows:

First, is it the Truth?
Second, is it fair to all concerned?
Third, will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Fourth, will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Great words that can help us to build great relationships…even when sliced thin.

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Browser Wars: Internet Explorer losing, Google Chrome gaining ground

26 Wednesday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, History, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Public Relations, Rotary, SEO, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Website

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Apple Inc., Blogs, Browsers, Chrome, Firefox, Google, Google Aps, Internet, Internet Explorer, iPod, iTunes, Microsoft, Mozilla, Net Applications, New Business World, Public Image, Rotary, Safari, Social Media, Social Networking, Value-added

by Paul Kiser [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - CEO of 2020 Enterprise Technologies, inc.

Browsers are simply a platform that facilitates our access to webpages on the Internet. They are a vehicle that takes a user to the places they want to go on the Internet. Using the auto analogy, Internet Explorer (IE) would be a utilitarian type of car….a white, 4-cylinder sedan with no air conditioning and an AM radio. That may sound like a biased description, but it is not meant to be derogatory. IE’s browser has served us for 15 years (version 1.0 was launched in 1995) in the capacity it was designed; to get us around on the web with no frills or flash. But many people are no longer satisfied with just getting there. They want more, and IE is losing market share as customers learn to expect more from their browser.

In May 2005, ninety percent of website hits were via Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. It was the 800-pound gorilla of the Internet, but by April 2010, IE users only made up about half of the Internet browser market and one group (w3schools.com) showed IE’s share down to almost one-third. The past two years have seen a major change in the industry with Mozilla Firefox’s browser in a commanding second place and Google’s new Chrome browser successfully gaining market share.

April 2010 Market Share (Ave. of data by Wikipedia)

According to a report by Net Applications, Firefox had 18.3% of the browser market in May 2008, which grew to over 24% (Wikipedia’s average is 28%) by last Fall; however, Firefox’s market share growth has been flat (most survey groups actually indicate market shrinkage) during the last seven months while Google’s Chrome browser (introduced in December 2008) has had a steady half percent growth in market share each month during the same period. It is clear that Google’s new offering is still not on the radar of most browser users, but it seems that it is nearing a Tipping Point that could create a major jump in market share by the end of this year.

May 2008 Browser Market - Data courtesy of Net Applications

Dissatisfiers Driving the Change
Internet Explorer has had the advantage of being the product of Microsoft and as such it was the default browser for most Internet users. Several attempts have been made to usurp IE but none were successful until Firefox managed to gain a foothold in 2004 and started a march to capture almost a quarter of the browser market by late last year. During its growth Firefox exposed the increasing dissatisfaction of IE users with Microsoft’s product.

The most common issue for users has been the slow response of IE browser. As everything else in the world has sped up, Internet Explorer has been slowing down. It can take a minute or more for the IE browser to load up pages. Also, many of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) services like Yahoo have embedded advertising (spam) in prominent places on the page and they don’t allow the user to delete or move the ads. These ISP pages have become the home page for many IE users and they associate the spam with the IE browser even though it is a function of the ISP, not Microsoft.

Google Chrome App Page

Chrome ‘s Speed and Apps Capturing IE Users

As people become more educated about browser alternatives, IE is likely to lose more market share to newer, flashier options. Google has used Firefox’s success with a new concept of an Internet tool to advance web browsing to a new level. Users are pleasantly surprised with Chrome’s a 15-second response time versus IE’s 30 to 60 second wait. Google’s browser also offers a wide group of applications for an easy build-it-yourself home page that doesn’t include any spam. Firefox also offers apps, but it does not have the ease of drag and drop page construction of Chrome, which makes Google’s browser feel more like an Apple product in the sense that it seems more user-friendly.

That brings up the question of where is Apple in the mix? Apple has attempted to duplicate Microsoft’s model of forcing it’s Safari browser on users of Apple’s iPod/iTunes users. In over three years in the market and despite it being included in every update of iTunes, Safari (not so goody) has failed to make any headway with consumers. Google has managed to leapfrog Apple’s product, which has to be a source of irritation for the company that wants to be the primary thorn in the side of Microsoft.

The rest of 2010 will be important to the three leaders in the browser market. Google is positioned to capture a significant percentage of the Internet users and if they end the year with a market share of 14% or more it is likely that Internet Explorer and Firefox could be in a battle for survival in 2011.

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Rotary@105: What BP Could Learn from the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics

25 Tuesday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, History, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary, Rotary@105, Science, Social Media Relations, US History

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Blogs, BP, British Petroleum, Club Members, Greed, Greed is good, History of Rotary, Management Practices, Michael Douglas, New Business World, Paul Harris, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary International, Value-added, Wall Street

by Paul Kiser

One of the BP oil leaks in the Gulf of Mexico

BP…formerly known as British Petroleum, has a disaster on their hands and it is not just the disaster caused by millions of gallons of crude oil spewing out in the Gulf of Mexico. They have a public relations disaster that is re-establishing the oil industry’s reputation as the sleaziest in a business world that is not known for its ethical choices. Among their biggest mistakes has been to minimize the estimates of how much oil is leaking into open water. It is obvious that at best BP executives are completely incompetent or at worst they have intentionally deceived the public. In either case, they confirm in the public’s mind that business is all about greed and that business ethics is an oxymoron.

Greed is Good

Unfortunately, business often fails to be good custodians of our society because for profit enterprise is inherently based on a motive of greed. In the 1987 film, Wall Street, Gordon Gekko (performed by Michael Douglas), says, “Greed is good.” Gekko is merely pointing out that while greed is a selfish, dishonorable emotion, it is the fuel that drives business.

The fact that business is riddled with unethical people is not new. When Rotary was born in 1905, Chicago business people were more like Gordon Gekko than like Paul Harris, the founding father of Rotary. Business was riddled with corruption and fraudulent practices.

However, those that joined Rotary created an environment that rewarded honor in business. A Rotarian sought out his fellow Rotarians with which to do business. Each member knew that business transactions became personal when you had to sit down with the customer at the next club meeting. But Rotary didn’t formally commit to a philosophy of ethics until several years after the first club was chartered, and it wasn’t Paul Harris that led the charge.

By 1912, Paul Harris had served as President of the International Association of Rotary Clubs for two years and had spent many long hours during the past seven years nurturing the birth and growth of Rotary into a major organization. As he passed the gavel to Glenn Mead, Mr. Harris stepped away from Rotary for what would be a 10-year hiatus. Had Rotary consisted of followers, the absence of a major figure like Paul Harris would have left the organization in dismay; however Rotary consists of business leaders and President Mead stepped up to the challenge and launched a new emphasis on establishing a Code of Ethics for Rotarians to follow.

It took two years and a long train ride to the 1914 Rotary Convention in Houston, Texas to put together a formal declaration of business ethics for the organization, but both the 1914 and 1915 Rotary Conventions voted to adopt eleven articles of ethical business standards. After almost 100 years, BP as well as every business person could learn several lessons that would help them avoid disasters and Public Relations nightmares by following the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics:

The 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics For Businessmen of All Lines

My business standards shall have in them a note of sympathy for our common humanity. My business dealings, ambitions and relations shall always cause me to take into consideration my highest duties as a member of society. In every position in business life, in every responsibility that comes before me, my chief thought shall be to fill that responsibility and discharge that duty so when I have ended each of them, I shall have lifted the level of human ideals and achievements a little higher than I found it. As a Rotarian it is my duty:

To consider any vocation worthy and as affording me distinct opportunity to serve society.

To improve myself, increase my efficiency and enlarge my service, and by doing so attest my faith in the fundamental principle of Rotary, that he/she profits most who serves the best.

III

To realize that I am a business man and ambitious to succeed; but that I am first an ethical man and wish no success that is not founded on the highest justice and morality.

To hold that the exchange of my goods, my service and my ideas for profit is legitimate and ethical, provided that all parties in the exchange are benefited thereby.

To use my best endeavors to elevate the standards of the vocation in which I am engaged, and so to conduct my affairs that others in my vocation may find it wise, profitable and conducive to happiness to emulate my example.

To conduct my business in such a manner that I may give a perfect service equal to or even better than my competitor, and when in doubt to give added service beyond the strict measure of debt or obligation.

VII

To understand that one of the greatest assets of a professional or of a business man is his friends and that any advantage gained by reason of friendship is eminently ethical and proper.

VIII

To hold that true friends demand nothing of one another and that any abuse of the confidence of friendship for profit is foreign to the spirit of Rotary, and in violation of its Code of Ethics.

To consider no personal success legitimate or ethical which is secured by taking unfair advantage of certain opportunities in the social order that are absolutely denied others, nor will I take advantage of opportunities to achieve material success that others will not take because of the questionable morality involved.

To be not more obligated to a brother Rotarian than I am to every other man in human society; because the genius of Rotary is not in its competition, but in its cooperation; for provincialism can never have a place in an institution like Rotary, and Rotarians assert that Human Rights are not confined to Rotary Clubs, but are as deep and as broad as the race itself; and for these high purposes does Rotary exist to educate all men and all institutions.

Finally, believing in the universality of the Golden Rule, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them, we contend that Society best holds together when equal opportunity is accorded all men in the natural resources of this planet.

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NETGEAR = BADGEAR + BAD PR = EPIC FAIL

23 Sunday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Public Relations, Social Media Relations

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ActionTec, Best Buy, Blogs, Cisco, Community TV Series, Customer Service, Defective Equipment, DNG2000, Hulu, Management Practices, Modem, NETGEAR, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Router, Social Media, Value-added

By Paul Kiser

The appropriate location for a NETGEAR DGN2000 Router Modem

Dear NETGEAR:

Bite me…

Sincerely,
Paul

One hundred and eleven days ago our 2Wire DSL Modem Router died. It died just one day short of being five years old and it took me about a day to decide what to do about it. AT&T’s ‘store’ wasn’t going to be open until the next Monday, so I decided to go with a third-party replacement. I opted for a slightly more expensive, but faster NETGEAR Modem Router that I found at Best Buy.

I brought it home and set it up, and even though followed all the procedures, I spent most of the next two days trying to trouble shoot why some of my computers could log on and some could not. I finally called NETGEAR support and I learned that all of the computers had to have the same (lower) encryption settings of Microsoft XP operating systems to prevent the intermittent problem with each of the computers. During the call the tech requested all of my password information so he could record it.

Fast Forward 109 Days
On Saturday, May 22 our Internet service stopped working and a red ‘Internet’ light indicator appeared on the NETGEAR Modem. I called AT&T and after 15 minutes of waiting I got a real person, who then transferred me into another five minutes of void. Finally a person picked up the line and listened to my issue. She was very nice, but she told me that it is a NETGEAR issue. Ultimately, I discovered she was correct.

: The phone number is bait..if you’re willing to be a sucker

I then called the NETGEAR support number where I was given another number to call. Finally, after three phone calls and over 30 minutes of run around, I had a person at NETGEAR. After explaining the problem he asked me whether I wanted to pay $70 for six months of technical support, or $100 for one year of technical support. I explained to him that I just bought this product three months ago and he told me that May 1^st was the end of the 90-day free installation support. He explained that, “…this was a common problem..” with my equipment and that “..the technical support could fix it without taking too much of my time…”

I’m sure it was all a coincidence that my 111 day-old NETGEAR DGN2000 Modem Router failed 21 days after technical support expired. I’m also sure that I could pay the $70 ransom to have the problem fixed and that it would take the technician too long to fix a ‘common problem’, but I won’t.

The fact that the product…

…has a problem that can be fixed remotely, but I can’t fix it myself without NETGEAR tech support
…that the problem occurred after less than four months of use
…that according to NETGEAR the problem is a common problem and easily fixable
…that NETGEAR has complete access to my passwords to access the configuration of my modem
…and it will only cost me another $70 to $100 to have a working device

…is enough to convince me that I’m not pouring any more money into defective NETGEAR equipment. After a Google search I discovered that at least one Amazon.com customer went through 3 new DGN2000 modems and none of them worked. There is more to this saga, but suffice to say I was disappointed by the Phone Call Center in India and their, ‘these our the only options we can offer’ excuse. When discussing public image we can us NETGEAR as an example of an Epic Fail.

P.S.: I spent all day today (Sunday) on this problem. A second call to India resulted in much the same rhetoric, with one additional option and that is I can pay a per incident fee to have them look at my modem; however, if it is not a hardware problem they keep the fee. I’m not paying NETGEAR to prove that my equipment is defective when I already know it isn’t operational. I also cannot login to the website to check the configuration myself.

The good news is that I bought a Cisco Router and an ActionTec modem and we just watch an episode of Community with no buffering issues. That was common with the NETGEAR equipment. The bad news is that it cost me another $120 and a full day of my time to make it happen. In materials and labor NETGEAR has cost me over $1000.

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The Tipping Point Explains How Twitter Works

20 Thursday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Book Review, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, History, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Science, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point

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40404, Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Earth Science, Jack Dorsey, Lightening, Malcolm Gladwell, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotarians, Rotary, Social Media, Social Networking, The Tipping Point, Thunderstorms, Tweets, Twitter, Wikepedia

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

People will often to say to me, “I just don’t get Twitter.” What people have to understand is that Twitter functions like a thunderstorm in the world of ideas. In the summer, air (including water vapor) heats and rises. The water vapor in the air is wrung out of the rising air (water vapor condenses to water droplets) and clouds form. For reasons not exactly understood, a discharge of electricity leaps between the positive and negative regions. FLASH! BAM! A thunderstorm is born.

Like a summer thunderstorm, 40404* provides the environment for ideas to flash across the Internet. Jack Dorsey, the Chairman and one of the creators of Twitter eludes to this ‘electricity’ when explaining how they arrived at the name:

Ideas: Lightning on the grassy plains of Twitter

“…we wanted to capture that feeling: the physical sensation that you’re buzzing your friend’s pocket. It’s like buzzing all over the world. So we did a bunch of name-storming, and we came up with the word “twitch,” because the phone kind of vibrates when it moves. But “twitch” is not a good product name because it doesn’t bring up the right imagery. So we looked in the dictionary for words around it, and we came across the word “twitter,” and it was just perfect.

(*40404 is the SMS Code for Twitter – Read more here)

I was re-reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and he compares mass social events/phenomenons to epidemics. He offers three factors that are common to all mass social behaviors.

The Law of the Few
The Stickiness Factor
The Power of Context

Note that Gladwell’s book was first published in 2000, six years before Twitter was launched, but his three factors perfectly describe the workings of Twitter. The Law of the Few suggests that a few ‘extraordinary’ people tend to trigger mass social events. In the case of Twitter, we have users who the ability to attract masses of followers that fan out information to their followers, who continue the ‘retweets’ to their followers. A few people who have a large impact and influence throughout the world.

Not every tweet or URL of a blog, becomes a ‘Viral Tweet’ but those that do have a Stickiness Factor. They hit upon an idea or thought that causes an emotional reaction among other users, which leads to the final factor of The Power of Context. A Tweet that races across the Twitter world like lightning manages to ignite something that has been brewing in a person’s mind…more specifically brewing in the minds of many people, but somehow the Tweet or blog is the perfect polarity to cause a reaction in mass.

That is why Twitter is like a thunderstorm in the world of ideas. It provides the conditions and media for ideas and thoughts to leap out of one mind and into millions…in the flash of …well, enough with the analogy.

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The Quality of Relationships and Social Interactive Media

17 Monday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Communication, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

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Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Communication, Connections, Email, Facebook, Friends, Friendship, Human Interaction, LinkedIn, New Business World, Public Relations, Quality of Relationships, Rotarians, Rotary, Social Interaction, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Value-added

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

by Paul Kiser

Do you love me?….Do you like me?….Do you loath me? What is the quality of our relationship?

There are some people who claim that Social Media tools like Facebook and Twitter cheapen relationships. I don’t agree. Social Interactive Media almost always increase the quantity of our relationships, but does that mean the quality of relationships is reduced?

To me that is similar to saying that because a person belongs to a Rotary club it reduces the quality of his or her relationships because they are using up their allotment of friendship in one place or that children in a family of five are not as loved as the only child in a family of three. The logic makes no sense.

A blog that decries the impact of Social Media on our relationships, combined with another blog by Carola Valdez regarding love and relationships have me thinking about the quality of relationships and the impact of tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

(Read Carola’s Blog here – note that it’s in Spanish)

I see this issue as two intertwined subjects, which are relationships and communication. A relationship describes the connection between two people and communication maintains the connection. I divide the concept of relationship into three parts that all work together to determine the bond or quality of a relationship.

Relationships Part One: Core Reactionary Characteristics (CRC)
I believe that every person has relationship ‘DNA’ . It is the combination of our inherent personality, our experiences from past relationships, and a third factor that reacts to the stimulus (or ‘chemistry, if you will) between two people. I term this set of responsive behaviors the Core Reactionary Characteristics (or CRC). I use the analogy of DNA because genes are able to attach or connect with certain genes but not to other genes in the DNA strand, which is similar to our ability to ‘click’ or not with someone else.

Social Media makes us aware of how connected we are to each other

Relationships Part Two: Environmental Factors
Just because we feel comfortable connecting with someone doesn’t mean we will become close friends. It is a combination of the old nature/nurture influences that seem to guide relationships. We may have a great ‘chemistry’ with someone, but it is our environment that controls the depth of the relationship. I like the example given in the lyrics of Alanis Morissette’s song, ‘Ironic’.

“It’s meeting the man of my dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife.”

It doesn’t have to be a love relationship that is thwarted by the situational factors, but love is the type of relationship we relate to when someone wants to write a song or make a movie. The point is that if the CRC is compatible AND given the correct time, place, and freedom to explore a relationship, a deep connection (friendship and/or love) can be formed.

Relationships Part Three: Dynamics
Finally, I think it is important to accept that relationships are dynamic, which simply means that as individuals grow and change the relationship waxes and wanes. I have a friend who had an incredibly close relationship with his wife (she passed away a couple of years ago.) On their anniversary he would say, “We’ve decided to renew our marriage for another year.” This was not meant to be as funny as most people seemed to interpret it. He truly did value the relationship and didn’t take it for granted that the marriage would be continuous. I wonder how strong all marriages would be if we knew that either party could decide not to renew the contract each year.

My point is that regardless of how strong a relationship, the fact is that two people can grow and change at different rates over time. It is rare that a relationship can maintain a high level of intensity especially if the two people are in the process of change and/or growth.

It is the combination of all three factors (CRC, Environmental Factors, and Dynamics) that determine the quality of a relationship at any given moment.

Social Media and Relationships
Social Media tools like Facebook and Twitter increase the number of people we know (quantity of relationships) but the quality of those relationships are dependent on multiple factors that have nothing to do with the tools or the media itself. In the end, the quality of the relationships are not affected positively or negatively by the quantity of relationships we have, but by the type of connection that will result of making a connection. If anything, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter make it possible to have better quality relationships because they; 1) increase the number of potential ‘best friends’, and 2) give us better communication tools to improve the quality of our connections.

More on the role of communication later….

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Rotary Magazine Dilemma Reveals Impact of Social Media

12 Wednesday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Management Practices, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Rotary, Rotary@105, SEO, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, US History, Website

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2010 Council on Legislation, Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Club Members, Council on Legislation, Facebook, History of Rotary, LinkedIn, Magazine, Management Practices, Membership Retention, New Business World, Print Media, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary Council on Legislation, Rotary International, Social Media, Social Networking, The Rotarian, Twitter

by Paul Kiser

The Rotarian magazine

Last week the Washington Post Company declared that it could no longer handle the losses of the 77 year-old Newsweek magazine and announced that it was seeking a buyer. This comes as no shock to those who are closely involved in the industry. Print media in general is under siege by competition from the Internet and there is no bottom in sight. The impact of the Age of Omni Communication is being felt by all the traditional media, including guaranteed circulation magazines like Rotary International’s The Rotarian magazine.

(Age of Omni Communication? Click here.)

Traditional Media Too Comfortable
For most of the 20th century the traditional media sources of newspapers, magazines, radio and television had settled into their respective niches. It was a balance that allowed all of the traditional media to control their share of the advertising revenue.

Print media has been accustomed to measuring success based on circulation, which means they offer numbers to advertisers that measure output, but don’t really measure effectiveness. Traditional media uses the broadcast (one-way) communication model which tends to overlook the questions of whether expensive print media ads are: 1) actually noticed by a reader, and if noticed, 2) do the ads increase sales? The analogy that print media has lived by: if you throw enough goo at a wall something will stick. It was a model of business that worked because there was no better alternative. No one had any reason to believe it would ever change.

The New World of Media
Newspapers were the first to feel the effects of the Internet. By the new millennium people were bypassing them and linking directly to news websites. Soon circulation dropped, and once circulation dropped then advertising revenue dropped. Next to go was the newspaper’s major money-maker; classified advertising. It was swept away almost overnight with the appearance of websites like Craig’s List. By 2003, newspaper revenue began a free-fall and hardest hit were investor owned newspaper groups that could not afford to lose money because they were already being trimmed to the bone in order to harvest higher dividends.

Magazine sales of Time, Newsweek and US World News Report

Magazines didn’t really see a major impact until blogs and Social Media tools like Facebook and Twitter began to dominate the world of information and communication. People began to speak for themselves and listen to raw information from sources that weren’t filtered through a small group of editors. The magazine staff saw this as heresy. How dare the public read stories that they haven’t approved! They believed that the role of the publishing world was to decide what the public should know and the Internet was full of information that they hadn’t approved.

Comfortable in their arrogance, magazine publishers thought they would survive where newspapers failed, but in 2007, popular magazines like Time and Newsweek had the floor drop out from under them. Advertisers had discovered that people were basing purchasing decisions on what other people were saying about the products/services in the Social Media. Mass advertising was losing the battle to customer reviews and person-to-person online interactions. For the first time magazines had a competing alternative that exposed the fallacy of mass advertising.

The Rotarian Meets 2010
Highly specialized magazines and membership magazines have been insulated from the fate of the rest of the print media world, but it really is a matter of time until all print media see the reality of Social Media. The official magazine of Rotary is no different and the first sign of change happened two weeks ago.

During the last week in April, Rotary International convened the 2010 Council on Legislation. This is a body of senior administrative Rotarians (all past District Governors) that review and approve changes to Rotary International policies. Among the over 200 proposed changes was a request to allow the internal Rotary magazine to be offered in an electronic format option and allow members to cancel the delivered hard copy magazine. No big deal, right? But it is a big deal.

The Rotarian Magazine is a monthly magazine with a guaranteed circulation. Every member of Rotary is required to receive it. That allows Rotary International (RI) to reach every member once a month, but it also allows RI to guarantee circulation to advertisers. No one really knows what percentage of Rotary members actually read the magazine, but in the world of advertising it is circulation that counts and it seems certain people at the 2010 Council on Legislation knew an electronic version could drastically reduce the circulation of hard copy of The Rotarian.

An electronic option is a bigger issue than just circulation numbers. This issue of electronic versus print is an example of the bigger conflict between traditional print media and Internet media. Beyond advertising revenue this is an issue of format and content.

Magazine Format versus Electronic Format
Currently, The Rotarian is a 64 or 80 page magazine (80 pages when there is a multiple page supplement). The first 30 or so pages are a mix of departments and Rotary and non-Rotary advertisements. At about page 30 the magazine starts three or four ad-free feature articles for the next 21 to 26 pages. The remainder of the magazine is small item articles, classified ads, and mostly Rotary related ads. This is a format that works for print media.

The two significant characteristics of The Rotarian print version that conflict with most models of electronic media are: 1) ads intermixed with the substance of the magazine and 2) long articles. In the most recent edition of The Rotarian (May 2010) there is one article that is 18 pages long. Internet-based reading has rejected advertising (called spam) and most information is delivered in three to five paragraphs (except, of course, my blogs which violate all the rules.) Blogs/articles that violate the rules are ignored. Therefore, to be read in an electronic format The Rotarian would have to eliminate the ads and severely trim the articles, which means a print version would either have to change or two different versions would have to be created.

There are two other options. The first is to create a version that would work with the new iPad, but that would mean members would have to purchase an iPad. The second option is to not change the format for the Internet, which would mean that most people would not read it.

Square Peg in a Round Hole
In the final analysis, a magazine is based on traditional media concepts and they do not translate to the Internet format. Social Media is focused on connections between people and sharing of ideas. A print magazine is a broadcast of information where no one cares if anyone reads it as long as the circulation numbers are good. But advertisers are getting smarter and stingier about throwing money at broadcast media.

The National Rotarian magazine

The fact is that The Rotarian is living on borrowed time. Eventually, the reality that circulation doesn’t measure anything that is relevant will cause advertisers to focus their efforts (and money) on real connections with real people. Without outside ad revenue the cost to maintain a print publication will force RI to move away from broadcast media and seek better options. The best option will be for RI to create a series of mentored blogs that allow people to read and discuss the Rotary issues that are important to them. Rotary International is already experimenting with this through Social Media tools, but there is and will be resistance to giving up traditional media.

Next year will be the centennial celebration of The Rotarian magazine. It may also be the celebration of the end of an era.

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Social Media Book Review: The Zen of Social Media Marketing

10 Monday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Book Review, Branding, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, SEO, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Website, Women

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Book Cover

Book: The Zen of Social Media Marketing
Author: Shama Hyder Kabani
Publisher: Benbella Books
Published: April 2010
Audience: Primary: Message professionals involved in organizational internal and external communication. Also, individuals seeking to create a personal brand. Secondary: Seekers of enlightenment regarding Social Media and Professors and Teachers in many fields (e.g.; business, arts, education, communication, etc.)
Rating: (Out of 5*)
- Overall ***** (5-Must Read)
- Content ***** (5)
- Relevancy ***** (5)
- Style **** (4-down to business tone)
- Readability *** (3-read on a Kindle computer download)
- Value***** (5)
Thesis: A presentation of key aspects of Social Media and how it functions with organizational marketing.

Social Interactive Media is a very complex and variable subject. It is unreasonable for anyone to expect one book can adequately cover this topic because the Social Media tools and their use are changing daily. It is akin to asking someone to explain Art in one book….and the request is made after the Renaissance. There is much to discuss and there is still more to come. The reality is that we are still in early childhood of Social Media, but even today it can make or break governments and businesses.

Shama Hyder Kabani

Despite the impossible task the author, Shama Hyder Kabani has not only written a great book on the subject of Social Media, she is offering a solution to the problem of keeping her book relevant by updating and revising the book on the Internet. It is truly a book born in the Social Media era of handling difficult problems with New World solutions.

Teasers

Introduction – Nice comparison between Social Media and the spoon lesson in the movie ‘The Matrix”.
Chapter 1 – a) Learn how to A-C-T using a great B-O-D in Social Media. b) Strangers to Consumers to Clients.
Chapter 2 – a) What is Website 911 EMS? b) What a blog does for your website. c) Relevancy versus Content…or not
Chapter 3 – Use and abuse of Social Media.
Chapter 4 – Facebook, the coffee shop of the Internet. (I love that analogy!)
Chapter 5 – a) Twitter, it’s about the dialogue, not about you. b) What #ff means.
Chapter 6 – LinkedIn, the conference room of the Internet.
Chapter 7 – Video on Internet: a) About, b) How to, c) Why.
Chapter 8 – Social Media meets Corporate Policy.
Chapter 9 – Icing on the Social Media cake.

I discovered new information on Social Media through Shama’s book, but mostly this was a great read because she validated what I have learned, read, and witnessed in my exploration of Social Media. For me, it allows me to say to someone, if you don’t believe me, read the book. The Social Media Doubting Thomas’ need a hard copy book for information to be legitimate and that is what Shama Hyder Kabani provides to the world. She also confirmed for me that age does not equal wisdom in the world of Social Media. My experience has been that the older the Social Media ‘expert’ the more cynical and off-target the information. Shama knows her stuff and people of all ages should sit up and listen….or just leave.

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Social Media: What is It and Why Should You Care?

21 Wednesday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Information Technology, Public Relations, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

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by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

“It’s a big waste of time,” is the most common reaction I hear when discussing Social Media (SM) with a novice or rookie user. That statement is followed by, “How do you have the time?” It’s hard to discuss the topic with non-believers of the SM tools like Facebook or Twitter because the subject is difficult to comprehend if one does not understand the impact of the new world of communication created by the Internet.

The best place to start would be to attempt to define the term ‘Social Media.’

Social Media is the personal interactive use of Internet through fixed and portable devices (computers, phones, etc.) that allow text, voice, and/or visual communication and sharing of information that is accessible to multiple people in real-time, near real-time, or available as a file location at a web address.

Note that phone calls on cell phones don’t fall into the Social Media category; however, a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) call using the Internet is subject to debate. My take on the issue is that a VoIP call falls in the Social Media category because it bypasses the traditional phone system and it is personal interaction that can include multiple people.

Still not clear? Here’s a Kiser Rule of Thumb: If it allows a user comment or user response then it is a Social Media tool. That includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, personal blogs, instant messaging, Flickr, email, music and video sharing sites, etc. under the Social Media umbrella. Wikipedia has a great list of Social Media tools.

(Wikipedia – Social Media Definition and Examples)

Why is Social Media NOT a Waste of Time?

To understand the value of Social Media you have to understand what has changed for individual communication over the last 40 years. For simplicity I’ll do it in chunks of 20 years.

1970 – The height of the Age of Mass Communication. Individual remote (not face-to-face) communication was possible only by phone and postal service mail. Long distance phone calls were expensive and mail was slow. Mass communication was possible through one-way, strictly controlled, expensive media like newspapers, magazines, billboards, radio, and television. Society’s flow of communication was primarily one-way and the individual was a receiver.

1990 – The dawn of the Age of Interactive Communication. Individual remote communication was possible via phone, postal service mail, and email. Email allowed rapid personal interactions that avoided the long-distance fees of the traditional phone company and the sloth-like speed of the postal service. This made email it an inexpensive and rapid method of personal communication. Internet websites offered a new type of mass communication that bypassed the control and expense of newspapers, radio, and television. Society’s flow of communication was beginning to become two-way.

The Age of Omni Communication connects people

2010 – The Age of Omni Communication. Individual remote communication has become group remote communication with random conversations between strangers who often find they have similar interests. Communication has few geographic barriers only economic, political, and geographic technology disparities. Discussions between people on social media sites influence micro groups of people who may be observers, but don’t necessarily engage in the conversation; however, they gain new insight and understanding by being a silent third-party. A person can now express her or his ideas through blogs and social media sites that allow freedom of expression and opinion never known in the history of the world. Mass communications now struggles to compete with free market communication and finds itself too slow and too expensive. Society’s flow of information is moving in multiple directions at the same time creating a flood of knowledge for those who are connected.

People can choose not to engage in the new Social Media tools, but a person will likely become more and more frustrated and mystified by a world that seems to ignore him or her. The best analogy of what non-SM users will experience by staying disconnected is that of a classroom where some people are in on a joke and the teacher is wondering why everyone is laughing.

Next > Aristotle’s Rules of Social Media

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Windows Office 2010: What to Do?

01 Monday Mar 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Management Practices, Rotary

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Management Practices, New Business World, Rotarians, Rotary

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

(NOTE: This blog was originally published on March 1, 2010-Microsoft released Office 2010 on June 22, 2010)

In the next few months Microsoft will officially launch the next generation of Windows Office (Office 2010, code-named Office 14) and it will create new dilemmas for many business owners, Information Technology (IT) managers and users of Windows Office. Consider the following issues:

Microsoft Office 2010

Windows Office commands the office productivity software market with some claiming that Windows Office has a 95% market share, or better.
Once available to the general public, Office 2010 will be competing with its own predecessors. Office 2003 and Office 2007 are approximately equal in the number of users.
Although it is over seven years old, Office 2003 is still actively used in businesses because Office 2007 introduced dramatic changes that made the product more like a new product, rather than a new version. This caused many users to stick with the 2003 version, rather than trying to learn the updated product. (As of February 2009, users of Office 2003 still exceeded users of Office 2007.)
There are three different versions of the Windows platforms (Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7) actively being used in the business world.
Microsoft conceded to business last year by delaying the ‘Stop Sell’ date of Windows XP from June 30, 2009 to June 30, 2010, but the platform will not likely receive another stay of execution.

What faces the business world is a dilemma of what Windows platforms and versions of Office should be used in their work environment. This issue will become acute with the purchase of new computers, but will there be communication and document sharing issues between old computers and new computers and software?

The issue boils down to the individual user versus IT and management. From an IT perspective having everyone on one system is more efficient in terms of training and maintenance. Management usually prefers equipment to be interchangeable and using different versions of office productivity software could lead to minor conflicts when sharing files. However, individual users (including management) of Office 2003 are often adamant about staying with what they know.

The stark reality is that with the early success of Windows 7 and positive reviews about Office 2010 Beta, the old software (Windows XP, Vista, and Office 2003) have a limited business life. It is reasonable to think that by 2012, all PC’s will come with Windows 7 and Office 2010, and prior versions will not be an option. That is certainly the road that Microsoft would prefer and ultimately they will decide when all prior versions will 1) no longer be sold, and 2) no longer be supported.

How Did This Happen?
This issue has come to the surface for several reasons. First and foremost is the success of Office 2003. The version, originally named Office 11, built on the success of previous versions and coupled with the adoption of the Windows XP platform became the productivity software of choice during the years of 2004-07. When Microsoft introduced its new Vista platform and Office 2007 (code name Office 12) it anticipated a steady transition of business users from Office 2003 to Office 2007.

Unfortunately, Microsoft miscalculated by trying to make a major re-creation of its platform with Vista and, at the same time, introducing a ‘Mac’ like look to its software that required users to re-learn the software. The bugs of Vista and the new look of the productivity software gave a bad reputation in the business world to the revised software versions. Microsoft then pushed to bring out a newer platform version (Windows 7) to overcome the perceptions of Vista, but that did not overcome the negative impression of Office 2007. Office 2010 or Office 14 (the name ‘Office 13’ was skipped for obvious reasons) is Microsoft’s hope to get most users back on one version of its productivity software. It is a major gamble because the door is open for another software company to try and capitalize on users who don’t want to be forced to adapt the new look of Office; however, most businesses have invested too much into Microsoft products to change over now.

What to do about Office 2010?
The one inescapable fact is that Office 2003 is at the end of its business life. Yes, people will continue to use it and five years from now there will be a small group of people who are fiercely proud that they still use Office 2003; however, based on early reactions to the Beta version and the reality that new computers will soon come with Office 2010, it seems plausible that Office 2010 will rapidly eclipse both Office 2007 and Office 2003. In three years it would not be surprising to see Office 2010 have 60% to 70% of the market, so logically it would make sense for businesses to prepare to make the change.

But just because it is logical doesn’t mean the adoption of Office 2010 will be accepted by business users. Some companies will take a passive approach and let individuals learn Office 2010 as they purchase new computers. This approach is not recommended for larger companies or companies that have a high degree of internal and external communications. Having staff on different versions of office productivity software can create unexpected and time-consuming problems.

Each organization will have to make their own evaluation of what will work best for their situation; however, as Windows 7 and Office 2010 begin to dominate the market, staying with older version will seem less like an option and more like a liability for the company.

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