Agents of Change @ Work

Agents of Change Busy Rebooting Britain

Thanks to SwitchNewMedia I was able to avoid 8 hours of train travel yesterday and participate in Reboot Britain from the rural heart of the country.

Faced with economic meltdown,  dismally low levels of public trust in political leadership, growing concerns about the ability of big government to succeed let alone sustain itself, there's an urgent need to "re-imagine, re-invest, and re-invigorate our economy and society." These words of Diane Coyle, editor and facilitator, apply beyond the shores of the little island that formed the focus of yesterday's event...

To provoke debate, the organizers (NESTA) commissioned a series of essays that are well worth reading. I also recommend you  bookmark the site as all the presentations will be available shortly and check out #rebootbritain to sense the Twitter pulse.

While the focus was on the public economy, there was plenty of interest to the private sector and associations in all facets of life and business in the UK and elsewhere.

Kudos to Stephen Moore(@stevemoore4good), NESTA and the organizing team for initiating the conversation - even though the format (mostly in the main lecture hall) was surprisingly conventional with limited opportunities for audience participation. Next time, a split screen would enable online participants to see what the speaker was referring to and it would be great if moderators could accept questions from tweeters/bloggers regardless of their location......

It was a rich experience - even from a distance and without the benefit of F2F buzz, but, despite Howard Rheingold's insightful conclusion and optimistic wardrobe, the title left me feeling very uneasy.

While eye and ear catching in its modernity, the concept of  ReBoot, is on reflection merely a 2.0 version of "kickstart." It implies an assumption that a traditional economy, which has gone into nosedive, can be brought back to life with a reset button and all will be well. Remember, it comes after the messages: "Abort", "Retry", and "Fail"! But the intent of the conference suggested that it isn't a reboot that's needed but an entirely new operating system, based on a fundamentally different set of operating assumptions and guiding principles - far greater even than a switch from PC to Mac! I notice that some other bloggers came to similar conclusions separately.

The term ReBoot also implies that a new economy (networked, open, lightweight, environmentally responsible, socially just, creative, agile and resilient...) will come about as a result of external intervention when, in fact, it's already emerging because the conditions are right.

Truth is, we're being carried forward by a host of change forces that have generated sufficient pent up energy to cause a tectonic shift in perception regarding who we are as human beings on a finite planet and how we should behave...

Talking about 2.0 versions of government, marketing, journalism, healthcare, leadership, HR and manufacturing is really healthy but will only move beyond talk to action when we can sustain our attention spans long enough to understand these deeper forces and harness their dynamics. It's ironic that here we are a pivotal point in human history when we could become conscious of our own evolution and the technology that binds also shatters our attention into tiny fragments such that we seem to be viewing reality through a kaleidescope rather than a microscope.

One agent of change never shy to use the term Paradigm appropriately and forcefully is Don Tapscott (@dtapscott) who, like David Weinerger and crew (Cluetrain authors), and Tim O' Reilly cut his intellectual teeth on IT problems but has just gets wiser and more insightful with age.  For those of us whose time is limited between meetings, tweets, emails, the following 2 minute video clip reminds  us that it'll take more than a reBoot to move Britain forward.

Another agent of change, Paul Hawken, recently author of Blessed Unrest also affirms that the ground is already shaking beneath the feet of traditional institutions. Every time I watch the following clip from the Bioneers conference a few years ago, I am reminded why we're living in such an exciting time, so full of opportunity, so filled with consequence.

Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

References to the shift in power to the consumer are now commonplace within the output of journalists, bloggers, analysts, researchers, futurists. I also speak about it all the time. And, if there is one dominant characteristic of web 2.0,  it is that the fine line distinguishing actors from audience, sellers from buyers, politicians from voters is either blurring, disappearing or causing a complete role reversal. Banyak Film’s excellent documentary Us is Now, investigates some but not all these issues.

We have barely begun to appreciate the magnitude of this revolution, let alone the implications. Is transparency itself the most potent “agent of change?” Can transparency provide the protection and assurance that civil society needs to function effectively or will it unleash a wave of disillusion, a breakdown in trust, an unwillingness to delegate authority, a reluctance to step forward and exercise oth leadership and responsibility?

In the UK, two events – one recent and the other on-going – illustrate how difficult the next few years are going to be as we adjust to these new, transparent realities.

MP’s Expenses
For the past 6 or more weeks, the UK media has more or less forgotten about the financial meltdown and the steady march of the recession deeper into all regions and sectors of the economy. It was as if the news of an empire in such rapid and indisputable decline was too much and the rabble needed to be entertained and their attention diverted. Romans sent gladiators and those pesky Christians to their deaths in the Colisseum and, just like in the “X factor” and “Britain’s Got Talent”, empowered the masses with the ability to determine the hapless fate of those in the ring by signing thumbs up or down ( now the rabble simply presses digits on their phones). So in sophisticated Britain, the so-called bastion of democracy and ordered, enlightened government, we send our elected representatives into the lion’s den.

For those living outside the UK, here’s a quick snapshot of events. A British reporter started to apply the Freedom of Information Act to investigate whether our political masters (MP=member of Parliament) were playing by the rules in claiming their living expenses. It turns out that many were “on the take”. It also turns out that the there was this “understanding” (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)  that the parliamentary authorities would turn a blind eye to all but the most excessive and fraudulent of claims,  as expenses were viewed in Westminster as a way of compensating MPs who could not be awarded legitimate pay increases for political i.e. optical reasons. No “leader” had wanted to be seen to approve pay increases for MPs.

The Daily Telegraph found some sensational culprits and the story took on all the force of a juggernaut with MPs being named and shamed on a daily basis and generating revelations that ranged from bizarre to distasteful and back to ludicrous.

And so it became necessary to publish every expense claim of every parliamentarian for the past five years in order to assuage the justifiable anger of the British public. Clearly this was an auditing task too great for even the Daily Telegraph. So its competitor, The Guardian, saw an immediate opportunity to steal the baton of “Guardian of the Public Interest” by using web 2.0 technology and by crowdsourcing i.e. inviting the public to help with the analysis of nearly half a million documents online – see story here.  

So what’s my concern? I’m all for public accountability and think it makes absolute sense for politicians to have a clear set of hard and fast rules regarding living expenses and be made to live by the rules. But I’m not sure that we’re ready to devolve the responsibility for fairness and wise judgement to a crowd – whose biases, motivations, competencies remain completely unknown and where no safeguards for slander and mischief have been set in place, let alone conceived. Even prior to the Guardian’s intervention, the review by the media was taking on the air of a witchhunt. Does crowdsourcing have the potential to lead to an electronic form of mob lynching? Do we know what we’re getting into here? Is it appropriate to be applying the brakes? Can we ensure that transparency accords fairness.

Watching the Watchers – keeping an eye on the police
In response to the question that Plato asked a mere 2.5 thousand years ago and poet Juvenal posed in Latin a few hundred years later -  “who guards the guardians?” or “who watches the watchers?” – a group calling themselves FIT watchers has been formed in the UK in response to the policy of police to film and photography anyone involved in a demonstration in case they become trouble makers. Climate change activists and other protestors are aware that that police have used this “evidence” to detain persons before a protest  - a form of pre-emptive strike, I presume.

It is both ironic and highly disturbing to think that while we applaud the courage of men and women in Tehran fighting for their democratic rights and freedoms, individuals are been treated quite brutally by British bobbies and arrested simply for taking photos of the police taking photos. This article and very disturbing video, published  in the Guardian today, reports on an incident in the UK recently, when protesters gathered to express outrage at the expansion of a major coal producing plant – Kingsnorth. In this case, the individuals weren’t arrested for protesting but simply observing and recording police behavior and conformity with the rules of engagement.

These two events are highly relevant to the topic “agents of change”. They remind us that change is rarely easy, often demands courage, results in bruises or worse,  and can produce very contradictory and ironic outcomes. In the same week, a daily newspaper had engaged several thousand watchdogs from the public to scrutinize politician’s expense claims, while three individuals (heretofore anonymous members of the public) were arrested and roughed up by the police force that is supposed to protect them, simply for ensuring the police played according to the rules agreed by society.

In this case, the video, was not "user" generated content but had been recorded by the police themselves and obtained later. You'll see from the story that, while the women had to spend several distressing days in prison, all charges were dropped and the case is now under investigation. 

So when you are watching the terrible scenes from Iran and thinking how lucky you are to be a free citizen, remember how fragile that freedom really is. 

The Human Face of the Silent Crisis

Last week the  Global Humanitarian Forum produced a report titled The Anatomy of A Silent Crisis detailing the negative human impacts of a changing climate - essential reading at a time when western societies have become so celebrity obsessed. The same Forum was addressed last year by a brave 18 year old Rikisha Das Roya, who described the plight of the Sunderbans of India and Bangladesh as they cope with increased storms, flooding and rising sea levels. 

Tragically - it is these same people who have been so devastatingly affected by Cyclone Aila that ripped through their land a week or so ago. They are the silent victims and need our help.

Fortunately, responsible operators, The Blue Yonder, Travel to Care and Help Tourism, who have witnessed the impacts and suffering first hand, have organized to provide material assistance and we can show we care by donating and raising awareness. Another positive sign of Responsible Tourism and Agents of Change @ Work. 

Access to info as to how to donate and updates regarding this individual Silent Crisis is available here where there are links to Facebook pages. Please read, re-send, re-tweet and act. It shouldn't just be the victims  who are the active agents of change....

Area affected:

Using UGC To Attract Visitors - Which Destinations Lead?

In the good ‘ole days – a mere 30 years or so ago – destination marketing was a relatively simple affair: figure out your major selling features, maybe add some positioning spin ( a “snazzy byline or contemporary looking logo), print some brochures, run an ad campaign; ensure there was a “call to action; ” wait for the phone to ring; mail out the brochures and hope for the best.

The Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) had an important role to play in creating awareness and desire among national and international markets on behalf of its small businesses simply because the latter, acting alone, could never develop the same reach, influence or impact. The role of the DMO was “to extend the invitation” on behalf of tourism suppliers and residents.

The Internet has, of course, changed all that and the marketing task has mushroomed in complexity requiring new and unimaginable skill sets and generating a constantly changing set of acronyms. It’s also having a profound impact on the roles of the various members of the tourism ecosystem.

While the role of the DMO used to be to “show, tell and persuade” it is now becoming facilitate, orchestrate and enable. That’s because the same tourism suppliers and residents, who were unable to reach out to international audiences some 20+ years ago, can now enjoy instant contact with anyone 24/7. So while the DMO used to lead from the front with glitzy, push-style campaigns based on a brand, customer and product database they considered to “own;” wise DMOs are learning to lead from behind by allowing and encouraging others to do the persuading for them. Utilizing the power of Web 2.0 (notably open source) and social media, smart destinations are encouraging their residents, local businesses, visitors and third party suppliers tell the destination story. The acronym for this is UGC – user generated content- and is finally capturing the interest of several tourism offices.

Here are just five interesting examples:

1. Visit Britain - According to this press release, Visit Britain will formally launch their new social media initiative at the Travel Distribution Summit being held in London today.

“We want to offer travel organisations promoting Britain a media stream of our reviews, photos and videos”, Comments Justin Reid – Head of Online Marketing for Visit Britain. “UGC has been shown to increase browse time, bookings and online interaction and if we can entice more people to come to the UK using innovative media marketing like this, then this is a win win for Visit Britain and our tourism providers.”

Using software developed by Digital Visitor, Visit Britain enables visitors and residents to upload videos, still images, and make reviews on their own and others’ contributions.

2. Vancouver 2010 – in February next year, Canada will host the Winter Olympic Games. Bell Canada – a major Games sponsor and one of Canada’s largest telecoms company has endeavoured to show the host destination through the eyes of residents. A great idea and one we have been promoting for years but, and I hate to be negative, one that suffers from poor execution. Instead of mashing up a range of easy-to-use, well proven software modules that provide the easy-to-use functionality enjoyed by Visit Britain, Bell had to develop its own proprietary and, may I say it, clunky interface that inhibits exploration. Take a look at Canada Code: That’s if you’ve got the time to fill in all the forms. Too bad that they don’t appear to have been working with the tourism agencies – Tourism Vancouver, Tourism Whistler or Tourism British Columbia (Hello BC)…see below

3. Tourism British Columbia – if prizes were to be awarded to individuals who changed the way destinations are marketed, then it should go to Wilhelm Bakker at Tourism BC. What’s most endearing about Wilhelm is his willingness to share his thinking, his trials, tribulations and triumphs with little or no sense of ego – see these posts.  Here’s the link to Tourism British Columbia’s approach to User Generated Content in the run up to the biggest tourism event to be held in the province since Expo 86.

The significance of this would be lost on the average reader if I didn’t share this observation – Tourism BC is an organization that likes to do things very thoroughly and professionally. They like control over the final product and message. So it takes courage to include the less polished, perfect content supplied by non-professionals. The traditional approach would be to produce a high quality, expensive video but, thanks to Wilhelm’s efforts, they are now including the “right stuff”. 

4. Philadelphia – this tourist board embraced the idea of blogging very early on. While they may have got it wrong to start by creating false blogging personas, whose profile happened to correlate to their major market segments,  they quickly learned by doing. Uwishunu  is a major destination blogging community and success story – Go for it, Gophila.com!

5. Disney – thanks to blogger Josh Hallett, we can follow Disney's experience with Social Media. I’ve paraphrased the key points from his blog post below:

Disney started by partnering with CareerBuilder.com to allow consumers to upload a video to apply for a 'dream' job. For Disney it was a totally new arena. They had no idea how many videos they would receive and what the videos would could contain. The big step was of course letting go. Disney was overwhelmed with the number of video applications they received,  eventually narrowing it down to five finalists. The finalists were posted online and consumers were allowed to vote, resulting in millions of votes. The finalists built their own marketing campaigns, driving even more traffic to the campaign. A side benefit was the number of regular job applications that Disney received. Because of this, it was the most successful recruitment effort to date.

The next project was the Walt Disney World Mom's Panel. They launched a search for some of the most passionate Disney moms. Once again the response overwhelming. They received 10,000 applications over the weekend, but turned away over 30,000 applicants. That was the one major mistake they made. As the program evolved, the internal issue was once again giving up control of the marketing messaging. The mom's panel has helped them overcome the two largest barriers they've faced, affordability and age. That is, what is the appropriate age for a child to first visit the theme parks. The honest, open advice of the mom's helped break down this barrier.

 

The women that did not make the Mom's Panel became part of the Mickey Moms Club. One major step was allowing the club to select their own logo. Once again, for Disney to allow somebody outside the brand to do design and select a logo was a huge leap of faith. But, it worked. Their work with the moms made them look at how they consume media. To help promote the new What Will You Celebrate? campaign they created a viral video campaign. The program allows consumers to create a uniquely branded video to 'celebrate' an event such as a birthday or an anniversary. These videos can then be sent to friends and relatives. This builds the standard pass-along/viral effect, spreading the video even more. The site has had an 85% click-thru rate and paid for itself in just over 18 hours from launch and has gone on to blow past all expectations for views and revenue.

I am confident that there are many other great examples of the use of User Generated Content by Destinations to attract visitors so – I invite you, please, to add comments so we can learn quickly from each other. In later posts – we’ll look at UGC to enrich the visitor’s stay at the destination.

Brands should be "agents for change," says Unilever cmo - WARC News - WARC.com

The big firms are slowly waking up. At Media Week's Media 360 Conference, Simon Clift, the global CMO of Unilever responsible for selling €40bn worth of "soap, soup and tea", said the world had changed more than marketers have accepted or absorbed, and heralded "a new era of remarkable opportunity" - see here

While that may not be earth shattering, what I did find exciting to learn is the fact that Mr. Clift went on to say that "brands should be an agent of change" - a sentiment my colleague Leon Benjamin and I have,  in our own more modest way,  been pushing for nearly a decade as you can see here on an old, homemade site called Business For Good. 

See: Brands should be "agents for change," says Unilever cmo - WARC News - WARC.com.

If Simon Clift or someone at Unilever is reading this (he, he), I would strongly recommend Terry Barber's excellent post on what business leaders can learn from non profit organizations. He gives four suggestions:

1. Inspire customers by helping them believe in something they once thought was impossible. (It worked for Barack Obama)

2. Show genuine appreciation for their business (how many companies have you ever received a thankyou card or email from?)

3. Help him see that he is a part of a bigger community of world changers. One of the most powerful fund-raising terms is the word join. “Join the fight.” “Jointhe cause. “ “Join me”—all indicating that you can be a part of something much bigger than yourself.

4. Communicate how you are making the world a better place - see excerpt below...

I recently met with a CEO of a Fortune 500 Company and saw this principle illustrated in the most dramatic fashion. Throughout the building there were maps with pushpins marking various towns, cities, and villages around the world where this company and its employees were providing clean drinking water for indigent people groups. There was an underlying message there that said, What we are doing as a company is helping to make the world a better place. No matter what kind of business you are in, learn from the nonprofit sector that you can inspire your customers by illustrating how you are making the world a better place.

Do you aspire to inspire your customers? Give them something to believe in that they once thought was impossible. Demonstrate genuine appreciation for their business. Help your customers connect with other customers to illustrate that they are part of a bigger community, and communicate how you as a business are making the world a better place.

Lead and they may follow. Teach and they may learn. Inspire . . . and they will never be the same.

Alot of my work is for destinations - very rarely do Destination Marketing Organizations lead their communities and invest in making the destination a better place. As marketers they feel they can and should leave this to others. New Zealand is different - if you read their tourism development strategy. they believe that tourism should take the lead in ensuring the country lives up tothe highest standards of sustainabiility. They have to, after all, they're 100% Pure.

Learning Social Media From the Pros

You can read all you want about Social Media and how it is replacing traditional push channels but surely the best way is to hang it with a young traveler who uses it all the time. Visit Aarhus and a bright consulting firm called Seismonaut recently had the bright idea to develop a competition for which the prize is a free 48 hour visit to Denmark. The winner had to submit a video outlining how they would use Social media on such a trip and help Denmark make better use of all the Web 2.0 tools now available. You can check out more about this clever idea at www.48hoursindenmark.com. 

The winner, one Jesse Desjardin, just happens to hail from Northern Canada and his video is a great introduction to the ways his generation and even boomers like me are starting to use the rich array of tools to plan and experience their travels. (BTW,  I once used the GPS feature on my iphone in deepest rural India to see where our taxi driver was taking us. It worked and I was very impressed until I got the roaming charges when I returned home.)  But back to my story.....

Here's Jesse's video that  successfully persuaded the Danish as to why he should win the prize - not quite as exotic a prize as the dream job  won by a young British lad who will be caretaking a beautiful island in Queensland, but another good example of a low cost way to attract publicity for Denmark; and spike the interest of highly influential members of a target market (Jesse is online director for Global Gossip that runs 25 internet cafes around the world and regularly communicates with 25,000 people mostly aged 19-25).I bet they'll be following his Tweets - why don't you - see www.twitter.com/dessedee

Learning to Really Fly

Tonight (April 2, 2009), over 70 people are meeting in Toronto at a fund raiser to help the Icarus Foundation get "off the ground." Not quite as newsworthy as the G20 Summit in London but just as important because all real change comes from the people. Most effective leaders - like Barack Obama know how to resonate and amplify..

It's a fledgling organisation designed to help the tourism industry in Canada become more climate friendly. The story behind the choice of Icarus as name and icon is presented in our blog here

Climate Change Report For Icarus Foundation

The Icarus Foundation which I co-founded in late 2006 is having its first fund raiser thanks to the diligence, enthusiasm and hardwork of Rachel Dodd and Sonya Graci and supporters - true agents of change. Here's the report we produced to stimulate debate

Open publication - Free publishing

What Keeps Us Marching?

It was Margaret Mead who said, "never understimate the power of a few to change the world". Imagine if that few had already reached millions in number. Back in 2004,  when Paul Hawken began his research into the number of non-governmental, largely volunteer groups working to achieve environmental sustainability and social justice, he counted a couple hundred thousand. Now he confidently predicts they exceed 1 million. We "change agents" are becoming a new super power as decribed in Paul's latest book: Blessed Unrest. The book title was extracted from Martha Graham's wonderful remark to Agnes de Mille:

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.....You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open...There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the other.

Paul's speech at the Bioneers conference in 2004 gives me boose bumps and inspires me every time I watch it so it is appropriate to include here. Enjoy and circulate. The earth's immune system appears to be alive and well...

I'm involved in two such groups: 1. The Change the Dream symposium developed by the Pachamama Alliance is now being lead by over 350 fully trained facilitator volunteers - a remarkable feat given that a year ago there were just 30 such volunteers who had completed a five day program at their own expense. 2. The Icarus Foundation - a grass roots movement starting in Canada developed to help the tourism industry own up to its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

The Power of Passion and Service

Here is a man who has found his passion and now has the power to lead and inspire. This is the second of two talks at the wonderful TED conferences by Al Gore. He's my Hero because he has triumphed over injustice and major setbacks; he has enormous vision (he not only made us aware of climate change but embraced and communicated the power of the Internet very early on as a force that could help educate and democratize); and, finally, because of his commitment to serve his fellow man. There must have been many nights, after the election defeat and while roaming from one airport to another, when it felt really lonely. This is the curse of the visionary - to be able to see what others cannot.

When Europeans first arrived in the Americas, they hired scouts - local people who knew the lay of the land; who could read the signs and get over the mountains to see what was on the other side. Wise colonists listened carefully to their reports and advice - it was the only intelligence they had.

Click here to watch the video here so you can enjoy this man's new found sense of humour and get some practical suggestions as to how to play your part in race to slow the ticking time bomb that is global warming.