The 5 elements of enhancing client relationship capabilities

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Below is an excerpt from my book Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships 2nd Edition from Chapter 6 on Enhancing Client Relationship Capabilities: Implementing Key Client Programs.

See links to details on my work as a strategy advisor on client relationship leadership and my keynotes and workshops on building exceptional client relationships.

Enhancing Client Relationship Capabilities

Every firm has a certain set of capabilities in developing high-value client relationships. All successful firms will have at least reasonable capabilities in this domain, even if this has not been an overt focus in their management activities. The issue, whatever the current state of those capabilities, is how to continually enhance them. As you saw in Chapter 1, doing quality work is not enough. At every level from the top end of the market down, differentiation will increasingly stem from how well firms manage their client relationships. What was good enough a few years ago is not good enough today, and what is good today will simply not be adequate a few years from now.
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2020 and beyond: heightened climate activism, wealth divides, gender power shifts, entertainment economy

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The most recent Good Weekend magazine, which reaches over 1 million readers in Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and Melbourne’s The Age, included a compact feature interview with me titled Meet the futurist with 2020 vision.

Below are some brief excerpts, or read the full article:
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50 years later: Humanity’s adaptation to Future Shock

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This year it is 50 years since Alvin Toffler published Future Shock. It was an immensely influential book in shaping how his generation thought about the future.

In commemoration of the anniversary, a new book After Shock: The World’s Foremost Futurists Reflect on 50 Years of Future Shock―and Look Ahead to the Next 50 is coming out in early February, with contributions from a wide range of leading future thinkers, including Ray Kurzweil, Alan Kay, David Brin, Zoltan Istvan, Aubrey de Grey, myself, and many others.

Below is the chapter I contributed, summarizing my thoughts on this remarkable book and how it helps frame our future.
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7 lessons learned from 20 years of professional speaking

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It is exactly two decades since I became a professional speaker. I had paid my dues over the previous four years speaking frequently for free at conferences. My breakthrough from ‘free to fee’ came from the publication of my first book, Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships, which gave me the credibility and visibility to be invited for my first professional engagement in late January 2000.

I have to acknowledge I didn’t do a stellar job for my first paid gig, but it was the beginning of what has been and still is a truly wonderful career. For me being a futurist and professional speaker is an absolute dream job, travelling the world to share ideas with an eclectic range of fascinating people.

Here are seven things I have learned about the profession of speaking over the last 20 years of hard work.
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The 2020s will be a pivotal decade: we all have a responsibility to believe it can be positive for humanity

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We have now entered the very-long-awaited year of 2020, and an entirely new decade.

I truly think that everything we have experienced so far has just been prelude to the craziness of the 2020s. This will be an absolutely pivotal decade in human history, as we almost literally choose who we become and what direction we go as the human race.
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Will financial advice be delivered primarily through Netflix-like subscription platforms?

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A report just released by McKinsey, On the cusp of change: North American wealth management in 2030, offers some interesting perspectives.

The ideas presented in the report include the rise of “fit-nance” tracking of holistic advice, financial advisors focusing on life coaching, and ubiquitous user ratings of advisors.

One of the key concepts in the report is that financial advice will be substantially provided over Netflix-like subscription platforms:
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The future of society in 15 years: a technology-fueled renaissance and social divides between humans and cyborgs

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I was recently interviewed by SBS for the Australian launch of the BBC/HBO drama Years and Years, which through the series progresses from today until 15 years in the future.

Below is the text of the article, titled What will the future hold for us in 15 years?:
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How to build customer feedback loops for exceptional service and high-value innovation

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Companies are continually asking for our feedback. But do they actually use that feedback, and if so how? Unless we know, the company’s response comes back to its customers, there is zero motivation to provide meaningful input. But if that feedback loop is well-designed it will build far more loyal and engaged customers.

I wrote about how to build customer feedback loops in my book Living Networks, shown below. The advice is still just as relevant today, not least as still so few companies are doing this well.

Building customer feedback loops

Consumer expectations have soared over the last years. In a world of digital connections, customers take for granted virtually immediate responses to their problems and desires. For the last few years companies have been working hard to improve their service response, by creating new service delivery channels, building sophisticated automated response systems, and enhancing call center processes. The intent is to respond to customers’ issues quickly and efficiently.
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Prediction: the 2020s will build on the last decade of progress for an explosion in augmented realities

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I am honored to be top of the list of Tech Predictions Gone Wrong – Top 5 Failed Tech Predictions for 2010s:

Ross Dawson, a futurist, made a prediction that people will be seen wearing AR glasses and contacts that will allow them to control machines. As shocking and intriguing this prediction was, it was a massive failure as well.

Based on this prediction, no one would have thought that Google Glass and Snap Spectacles would be seen in the lists of Worst Tech of the Decade. Although a lot of people tried it as well, it was of no use. The idea was not appreciated by most people. Google even released a warning for wearers to not be “creepy or rude”. However, the consumer sales of this product were ended by Google in the year 2015.

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How national population trajectories will shape our future

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Global population growth reached its peak of 2.09% in 1968 and has steadily declined since then to its current levels of 1.08%.

The United Nations forecasts that in 2050 the growth rate will have slowed further to around 0.3% to give a global population of 9.7 billion, however its 80% probability range of forecasts includes the possibility that world population will be shrinking, a scenario I think is more likely than suggested by the UN forecasts.

However looking at global population figures hides the massive disparity between fast growing nations and those where population is declining. For example Japan’s population was 127 million in 2000 and is forecast to be 97 million in 2050, whereas Uganda’s population is expected to be 100 million in 2050 from just 24 million in 2000.
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