The power of giving away 50% of your profits

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Companies giving away a percentage of their profits to charity is the result of two trends converging: nonprofits becoming more commercial, and fully commercial businesses seeking to have a social impact. But deciding to give 50% is the perfect result, according to futurist Ross Dawson.

“We have for-profit organisations, which increasingly are trying to have a social impact, and we have not-for-profits legislated to reinvest all their profits,” says Dawson.

“But there is incredible power in the model of giving away 50%.”
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This crisis will spawn a vast spectrum of increasingly distinctive and unique organizations

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I have long believed that organizations are becoming more different from each other and increasingly unique.

Social technologies made organizations more different

In the first instance this divergence has been fueled over the last dozen years by organizations implementing social technologies to add a differentiated layer of ad-hoc networks to the existing commoditized layer of standardized processes.

Social technologies can be used by the people they connect in an unlimited number of ways.

In many organizations they have amplified – or made manifest – existing cultures of collaboration, or of lack of trust.

In every case they have been used differently and shaped organizations to be more unique.
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What the road back to resuming air travel will look like

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One of the biggest differences between now and a few months ago is that scheduled flights have almost ceased, from over 8 trillion kilometres travelled in 2019 (an average of over 1000 km per man, woman and child on the planet).

Recently I wrote 9 insights into the future of air travel in a post-coronavirus world, summarizing my thoughts on the potential pathways to the resumption of international travel.

A nice article last week in Business Insider on what air travel may look like after the pandemic drew on interviews with “a variety of travel experts, travel agents, and one futurist”, to include my thoughts.

Below are my comments that were featured in the article:
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The two fundamental elements of strategy amid COVID-19: Survival and Reinvention

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There is no business that has not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some companies, in industries ranging from consumer staples to video-conferencing, are struggling to cope with soaring demand

Yet most are being slammed by factors including economic concerns, reduced spending, or simple inability of their customers to come to them.
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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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How platforms and automation are disrupting business

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Below is one of the short video interviews I did after my keynote on Business in the Age of AI at Oracle CloudWorld.

In it explain in brief my Vectors of Disruption framework and explain how automation and platforms are the primary aggregated forces disrupting business, society and government.


Below is a transcript of the video.
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The Future of Associations: vision, capabilities and leadership for a changing world

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Last month I gave the keynote at the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Annual Board of Directors Strategic Retreat held in Panama City, Panama, on The Future of Associations.

IEEE is an august institution with over 400,000 members and an enormous impact on the technology industry globally, publishing over 170 top-rated journals, running 1800 conferences a year, and managing over 1000 standards, including WiFi.

All associations globally have been impacted by technological, social and structural shifts. IEEE’s board is on the front foot in understanding and addressing these issues, inviting me to speak on these changes and the emerging opportunities to help frame the discussions over their two-day strategic retreat.

A video of the full keynote has kindly been provided by IEEE.tv here.

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Vectors of Disruption: a framework to clarify the key forces of change

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Yesterday I gave a briefing on Technology Trends and the Future of Work to a group of Non Executive Directors of major corporations, organized by a large professional services firm for its clients.

The group was the first to get a run-through of my new concept framework Vectors of Disruption, shown below, which I used to introduce and frame the rest of my presentation.


Click on the image for the full-size pdf
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Smaller companies will drive innovation and economic growth with nimble learning and work structures

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I recently did a media briefing for Telstra Business on why small and mid-sized businesses need to adopt relevant technologies to keep pace with a rapidly changing business environment. One of the interviews I did after the briefing was with Kochie’s Business Builders.

The two short videos below were excerpted from the interview, with summary notes below.


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Domain names for thought leadership content – showing clients the future

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Over many years I have registered domain names for interesting topics, almost all of them about the future.

Using these, I have launched a number of online publications over the years, including FutureofSex.net and Creating the Future of PR, among others. One of the possible paths for my business was to launch many future-oriented publications in parallel. I accumulated close to 400 domains to support possible projects.

While I intend to be doing a lot more in publishing in years to come, my core business model is fundamentally shifting (more on that another time). As such, apart from a smaller collection of domains I will keep for my own projects, I am offering these domain names for sale.

These domain names are perfect for thought leadership content projects. For example, one of the few domains I have sold was TheFutureofStrategy.com, which AT Kearney bought for a web publication featuring the firm’s thought leadership.
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