losing control
what happens on wall street no longer stays on wall street what happens in vegas ends up on youtube laughter reputations are volatile loyalties are fickle
management teams seem increasingly disconnected from their staff laughter a recent survey said that twenty seven percent of bosses believe their employees are inspired by their firm
however in the same survey only four percent of employees agreed
companies are losing control
your brand is what other people say about you when you 're not in the room
they can listen and join the conversation in fact they have more control over the loss of control than ever before
they can design for it
they can collaborate with them on the creation of ideas knowledge content designs and product they can give them more control over pricing
which is what the band radiohead did with its pay as you like online release of its album in rainbows buyers could determine the price but the offer was exclusive
and only stood for a limited period of time
the album sold more copies than previous releases of the band
the danish chocolate company anthon berg opened a so called generous store in copenhagen
it asked customers to purchase chocolate with the promise of good deeds towards loved ones
it turned transactions into interactions and generosity into a currency
companies can even give control to hackers when microsoft kinect came out the motion controlled add on to its xbox gaming console it immediately drew the attention of hackers microsoft first fought off the hacks
but then shifted course when it realized that actively supporting the community came with benefits
the sense of co ownership
the free publicity the added value all helped drive sales
the ultimate empowerment of customers is to ask them not to buy
outdoor clothier patagonia encouraged prospective buyers to check out ebay for its used products and to resole their shoes before purchasing new ones
in an even more radical stance against consumerism the company placed a don 't buy this jacket advertisement
during the peak of shopping season
it may have jeopardized short term sales but it builds lasting long term loyalty
based on shared values
research has shown that giving employees more control over their work makes them happier and more productive
the brazilian company semco group famously lets employees set their own work schedules and even their salaries
companies can give people more control
but they can also give them
giving people less control might be a wonderful way to counter the abundance of choice
nextpedition turns the trip into a game with surprising twists and turns along the way
it does not tell the traveler where she 's going until the very last minute and information is provided just in time
similarly dutch airline klm launched a surprise campaignseemingly randomly handing out small gifts to travelers en route to their destination
u k based interflora monitored twitter for users who were having a bad day
and then sent them a free bouquet of flowers is there anything companies can do to make their employees feel less pressed for time yes force them to help others
a recent study suggests that having employees complete occasional altruistic tasks throughout the day increases their sense of overall productivity
that connect old and new employees helping them get to know each other fast
by applying a strict process we give them less control less choice
but we enable more and richer social interactions
companies are the makers of their fortunes and like all of us they are utterly exposed to serendipity
that should make them more humble
staying true to their true selves
is the only sustainable value proposition
or as the ballet dancer alonzo king said
what 's interesting about you is you
for the true selves of companies to come through
a smile is a door that is half open
companies can give their employees and customers more control or less
they can worry about how much openness is good for them
and what needs to stay closed
or they can simply smile
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