Links for May 4 2014

Time to rethink your business model

Quote: If your business model is so obsolete that the only way to make money is to extract fees when your customers make mistakes, or to charge for stuff that was once free, it’s time to innovate your business model

The Future of Retail and the Cloud Wars

Quote: Retail is undergoing a massive transformation as we speak. Thanks to the rise of smartphones and apps, constantly connected customers are now able to do what was once pure fantasy. Every day, millions walk into traditional big-box retailers. After finding what they want and intend to buy, they are whipping out their iOS and Android devices and comparing in-store prices with those of online giants, most notably Amazon. If the price is lower online, then they make their purchases via their smartphones and promptly leave the store.

Why You Need to Be Focused on Agile Marketing

Quote: Agile marketing requires people to change the way they do things and to quit doing them, or thinking them, because that’s the way they’ve always done it or thought it. That means tossing conventions and personal opinions out the window and relying on what your data shows you (i.e. we tested this x number of times and here’s what our users told us) to drive strategies.

Amtrak’s CIO Changes The IT Culture In The First 100 Days

Quote: The key has been clear and consistent communication and delivering on my commitments to both the IT team and the business. Since the beginning of my tenure at Amtrak, I have held a town hall meeting every other month. It is important to maintain the dialogue with the entire group. During my second town hall, I communicated the IT strategy, and in each subsequent meeting, I have reiterated that plan and highlighted progress against it. Again the key is transparency. I also leave plenty of time for questions because I want people to feel comfortable asking me questions, and I want the entire team to hear the answers to those questions.

3 Critical Competencies of the Modern CIO

Quote: Garnering your CEO support may be the most critical CIO skill of all. Developing and deploying an IT strategy is really about driving operational change. How can you build an integrated data strategy and deploy an ERP if everyone hasn’t bought into the change? If the CIO is not anointed by the CEO as someone with the authority to drive operational change, he will have a tough time overcoming resistance, when the resistance is particularly high.

When Will We Stop Talking About The Technology?

Quote: Confusing Innovation and Technology limits us. Technologies are easily copyable. Business models, business process, and particularly human engagement are far more difficult to copy and get right. Look at any of the examples cited above. Their Innovations are very public, there’s nothing secret about them, yet there are few who have “copied them,” achieving the same levels of success.