Business acumen is keenness and quickness at understanding and dealing with business situations in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome. (Wikipedia)

There is a new elite group emerging—those who quickly grasp changing business dynamics and the potential of innovation, people who quickly use their insights to create and deliver value to customers. Their influence and careers are growing.

The situation confronting virtually all businesses is rapidly shifting business dynamics, especially the impact on what customers find meaningful and valuable. The ability to make sense out these dynamics and add value to customers is critical to sustainable profits and growth. This acumen is the new black in business acumen.

A small percentage of people of have a greater tolerance for the ambiguity brought on by change and a natural aptitude for seeing new possibilities. This puts them in demand. Although everyone has some of the required cognitive resources, for many they need to be dusted-off and revved-up. Systematic use of social software can become a prime environment for this enrichment.

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Fisher Silicon Valley CIO Roundtable – September 13, 2011

John I. Todor, Ph.D., MindShift Innovation speaking on:

Making Innovation Happen

San Jose, CA

Collaboration and Social Business are powerful concept with huge potential but realizing this potential is far from business-as-usual. Both traditional business and social business evangelists must challenge their assumptions—and then doing something different.

The rise of the social web now sets the context for business, cannot be ignored. Customers rely on it to make decisions and they have expectations of the companies with which they do business. Companies of all sizes have launched initiatives with a goal to foster greater co-operation, collaboration and more meaningful relationships inside their companies and with customers.

It is safe to say that the results are mixed. We are in a transitional period, like the wash between two waves—the forces of the old and new waves are at work and impacting results. (more…)

Customer experience best practices have evolved more slowly than customers have changed. Companies that want to thrive must build a roadmap for delivering customer experiences in sync with customers—experiences they find meaningful and of value.

August 17, 2011, Pleasant Hill, CA: Emperia, LLC and MindShift Innovation announce a new series of programs to help companies create roadmaps to designing and implementing Next Practices in customer experiences. Delivering compelling customer experiences leads to strategic advantage and sustainable profits and growth, but it is not a static endeavor. While best practices have evolved, customers have changed more quickly and more dramatically. These programs identify the changing customer milieu, provide an actionable framework and engage participants in creating next practices in customer experience—experiences today’s customers find compelling.

“Today’s customers differ in expectations, the challenges they face and their buying patterns and strategies, and this has changed the relationship between customers and companies” says John I. Todor, Ph.D., managing partner of MindShift Innovation. The implications, according to Todor, a psychologist and business strategist, are that companies must focus on winning mindshare of a changed and changing customers. Customer experience best practices have evolved more slowly than customers have changed. Companies that want to thrive must build a roadmap for delivering customer experiences in sync with customers—experiences they find meaningful and of value.

Research by Forrester indicates that less than one-third of customer experience initiatives reach their full potential. “One of the major reasons for this under-performance comes from a lack of a coherent and aligned customer experience strategy throughout the company,” say Del Langdon, Partner of Emperia, LLC. Langdon adds, “Our Next Practices Roadmap programs take company-wide view of the customer experience, provide an actionable framework for understanding the expectations and wants of today’s customers and, critically, include mentoring in the practicalities of getting organizations to shift to next practices”

Next Practices Roadmap programs address:

• The business case for a focus on the customer experience.
• A psycho-economic framework for creating and delivering compelling experiences to today’s customers.
• An examination of best practices with an emphasis on making better.
• Creating “Next Practices” based on new customer dynamics and emerging trends and technology.
• An outside-in approach to innovating and aligning business practices across the value chain.
• Social software systems and tools for staying ahead of the curve.

These programs are experiential. Todor and Langdon share their experiences and expertise and provide a comprehensive framework. Most importantly, they will engage and mentor participants in working with new ideas and collaboratively confronting real-world challenges. Participants will leave with a roadmap for seizing the benefits of customer experience next practices.

Next Practice programs are designed for business leaders from all functional units within a company. To facilitate innovation and alignment across these units, people representing as many functional units as possible are encouraged to participate. Programs are offered to cross-corporate organizations or customized for individual corporations.

For program details go to Roadmap to Next Practices, or contact either Del Langdon (del.langdon@emperiallc.com ) or John Todor (johnt@mindshifti.com )

Del Langdon is a partner of Emperia, LLC (www.emperiallc.com) with extensive experience helping F1000 companies implement strategy-driven change and achieve sustainable results. She has deep in expertise customer experience but recognized that initiatives come up short unless there is corresponding innovation and alignment in partner and employee, business practices, technology-enabled solutions, and channel interaction design. Del co-authored (with Don Tapscott) a book, “Planning for Integrated Office Systems, A Strategic Approach”. Her large-scale strategy, integrated design and transformational change programs have been featured as Harvard and Stanford Business School cases and Forrester Research Report.

John I. Todor, Ph.D. is the managing partner of MindShift Innovation (www.mindshifti.com). As a business strategist, mentor and psychologist, he constantly assess the shifting dynamics impacting what customers find meaningful and of value. MindShift Innovation programs are designed to help business leaders, employees and organizations make the mindshifts required to turn the uncertainty and complexity of change into new possibilities for creating and delivering value to customers. His book, “Addicted Customers: How to Get Them Hooked on Your Company” is the leading primer on the psychology of the customer experience. His other books are on Winning Mindshare and Social Media and Customer Relationships.

Fisher Silicon Valley CIO Roundtable – October 4, 2011

John I. Todor, Ph.D., MindShift Innovation speaking on:

Making Innovation Happen

San Jose, CA

Future of Talent Webinar – August 17, 2010

John I. Todor, Ph.D. of MindShift Innovation speaking on:

Build the Business Acumen for Change

http://www.brighttalk.com/channel/6385

Just released, a 4 minute video overview of our Mindshift Innovation methodology.

Mindshift Innovation is a new system of engaging business challenges. It is designed to help people and organizations adapt and thrive in today’s fast-paced, uncertain and increasingly complex business climate.