4 Reasons Why the New Workstyle is Mobile

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

I just posted this on the Gist blog and thought I'd share here as well:

We put forth the concept of the New Workstyle at the beginning of the year and theten characteristics we described created quite a bit of debate and discussion.  We fundamentally believe that the way we work is transforming and that high performance organizations will embrace these changes to further empower employees, realize the benefits of new innovation, and outpace their competition.

The first characteristic we included was being “mobile” and that this meant “always on and aware.”  This does not mean being a workaholic and failing at balance in your life as some of the comments reflected.  It’s quite the contrary actually.  Being mobile and being enabled with tools to share, communicate, and collaborate regardless of location unlocks new approaches to work and life.

We see four things driving this mobile workstyle:

1.  App marketplaces – where people can search, download, and run applications on their own without the need for IT support or training.  The applications available span work related tasks like time reporting, sales pipelines, and project management to non-work ones like games and photo sharing.  The line between these two categories continues to blur as apps thought of for fun translate into new and innovative ways to market, sell and support.  Most importantly, the technical aptitude of anyone who uses a smartphone and makes app choices goes up with each new app and each new experience.

2.  ”Screening” – interacting with information through various devices be that a phone, tablet, or laptop connected to a wireless network and accessing a multitude of cloud-based applications and content regardless of location or device. You can easily create a document with Google Apps on one device, share it with others, and then access and edit it on any device connected to the Internet all with proper versioning and access controls built in.

3.  Multiple communication channels – seamlessly switching between an email, a phone call, a text message, and a Facebook wall post creates a new dynamic in communication and the ability to share and reach people in your network.  The choice between both synchronous and asynchronous channels depending on the need and urgency opens up a new and more efficient approach to communication.

4.  A true on/off switch – while it may seem counter-intuitive and requires an explicit choice on the part of the individual, being mobile and fully enabled creates more freedom to work when and where you need to most.  News, information, updates, and content are always there and available so having the discipline to structure when and how you use them is essential.

What do you think?  Are there other drivers of the mobile workstyle?  How has your work evolved as you have become more mobile?

[Cross posted from the Gist blog]

Why don’t app marketplaces allow vendor responses to the reviews?

/ Robert Pease / 1 Comment

This seems so simple yet I have not seen it after launching products on the Google Apps Marketplace, Chrome Web Store, iTunes App Store, Android Market, and BlackBerry App World over the past couple years.

Travel review site TripAdvisor does a nice job of allowing the property to comment back when a review is given (positive or negative) with additional details, an explanation, or just an update that an issue was resolved.

There is no such capability in these app marketplaces and it would be a really nice both for marketing efforts and, more importantly, customer support.  In fact, in several cases we've commented back to a review by creating a review.  This is all very clumsy and doesn't really solve the problem.

Anybody working on this or adding this capability soon?  If you have an app marketplace, you should be. 

Get outside your bubble

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

Bubblegirl

I was (mostly) off line for the past week while visiting my Dad and brother in Franklin, TN (just south of Nashville where I grew up). I did not totally unplug as I kept an eye on personal email and the news feed that comes to me via my varied updates from those who I follow on Twitter.  However, I did stop on-line engagement and focused on my family, people around me, and real experiences.

I took several long runs through historic downtown Franklin, ate a bit of BBQ, had a great startup brainstorming breakfast at Noshville with friend Darren Crawford, cooked, laughed, and even played a suprisingly good round of golf with my Dad and brother (last round was 3 years ago).

I was originally going to title this post "Offline and in the Real World" but I think that is too harsh.  We can (and must) balance the deluge of information, ease of access via mobile devices, and what appear to be pressing needs to engage on-line with off-line and real life engagement and interactions. 

I have created a vast network of people that I am truly grateful to have through various on-line connections but I find it increasingly diluted based on its size.  The race to accumulate friends, fans, followers, and influence that I have been part of over the past few years seems a bit ridiculous when you spend time with extremely successful business owners who simply make their customers their priority and run their businesses with integrity.

These on-line and off-line worlds are not incompatible and can definitely benefit each other.  I firmly believe that successfully integrating the two can lead to a more successful business and more personal impact on the world.

So, please take a moment to look around (not at your phone), get together in person for coffee or a beer with a friend, and remember that technology can enable your pursuits in amazing and innovative ways but is no substitute for real life.

In2Lex Startup Advantage Conference & why you can build a company anywhere

/ Robert Pease / 2 Comments

In2Lex

I had the opportunity to attend and speak at the Startup Advantage Conference last week in Lexington, KY.

My good friend Jim Clifton was involved in organizing the event and asked me to speak along with some really amazing people like Micah Baldwin of Graphic.ly, Deal Architect Vinnie Mirchandani, Tim Schigel of ShareThis, Brian Wong of Kiip, and Rolf Skyberg of eBay among others.

I always enjoy my time in Lexington and am of the belief that you can start a company anywhere.  The ecosystem around you can definitely hurt or hinder your progress but in a world of high speed connections, web collaboration, and reduced distribution friction for software applications, location is not a disqualifier.

I met some great people and cool companies like Pheeva & Keepio including attending a pre-conference reception with Lexington Mayor Jim Gray.  We also had an amazing breakfast overlooking the Keeneland horse track as thoroughbreds had their morning workouts (a top 10 experience for me for sure).

Keeneland

The energy level was high and it was clear there was a focused effort to nurture and encourage entrepreneurship in this community.  I even capped off my visit with dinner at Le Deauville with the founder of Fark Drew Curtis and Rolf.

My presentation was later in the day so everyone was a bit tired (including me) but I focused on building a conversion funnel, ramping it up, and then what happens upon exit for a startup – "The End of the Beginning"

Big thanks to Randall Stevens and the rest of the crew in Lexington for including me and being leaders in their community focused on driving entrepreneurship and innovation.  I can't wait to return…

In2Lex 2011: Traction and Exit (The End of the Beginning)

Did you really just send me this?

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

Talk about bad sales + email marketing.

I just received this email from someone wanting to sell me email marketing lists.  Let's assume they are of quality as they got my email address from somewhere, would you do business with these folks?

I won't get hung up on the fact that I am not looking for marketing lists (read my post on buyer signaling) but come on, this thing is ugly, has way too many words, and is the type of thing you send someone when they ask…not to start the conversation.

DidYouReallySendMeThis

Why not just cut 10% of all spending?

/ Robert Pease / 1 Comment

That's my budget plan for the U.S.

No politics, no policy, no ideology. Just take 10% across the board from all programs and expenditures.

Yes, I know that this is more important than that or another program is key to us "winning the future" or whatever the tag line of the day may be.  That is the beauty of this approach – everything is treated equally with no influence, lobbying, or pet projects.

Get it from cutting waste, making operations more efficient, or even (egad!) innovating around people, process, or technology.

It won't solve the problem of our national debt but it will get us started without this nonsense of who goes first and who is more "extreme."

Most of us (hopefully) have a budget or spending plan.  It's not ideal to reduce it by 10% but it can be done.

Why can't all these really "smart people" we elect do the same?

Thank you for your support in 2012…

Four years of blogging

/ Robert Pease / 1 Comment

Wow. Hard to believe I started doing this four years ago today.    

I re-read my first post again and wanted to share this excerpt as it continues to be the rough theme that I try to stick to with my posts:

My selection of "Reply to All" as a title of this blog is indicative of the challenges and habits created by our technology "enablers" in our modern workplace.  I seek to touch on how we communicate as people and how young companies struggle and strive to make the process better, faster, cheaper, etc.

Thanks to everyone who reads my posts regularly and to those who stop by no matter how briefly.  I'm glad I added this to my life four years ago and look forward to doing it for many more to come.

Product = Experience

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

Experience

This is a follow up to my Sales = Support post about how the delivery and consumption of web-based products is changing the way we need to think about aligning around the end-user.

Like many of my blog posts, this was inspired by a conversation (an email exchange in this case) about whether to focus on adding features or focus on the user experience given limited resources.

I had been meaning to write this for some time so decided to post here what I shared with a friend:

Do one thing and make it really simple (to start).  There are always features to add and complexity to consider but people use products and unless they have to use it (do x to get paid/keep your job, etc.) they choose to use products based on value delivered.  

I definitely believe that product = experience in an on-demand world.  You want people to find, try, use and love your thing with limited to no involvement on your part.  This makes it all about experience. You get involved when they have a question or observation:  sales = support.  The product = experience blog post is coming soon:)

That said, if you are not quite to the point where the one thing you are doing really well doesn't solve someone's problem yet, then focus on that.

Consider a product like Dropbox.  They get a lot of buzz but one of the things that stands out to me is not their fame but how dead simple the product is to use and works itself into my existing knowledge. I didn't have to learn how to use it, it works like a file finder/manager – looks the same, even integrated into that view.  

They are not the first (or last) company to do cloud-based file backup but they made it work for me with limited brain cycles to learn it.  Most people are not curious enough to figure it out so the focus has to be on quick time to value.