3 Keys To Compete In Today’s Economy, According to Sam Palmisano

Sam Palmisano, pictured in Hanover, Germany last February

Speaking at The Economist’s Buttonwood Gathering in New York last month, former IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano shared what he sees as the three keys for anyone – cities, countries or companies – to compete in today’s integrated global economy. With interconnectivity growing, you’ve got to distinguish yourself to find growth, he said.

“The developing world has reached the end of the easy path to rising GDP…growth markets have plucked the low-hanging fruit of global integration Act I,” said Palmisano, and “….the developed world finds itself needing to address huge structural overhangs with urgency. Postponement is not a serious option.”

So how can you compete? For Palmisano, it comes down to three key points.

Read the article here.

Smarter Transformation: What I’ve Learned from a Decade of Change

Author Linda Sanford, Vice President, Enterprise Transformation

by Linda Sanford

Over the past decade, IBM has taken a systematic approach to transformation and has dramatically reshaped the company.

Since I’ve been helping lead that effort, I’m often asked by clients for advice on how to transform successfully. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but there are a few things that most organizations can start doing to create a smarter enterprise.

Read the rest of Linda Sanford’s post at Building a Smarter Planet. A Smarter Planet Blog.

How the Internet Has Outdated Your BtoB Sales Process

by professional speaker, chief strategist, and best-selling author Mike Moran, in Biznology.com

I’m old. 30 years ago, I learned how IBM qualified leads for sales. At the time, I know now, it was unusual to even have a process for such a thing, but that is how IBM worked (and still does). Most B2B businesses did not have such a process and the ones who did probably did not follow them as religiously as IBM did, but even if you don’t know you have a process, you do. Whatever you do is your process. And unless you have seriously revisited it the last few years, the Internet has broken your B2B sales process.

Image by eric.delcroix

All this was brought to mind as I prepared for a session I am doing Monday in Copenhagen for the IAA on using social media for sales leads. (Please sign up if you are in town.) As I thought back to the old IBM process, I am not sure any of it works anymore.

IBM had its own names for it, but the process closely resembles one that many B2B marketers use called BANT, which stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. Basically, what it says is that a well-qualified lead has all of those qualities–the budget to make the purchase, the authority to do so, a proven need for what your product or service does, and a timeline in which to take action.

As someone who still speaks to clients every day about the services they need to succeed in Internet marketing, I wonder how anyone qualifies a lead anymore. First off, I am never talking to the person who has the authority to make the purchase–often it takes three people (including one in purchasing) to sign off, so no one person has the authority. I am not sure if the Internet screwed that up, but it screwed up everything else.

Budget, Need, and Timeline can’t really be looked at as separate items anymore. In the digital age, no one knows in October of 2012 what they will need in November of 2013, but that is when the budget is set for it–if “set” is even the right word. Budgets whipsaw back and forth as results as reported, because everyone knows immediately how they are doing and make rapid course corrections, in part because the Internet has raised stick price speculations to a high art. Everyone is taking corrective action with budgets before anyone even knows there is a problem.

So budgets emerge only after people think there is a need. And, as with budgets, how can you know there is a need when things are changing so fast? You don’t have a need that you spend a year fulfilling–you discover something (from surfing on the Web, or searching, or hearing from a colleague) that would make your business better and then, voila! You get the budget and set the timeline.

Things move too fast for it to be any other way.

So, what is the real way to qualify leads? I am  not sure, but remember that the goal is not to qualify leads–it is to sell stuff. And I think I do know how to sell stuff. You must educate your customer–you must create the need. If you do, the authority, budget, and timeline will fall into place and you will have a sale.

And, although the Internet bollixed up the sales qualification process, it didn’t mess up selling stuff. Use the Internet to create the need with content marketing. Put together the deep, persuasive content that explains the problem and explains the options for solving it, including yours. Then share it everywhere and make it discoverable by searchers and wait for the leads to come in. I bet they will be qualified after they’ve read that much about you.

Then, get your sales teams to focus on social media to engage with potential clients. Use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook–whatever works–to help nudge the clients through the last few stages. It isn’t just phone calls and e-mails anymore.

It might not sound like fancy process, but I bet it will sound good when you ring the cash register.

—————————————————————————–

About the author:

Author of Do It Wrong Quickly, on Internet marketing, and the best-selling Search Engine Marketing, Inc., Mike Moran led many initiatives on IBM’s site for eight years, including IBM’s original search marketing strategy. He holds an Advanced Certificate in Market Management Practice from the Royal UK Charter Institute of Marketing, is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, and regularly teaches at Rutgers, UC Irvine, and UCLA. In addition to his contributions to Biznology, Mike is a regular columnist for Search Engine Guide. He also frequently keynotes conferences worldwide on digital marketing for marketers, public relations specialists, market researchers, and technologists, and serves as Chief Strategist for Converseon, a leading digital media marketing agency. Prior to joining Converseon, Mike worked for IBM for 30 years, rising to the level of Distinguished Engineer.

Mike can be reached through his Web site (mikemoran.com). Follow him on Twitter at @MikeMoran.

Chester Hansen, IBMer and Rare Diarist of World War II, Dies at 95

In this obituary in The New York Times, reporter Leslie Kaufman details the life of Chester Hansen, who passed away recently at 95. A former editor of the IBM magazine, Mr. Hansen was a highly acclaimed diarist, documenting his experiences throughout World War II. Following his service, Mr. Hansen’s work at IBM also included writing speeches for Thomas Watson Jr.

Read the full story here.

Capt. Chester Hansen, left, pictured with Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley in Sicily. (from the Omar N. Bradley papers)

 

 

 

———————————————————————

Share your thoughts in the Comments section.

The Road Less Traveled Can Turn Into Your Life’s Work

by Greater IBMer Nathan Lincoln, owner of Noah’s Ark Petting Zoo/Frontier Pony Rides

I co-own and run a petting zoo and pony ride business with my wife of 20 years.

Author Nathan Lincoln, his wife Gloria, and some of their friends

When I met my wife, I was working at a job I had just gotten a few months earlier with a traveling carnival. I was unemployed and staying with friends in the little oil field and coal mining town of Gillette, Wyoming. I had just gotten out of the National Guard unit headquartered there.

One morning I arrived at the unemployment office, hoping enough work would come in that day for me to be called. The woman at the front desk asked whether anyone wanted to work in a carnival coming to the town’s Main Street festival. I got the assignment.

Visitors enjoy the petting zoo’s many animals

My job was to run a small homemade car ride with 10 old pedal cars. The owner saw that I made the ride fun for the kids by playing with them while they were on it, even seeing to it that the kids who were unhappy or scared started to enjoy themselves. He offered to let me return with him to Colorado, the center of his operations in Colorado, where there were many more jobs, and I accepted.

Sultan the camel gets his noontime bottle of milk

Once I arrived with the carnival and began working the events through the Denver area, I noticed another person running a pony ride next to him at events. As it happens, shortly before I joined the carnival, the carnival owner had begun buying more of the big mechanical rides and unloading his only high-maintenance attraction: the pony rides.

The woman who had bought the ponies – her name was Gloria – was interesting and friendly. As the carnival would move from one spot to another, she would sometimes need help getting everything set up later in the evening, as she was too busy during the daytime.

Gloria began asking me to help and we struck up a friendship through these evening odd jobs, ended up beginning a relationship. That resulted in our being married a year later.

And that was the beginning of Frontier Pony Rides. My wife and I  expanded the pony ride business by getting event jobs on our own, adding a small petting zoo a few years later. After 10 years (and a few other full time jobs for me that led to my employment at IBM), we bought out another pony/zoo business in Colorado. Today, it’s Noah’s Ark Petting Zoo/Frontier Pony Rides.

Flemish rabbit, father of several others n the petting zoo

As Noah’s Ark Petting Zoo/Frontier Pony Rides we now have a number of exotic or unusual animals, including African Pygmy goats, Nigerian Dwarf goats, and Shetland sheep. We do a range of jobs from small to large. From taking a few of our little mini African Pygmy goats (which are beagle-sized) into retirement homes, where the folks light up like little kids holding and petting them, to taking a dozen of so animals like our little fluffy Shetland sheep, black and white spotted Jacob sheep, pygmy and Nigerian dwarf goats, and Flemish Giant rabbits to day care centers, on up to fairs and festivals.

Baby wallaby Quigley

We also do The Denver Cinco de Mayo Festival, and the Colorado and Central Washington State Fairs, where we add our more exotic animals. These can include our giant 35- to 40-lb. African Spurred tortoises Titan and Clyde, our 3-ft tall adult wallaby Skipper, our llamas, alpacas, mini donkeys, mini horses, miniature pigs, our camel Ali (he’s especially popular at the living nativity scenes around Christmas time), and other animals.

That’s how deciding to do something that you would never expect to do can lead into a complete life’s work. – Nathan Lincoln computer/server administration specialist… & Petting Zoo Owner

———————————————————–

About the author:

Author Nathan Lincoln

Mr. Lincoln worked for IBM between 2003 and 2012, in Boulder, CO, as a Level 2 Support Technician, with Global Business Services (GBS)  and previously at Career Connections, Inc.

IBMer Greg Daws Shares Corp. Service Corps (CSC) Experience at Indore, India

Greg Daws, IBM Australia, shares his Corporate Service Corps (CSC) Team India 17 experience by enjoying the culture around India and visiting the places in Indore. Greg and his team were charged with helping the Labour Commission to address some of the issues faced in that society.

The India 17 team (missing Greg Daws)

If you would like to read more about the program, visit http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/corporateservicecorps/

—————————————————————————————–

As a current or former IBMer, have you ever taken part in a Corporate Service Corps assignment? What was it like? Tell us about your own experience below.

The One Key that Helped Drive the Computer Revolution – Thanks to IBM

“It’s the ‘Hey, you! Listen to me’ key…it says to the computer: ‘Stop what you’re doing. I need to take control.’ ” It’s the Escape key, the one that reminds the computer of its human master AND the one that’s probably saved you more than once.

And it was invented by an IBMer. The story of how it came to be, in this piece by Pagan Kennedy in the NY Times.

IBM computer pioneer Bob Bemer in an undated family photo (courtesy AP)

 

 

———————————————————————————————

Has the Escape key ever helped you out of a jam? Tell your story in the Comments.

–Posted by Regan Kelly

Hate to Brag? How to Self Promote to Advance Your Career

by Renee Weisman, author of Winning in a Man’s World

Greater IBMer and author Renee Weisman

Do you recognize yourself in any of these people?

1.    You jumped through hoops to get a new client or complete a major project and didn’t get the credit you deserved.  Even worse- someone else got the credit.

2.    You believed you were clearly in line for a promotion or job opportunity but didn’t get it. Even more upsetting, someone you felt was less deserving got the job.

3.    Your work was presented at a meeting by your boss or other team members. Even more upsetting, when they acknowledged that you had done the work, your senior manager asked, “Who is that?”

If any of these situations sound familiar, you are not alone.  Most people, especially women, absolutely hate to share their accomplishments and as a result, other people step in and grab the glory.  The old adage, “A job well done speaks for itself” was most likely drummed into your head from childhood. You feel like your boss should be the one bragging about you, if anyone does.  Or maybe you are so busy doing your job, you don’t have time to brag about it.

All of these excuses are standing in the way of your success. In fact, Catalyst Magazine determined that of all the career strategies women use to get ahead, the most effective one was promoting their own accomplishments.  Men may get promoted on potential but women are promoted on performance. If your manager, coworkers, team leads and executive management don’t know the good work you are doing, you will be left in the dust by others who aren’t afraid to toot their horns.

At this point, most people argue that they’ve seen others who brag about their accomplishments and they consider those people to be obnoxious.  You may be right, but scientific research has shown that individuals who brag, even if they are obnoxious, are considered more competent that those who downplay their accomplishments.  However, if you can brag in a positive light, you are not only seen as more competent but also seen as likeable.

You can learn to brag properly. Just as preparing for a major presentation takes practice and some finessing, sharing your great work also requires effort. A job is not done unless others know you did it.

—————————————————————————————-

How do you keep track of YOUR accomplishments and share them with the world?

About the Author:

Renee Weisman was a Distinguished Engineer and Director of Engineering at IBM until retiring in 2008. Having spent nearly 40 years in the heavily male-dominated semiconductor engineering industry, often as the only woman, Renee learned firsthand how women can hold themselves back.

The owner of Winning at Work Consulting, Renee now teaches others the secrets to her success. Renee is a featured writer for excelle.monster.com, smallbizlink.monster.com and for the Poughkeepsie Journal’s Young Professionals career page.

Visit Renee’s site

Greater IBMer Matt Preschern named ‘BtoB’s’ Top Digital Marketer of the Year

by Kate Maddox, BtoBonline.com

San Francisco—Matt Preschern, VP-North America demand programs at IBM Corp., was named BtoB’s 2012 Top Digital Marketer of the Year at an awards ceremony Sept. 20.

Preschern was recognized for his work this year using digital platforms to promote IBM’s hardware, software and services, as part of its Smarter Planet initiative.

“We are making IBMers part of the brand,” Preschern said, pointing to a “social eminence” program that helps IBM employees engage with social media and build the IBM brand.

During a keynote presentation at the luncheon, Alison Engel, global marketing director at LinkedIn, revealed new LinkedIn research on how business professionals use social media.

The study was based on an online survey of more than 6,000 LinkedIn users worldwide.

“On personal networks, users “spend’ time—on professional networks, users “invest’ time,” Engel said. “Professional network users want content that can help them at some time in the future— insights that help them work smarter and updates from brands they are interested in.”

The top content area for professional social-network users is career information, followed by brand updates and current affairs, the research found.

“There is a deep well of emotion on professional social networks, similar to the type of high emotion that exists on b-to-c social networks,” Engel said.

She presented case studies from Cisco Systems, Citigroup and IBM to demonstrate how b2b marketers are using content, LinkedIn groups and brand updates to engage with their target audiences.

Also during the event, several of this year’s Top Digital Marketers discussed how they’re using social media, mobile and other online technologies.

“Business is social,” said Linda Boff, global executive director-digital, advertising and design at General Electric Co., last year’s Top Digital Marketer, who presented the award to Preschern.

Boff said GE has found success this year using Instagram to engage its target audiences, being named one of the top five brands on Instagram, with more than 100,000 followers.

“Mobile has been huge for events,” said Rishi Dave, executive director-digital marketing at Dell Inc. Dell creates mobile apps for its events and “gamifies” the content to let event attendees win prizes and network with other users.

Dave and other panelists pointed to some challenges with mobile marketing.

“The No. 1 problem is scaling mobile globally,” he said.

Pam Didner, global integrated marketing manager at Intel Corp., agreed.

“Intel is a global company, and it is very hard to develop a headquarters-driven approach to mobile,” she said. “Headquarters has to work with the regional offices to coordinate mobile programs.”

—————————————————————————————-

Information in Modern Societies = Inspiration to Author/Greater IBMer Dr. James Cortada

Greater IBMer, author and thought leader Dr. James Cortada is no newcomer to the world of developing, writing, and publishing books. An IBM employee of nearly 40 years now, he’s recently published his latest, “The Digital Flood: The Diffusion of Information Technology Across the U.S., Europe, and Asia” – and it’s his 66^th book.

Read more about Dr. Cortada and how his IBM career helped him in developing his dozens of books on the history of information technologies and business management.

Dr. James W. Cortada

The Greater IBM Connection: How long have you been an IBMer?

Dr. Cortada: 38 years.

What is your role today – what are some of your more interesting duties? 

I work in the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), doing research on contemporary business problems and advising governments on how to improve their operations.

I also support client teams selling to government agencies when they need thought leadership materials.

How did you come to join IBM?

I was recruited into sales by two IBM executives in the 1970s.

What earlier roles have helped to prepare you for the work you’re doing now? 

I have consulted to governments all over the world, sold software and hardware, and learned to run sales organizations, all of which taught me about the role of IT and managing its use in business terms.

Is your IBM work related to your writing? 

They are related, because my writing is about how IT is used by individuals, companies, governments, by industry and by country. My IBM experience gives me the insight to know what issues to explore that are relevant to our clients.

Have you written for pleasure all your life? How did you begin?

I have written for pleasure all my life; I learned to do it first as a reporter for a newspaper, later as a stringer for AP, then through the formal rigors of graduate training.

When did you begin writing books?

I published my first book when I was 20, a short thing about the American Civil War in my hometown in Virginia.

That was 65 books ago.

What spurred you to write a book – what was the impetus that got you started?

I have been writing about the history and management of IT since about 1978, always about topics that I wished someone else would write about, but did not.

So I did.

 Buy the book at Amazon.com

Available now

How do you choose the subjects to explore? Can you explain the process?

I pick topics by listening to what clients and experts are concerned with and by what experts are not willing or able to take on.

For example, European economists and historians like to write more about their home country than about Europe as a whole. Clients want to understand Europe as a whole rather than just about one country.

I also build on what I learned from prior projects to determine what questions to explore and on what skills I have. I am fortunate to be able to work in multiple languages, which makes writing a global history easier.

IBMers work a lot of hours; how do you make the time to write?

This is like jogging, it is a discipline. Every Saturday and Sunday morning I write/study/research between 6 and 8:30 AM, 4 weeks a month, 11 months a year, 10 years each decade. That means there is enough time to write and after a while you get quite efficient at it so the productivity increases.

Do you write regularly? And if so, when and where?

Only on weekends and in my home office, at the same desk so that my mind mentally gets switched fast to the writing zone.

What other hobbies do you have?

Hiking and camping, and I also collect old books on information technologies, tabulators, computers and, of course, everything I can get my hands on regarding the history of IBM and its competitors.  I have a very cool collection of publications about IBM from all over the world.

Does your creativity emerge in any other ways, do you paint, photograph, play music, etc.?

No time to do those things as IBM, family, community activities, and writing consumer all my waking hours.

What does your future in writing hold? What’s next? 

Three books: what the history of 150 years of IT teaches management about business; a short account of how management has changed in the last 30 years and where it is going; the first history of the role of information in the United States, 1875-Present.

——————————————-

Get “The Digital Flood”

Follow James Cortada on Twitter

James Cortada’s page on Amazon