I'm not a blogger but...

...Meeting goals and running free

2012-01-23T16:42:00.000Z

At the beginning of the year I set myself a couple of goals. I put a timeline on them , a short one, as I wanted to be able to start the year off on a rather positive note. I decided that I would run 80K by the end of January (brave as you ever quite know how the weather will be in Scotland) and also that in doing so I would burn a considerable number of calories (more of a secondary goal if truth be told). Well, today I achieved both and in doing so also broke my distance record for a single run on the last two occasions.

The funny thing is that it was easy, and I was just reflecting on what makes it so.

Firstly, I just enjoy running and when you enjoy something its amazing what you can achieve. Also important is that I enjoy how it makes me feel - not physically (thats not always great) but mentally. Secondly, I am in control. When you are in control of a goal or a task and it is your sole responsibility to complete it then there are no excuses for failure.

Coming back to the first point about how it makes me feel. As someone whose running, at times, penetrates the cloudline of the valley (see vid below) I find that a rather apt metaphor for how it clears the fog and cloud of everyday thinking and lifts the brain to a plateau where clear thinking and clear vision meet in joyful union.

Running makes me think a lot, but its not what you think that defines you, it's what you do. And it's with that thought that I am crystallising my next set of goals - some of which are underway already. I will elaborate a little more as it comes together but suffice to say right now that this year is already shaping up to be pretty exciting. And, whilst I may not be in complete control in respect of these new goals, I know that clear vision and clear thinking will be key to their success.

Back on the hills already...

2012-01-09T14:30:00.000Z

At the end of 2011 I declared that my hill running season was alas coming to an end. It was becoming treacherous underfoot (particularly on the descent), not to mention extremely cold and windy across the Ochils. To be honest, I was also looking forward to working on my times (on flat) as these had slipped due to the steep inclines I was now traversing.

Fast forward less than a month and now armed with some nifty new running gear to beat the cold weather, a spanking new Nike+ GPS sportswatch, an LED lamp for setting out on the winter mornings and some pretty mild conditions at present (note: In Scotland 'mild' conditions are generally referred to as somewhere between 0 and 8 degress Celcius) I can confidently declare that the hill running season has been granted an extension.

Which is particularly great when you can grab some pics like this - taken this weekend from my iPod touch.

The first pic above is probably around 800ft or so up looking across rather than straight back down. What I like about this view is that if you spin from right to left it is actually a beautiful panorama that becomes framed by Dumyat on the right and Myretoun hill on the left. In this shot Dumyat is framing the view towards the Wallace Monument.

These pics are really just a taster and do the scene absolutely no justice at all but I simply could not lug up my Pentax K100D Super on a run, so sorry for that. The pics though do give a really nice feel for how things look from a little over 1000ft up, plus you can see how far into the Ochils I have travelled on the run too.

Loving Nike+ GPS sportswatch too because I can get these elevation stats PLUS see my run mapped out for me which is great when you are 'off-road'. Now I need to work out how to share the run stats on my blog as I do on Twitter/Facebook.

Customer Service clearly not the staple at Staples!

2011-10-27T16:38:00.000+01:00

When someone tells you something is too good to be true it generally is. Despite this rather obvious cliche (as with many cliches its only a cliche because it does tend to be a well founded observation) I responded to a forwarded link sent by a friend through the wonders of Social Media.

The link directed me to a bargain buy at Staples but, even better than that, a rather exceptional bargain when you applied two discount codes. Now we have all had mixed experience with discount codes but I reckoned, 'hey, I might as well give it a go'. I did and you can see the result below:

As you can see - a fantastic bargain! I was still unsure though and checked again earlier today just to make sure that it was a genuine Staples site and that the order had been acknowledged. Sure enough there it was - an order placed and registered - a bond between consumer and brand - a promise waiting to be fulfilled.

Fastforward 2-3 short hours and 'ping' a note in my inbox from Staples below:

Now, just to set the tone. I'm not heartbroken and to be honest I reckon that the voucher codes etc have actually been recognised internally as a bit of an anomaly and they have had to backpeddle really quickly to avoid losing a fair old amount of cash so have issued this rather cumbersome response. I suspect I am not the only person who has been let down here and I further suspect that the explanation is a bit of the old BS but please, please, please do NOT send me mail saying I cannot respond or even challenge this explanation. So sorry Staples, THAT is what is not good enought here and that is why you #FAIL.

Starving for some real customer service!

2011-06-28T17:21:00.001+01:00

OMG! OMG! OMG! I am sending you this blog live from my predicament so there is no time to contemplate how I could make this better or how I could subtly or cleverly word what I am about write but you have to hear this EPIC FAIL story NOW!

Today my East Coast mainline service train from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh was cancelled due to (you guessed it - freak weather - and lightning hitting a signal box, OK I'll give them some marks for creativity with that one). I went seeking assistance and was told 'Don't worry!' - Good start I thought. 'Get yourself over to Euston station, Virgin will take you on their train if they have the space' - Ah, well that could be OK, its going the same way though on a slightly different routing.

Anyway, dashing across London, hungry as I had been presenting since morning through lunch I make my way to the platform to find that indeed there is space on the train. I find an unreserved seat in my seating class and sit down to relax with the idea that a wee tea, a coffee, maybe even a beer or a glass of wine will be on its way, closely followed by the meal that comes gratis on such journeys.

The train pulls out of the station and I sit back breathing a sigh of relief that my journey home has begun.

Along comes the guard from Virgin Trains collecting and checking everyone's tickets. He gets to me, pauses, looks at my ticket and says "There's no meal for you, no alcoholic drinks, just teas and coffees!". I admire his bluntness at delivering the message (it made me chuckle inside), I say "Why not?", he says "East Coast services say we've just to carry you, not feed you". And with that he rips away the little seat cover that says "First Class" from behind my head in a physical act of targeted disdain which leaves me feeling like the social pariah of Virgin First Class than I am. An unwelcome interloper amongst 'their' customers sitting in a little naked seat, alone, and starving...starving for something to eat, starving for love, care and attention and a minimal level of customer service.

Now I dont know if East Coast Mainline trains actually did say this, but come on Virgin you are better than that! You are a brand company - right now your brand stock is very low with me. Two wrongs do not make a right. Is anyone listening - can anyone offer me an explanation? Or does no one have the appetite to answer that question. You might not have the appetite but I do, I am starving here.

UPDATE:20/07/2011 I would just like to say that Virgin (not EastCoast) responded to my complaint in good time, noted all of the issues, issued a full explanation and apologised for the inconvenience as well as offering me the opportunity to travel with them gratis. THIS is exactly what I expected from a Virgin brand and am delighted at the way they have handled this situation. Top Marks!

Who is John Galt?

2011-01-31T17:26:00.000Z

My blog is not neccessarily migrating but my newest CEM/work-related content will be moving over to Adobe's Experience Delivers blog. You can read my first posting here - Who is John Galt?

...classic definition of Cricket

2010-11-05T10:43:00.000Z

I cannot claim responsibility for this but if it helps Laurence and Estaban here goes.

The Classic Definition of Cricket.
THE CLASSIC DEFINITION OF CRICKET... You have two sides, one out in the field and one in, in the field.

Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.

When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.

Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.

Amidst this there are two men called Umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out.

When both sides have been in and all the men are out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!

Simple really!!!

...You and me baby we aint nothing but MAMILs

2010-11-03T18:49:00.001Z

My friend, who is approaching 40 (a bit like myself), has taken a rather combatitive approach to the inevitable onset of middle-age. In his quest to reclaim some of the vigour of his youth he is on a major health-kick which, it seems, consists largely of him running and cycling everywhere he can...in lycra.

Yes, you've guessed it, my friend has gone from gloriously aging and un-ashamed mammal (arise Sir Jack of Nicholson) to MAMIL (Middle Aged Man in Lycra) in less time than it takes a Liberal Democrat to abandon their election promises on tuition fees.

Now the MAMIL phenomenon alone is not the funny thing here it is more this anecdote he shared with me which reflects the attitudes that people have on MAMILs and how these attitudes seem to differ dependent upon your location. It also, rather sadly, reflects something my friend and I have often spoken about together, a phenomenon which seems depressingly UK-centric; the need or desire to put down and criticise those people who seek to better themselves whether it be physically, mentally, or through their careers and ambitions.

So, onto the story. Picture this, there was my friend, at a conference in Sydney, out for his early morning run along by the harbour, fully resplendent in his lycra exercise gear. Passers-by either on bikes or in their cars at the roadside saying "How many Ks you done mate?" and "Good on ye!". He returned to his hotel, energised, endorphin high and ready for the day.

Fast-forward 2 weeks and there he is, running on a dirt-track alongside the A91 in Stirlingshire. It's 6.30am in the morning, the lycra clinging to his body as he does his daily 5K. A white van slows down alongside him, the window rolls-down, my friend nods towards the inhabitants expecting a cheery riposte. "Wanker!" they shout, then speed off.

My friend may have evolved from mammal to MAMIL but at least he is at the right end of the evolutionary scale.

...sometimes its not just the clue but the answer that's in the title

2010-08-03T15:44:00.000+01:00

I received a letter this morning from PC World with an emboldened 'Caution' statement warning me that the warranty on my Apple Laptop was about to expire so I read on with interest...

PC World's un-MacFriendly offer

It seems that for a mere £13.99 per month they can offer me a 'PC Performance' support agreement to "provide me with security against the unexpected."

I paused for a moment and thought...but I don't have a PC do I? I've got a Mac! I'll read on though because there's probably something in there about support for the Mac and MacOS.

I was wrong.

The letter does however go on to tell me that I will be in the safe hands of the in-house support team 'The TechGuys' who have all been trained in association with...Microsoft.

Now, there has been a great deal of discussion recently on the #scrm and #crm Twitter channels as well as the SCRM pioneers group about what constitutes a good approach to marketing. Old Spice being debated as an example of good marketing.

PC World however exhibits a classic example of a company that not only knows very little about me but it would seem they are unable to make the connection between the product I purchased from them and the relevant level of support and assistance that I may require.

It is just such a cheap and nasty mailing that it actually ends with the classic FUD up-sell message "PS. You need to respond by 30th August or you could risk being responsible for potentially expensive repair bills".

You know I actually often get a laugh from spam marketing (particularly emails - I'm glad I don't have any particular hang-ups). I laugh at the irrelevance of the mailings generally because it's clear the company have absolutely no idea who I am (SAGA travel insurance anyone) but on an occasion like this I am just so deeply disappointed as I am a customer and they clearly have my data and know the product I bought.

How difficult would it really have been to create an attractive and relevant offer in my case? Particularly when the clue, if not the answer, was in the title of their cautionary mailing.

...my bullshitometer is going off the scale today...

2010-07-30T14:01:00.000+01:00

...and what set it off was a recent conference agenda where one of the subjects was "Embracing Customer Service 4.0". WTF?

Now, I really do not mean to offend anyone here because I'm pretty sure the guy presenting will put forward interesting observations regarding what he sees as the various stages and characteristics of each stage of customer service over the evolutionary timeline. What's my beef then you may ask? Well I guess I just feel jaded to hear yet another 'n.0' tag on a subject which has been around since the earliest Venetian traders realised it was much easier to sell and negotiate with someone they had sold to previously. Additionally, in the last couple of years I have heard people oft refer to; Web 2.0, CRM 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, and, laughingly, CRM 3.5 amongst other things.

It's just such a very software/technology centric way to communicate progress in a topic in which technology, whilst important, is merely an enabler. It also is a cheap and lazy way to claim to be at the forefront of research or opinion on a topic - 'my number's bigger than yours!' - particularly in a topic where it would almost be impossible to define where 1.0 began.

Look. In terms of numbers being an appropriate measure for progress (whether evolutionary or revolutionary) I'm with Astemeyer.

Let me explain.

If we accept that we are not dealing with five-dimensional objects in a basic Euclidean geometric universe and given the essential premise that all geo-mathematics is based on the hideously limiting notion that one plus one equals two, and not as Astemeyer correctly postulates that one and two are in fact the same thing observed from different precepts then numbers become a wholly irrelevant and a possibly misleading guage with which to classify progress.

Author note: And with that my challenge for today is complete

...I've stumbled upon a philosophy which, for me, is all about what really matters

2010-07-28T11:07:00.000+01:00

The corporate world is generally quite an ugly place. In the grandest scheme of things it is pretty artificial. People create friendships and alliances with people they are thrown together with, not always people whom they would chose to spend time with. Then at some point they jettison each other once they have fulfilled a certain usefulness. I have never needed advice or warnings on how to manage or avoid these type of people, I have a great radar for identifying and limiting their involvement in my daily life.

Having said that I have met some real, 'true' friends through work and friends with whom, even after I or they depart for other challenges, the friendship remains. I won't name them here for they would only be embarassed by my typically artistic and 'luvvie' like admiration.

Through my experiences I have stumbled upon a philosophy which is really about filling your life with meaningful relationships and new experiences. I truly believe that the joy and pain you experience and the people you share these experiences with are the things that endure above all else.

I don't think that when I'm in my 80s and sitting in whatever nursing home my kids deem is the most suitable for me I will be reflecting on the deal I missed out on, the promotion I could have got, or perhaps what I would have spent the extra commission on. I'd like to think I'll be reflecting on the fun I had with the great people I knew; the scrapes we got into, the bellylaughs we had, the wholly positive impacts we had on each others lives.

So I guess what I'm saying is that a place that you may remember fondly or a company you enjoyed working for is special not because of any specific aesthetic or attractive corporate culture (although that can certainly attract the right character types) but because of the people you spent time with there.

Life, for me, is about savouring those times, those relationships, and moving forward. You literally can never go back and recapture a moment (a place in time) once its gone but you can move forward with good people in your personal and working life and continually create new experiences which will bring just as much joy.

...You can't get 'cool' by association.

2010-06-04T09:46:00.001+01:00

It's the thing that attracts people to get their pics taken with celebs, musicians, actors etc etc...the cool factor. To be close to them as if that 'coolness' they exude will transpose itself through osmosis to them. I once experienced this myself with a neverending list of transient 'friends' who drifted in and out of my life through various creative peaks and troughs - happily now life is more predictable as I work in the IT industry, or is it?

I have noted a somewhat similar trend emerging amongst the major (and minor) software houses as they stamp and strain to literally shoe-horn anything that could remotely resemble 'cool' into their product 'go-to-market' activities.

Let's first of all take the iPad as an example. There is no doubt about it the iPad is cool, properly cool. As a consumption device (which it largely is) it truly innovates with a whole (though not entirely new) user interface experience. It is an excellent example of a disruptive technology strategy aimed to get people to question how much they really need a laptop device and ultimately what they use it for - it has created an interesting new genre.

Software companies observing this coolness, and the emotional response to it's release (TIME magazine had a picture of Steve Jobs on the cover as the Messiah ?!?) have sought to see if some of this coolness could rub off by having their apps 'run on it' but, as in my opening statement, their products cannot just 'become cool' by association with this device, that is not enough. Most of these applications were not specifically written for it so whilst we may applaud the endeavour please remember that retrofiiting what in many cases are tired, multi-tier architecture products (with proprietary components) to merely run on a new device is not good enough in terms of innovation. It is not enough for applications to simply run on this device but they must embrace the concept and the platform of the iPad and be engineered specifically to leverage the user experience it brings.

My final point hinges around the concept of 'Social CRM'. The definition of this topic is pretty clear and other people have blogged about it so I won't here - suffice to say I'm with Paul Greenberg on this one. Again though the cool factor is driving applications vendors down a similar path as above. Whilst again we can applaud the efforts of traditional CRM vendors to integrate the social channels it is not a substitute for a social CRM strategy, neither does it make them cool. What is does unfortunately do is blur the lines between traditional CRM and SCRM which I feel is having a negative effect on companies' desire to embrace the 'social' customer in the most effective way.

I've been involved heavily in CRM for the last 12 years and I truly believe that as consumers themselves evolve the 'social' aspect of CRM is the real missing link and the necessary change required when it comes to true customer engagement. How many companies REALLY want to get there are probably, currently, in the minority as opposed to those who WILL be dragged there kicking and screaming.

However that change is coming and I Feel a Change a Comin' On.

*Disclaimer - just because the author used the title of a Bob Dylan track in his closing remark this does NOT make him cool.

...I am frightened by the curse of the Trending Topic

2010-06-01T11:30:00.000+01:00

Be afraid, be very afraid...you've just become a 'Trending Topic' on Twitter.

Having tracked some recently I conclude that this can mean a number of things -

1. You've screwed up - #oilspill #bp
2. You're about to screw up - #neverhappenedunderlabour
3. You're dead! - #garycoleman #dennishopper

Before any of you exclaim - "What you talking about Willis?" (or point out that Gary Coleman's brain haemorrhage was a different kind of stroke) not all trending topics are in some way negative, you're looking at this the wrong way. Look, I know that, but on a global scale the REALLY BIG ones are tragic - either because they reflect a real-life tragedy OR because they are about vapid pop stars and media whores. I'm just saying that this is not the kind of list I would like to be on for all of the aforementioned reasons.

But it did get me thinking of a little game we could play. Maybe something that would add a little danger and a little excitement to our daily lives. Come on, loosen up and play along with me.

Before you get on that plane to make that all important business meeting, think - Am I about to become a trending topic?

As you stand 500 ft in the air strapped into the harness of that bungee jump you've been tempted to do for last 10 years but never had the nerve, think - Am I about to become a trending topic?

Before you do your hilarious impersonation of the prophet Mohammed and post it on YouTube, think - Am I about to become a trending topic?

There you see, we're having fun already AND being a little dangerous along the way.

...Video killed the Bloggery star

2010-06-01T10:08:00.000+01:00

Well...not quite but if you've been wondering where my blogs and tweets have gone for a couple of months, or even if you've not, it's really simple. I've been really busy at work and as the blog is a bit of a hobby (or outlet) for me when I'm not elbow deep in nappies and being a general taxi service then it had to take a wee bit of a backseat, unfortunately.

However, I thought, how do I capture the thoughts I have and get them out there quickly?

Well, on my travels, I've been jotting down some thoughts, a bit like I used to do in the band, and just keeping them until I get into the office (studio). Then when I get a moment I thought I'll just either blog it or now vblog it.

I recorded my 1st VBlog here which is really my no.1 tip to surviving airports. Heaven knows I've seen enough of them as I've had an EMEA-based job for the best part of 6 years now. Now the first one is a little long but I hope you like it. I'm hoping that as I get more comfortable with the format I can make them a little punchier. A bit like me, apparently!

The insensitivity of process versus sanity - Shame on you Churchill and T-Mobile!

2010-03-23T09:49:00.001Z

I want everyone to read this and feel as appalled as I was by the insensitivity of two major global brands, namely Churchill Insurance (owned by RBS Group) and T-Mobile.

The story is partly personal as it involves an ex-work colleague of my Wife who tragically lost his whole family in a road-traffic accident days before Christmas while they were en-route to deliver Christmas presents. The deaths affected the whole community where they lived and worked and though I did not know them personally I swear I hugged my own children a little tighter the night I heard of the tragedy.

Anyway, it seems such empathy and humanity does not exist at either Churchill OR T-Mobile, well, not initially anyway, as they forced poor Ian Owen to go through a nightmare of insensitive, customer-unfriendly process in an attempt to recover THEIR losses in respect of his late wife's car insurance policy premiums AND mobile phone contract.

The insensitivity was compounded by T-Mobile 'suggesting' that he could "transfer the mobile phone contract to that of a younger family member". Now STOP! Just for a moment and pause.....

Imagine being asked that question by someone in a call centre and having to explain with some kind of dignity that that isn't an option because their is no longer a younger family member to transfer the contract to!

See the full article here: http://bit.ly/ddafxP

Anyway, since then, and only through the intervention of the national press, have both firms seen sense and offered Ian their apologies and promised a 'full investigation of the case'. I don't think its cynical at all to suggest that this is too little too late and frankly just not good enough. It is also not the first time (this year in particular) I have heard similar stories relating to the insensitivity of insurance companies and other service providers when handling the 'Death' process - the only people who seem genuinely good at this are, alas, Funeral directors.

But what could they have done better apart from the basics of handling a customer with respect, understanding and showing empathy at an extremely disturbing and traumatic time? I think we will all agree that even the small amount of effort required to do that would have probably been welcomed but what more could have been done?

Could a better understanding of the customer have helped? A more complete view of the customer and their information? Undoubtedly!

Could their internal processes have provided better guidance to the agent in terms of how to handle this situation? Yes! BUT there should also be significant enough scope in the design of the customer-facing process to allow the agent to 'step-outside' of the scripted environment AND apply appropriate levels of language, common-sense, and empathy in keeping with the situation they are dealing with rather than 'cross-selling' an alternative solution outcome that benefits the business - which is, in essence, what they were doing by suggesting he transfer the tariff.

Could the ability to manage a 'social' profile of the customer with aggregated information from additional sources (Facebook, Bebo, News Feeds) have helped? I think this capability may have provided useful insight in terms of how to handle this situation. I understand the need for an Insurance company to see a death certificate BUT I think information from other sources aggregated to the customer's file that would have allowed them to assume he was telling the truth and treat him with a degree of sensitivity rather than having to prove (twice) that his family had been killed.

It comes as no real shock to me that at the core of these businesses there is seemingly still the attitude that the customer represents no more than an Account Number. This is despite their 'customer-friendly' images - take Churchill's nodding dog as an example. Nearly 20 full years have elapsed since the inception of CRM and still the major brands are getting it very badly wrong and yet today we speak about Social CRM (something of which I am an advocate). The fact though remains that unless firms truly get the basic CRM bit right everything else they do will be built on pillars of sand.

So Churchill, question for you, "Are you a shower of incompetent, unfeeling wankers?"

"Oh Yes!"

Queen of Goodbyes

2010-03-11T10:15:00.000Z

I knew a girl once, a beautiful sweet girl whom I still love today. Today she is a Mother to my children and I am happy to say my wife too. I wrote this song way back when we were kids, she kind of hated it. Hated me playing it at gigs, hated the fact it was recorded and released on an album and additionally hated that it was very popular with the audience.

Today though it is now one of here favourites (she even has it on her iPod - now that's loyalty & advocacy for the Social CRM crowd) as it is a reminder of how relationships grow and blossom sometimes through little peaks and troughs. The song itself captured probably (at maximum) a 2 week period of not getting along very well but at the time it seemed so intense and it inspired me to capture it in the song, Queen of Goodbyes.

When you write songs (as I've just started to do again) there are different things that stir the emotions and inspire you. I tended to be inspired more by adversity and to write about difficult things or maybe feelings I couldn't express in words alone sometimes hiding the words behind the mask of music. Words alone are so naked but with a melody and a musical backdrop you can convey a greater sentiment, a fragility at times, and the true nature of the feelings you have. I think that's why my writing was sometimes described as 'bittersweet pop'.

Anyway here are the lyrics - and here is a little TwitVid of me playing it http://www.twitvid.com/FF0FC

Queen of Goodbyes

Well I think its only normal,
That there's conflict,
When I've seen it all before.
But I don't think I really need it,
After all I'm just pushing 24.

I'm fed up feeling always in the wrong
Perhaps we weren't supposed to make it quite this long
Oh no...

I think it's raining again,
When I look in your eyes,
This isn't how it should be,
She just screams and she cries.
I wish I could run away,
While my lonely heart breaks.
And I'll just crown myself
The King of Mistakes.

When I wake up in the morning,
Try to tell you,
I didn't mean what I said.
Doesn't seem to make a difference,
After doubts I just planted in your head.

You're fed up feeling always in the wrong
Perhaps I wasn't meant to say it in a song
Oh no...

I think it's raining again,
When I look in your eyes,
This isn't how it should be,
She just screams and she cries.
I wish I could run away,
While my lonely heart breaks.
And I'll just crown myself
The King of Mistakes.

Well I've made a few and I paid for them
But what am I supposed to do...
How can I be so wrong
When all I want is you!

I think it's raining again,
When I look in your eyes,
This isn't how it should be,
She just screams and she cries.
And as my tears start to fall,
Sometimes I wish I could die...
"I'll see you King of Mistakes...
Who knows how long it will take?"
says the Queen of Goodbyes.

What does Social Media and Marshall have in common?

2010-03-04T13:37:00.006Z

One word - Amplification!

Let me explain.

I have been working with CRM for some 15 years now. During that time I have helped major clients implement what were, and in some cases still are, state-of-the-art customer management platforms. I have also seen CRM fail, and fail spectacularly for a whole host of reasons, too many to go into here. If I were to draw some kind of conclusion I would say that people still remain the key component to the success of any CRM-related initiative and in particular the cultural alignment and desire of the business in question to be truly customer-focused. Anyway, that discussion and debate is for another day along with topics which still rage; like Single Customer View and Multi-Channel. In particular, the multi-channel story is one that continues to prevail as customers find more and more ways to connect and demand information from their service providers.

It is with this thought that I ponder the impact of Social Media and the evolution towards what is being described as Social CRM. I use the word evolution in this context because I believe that Social CRM is not an isolated or silo-oriented thing, it is a natural evolution from something that was, and still is, but is leaner, smarter and better equipped to survive in a rapidly evolving customer-driven ecosystem.

If we look at the impact of social media first it is very clear that it has driven a sea-change in the way that people communicate and the way that information is shared. As a pure media platform it has made 'shooting' stars ('shooting' as such fame often shares the same trajectory and fleeting wonder of a shooting star) of very ordinary people doing, at times, extra-ordinary things.

There are not many people in the western world who didn't hear about Susan Boyle - within 48 hours of appearing on a British talent show to some 8 Million TV viewers she was transformed into a global phenomenon with over 100 Million views of her performance on YouTube. Amplification.

Twitter as a media platform is a further example of how information sharing has been amplified through social media. Forget about all the horrible Z-list celebrities there for a second, Twitter is a bloggers paradise. Twitter has allowed like-minded bloggers to share their thought-leadership, form communities and drive important debate and discussion and have such content amplified through the wonder of the 'Re-Tweet'. Not a bad way to build a bit of personal brand-awareness.

In all of the social media hype though I often wrestle with the following pseudo-philosophical questions:

"Has Social Media resulted in an overall increase in creativity?"
"Are there now more genuinely creative people in the world or have they always been there but without the means to be discovered?"

Now, just for a moment or two, consider the implication of those questions. I am asking specifically has more creativity happened because of social media or merely the discovery of creativity that already existed. Does social media, in itself, represent a platform for innovation and creativity, or is it merely a platform for amplification? Answers on a postcard (or comments) please ;-))

And so to CRM and Social CRM. How can businesses begin to cope with the Social CRM challenge thrust upon them by these new 'social' channels.

If we accept, and this may be difficult for some business models to accept, (e.g. I now work exclusively in Financial Services) that the customer is in control then the amplification of customer experiences and peer to peer exchange of information is both powerful and dangerous. Managed well it can enhance positive sentiment towards a Brand, managed poorly the negative connotations can destroy a reputation.

Both myself and my good friend Laurence Buchanan recently experienced completely separate "success" stories by using social channels to provoke a satisfactory response after giving up on the companies traditional communication channels. You can read the blogs here - Jamie's Blog, Laurence's Blog

Though the outcomes may have resulted in eventual satisfaction (though eventual being a key word in my case) what it did highlight was the isolation of these channels in terms of pure Customer Experience Management. Whilst we eventually received either the answers or the service we were looking for from the respective companies the actual resolutions came from the fact that our messages became amplified through the Social channels before someone stepped in to resolve, more as a damage limitation exercise I suspect than evidence of a truly customer-centric organisation. Certainly neither could be upheld as examples of Social CRM.

Two recent posts (or RTs) on the #scrm channel on Twitter caught my eye today as both seemed to underline a very key point. The first is by Natalie Petouhoff (or @drnatalie on Twitter) http://bit.ly/cOdRMg - title The Social Customer Economy. The second is by Prem Kumar Aparanji (or @prem_K on Twitter) http://bit.ly/b9bJOm - title Dumbing down Social CRM. To me, Social CRM represents an extension of CRM. It cannot work in isolation, it needs to be part of an overall multi-channel, cross-channel, CRM strategy where a customer communication can begin in one channel and seamlessly transfer to another at the convenience of the customer. 'Integration' of social channels is therefore the key to success than merely the channel alone.

As a footnote to the post I want to say that having heard various definitions of what SCRM entails over the last few months we need to ensure that, as a community, a consistent message evolves that is understood by all and not fall prey to the misconception that a 'social' tag on the front of CRM represents an isolated, channel specific, customer-management strategy.

A tale of two experiences...

2010-02-24T16:26:00.001Z

I have quite a few people to thank in this blog. Those of you who have been following my tale of eternal woe in navigating the non customer-friendly experience I have endured with FirstScotrail, FirstGroup, TheTrainline etc will be cheered to know that the saga is ALMOST at an end. By the latest counting, including today, we are now sitting at 73 days and counting, an additional 19 days since my '54 days and counting' Patience rip-off (http://www.twitvid.com/CB1AB).

The people I want to thank for directly contributing comments and propogating this sorry tale by re-tweeting and blogging are as follows @dahowlett (Hope to see you at EMEA Sapphire), @buchanla, @mhdpartnership, @sharpsharp, and @TheFactCompiler, also thanks to those of you who left comments on the original blog (http://collsdad.blogspot.com/2010/02/first-scotrail-and-curse-of-shitty.html)

This all resulted in a direct contact from my new friends at TheTrainline who were able to take ownership of the problem and with open communication and courtesy have endeavoured to resolve the issue (FULL refund PLUS £20 goodwill gesture). In the interests of completeness I will, hopefully, conclude this tale but with some very direct conclusions which I sincerely hope FirstScotrail heed.

#FAIL 1 - When allowing people to book online you provide a service which allows the customer to cancel their booking. Clicking on this link then directs you to a phone number with the message - sorry we were unable to complete your request.

#FAIL 2 - When calling the call centre you are told that the refund request has been raised but they are NEVER able to confirm this to you by email or provide a reference number linked to the request.

#FAIL 3 - The call centre seem entirely unable to manage customer expactations appropriately and can provide NO insight into the status of such requests.

#FAIL 4 - The web service channel provides a reference number but as witnessed by the customer experience I have endured is unable to offer ANY resolution at all other than continue to provide vague, standard responses to queries.

#FAIL 5 - ONLY when asked for the issue to be escalated was I then directed to FirstGroup's customer service department, a completely separate entity.

#FAIL 6 - On logging my complaint online I was sent a standard response along with my Case Reference Number that it may take up to 7 days to reply.

#FAIL 7 - Do not send standard customer service responses from a DO_NOT_REPLY@ address. This was the straw that broke the camels back and led to the video.

#FAIL 8 - When you say you are going to respond within 7 working days please do this.

#FAIL 9 - Despite very good communication with the TheTrainline a 'manual input error' has led to me still awaiting my full refund despite getting the £20 goodwill gesture credited to my account. I am assured that will go through this week - hooray!

And a final note, and possibly #FAIL 10, at the same time as all this was kicking off ScotRail was issuing self-congratulatory PR talking about their punctuality and customer satisfaction ratings of 90%. There is no point in self-promoting your punctuality and satisfaction ratings when it seems you are NOT engaged with the social channels which would provide a healthy dose of reality to any statistic you create. Every day since I blogged on my experience I read #Scotfail #FirstScotrail and #Scotrail comments on Twitter and I certainly did NOT see anything approaching 90% satisfaction, occasionally though there was surprise and astonishment that the trains were either NOT crowded or ON-TIME.

If you want to know how to do things the right way, look no further than here (http://collsdad.blogspot.com/2010/02/thank-you-activision-support.html) then hang your head in shame.

...thank you Activision support!

2010-02-24T16:22:00.000Z

Santa Claus brought my son the fabulous Activision game 'Band Hero' for Christmas. Unfortunately after much play and only a couple of months the Drum Brain controller joystick broke. I first tried the retailer who had none in stock to replace so I phoned Activision directly and was routed to a call centre in the US. The guy on the phone was very helpful and sent me an email with directions on how to fill in their standard form to request a return for the faulty component which he told me would take up to 14 days to come. As we were about to go on a short vacation I thought this would work out well and that my son would not be too long without his beloved game.

So let me recap the process til now and give it a timeline just to put this in perspective.

Day 1: 13:00 Called Activision to report problem
Day 1: 13:10 Receive instrictions and direction to Warranty Returns web-page
Day 1: 13:15 Log-in to warranty returns but can't find the single component (Drum Brain)
Day 1: 13:17 Notice a 'Upload Media and Attach' button to Warranty return request form
Day 1: 13:18 Record a 20 second video on MacBook explaining problem and showing broken component
Day 1: 13:20 Upload request
Day 1: 14:20 Receive Email containing pre-paid shipping label and further instructions
Day 1: 14:30 Package up item as instructed
Day 1: Place in last post

HOLIDAY

Day 8: On return from holiday receive a visit from my neighbour who took delivery of an entire new Band Hero Drum Kit whilst we were away.

Activision support THANK YOU! You have restored my faith in multi-channel customer care after the woeful experience I have endured with ScotRail.

You listen.
You respond.
You exceed my expectations. In short...
YOU ROCK!

...I tweet therefore I am!

2010-02-10T15:09:00.002Z

We've all seen the Social Media hype videos like this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8) that show how Social Networking has impacted our lives and most importantly how quickly it has reached levels of saturation and adoption never witnessed before on any other communication platform. Pondering this the other evening a thought entered my mind...what if Twitter and mobile devices were around from the beginning and if so how would we have communicated some of the worlds most important events in 140 characters?

What would the greatest minds of ours and past generations have said? How would they have communicated their latest ideas and theories? My thoughts were drawn initially to the great philosophers and then others entered my head (Inventors, Statesmen etc) and I thought 'this is something we could maybe all have a little fun with' so please feel free to join in, or add under the Twitter hashtag #WWTHT - What Would They Have Tweeted?

1. Descartes - when postulating on the certainty of his existence concluded 'Cogito Ergo Sum' - I think therefore I am. Today he may have said 'I tweet therefore I am'. Clearly this has become the preserve of the serial blogger/tweeter whose very existence is underlined by the sheer volume of their tweetery.

2. Chamberlain - after brokering a 'peace' deal with German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler in 1938, supposedly averting a conflict involving Britain, Neville announced 'I have in my hand a piece of paper...' (He was also heard to announce this in his later years when sitting on the toilet, allegedly). Today he may have said 'I have on my Blackberry a tweet from @Adolf... #Fascist'

3. Churchill - after the Battle of Britain in 1940 heaped praise on the brave men of the Royal Air Force with one of the most iconic and frequently quoted statements in modern military history 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few'. Today he may have tweeted 'Luftwaffe PWNED - Big respect to RAF, Thanks from all in GB #WW2

4. John Logie Baird - in 1925 he gave the first ever public demonstrations of his latest invention which we have come to know and love as the Television. On reflection I think that JLB may have tweeted 'Just invented the tele but there's fuck all on #TV #FAIL'

5. Laszlo Biro - in 1931 Laszlo invented the ball point pen (or biro as it's commonly known) and later patented the invention in 1938. Launching the pen though may have come across as a bit of a damp squib on Twitter with Laszlo writing 'Revolutionary new writing tool now available through Amazon - sales a bit low so far! #wasteoftime #Biro'

So there you have my initial pass at this game and you get the general idea, its actually quite good fun and a little challenging so I would love to see what everyone else comes up with. Why not have a go yourself on Twitter? Remember the hashtag #WWTHT and we can all get a laugh.

First ScotRail and the curse of the Shitty Customer Experience

2010-02-04T13:06:00.001Z

I have just had, and actually am continuing to have, a pretty appalling customer-service experience with ScotRail regarding a refund for cancelled train journey. It’s got to a pretty ludicrous stage so I thought I should share.

It seems to me a classic example of a business which has clearly outsourced it’s sales and service efforts to a third-party as no individual I have communicated with seems able to actually take ownership of the problem and solve it. It also raises questions about the ‘cross-channel’ capabilities of the business as it seems that requests get lost between the different internal stakeholders...or maybe they simply just don’t care, you decide!

Below is a chronological diary of the events. Please bear in mind that these events followed 3 calls to the Indian-based call centre which although perfectly pleasant yielded absolutely no results.

Background:

13th December 2009 AM - Bought a full fare, fully refundable, sleeper ticket with ScotRail for a journey to be taken on 16th December. Cost £118.50.

14th December 2009 AM - Cancelled journey with ScotRail and raised refund request. Was told that this would take around 10 working days as the refund would need to be ‘manually’ requested. There would also be a £10 cancellation fee meaning that the total refund would be £108.50 which I accepted.

Waited until after Christmas (27th December 2009) and called the contact centre to be told that there was no new information, refund application was being processed, but that the money should be refunded by 10th January.

Called again after the 10th January 2010 to be told that it was in process and that I would receive an email when the refund had taken place.

Waited another couple of days and called the contact centre again to be told that my ‘case’ had now been escalated. Until this point I was unaware that it was a ‘case’ but there you go. At this point I looked for alternative contact details as I felt that I was really getting nowhere with the contact centre. There now follows the communication flow, I have divided this into Rounds so that you can see the communication that has taken place at each stage.

ROUND 1:

Customer (Jamie Anderson)
15/01/2010 01:42 PM
I have been awaiting a refund for my journey above (due 16th December) that was cancelled by telephone on the 13th December. I have called the call centre several times now. The last time I was assured that the refund would take place on the 10th January 2010. Having checked with my credit card company I notice that the funds have still not reached my Account.
I have just called again to be told that my case has now been escalated. Could someone please look into this asap as I need to settle my credit card statement and am currently unable to do so and will incur additional charges.
Many thanks,
Jamie Anderson

Response (William Scott)
15/01/2010 08:12 PM
Dear Jamie,
Thank you for contacting First ScotRail.
I apologise for the inconvenience caused to you.
Your refund request has already been forwarded to our refund department as soon as we receive any update from them we will get back to you.
We appreciate your patience and sincerely hope that this matter will be resolved at the earliest opportunity.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you should have any further questions. We will be glad to assist you.
Kind regards,
William

ROUND 1 VERDICT: It’s really a stalemate at this point. First opportunity to test the multi-channel capabilities of ScotRail so nothing to report. My feeling at the time was, ‘look this is not the best customer experience I have ever had but I’ll give them the chance to put it right’

ROUND 2:

Customer (Jamie Anderson)
22/01/2010 10:12 PM
Hello,
This situation is still not resolved. My credit card company have not received this payment which is now outstanding well beyond the time I would deem acceptable for a refund. I am unable to pay my credit card bill in full as I am still awaiting this refund hitting my Account.
I want to know what First Group and Scotrail are prepared to do to ensure that this refund reaches my account before the 27th January. If not I will inevitably incur additional charges which are not of my making and for which I would expect to be compensated, not to mention the number of calls to the Customer Support team.
This process has been handled very poorly and I cannot understand why it is taking so long to manage a simple refund request.
Please advise me asap of the status of this refund.
Regards,
Jamie Anderson

Response (William Scott)
22/01/2010 10:56 PM
Dear Jamie,
Thank you for writing back to us.
I apologise for inconvenience caused to you.
I have checked your account and confirm that due to the unusually high volume of refund requests, there has been a small delay in processing your refund. We expect to have credited your bank account as soon as possible.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you should have any further questions. We will be glad to assist you.
Kind regards,
William

ROUND 2 VERDICT: It’s pretty clear that I am getting roundly f*cked about here. I am not even grateful for the apology at this stage, it’s just words and the usual blah-blah response. An ‘unusually high number of refund requests’ being the issue creating the ‘small delay’ now that is pissing me off now. A SMALL delay?!?

ROUND 3:

Customer (Jamie Anderson)
23/01/2010 02:56 PM
I'm sorry but I do not view 41 days as a 'small delay'. As I stated in my previous communication I need this money in my account by 27th January. Please advise when this will be re-imbursed.
Regards,
Jamie Anderson

Response (Carter)
23/01/2010 03:37 PM
Dear Jamie,
Thank you for contacting us again.
I have raised this case with our Refunds Department. They would investigate this case and would provide you a speedy response. I assure that they would resolve this issue at the earliest opportunity.
I appreciate your patience in this matter.
Kind regards,
Carter

ROUND 3 VERDICT: Hmmm...’thank you for contacting us again’. This response drips of sarcasm but I console myself with the fact that at least my name is not Carter. I do make the point though that 41 days is ridiculous which makes me feel a bit better but as they ‘appreciate my patience’ I’m sure they simply couldn’t give a f*ck. Another Round to Scotrail!

ROUND 4:

Customer (Jamie Anderson)
29/01/2010 02:42 PM
I have STILL not received this refund. I want to know the following:
1. Why is it taking so long?
2. When will I receive my money back?
3. I want this complaint escalated IMMEDIATELY to someone who can resolve this for me.
I do not want a 'we will look into it response' I want a response that tells me exactly when I will be getting my money back.
This service has been a total and utter disgrace and I have now been waiting 47 calendar days to have my account recredited.
regards,
Jamie Anderson

Response (Andrew Woods)
29/01/2010 05:56 PM
Dear Jamie,
Thank you for writing back to us.
I am sorry to learn that you have not received a refund till now.
I have raised this matter with the Refunds Department as it is still under investigation. I understand your dissatisfaction as it is taking a long time for this procedure.
Furthermore, I acknowledge your feedback about this matter. I have passed your feedback to the appropriate team to ensure this issue is addressed promptly.
I understand that your experience with us has not been good. However I assure you that at First ScotRail, it is our constant endeavour to meet and exceed our customer's expectations and sincerely hope you will give us another opportunity to serve you better in the future.
Kind regards,
Andrew

ROUND 4 VERDICT: Another Round to Scotrail but at least someone with a sensible name this time. They still have my money and they are right they have exceeded my expectations. My expectation was that they were marginally incompetent but perhaps well meaning. Now I think they are just a shower of c*nts.

FINAL ROUND?!?

Date: Thursday 4th February 2010 10:15:23 +0000
Subject: Failure to provide Refund [Incident: 100115-002362]

This unacceptable situation continues and I STILL have not received my refund.
Current number of days outstanding since this issue was raised: 53 DAYS!!!
I have reported this to my credit card company who will now act to recover the funds unless this refund is repaid immediately.
Customer Service is non-existent. No-one has provided a helpful response. Not a single telephone call from anyone who is able to help. Calls to the contact centre have went with no resolution. Emails are also given standard responses which are unhelpful. Nobody has accepted any responsibility for this situation and a such nothing has been resolved.
I believe that ScotRail has acted if not in a fraudulent, at least immoral, manner by taking money from me and not upholding its side of the contract. I am extremely disappointed.
Next step for me is to publicise this shocking case of customer relationship mis-management. I could not possibly allow anyone else to suffer this disgraceful lack of customer service.
Please advise on when this case will be resolved.
Regards,
Jamie Anderson

VERDICT: Good points well made. Let's see! Look, embarrassing though it is I have to accept that First ScotRail have shafted me but really what do I expect, they’ve been doing this to their poor customers for years; jamming them into trains between Scotland’s 2 major cities with limited seating accommodation, failing to turn up on time, reducing network services. At least in that context my experience is an isolated one but one I am happy to publicise in solidarity for everyone they have shafted, and continue to shaft, over the years!

Open-Source Journalism, Fatboy Slim, & Bluetooth.

2010-01-19T16:01:00.002Z

Some things just jump out at you and you think, 'God I hate that, that bugs me!', and that's it, it's gone. Other times you feel so passionate that you must tell someone (or everyone e.g. #FAIL tags on Twitter) immediately. And then there are the other times when it's just a slowburn, when a few things add up together over a short period of time and you just lash out. Now, no single one of these things that follow, I accept, are enough to make you bust a blood vessel but, in their own way, the following un-holy trinity of topics, over the course of a single afternoon/evening just needed to be called out:

#1. 'Open-source journalism'.

Why? Well, having read all of the comment concerning SAP's Results for 2009 I saw a common theme running through the blogosphere and the IT press in general and no, it wasn't the cautious welcome the results received. It was the number of time I saw the use of the following phrases;

"...say sources around the advisory board"
"SAP insiders' however claim..."
"...says an SAP source"

And I thought, 'hang on a minute', if what is being written is deemed reliable enough information to be included in the article then name the source. Why wouldn't you? Unless of course there is no source and you just need an angle. And with that you open the wider issue of journalistic integrity and media bias. Unfortunately when people who see a 'sources close to...' quote they take that as an informed opinion when in fact it can often be fabricated to endorse an angle for a piece of lazy, subjective journalism.

So there you go, that's what set me off, my little barometer of pissed-ness was sitting around Simmer at this point!

Next up, #2. Right Here, Right Now.

Why would a 1999 song by FatBoy Slim piss me off? Well, when it is tagged onto practically every video and presentation I have seen on social media in the last 6 months it does tend to get a bit wearing. Example here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8.

I accept that Social Media is indeed a 'hot topic' that is not going away and to endorse that view I have just completed a White Paper for SAP on the potential impacts Social Media has on Financial Services companies as they struggle to regain customer intimacy and trust.

So my problem is not with the topic itself but absolutely with the use of the song. My major beef with 'Right Here, Right Now' is that the song is 11 years old so therefore by definition is absolutely not right here, right now.

Barometer now touching pissed the slightest thing was likely to set me off, and it did...

#3. Bluetooth Headsets

Why, oh why, oh why do people wear these bloody things? I find the sight of people walking around offices, shopping centres, and supermarkets wearing these things totally repulsive. And I don't mean walking about actually talking on them but just wearing them. You've seen it right, the middle-aged, faux executive, middle manager, purposefully striding towards the non-GM food aisle, little blue light flashing away drawing attention to their criminal lack of credibility? It seems the preserve of this type of individual in ill-fitting suit who mistakenly exhibits this object as some kind of status symbol. Do yourself a favour, leave it in the BMW 4x4 (it's not a real 4x4), along with your banal conversation and your 'I Drove All Night' - Rock Anthems by Past B*stards CD.

I wondered for a moment whether I was alone in this but through careful research I found that, thankfully I am not, but that in fact many people have found that the bluetooth headset annoys them on a number of levels.

Unlike other people who hate the fact they have to listen to one side of a conversation and feel it is rude or feel uncomfortable in the presence of someone having a 'private' conversation (like Larry David in this awesome clip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0uTi2qkgf0) my problem is merely with the item and the fact that the person wearing it looks like a prize c*ck.

You can't Account for everything...

2010-01-13T15:35:00.000Z

OK. As a pre-amble I want to say that this all came about because one of my best mates received a company memo telling all staff that 'with immediate effect the company is removing the free tea and coffee facilities for all staff'. This comes hot on the heels of a reduction in their software development budget for 2010. It got us onto the topic of number crunching so here goes...

Tony Benn once paraphrased Oscar Wilde in the Houses of Parliament by pointing out that the Thatcher goverment in Great Britain "has bred a new kind of person in British society, the type of person who understands the costs of everything but the value of nothing". That is the way I feel about the practice of accountancy, and is routed in my suspicion of the decision-making capabilities of those who practice it. Particularly those who accede to the throne with this as their core competence.

I say this as I have rarely seen an organisation prosper through an increase in rigorous accounting practices, quite the reverse in fact, or by the appointment of an accountant/ex-accountant at the helm. Anyone who personally experienced the final months of Siebel under the stewardship of George Shaheen did so with a reluctant resignation to the inevitable.

It is a strange juxtaposition to place at the helm of any engineering-based business (software, electronic, mechanical) an Accountant. Strange in the fact that the future value (and growth) of such organisations is often routed in continual innovation whether this be innovation that improves existing products or innovation that creates a whole new market. Innovation implies risk, and in some cases, risk married to faith in all its glorious blindness. In that respect innovation itself can be very difficult to account for. This presents a lethal and challenging duo of parameters to the diligent number cruncher and in some cases results in procrastination and then, ultimately, death by inertia.

We are however continually reminded that we operate within a global economy that is suffering one of the worst recessions in modern history. An environment where we have seen major organisations shift strategies from revenue growth to margin growth so maybe, just maybe, the elevated accountant plays an important role in this kind of environment, but for how long?

Attention to margin is a strategy for survival. Investment and innovation are strategies for growth.

I highlight the following lyric from the excellent Colplay song, The Scientist. In the song Chris Martin attempts to apply scientific reason and formula to why a relationship broke down, but he can't, singing:

I was just guessin' at numbers and figures,
Pulling the puzzles apart.
Questions of science, science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart.

In some ways, applying accounting practice and formulae to innovation, like applying scientific theory to the outcome of human relationships, represents disconnect and confusion with the stuff that actually matters.

Innovative thinking, ideas and execution are sadly not within the domain of us all but, alas, are reserved for a special few. The greatest innovations cannot be reasoned or rationed they start with a vision and a thought, a single spark of inspiration. Without development of such things we would never have had the telephone, the television, the internet, or, dare I say it, the explosion we are witnessing in Social Media today.

So here's to the crazy ones, the ones not afraid to 'buck a trend', not afraid to walk the thin line between genius and madness. The ones single minded enough to listen to all the advice but still ask the question Why not? rather than merely Why? I won't name you but I do admire you even if, in some cases, you are quite, quite mad.

"So, can we have our teas and coffees back now please?" Neily

Opinions are like BMWs

2010-01-08T19:49:00.004Z

It's getting to the end of the working week. I stress working week rather than actual week as I will be up at some un-godly hour tomorrow to start taxi-ing the children to various activities.

This week has been interesting as I have been maxed out catching up with the pre-holiday Emails, Tweets and Blogs, as well as preparing for FKOM 2010 activities. The blogosphere is bursting with opinions, some old, some new, some retweeted and I must say most of the ones I have been reading have been rather entertaining. 2010 has gotten off to a flier.

I want to highlight some of the things that have amused or interested me somewhat this week conscious that I may have tweeted on these already.

1. http://wp.me/pEuS3-1L - Changes at SAP?
This was a curious opinion. First of all it was written without any knowledge or insight into SAP's Q4 figures (well I hope not anyway) and secondly it demonstrated a complete misunderstanding of where SAP is right now. Taking aside the very capable names thrown into the hat as potential replacements for incumbent employees I think it is always grossly disrespectful to speculate about the future of people in situ without clear grounds in place as to why they should be replaced. So come on @hgumbel tell us why Leo and Bill should be replaced...and what are the grounds for your suggestions without substance?

2. http://bit.ly/7IUeCI - Social CRM Vendor Ratings
Jeremiah Owyang risked the wrath of Enterprise leviathans SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft by daring to suggest that an Altimeter client, Lithium, were the best example of a company who practiced Social CRM. That's right one of Jeremiah's clients, it couldn't get any better! Whilst I don't doubt for a second the referential integrity of the study and the well-meaning discussion and debate it prompted it did cast a bit of a shadow over the results which is a shame. It did however highlight to me the awesome power of communities and no more was this in evidence than in the staunch defence offered up by a member of the SAP BPX community who took Jeremiah very eloquently to task over the assertion that SAP scored 0 on community according to the Altimeter measurements. I can see Jeremiah's points clearly and I can understand the assessment criteria but I just love the fact that the SAP community responded so vociferously proving indeed that they are alive and kicking (literally), and most importantly, listening.

3. http://bit.ly/8yYxdm - Outsource your Marketing, Sales, and Service
Laurence Buchanan kicked off the year in fine form with his thought-provoking blog which speaks more about the power of true advocacy. The people SO loyal to brands that not only are they happy to brand themselves (nice image by the way) but they almost offer an informal first line of support for products that they love. The thing I like about Laurence's blogs is that he gets the essence of the Customer Experience and is deeply passionate about this and this comes over in what he writes. As a former colleague of mine at SAP I was sad to see him leave as his leadership on the topic is sorely missed in the field. However with the blog his thoughts are never too far away and a useful reference point for all.

So in conclusion some pretty interesting opinions and discussions all round ranging from the ridiculous to the well intentioned and thought-provoking, to the solid and considered. At the risk of offending anyone (not that that usually concerns me greatly) there is that old saying that goes 'Opinions are like assholes - everyones' got one' which is pretty true. For the downright absurd opinions though I prefer to think of opinions as being a bit like BMWs. Every asshole's got one of those too!

A sensitive blogger...I really wouldn't have guessed.

2010-01-07T13:43:00.002Z

On my Twitter account I'm currently subscribed to feeds from around 60 or so sources, all of which in general I rather enjoy. Stand-outs for me include Ray Wang, Jeremiah Owyang, and Dennis Howlett - real serial bloggers all of them with very interesting, and at times, challenging opinions. I like this.

But yesterday something interesting happened. It seems Dennis got a bit sensitive. In response to the following blog post (http://blogs.zdnet.com/Howlett/?p=163) where Dennis wrote on the bullshit which abounds regarding the demise of SAP in 2010 Dennis received a number of anonymous thumbs down votes prompting him to post on Twitter...

"what dick brains are giving this minus votes?http://bit.ly/7g85Fz"

I immediately rushed to Dennis' aid to offer solidarity (on Twitter at least) as I feel his article was a well written and well informed piece offering a realistic view, in my opinion, of where SAP currently is and in many ways where it needs to get to. Overall a positive assessment of a solid business.

On reflection I think it probably wasn't necessary to defend Dennis, he strikes me as a pretty robust character, he surely must be, he follows the England Cricket team, something which requires a similar degree of masochism I can identify with as a supporter of the Scottish National Football team.

If I can opine I think that what happened on the blog rating is a direct reflection of Dennis being brought into the inner sanctum of SAP as a 'Mentor'. To the outside world such a fierce critic of SAP offering a thoughtful and more informed insight into the Companies goals, aspirations, and possibilities for 2010 could be seen as some kind of 'sell-out' or at least a softening in the eyes of those who forwarded and retweeted Dennis' YouTube channel videos e.g. 5 SAP Failures (featuring Ray Wang).

In many ways it reminded me of a time quite some years ago now when the band I played in had an exceptionally fierce critic. Every gig, every single, every album released would be met with derision. Frustrating though it was we used to joke that if he ever heard us break wind he would claim that we did it in the wrong key! Eventually I called the guy and politely invited him to join us in the studio one day during a recording session. He came along and I found him engaging, we exchanged views on what made good records, he watched us work and record, and we both left having established respect for each other and our musical foundations based on widely different genres. In the future whilst his reviews were not overwhelmingly positive there was a candour in the writing of the articles and a final rating (usually 3 stars out of 5) which reflected an informed appreciation of what made us who we were. Maybe Dennis was merely reflecting similar in his article.

Looking at things from the SAP side I can only congratulate SAP in engaging actively with people like Dennis and yes, seeking his input and advice, after all that's what participating in Social Media channels is about and probably what more companies need to learn. You need to 1. Listen to what people are saying about you and/or your products, 2. Engage, understand and work with those (customers, analysts) who offer constructive feedback and use this to positively change your offering or approach, and, 3. Create from this a group of staunch advocates who share and promote your organisation's values/products/services.

Participation is also about taking criticisms on the chin and accepting other points of view which, despite the Twitter outburst yesterday, I guess Dennis knew already. And Dennis, in case you were wondering, I really do hope that South Africa win the Test.