Technology and innovation have touched all aspects of business and we are operating in a rapidly changing and complex world; a VUCA environment. The term VUCA, which stands for “volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity”, originated in the US Army War College in the late 1990s, but spread to the business world as there are striking similarities in terms of rapid change and uncertainty. The digital age has helped accelerate the evolution of business and has helped disr

Digital disruption has been happening at a frenetic pace. How do we equip rising talent to cope with uncertainty and change?

Consumers are notoriously fickle and, in today’s world, armed with a mobile phone and more data, they are empowered and emboldened to shop around. Brand and retailer loyalty is at an all time low as online shoppers are trying to get the best deal in terms of price and convenience. So if this is the case, why do retailers keep on trying to push consumers to use the retailer’s exclusive mobile app? This clearly benefits the retailer, but not necessarily the consumer. In a blog

I have worked for years trying to ensure that strategy execution happens seamlessly. This is still a major struggle for most organisations as they find themselves tied in knots (and frameworks) while the average employee is still baffled when strategists articulate "the plan". Although the intersection between strategy and execution is certainly important, in the last few years especially, the intersection between strategy and innovation has maybe become more important. The r

Lips, ears, snout and all, today’s sausage factory of data is complicated and convoluted. Data is repackaged and re-sold as inventory. It flows through the online advertising ecosystem without clear accountability as to what is being tracked and sold. And what is the quality of data in that sausage? Is it consumable? The sophistication with which digital marketers can accurately target a specific customer segment continues to develop and my recent consumer experience highligh

Grönroos is a surname that you may or may not have heard of, but you will undoubtedly be familiar with his theory – the theory of relationship marketing. In today’s marketing environment, Grönroos is more relevant than ever as relationship marketing is at the heart of what a brand does, particularly online. However, as with any relationship, there are courtship norms that must be followed or else, frankly, it just gets weird. Digital courtship is no different and brands must

Today’s buzz phrase in e-commerce is “frictionless transactions”. Why is there a heightened interest in smooth functioning e-commerce? Well, it has to do with where consumers are in the e-commerce technology adoption curve. Using Everett Rogers’s technology adoption lifecycle, we’ve moved past the “early adopters” and in fact, are hitting the plateau in the “early majority” phase. Today’s online shopper not only includes the online bargain hunter, but also the time-poor consu

I am amazed at the collective action that commuters in the San Francisco Bay area spontaneously take when commuting into the city. For the past 30 years commuters heading west across the San Francisco - Oakland Bay bridge have set up an informal carpool system where, on weekday mornings, both passengers and drivers meet at designated areas in the East Bay to ride share into downtown San Francisco. Nowadays dynamic carpooling has taken on a technological twist, passengers and