Reinvent Partnerships

Innovation has changed the way we communicate, that is clear. The question now is; how will your organization maximize the benefits of new technology to reinvent, redefine, and recharge existing relationships?

If you are not sure, take a look at a company that is...Avon.

Avon is embarking on a massive, multi-year overhaul of the way it manages its
nearly 6 million sales representatives around the world. In the past, Sales
Leaders - who help manage reps but are not employees of the company - mainly
checked in with the salespeople through face-to-face meetings and phone calls.
Next month, Avon will begin to equip 150,000 sales leaders with a cloud-based
computing system accessible via smartphones and PCs. The technology will keep them much more up-to-date on the sales of each rep, and it will alert them when reps haven't placed an order recently or when they have payments overdue to the
company. The idea is to increase the sales and efficiency of Avonís distribution system. BusinessWeek June 15 2009 Pg 43c

This decision by Avon is monumental because it completely reinvents their communication paradigms. I know that word paradigm sounds like a buzzword, but it’s not. You see, by embracing the new tools for communication, Avon had to walk away from durable, long-lasting belief systems.

What was so compelling about all these new gadgets?
In a word: EFFICIENCY – The ability to optimize communication, reduce overall effort, and enhance the accuracy of field reporting would cause any organization to do a double-take. The reason this kind of efficiency is different from previous generations is because it is a people-centric revision. Mechanical efficiencies still occur all the time, laptops get faster, light bulbs last longer. Yet, overall how humans have interacted has not had as big a shift as social networking since the original telephone was rented – yes rented – as a piece of heavy equipment, complete with scheduled maintenance.

What matters not is how you choose to dive in, it just matters that you dive in soon. Take a look at how the world of social networking has exploded in less than five years. To see this image more clearly and up close click here.

The Conversation Prism found at www.theconversationprism.com

This image captures the many ways communication has changed, rapidly. When you consider innovation related to your existing partnerships, you should consider how you are communicating with them. In the learning and development profession the biggest shift has been how something like Twitter can be used to support, follow-up on, and coach employees from a distance – all in just 140 characters.

Why does this matter?
These changes matter because they shift the way people interact with other people, even while using an intermediary device such as a smartphone or PDA. While technology may get the headline, it’s people that are making the headlines possible through ever more interaction. The idea "we succeed together" is at the core of seeing innovation as a global perspective. By recognizing new ways of collaboration we can activate partnerships that do more than benefit one organization - they can benefit many organizations, and in turn benefit many people.