Quad(rant) biking through life!

Quad(rant) biking through life!
Quadrant: here is the mathematical definition in American English: one of  four rectangular areas that coordinate plane( = area with vertical and horizontal measures) is divided into. 

We have often heard about terms like ​’ Be Limitless ‘ and ‘ Endless Possibilities ‘. These are bandied about in self help books, motivational speeches and even some business negotiations..” Considering the synergies that exist between our two organisations, there are endless possibilities that we can collaborate on “, is not very uncommon CEO speak. Well, (enough) said!

 

The reality on the ground is very different though. There is not much weightage accorded to the magic and energy of ‘ possibility ‘. And even less so in the case of what empowers possibility ie ‘ enrollment ‘. Often times we are all barking up the wrong tree. Consider that we look at this situation like if it were to be a quadrant with four concourses.

 

Concourse 1: High Possibility; High Enrollment: This is where most of our tribe is headed. Showing up, enrolling and putting in the hard yards, the emotional labour in the hope that at the end of it, they would realize what was envisaged as possible when they began. It’s indeed a very overcrowded space, fueled in large doses by what we call the ‘ herd mentality ‘ and the supposed ‘ wisdom of the crowds ‘. Red Ocean territory. Needless to say, the competition in this concourse is the highest.

 

Concourse 2: Low Possibility; High Enrollment: How to get into the Brazilian national football team ? Or any of the top NBA teams. Or getting admission into the IVY League Universities like Harvard, MIT etc. The odds are heavily stacked against the participants but the level of intensity and desire to get on board is at its highest which reflects in the insane number of enrollments for that special pie in the sky. In such cases, the existing eco system also keeps triggering and stimulating the hope and promise and thereby the corresponding spike in enrollment to get on board.

 

Concourse 3: Low Possibility; Low Enrollment: Yes there are such tribes..wanting to be lava surfers and ride the lava spitting out from the Mauna Loa (one of the world’s biggest volcanos) but there is neither a structure nor system in place to bring this to fruition. Little wonder such things see the lowest in terms of both possibility and enrollment.

 

Concourse 4: High Possibility; Low Enrollment: Strangely, this is the most under tapped area of the quadrant in spite of this being the area with the highest potential. It could be areas like being a social worker or a nurse or a music therapist. There is always a Minimum Viable Audience(MVA) and our enrollment can see that audience being connected to, engaged with, influenced and impacted.

 

We hold on to the old competencies and our hard-earned status roles far longer than we should. The only way to be creative is to do something new, and the path to something new requires leaving something else behind. Creativity is the generous act of solving an interesting problem on behalf of someone else. It’s a chance to take emotional and intellectual risks with generosity.

Ignore sunk costs” is the critical lesson of useful decision making.

The thing you earned, that you depend on, that was hard to do–it’s a gift from your former self. Just because you have a computer science degree, a branding agency or the ability to do calligraphy in Cyrillic doesn’t mean that your future self is obligated to accept that gift.

What can we distill from this? Which is the Blue Ocean( or even better Green Swan) that is calling out to us? How much enrollment are we planning to put in to swim to where we want to be? Are we prepared to guts it out? Yes, the possibilities are out there. Enrollments are open. Apply now!

ENDS

 

The Algebra of Trust..

The Algebra of Trust and How the Virtual World is Playing Havoc with it!
We have all noticed that all too often online, feedback descends to trolling and then degenerates to hate on all sides. Why is that? Why does this honourable form of human commentary from one person to another rarely work online?

Fundamentally what has changed is the nature of trust and as trust changes, so do relationships precisely because of how we are hardwired to form connections with people. It is no surprise that trust in the virtual world is very fragile(though easier to establish initially). Feedback depends on trust. In face to face relationships where there is trust, when one side screws up, it would be causing anger, friction, resentment, mistrust to creep in. But, if the connection is strong enough, things can be salvaged, an apology rendered and trust can get restored. Indeed, once restored, the bond of trust maybe even stronger than what it was erstwhile.
It’s different in the virtual world- once trust is threatened, it’s instantly broken and almost impossible to reestablish. People simply move on. Since trust was fragile and on egg shells in the first place, it gets broken at the slightest provocation.
Let’s look at the resident flaws domiciled in virtual feedback. Firstly, there is much less of it because it is harder to give than face to face feedback. Secondly, virtual feedback is much less robust and more likely to cause irreparable harm. And as an extension of that a weaker feedback has far diluted meaning.
Though lacking the unconscious stream of emotional information we receive automatically from other people face to face, virtual feedback, less robust as it may be, still stings- why is that?
We humans are social beings; put us face to face, we share mirror neurons that allow us to match each other’s emotions unconsciously and immediately( more about Neurons and Narratives in a separate post). We leak emotions to each other. Yes. We anticipate and mirror each other’s movements when we are in sympathy or agreement- singing from the same hymn sheet shall we say. And we can mirror each other’s brain activity when we’re engaged in storytelling and listening-both halves of the communication conundrum.
All of that leaking and sharing creates intimacy, trust and connection. It fuels receptivity and interest in other people’s point of  view. There is a quest to achieve this state of human communion. Make no mistake- it’s wrong to think that most humans prefer the solitary life that so much of modern virtual life imposes on us. We’ re most comfortable when we are connected, sharing strong emotions and stories.
The virtual world in stark contrast is much less engaging. This stems from the fact that the forms of the virtual world lacks the emotional information we crave. With this we can segway into another critical aspect of the virtual era that has high premium written all over. The issue of authenticity. More on it at a later date in time.
As an aside: Do you think Twitter needs a crash course in Anger Management? It is said that your audience is the product– just a polite enquiry… ( Well it’s for a different discussion!).

ENDS

https://www.groupisd.com/story

https://www.brandknewmag.com

https://www.weeklileaks.com

Comfortably numb inside the Golden Cage?

The Golden Cage? Probably yes.

Intrusion capitalism paves the way for what has been called the ‘ convenience economy ‘. And like billions around the world, we are almost comatosed into not only acceptance but to dig deep and stay there. The numbness of convenience, shall we say? And apart from the occasional murmur or a sporadic protest, life goes on.

We don’t have to go very far but look at a few examples. Let’s begin with one of the usual suspects-brands like Amazon, Amazon Prime and their accompanying eco system that touches the lives of millions of customers around the world every day. For about US$ 10 a month( if you are in the US), you get a vast pool of content, priority door step delivery at the most economical value for zillions of products. And with Alexa(another Amazon wonder) taking root as a serious tool for search and e commerce, the cesspool of dependence has only gone deeper and broader. Since there is no better reason( or a better alternative by far), we as customers are happy to be remain comfortably domiciled.

With 2.2 billion users every day around the world, Facebook is a monster drug(combining its repertoire of Whats App, Instagram users) and there is no saturation in sight as the time spent on these platforms seem to be only increasing. Data theft, brand safety, privacy intrusions etc have not stopped the eccentric growth of this juggernaut. Sometime back, the powers that be at Facebook actually mentioned that they are addressing the privacy and data theft concerns and they are prepared for a 95% success. Very recently, under pressure from several quarters, the commitment went up to 99%!!! It’s akin to an airline saying that we are 99% sure of our landings. 1% can be seriously debilitating and you don’t have to look further than the New Zealand shooting which went live to understand what I am trying to say. But, just like the case of Amazon, there is no mass exodus. On the contrary, the clamour to get in is only increasing. The absence of a viable, palatable alternative definitely helps the cause. People are staying put!


As Steven Van Belleghem espouses in his book Automation, AI and the Customer Experience , just as there is a mandatory audit of all corporations’ financial statements both internally & externally, there has to be a regulation in place calling for ‘ algorithm transparency ‘. Because, presently only the outcomes are understandable while there is no clarity on the inputs- especially the bias and the prejudice that gets fed into the codes to manipulate outcomes. I think this is a clarion call for a basic ‘ code of conduct ‘ and the earlier it gets put into place, surveillance capitalism will have some guard rails.

Till then, the (algo)rithm is going to get you! And it’s quite possible that you go blue in the Face(book).

ENDS

https://www.groupisd.com/story

https://www.brandknewmag.com

https://www.weeklileaks.com