1. Real estate
2. Rights to natural resources like oil and gas
3. Cash reserves
4. Patents
5. The corporate brand

OK, that’s not really a fair question because people are not something that’s owned by the company. Your “people” do walk out the doors of your business every night though. What would happen if they didn’t come back to work the next day? That could create a big mess, because for some organizations when you lose people you lose income. But still, nobody likes to be thought of as an object of production. So does the phrase “people are our competitive advantage” set a little better with you? That one is not so great if you are a not-for profit organization. After all, who are they competing with? A phrase I’m starting to think is now closer to the mark is “our people are our most important source of influence.” In fact, some social media tools like Klout and Kred can provide a very real look at how personal brands compare to corporate brands in the area of social influence.

As you can see in the example above, five members of DocuStar’s staff have Klout that rivals their corporate brand score. So who gave Klout all the clout? That’s a good point and I’m not going to argue whether Klout is the best measurement tool when it comes to measuring social influence. Why should an organization care if their employee’s have a strong personal brand? That’s a fair question; but I think you already know the answer. In general, people do business with other people they know, like and trust. Think about the combination of those three words for a minute.

• Know
• Like
• Trust

You’re talking about a very credible source packed with influence and value. And I’ll take a building full of employee’s like that any day of the week.

Tactic #1: Extreme use of hashtags. People use the hashtag symbol # before a relevant keyword or phrase in their tweet to categorize those tweets and help them show more easily in Twitter Search. They also use them in their bio description in order to increase the probability of their profile being found during a keyword search. However; best practices suggests not using more than 2 hashtags in your communication. Don’t believe it? Take a look at the following:

I used the tweet example above to drive home the point that the extreme use of hashtags is annoying. As you can see my message resonated; 17 retweets and 5 favorites over a very short period of time confirms that the extreme use of hashtags does indeed annoy your twitter audience.

The same line of thought applies to the extreme use of hashtags in your bio. In conclusion; hashtags are very useful, but too much of a good thing is just too much. So use some moderation.

Tactic #2: Sending automated “Thank you for following me” tweets and direct messages. I understand it seems like the polite thing to do. You want to send a “warm Welcome” to your new followers and acknowledge their engagement. Besides, you’re having trouble coming up with relevant, interesting and engaging content so why not fill up the twitter stream with mindless babble that proclaims your popularity by thanking every profile that follows you. The problem is that you don’t have the time and energy to thank all your new followers on a one-off basis so you’ve resorted to some type of automation application to do the work for you. As a result, everyone gets a thank you, including those pesky spam profiles.

As you can see, it’s not working; particularly if you are leveraging automation to get the job done. In truth, it’s just not coming across as relevant or sincere.

I’ll be the first to admit that this post is not backed by strict market research standards. No, I just quickly engaged my connections and learned what I needed to know. In this case, I’m going to watch the number of hashtags I’m using. And I’m not going to be thanking you for following me!

In the world of social media marketing, the “WHO’S VIEWED YOUR PROFILE?” module on LinkedIn is in my opinion, a made you look requirement for serious networkers. This feature is no trick; it’s designed to help you understand who’s been looking at your profile recently and how many times you have shown up in search results. Here are four reasons why you should like this feature and why I want to make you look at it.

1. Cross platform check point and building block: I display my LinkedIn URL in my Twitter bio. That means my new Twitter followers have a direct link to my LinkedIn page. When I’m screening my new Twitter followers I also like to review who’s looked at my LinkedIn profile. Often I’m able to see a direct match between my new Twitter followers and my LinkedIn profile views which gives me strong evidence that Twitter is driving traffic and exposure to people who also have a presence on LinkedIn.

2. Message received indicator: Sometimes, instead of sending my contacts an email, I send a LinkedIn InMail message. By doing so I accomplish two important factors. First, research shows that a LinkedIn message is more likely to be opened than an email. Second, there is a high probability the person receiving my message will also revisit my profile for changes that may have taken place since our last conversation. This is exactly what I’d like to have happen, and I’m able to confirm that action if they show up on my “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” page after opening my LinkedIn message.

3. Name and headline: Depending on how a user sets their privacy settings, their full name, picture and headline will be available. I’ll also be able to see our degrees of separation; “1st” meaning we are already directly connected, while “group” means we have a group membership in common.

4. Personal brand attention: Is my page coming up during profile searches? According to LinkedIn, the time period you see in the module may vary based on how many people have looked at your profile in the past several weeks. Also, if your profile hasn’t been viewed recently, the module won’t appear. I don’t know about you, but I want my profile to appear if someone is searching for something relevant to my areas of expertise. If your “Appearances in Search” is low that probably means your profile details needs some work.

You may have noticed that I have a LinkedIn premium account which gives me access to Profile Stats Pro. The additional information provided, such as trends, total profile visits, keywords, etc is valuable to me so I budget for that networking expense. So, did I make you look? Or do you care if someone has viewed your LinkedIn profile?

Now, before I present my list let me provide some background details and key learning’s. Yes, in case you are wondering, I am over 50, and this group was mainly pulled together through my personal Twitter followers. I’m currently ranked as the 3rd most followed Chief Marketing Officer on Twitter by Social Media Marketing Magazine. Since I have nearly 60 thousand followers I was confident there would be at least 50 profiles representing marketing leaders over 50 years of age that are street smart, innovative and doing remarkable work. I just needed to identify them, and hope they would admit to being over 50! I also wanted to ask them two questions:

1. How and where do you find innovative ideas?
2. What’s the best way to keep your eye on the future?

It has been an interesting and fun process to assemble this list because I’ve learned some things about my Twitter connections that I didn’t know, and I’ll be a better marketer for it. I’ve also gained a greater appreciation for my network in the 40-50 age range who reached out to help me with profile suggestions. They are not yet old enough to make my list and they are too old for the others, but they were still ready to help. Isn’t it annoying when your demographic is ignored? We’ll have to fix that in the future!

This project has taken longer than I expected. What you have to consider is that this group is very busy as many of them run their own companies. That means their focus is on growing their business and not on wasteful distractions like lists! I also confirmed that some were not eager to anticipate follow-up tweets and contact from the AARP! OK, what I really mean is that they didn’t want to be branded as old. During my correspondences it was not uncommon for a candidate to say “I love the idea behind your list, but hesitate to participate because I don’t want to be thought of as old.” Age is a funny thing. We think about it differently at various points in time as it relates to our career. Wouldn’t it be great if we truly recognized that you’re never too young or too old if you’ve got talent? In the meantime, in no particular order, here is my list of senior marketing connections on Twitter you should know:

Adrian Ott
@ExponentialEdge
Twitter Followers: 48,288
Title: CEO & Founder
Company: Exponential Edge Inc.
website: http://www.exponentialedge.com/

1. Collaborating with my clients in Silicon Valley who have innovative new technology and are willing to apply new management approaches, lecturing at top business schools, my twitter community.
2. Build a diverse set of information sources and pay attention to new technology or trends that could provide new business models or approaches.

Paul Greenberg
@pgreenbe
Twitter Followers: 12,540
Title: Managing Principal
Company: The 56 Group, LLC
Website: http://www.the56group.com (coming Q3 2013)

1. I have two go-to areas for innovation – an extensive network of innovative people who I can brainstorm with – this ranges from CRM and technology industry veterans to extremely bright kids who are new and fresh to the industry. The second area for inspiration and innovation in business is music, literature and other cultural arenas. In particular, comedy, especially satire sharpens and hones me for thinking in an innovative way. Long live Woody Allen, S.J. Perelman and Saturday Night Live! Among many others.
2. The best way to keep your eye on the future is to pay attention to anomalies that you see. For example, in 2009, a couple of studies appeared that said for the first time in history, more people were communicating via social networks than email. That would be two studies of, let’s say, a thousand. But the fact that those two anomalous studies existed at all, indicated the beginnings of a truly seismic shift that is ongoing (not there yet) where that is going to become generally true, no longer an anomaly. In 2007, for example, NONE of those studies would appear. So find the anomalies, and keep your eyes on them.

Terry Brock
@TerryBrock
Twitter Followers: 5,224
Title: CEO and President
Company: Achievement Systems, Inc.
Weebsite: www.TerryBrock.com

1. Reading Feedly feeds regularly, producing my podcast, blog & videos, Attending classes at Harvard Business School, Speaking at Air Force Academy and hanging with cool, brilliant people!
2. Learn from the past, but look to the future. Constantly disrupt your staid thinking with fresh, innovative ideas from different sources, new materials and new ideas. Live! Life is just beginning every day!

Jay Deragon
@JDeragon
Twitter Followers: 8,897
Title: Digital Strategist
Company: The Relationship Economy
Web site: http://www.relationship-economy.com

1. I find innovative ideas in the bits of information gathered from collaborating with many on and off line then creating a new mental model with meaning from all the ideas.
2. The best way to keep your eye on the future is to study the disruptive forces that lie at the intersection of technology with the human network.

Jill Konrath
@jillkonrath
Twitter Followers: 12,893
Title: President and Founder
Company: JILL KONRATH
Website: www.jillkonrath.com

1. I’m an idea junkie. I love learning about fresh strategies both inside & outside my profession and industry. The best ideas come from the mash-ups.
2. Look to the younger people! Their perspectives and approaches help me see things differently. And, when combined with your hard-earned wisdom, it virtually assures that you stay a game-changer.

Jay Brokamp
@JayBrokamp
Twitter Followers: 227
Title: President and Founder
Company: docustar
Website: http://www.docustar.com/

1. I’ve become a student of understanding how the idea in the corner will impact the trends in the big booth. I look toward people and companies trying to leverage converging rails of technology. I’ve applied what I see to our business model and software development.
2. I listen to and try to understand the challenges businesses are confronted with and why. I find that by tacking the technologies corporations are investing in and understanding why they are successful or perhaps more importantly, not as successful as hoped, gives me a window into the talent and services which will be in demand.

Joan Schneider
@schneiderpr
Twitter Followers: 2,206
Title: President and Founder
Company: Schneider Associates
Website: http://www.schneiderpr.com/

1. Go to museums, lectures at Harvard Business School and travel the US and the world—preferably on a motorcycle.
2. Don’t sit in your office, get out and talk to people of all different stripes, stay up on the news (TV, newspapers, online, Twitter), take a university class and hire lots of interns.

Michael Libbie
@MichaelLibbie
Twitter Followers: 2,858
Title: Owner
Company: Insight Cubed
Website: http://insightcubed.com/

1. I watch consumers and pay close attention to their buying habits and then match those needs/wants/desires to our client’s products or services; creating visuals and text that matches the consumer.
2. Read…nearly everything. We also use Twitter to scan various key-words, Facebook to catch a sense, YouTube to see what’s hot and follow other leaders in the industries we touch.

Rick Segal
@MrBtoB
Twitter Followers: 1070
Title: President Worldwide & Chief Practice Officer
Company: gyro
Website: www.gyro.com

1. I don’t find the best innovative ideas, they find me. The secret is to cultivate copiousness. Be very deliberate in filling your mind with the widest variety of sensations, information and stimuluae. Ideas will then sprout like wildflowers.
2. Read science fiction and speculative fiction, and pay real close attention to toddlers and teenagers.

Kent Huffman
@KentHuffman
Twitter Followers: 32,019
Title: CMO
Company: BearCom Wireless
Website: http://www.BearCom.com

1. Most of my innovative ideas originate during formal brainstorming sessions and casual discussions with other creative marketers, not just those who are over 50, but those who are under 50 as well. I also get inspiration and interesting ideas from my company’s customers.
2. For me, the best way to keep an eye on the future is to regularly read (or at least scan) the leading print publications and content websites written about the wireless industry and the marketing profession. Also, listening to other innovative marketers and participating in social media helps keep me current.

Christopher Donald
@EmailMadMan
Twitter Followers: 993
Title: Strategist
Company: Inbox Group – Indiemark
Website: http://www.inboxgroup.com/

1. I listen! To most everyone I can in my industry (Email Marketing) and read a lot. I read blog posts, whitepapers, listen on twitter and books. I also talk a lot to those much younger that me that might have a better pulse on “what’s new” and what the cool kids are doing.
2. Again I listen! There always seems to be new companies coming up with new tools or integration that give benefit to the email marketing industry. I try to be open about new options to be more effective with data, testing, and creative. Again I keep the younger crowd close. It seems as we get older we get a little set in our ways, we become less open to outside influence, I try to be open as possible to hearing about and understanding how people connect with businesses. Whether it be with email, social, mobile, etc. I’m open to learning from others.

Cheryl Burgess
@ckburgess
Twitter Followers: 13,520
Title: CEO and CMO
Company: Blue Focus Marketing
Website: http://www.bluefocusmarketing.com/blog

1. Vibrant Twitter community, interviews with the brightest minds on social business and social branding for upcoming new book, The Social Employee (McGraw-Hill, summer 2013) (@SocialEmployee) – Success lessons from big brands, IBM, AT&T, Dell, Cisco, Southwest, Adobe, Acxiom and Domo.
2. Listen and engage both online and offline with disruptive innovative thinkers!

Jim Ducharme
@hugeheadca
Twitter Followers: 1,141
Title: Community Director
Company: GetResponse Email Marketing
Website: www.GetResponse.com

1. Everyone has their own social media poison I think. Some folks are naturals for Facebook, others are more visual and prefer Pinterest and some like me, are Twitter oriented. Twitter reminds me of my old days with CB Radio, but it has the added advantage of allowing for better filtering and curating of content. As well, it’s a great “now” surveillance medium just like CB was. It begs the question: What are you thinking or doing right now?
2. Boomers have an advantage when it comes to “seeing the future” because (to paraphrase Tom Chapin) we can see where we are and we know where we’ve been. Having perspective gives you foresight. If you are over 50 and you can put digital into an analog frame of reference, you are ahead of the game. If you realize that people make the digital world and not the other way around then you are miles ahead. We aren’t so much exploring new territory as we are exploring old territory (ourselves) in new ways. So, knowing where we’ve been gives one an advantage in being able to see where we are going. Because social is not about the technology, but about how we use it and human nature doesn’t change as fast as technology does.

Mark Shevitz
@SJI_Inc
Twitter Followers: 221
Title: President
Company: SJI, Inc
Website: http://www.sji-inc.com/

1. In this business of developing ideas and campaigns, finding places where my mind is open to create and observe is important. Driving is one of them. The other is at retail – among products and purchasers (malls, grocery, etc.). And, of course, being aware of what’s trending on relevant social platforms.
2. I speak regularly at universities, so being around a younger generation is key. College students and 20-somethings have their own ideas about purchasing and are just coming into their own as influencers. To me, these are the thought leaders of the future, so it’s worth keeping an eye on who / what they perceive as the trends, brands and innovators of tomorrow.

Jeffrey Peel
@JeffreyPeel
Twitter Followers: 2,812
Title: Managing Director
Company: Quadriga Consulting Ltd
Website: www.quadco.co.uk

1. I firmly believe the best way to get ideas is to go out and chat with people. I recommend just ‘getting out’ to my client and organise ‘meet and drinks’ chats with customers, partners and start-ups.
2. It’s impossible to predict the future. Trying is pointless. But meet people who might just create the products of the future is a great way to get a sense of what’s possible.

Jeff Ogden
@fearlesscomp
Twitter Followers: 4,985
Title: President
Company: Find New Customers
Website: http://findnewcustomers.com/about/

1. That’s a slam dunk, Alan. I created and host the popular show Marketing Made Simple TV, so I find the most interesting guests. Case in point, when I was offered a chance to present a TED-like talk to a big meeting, I used the ideas I learned from the lady on my show Robbin Phillips, Courageous CEO of Brains on Fire.
2. Network like crazy, Meet cool people, like you, Alan. Read a lot. Write blog posts. Go to meetings. Social media opens a huge world of contacts.

Emily R. Coleman, Ph.D.
@e_r_coleman
Twitter Followers: 771
Title: President
Company: CAM, Inc.
Website: www.colemanmgt.com

1. I find ideas all over the place. I think the key is to keep your mind open and not be overawed by the common wisdom. Basically, it is not that hard to innovate if you don’t feel a need to follow the crowd. The purpose of marketing, after all, is to get your company/product/service/ideas noticed. You can’t do that if you stand firmly in the middle of what everyone else is doing. And the purpose of innovating is to increase revenues, let’s not forget that.
2. Trends are the consequence of millions of people making personal decisions for their own reasons. The key to understanding the future is to understand why people are acting the way they do. Marketers can influence fads, but they have to follow and anticipate – and understand the underlying reasons for – trends.

Brad Shorr
@BradShorr
Twitter Followers: 9,117
Title: Director of B2B Marketing
Company: Straight North
Website: http://www.straightnorth.com

1. I don’t consider myself especially creative, but I’m good at recognizing great ideas in conversation or through reading (blog posts mainly, these days), and then adapting them to my business. It takes a fair amount of work though. In order to appreciate great ideas, you have to sift through all of the many bad ones as well.
2. Same answer as number 1: talk to people and read. The struggle I have is getting out of my comfort zone and talking to people who are younger, older, and who have radically different outlooks from mine. This is where blogs have been so helpful. Engaging with bloggers has connected me with very smart people I never would have interacted with otherwise.

Barbara Fowler
@BarbFow50
Twitter Followers: 611
Title: Northeast Managing Partner, CMO
Company: Chief Outsiders
Website: http://www.chiefoutsiders.com/

1. I get up early every day-up by 5-and for 2 hours or so, I read. I have the best blogs in my google reader and get so many innovative ideas there. From Strategy-Business, to SEOMoz to Kissmetrics, Fast Company to the HBR, reading gives me the most insight into new and different ideas. (If you need links, I have them)
2. Be open to it. I hate it when people say that as you get older, you get more set in your ways. I think you can, but do not have to. I like to explore new ideas, listen to people who are completely opposed to how I think and imagine, “What life experiences, what teaching, what made them have those opinions? I believe in “Assume the best intentions of other, Seek first to understand their point of view ” and that keeps my eye on the future.

Steve Kirstein
@steveonprocess
Twitter Followers: 394
Title: Director of Marketing
Company: OnProcess Technology
Website: http://www.onprocess.com/

1. Depends on what kinds of ideas you’re referring to – marketing technology/tools/processes – blogs, twitter, inbound emails from vendors, etc. For creative concepts – everywhere!
2. Keep both eyes open – don’t depend on any one source, medium, channel, process, concept – and always be willing to challenge your own beliefs, preconceptions, SOPs.

Doug Mow
@DougMow
Twitter Followers: 1,431
Title: Chief Marketing Officer
Company: Courion Corporation
Website: http://www.courion.com/

1. Innovation is a state of mind, not a place or a process. I find innovative ideas all around me by observing life and imagining the art of the possible.
2. It sounds trite, but the best way to keep your eye on the future is by imagining it, looking through the windshield and not the rear view mirror.

Adrea Rubin
@adrearubin
Twitter Followers: 1,707
Title: CEO
Company: Adrea Rubin Media, Inc.
Website: www.adrearubin.com

1. I consume a variety of content (industry events/trade shows, industry newsletters, social media feeds, etc.) to learn about current issues/challenges facing my current and prospective clients. I tie that information back to my nearly 40 years of experience in insurance/financial services marketing and, from that, generate ideas.
2. By embracing technology and its influence on industry trends. Also, by staying current with legislative changes that impact how insurance/financial services marketers acquire new customers, especially in the boomers/age 50+ space.

Dyan Bryson
@InspiredHealth_
Twitter Followers: 534
Title: Managing Director
Company: Inspired Health Strategies, LLC
Website – www.patientadherence.com

1. I get my innovative ideas through much research, participating in conversations and discussions on LinkedIn and Twitter as well as face-to-face meetings and events. I match this input with my personal experience- basically understanding the problems I have identified and developing solutions based on what I have learned.
2. The best way to keep my eye on the future is the same use of social media and networking but also watching industries other than mine to see what is working there and anticipating the use of process and systems in my industry. So, a lot of benchmarking through every way possible!

David Newberry
@davidnewbs
Twitter Followers: 168
Title: Group Marketing Officer
Company: Pitney Bowes Software
Website: www.pb.com/software

1. Innovation is supported by diversity and collaboration. A few tips:
• Give vendors 5 minutes of your time. It is likely that their company has a number of innovative ideas which underpin their value proposition.
• Encourage your teams to focus on outcomes rather than activities and therefore provide them with an environment where they can think out of the box.
• Collaborate across departments and geographies so many more diverse viewpoints are captured and considered.
2. Spend more time with clients on better understanding what is keeping them up at night.
Form strong relationships with a small number of the peer companies who are conveying leading-edge thinking and best practice. Network and network, you can never listen enough or have too many viewpoints or ideas.

Kay Ross
@KayRoss
Twitter Followers: 3,800
Title: Marketing consultant & coach, editor and copywriter.
Company: Kay Ross Marketing
Website: http://www.kayross.com/

1. I read voraciously about a wide variety of topics: marketing, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, design, social media, theatre, healing, language, travel, fiction, trends in business and society… And I perform comedy improvisation, which builds my skill at spotting unlikely connections between unexpected things.
2. There is no future; there’s only NOW. Keep your eye on what’s happening now.

Ken Rutsky
@Jayrutz
Twitter Followers: 600
Title: Go to Market Thought Leader
Company: KJR Associates, Inc
Website: http://kjrassociates.com/

1. Insight from and through my clients and their challenges.
2. Always think how you can make your customer’s lives and businesses better.

Scott Doniger
@scottd44
Twitter Followers: 333
Title: Senior Vice President, Strategy and Services
Company: Sprinklr
Website: http://www.sprinklr.com/

1. Create mindspace (for me, it’s working out and/or listening to music) so that my unconscious mind is free to solve problems while my conscious mind recharges and regenerates the unconscious with stimulating life.
a. Voraciously snack on great “content” i.e., read a lot
b. Ask tough questions of really smart people; where:
i. My social community (mostly smart, snarky people)
ii. Diverse connections — young, old, and mostly not in my industry
2. Make sense of the past in the proper context of what I’m trying to do in the future.
a. Ask great questions / interrogate the world
b. Create a list of signposts and signals that might be indicators of true future vs. flashes — being active in this way typically enables me to filter signal from noise.

Ari Sherman
@ariwrite
Twitter Followers: 451
Title: Creative Director, copywriter
Company: Ari Sherman, advertising, formerly of Frankfurt Gips Balkind
Website: http://arisherman.wordpress.com/

1. My favorite ideas come from letting the problem solving process play out. Quickly eliminating the obvious solutions allows real fresh thinking to percolate into ideas. The ones that excite me are the ones I run with.
2. I think an eye to the future means realizing it’s already here. So engage voraciously with the now. Look at what’s out there that’s cutting edge, figure out what makes it distinct, and always remember you’re as much a part of it as anyone.

Donald Lambert
@3msage
Twitter Followers: 69
Title: Consultant
Company: Management, Marketing, Media
Website: www.3msage.com

1. Observation, Listening, Brainstorming: Taking a careful, thoughtful and active interest in the question that needs to be answered. Learning: After 25 years in broadcast communications management, I decided to return to university and complete the degree uncompleted years earlier. I found it invigorating being surrounded by many bright young people who were eager to tell me that this or that is not how things are looked at today. I have tried to glean the best of the best from the experience. Read and watch movies for knowledge, stimulation and inspiration.
2. Nurture Optimism: Always believe there are hope and a future that can be better than today or yesterday. Embrace Discontentment: Revel in successes briefly and move on knowing today’s innovation can be improved. Foster an environment of forgiveness: Innovation can only occur where stumbling, falling and periodic misdirection is accepted as part and parcel to trying new things. Keep trying. Refer back to the 1st point.

John Caldwell
@jacaldwell
Twitter Followers: 1,812
Title: Principal
Company: Red Pill Email
Website: http://RedPillEmail.com

1. I try to pay attention to the world around me. My oldest son at 27 is an Internet native, and a lot of ideas come from he and his friends. My youngest son at 2 provides inspiration as he adapts his world to his special needs. One of my best resources is my wife, the consummate (an over-used but appropriate word) shopper; what she buys, what she doesn’t, and why is always an enigma. Oh, and reality TV….
2. By understanding the past and the present; learning from our own and other’s mistakes; and not being distracted by the little things that are easily distracting. Watching and listening to people of all ages while keeping watch for innovative ideas that improve people’s quality of life at different stages throughout life.

Karen Shields
@MarComMgr
Twitter Followers: 33
Title: Public Information Officer/Communications Manager
Company: Gwinnett, Newton & Rockdale County Health Departments
Website: http://www.gnrhealth.com/

1. I find innovative ideas by doing things that help stop and empty my mind. If my mind is busy and filled, there is no time or room for innovation. Walking outside, meditating, playing the piano, reading – all of those give me pause and help my mind make room for innovation. Where is in nature, music and solitude.
2. The best way to keep your eye on the future is to engage it. Talk to the future – the younger generation. “Kids” in their 20s are bright. They are tech savvy. They totally embrace new. Always wonder . . . always learn . . . and always – as a three-year old would do – ask WHY?

Andrew (Andy) Rudin
@andy_rudin
Twitter Followers: 1,774
Title: Managing Principal
Company: Outside Technologies, Inc.
Website: http://www.outsidetechnologies.com/

1. I find innovation by questioning the status quo. When I hear “that’s the way it’s always been done,” or “here are the rules for X, Y, or Z,” I get hot and bothered.
2. Be constantly curious. Focus on lifelong learning. Read. Seek the company of people who are smart, worldly and talented. Take online courses. Go back to school. Write about something you want to know more about. Become fluent in another language. Travel.

Drew Neisser
@DrewNeisser
Twitter Followers: 6,196
Title: CEO and Founder
Company: Renegade, LLC
Website: http://www.renegade.com

1. How and where do you find innovative ideas? For me, it starts with a voracious curiosity about random facts, relevant trends and personal passions pursued via all available media. From there, it’s a matter of tricking the brain to connect seemingly disparate dots into something fresh.
2. What’s the best way to keep your eye on the future? Talking with forward-thinking people and then forcing you to turn these conversations into cogent if not prescient articles.

Jim Lyons
@jflyons
Twitter Followers: 2,871
Title: Writer/Analyst/Blogger
Company: JLA (formerly HP, Lyra Research)
Website: http://jimlyonsobservations.com/

1. I have always been a big consumer of news – national, world, local, sports, entertainment, business, technology – and now find Social Media, especially Twitter, to be a great source of inspiration (to where it leads me, actually). Recently, I heard Ira Glass talk, and directed advice to aspiring journalists and writers, but it holds for all of us, at any stage. He said, you need to spend half your time poking around (“turning over rocks” is my favorite way to put it) so the other half of the time you have something to write about!
2. I have always been an early adopter (at least in many categories) – nothing like hands-on experiences to ascertain something’s impact on the future.

Bill McCloskey
@billmccloskey
Twitter Followers: 1,392
Title: Founder
Company: Only Influencers, LLC
Website: http://www.onlyinfluencers.com

1. Innovative ideas come to me most often when I’m doing something not related to business. Soaking in a tub, driving, walking. It could be anywhere, anytime but it is important to be open to ideas when they come. Another great source of ideas is listening to your customers. I had one company that I started in 2000 and one of my clients mentioned that they were looking for a technology that didn’t exist. I listened to what they were looking for, and created a new product to fit their needs. As a result, I launched a new company based on that one conversation in 2003: eDataSource.com.
2. Every morning I read a series of newspapers, blogs, and journals to keep up on what is going on but my best source of information is my network of peers that I communicate with on a daily basis. Being part of a community that is focused on my industry has been the greatest, easiest, and most dynamic method of staying in touch with issues that affect the digital marketing industry.

Chris Williams
@chriw
Twitter Followers: 43
Title: Acting President NJ Chapter The CMO Club
Company: The CMO Club
Website: http://www.thecmoclub.com/

1. I have found that innovation occurs thought-out the organization and not just in a top down hierarchical manner thus as CMO my role was to spin a web across employees, partners and customers both in and out of my industry to find examples of innovation that could be adopted in whole or radically modified to meet a different set of challenges. The key is to keep an open mind and align with those not afraid of change especially those out of your normal ecosystems. In my ‘blue ocean’ strategic workshops I encouraged my team at Avaya who were tasked with supporting third party consultants to hold briefings where the agenda was NOT on solving a current problems (those were addressed separately) buy to look at where technology has gone and to imagine the art of the possible. By proactively approaching clients with solutions to problem they did not know they had we thus established a more strategic relationship with them. I also believe Innovation can be both incremental and radical. It’s not always about inventing the new but reinventing the old.
2. What’s the best way to keep your eye on the future? In my case it was about staying on top of business challenges that our clients and markets struggled with, learning from the past but being open to chart a new course. It may involve redefining a market or a new set of non-traditional competitors. A great example of what is happening today is the product development that is originating in emerging markets and being brought back to address the long tail of our mature markets versus the traditional approach to innovating centrally and pushing to out across the globe irrespective of local market needs. New advances in collaboration technologies has fundamentally changed the way groups innovate around the world.

Ardath Albee
@ardath421
Twitter followers: 10,199
Title: CEO and B2B Marketing Strategist
Company: Marketing Interactions, Inc.
Website: http://www.marketinginteractions.com

1. In my opinion, 1 & 2 go together: Brainstorming calls with peers, an annual retreat I attend, looking outside my network, reading/absorbing a variety of different perspectives to look for unique crossovers and pushing my work farther with each new project. Feedback from speaking and publishing that makes me think differently about my work.

Laura Patterson
@lauravem
Twitter Followers: 1,010
Title: President and Founder
Company: VisionEdge Marketing, Inc.
Website: http://www.visionedgemarketing.com

1. Ideas are everywhere! I spend a great deal of time on the road and often use this time to meet with and list to people both inside and outside the discipline, people in the trenches and on the front line and people who have a view at 50,000 feet. I’m especially interested in learning about their current challenges, where they see the bright spots, what trends they are noticing, what they are reading and why, and what is something they recently learned or wish they knew. A good glass of wine during these conversations can be very helpful. I try to make it a point to monitor major publications both industry and academic to look for trends and see what people are talking and thinking about. If it resonates with me perhaps it will with others. And I find mental energy and ideas come more easily when my mind is free to roam, like during a long run, or lap after lap in the pool, or working in the garden.

Gary Schirr
@ProfessorGary
Twitter Followers: 77,000
Title: Assistant Professor, Marketing, Radford University
Website: www.SMM4Biz.com

1. I find that the key is to stay current in your main area of interest and probe into some entirely different areas. I think creativity is often at the intersection of two ways of looking at things. For example my interests in product innovation and social media have provided some insights and ideas on co-creation. Over in Finance and Economics the trailblazing innovations and new ideas of the last 15 years is to bring knowledge of biases from psychology into their areas: behavioral finance and behavioral economics. Stretch yourself!
2. Stay current and watch the cutting edge. I scan marketing journals, but I also scan Scientific American, Wired, and Fast Company… and go to entrepreneur meetings to see what wild ideas are being talked about.

Saul J Berman
@thnqtnq
Twitter Followers: 459
Title: Partner & Vice President
Company: IBM Global Business Services
Website: http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/consulting/

1. On the beach free thinking or traveling cities around the world. Or being inspired by elementary school, high school and college kids. Hanging out with the leading academic thinkers and technical researchers. Connecting dots in new ways! Dare to be extreme and disruptive!
2. Read and travel 300k miles a year. Always find and challenge the underlying assumptions and the norms. Ask why but also why not? Diversify your perspective and inputs. Experience what’s new yourself. Hire the best and brightest but nontraditional as well. Set an environment and expect out of the box thinking. Start with envisioning the future!

Eric Fletcher
@EricFletcher
Twitter Followers: 9,500
Title: Chief Marketing Officer
Company: McGlinchey Stafford
Website: http://www.marketingbrainfodder.com

1. Read until my eyes give out — HBR, McKinsey Quarterly, Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine, selected blogs.
2. Talk less, listen more — to leaders in and out of my industry, to social and market researchers, to a philosopher or two along the way, to bright young minds that surround me.

Tony Zambito
@tonyzambito
Twitter Followers: 1,812
Title: Founder
Company: TonyZambito.Com
Website: www.tonyzambito.com

1. I get my best innovative ideas through direct qualitative research with customers/buyers for clients and combining this work with curiosity. Meaning, you need to be able to connect the dots to reveal insight and understanding, which leads to new ideas. Ideas which helps us to see the world differently.
2. Keeping your eye on the future requires a new capability as a result of our hyper-connected society. The capability of assimilating information and translating it into meaning is going to become a much needed skill in the future. My advice to the younger generation in their 30′s for example is to focus in on developing this skill. Our future leaders will be called upon to be forward thinking.

Mark Burgess
@mnburgess
Twitter Followers: 4,735
Title: President and Founder
Company: Blue Focus Marketing
Website: http://www.bluefocusmarketing.com/blog

1. Create and conduct lectures and workshops for leading universities and marketing organizations.
2. Stay active in social media. Tweet and view learning as a continuous process. Author a new book. Push ahead. Re-imagine. Write content that energizes.

Bob Thompson
@Bob_Thompson
Twitter Followers: 4.815
Title: CEO
Company: CustomerThink Corp
Website: http://www.customerthink.com/

1. I’m fortunate to manage CustomerThink.com, which features some of the smartest people on the planet in marketing and many other disciplines. So there’s no lack of innovative ideas. The trick is figuring out which ones to use.
2. I like to watch the intersection of customer trends and technology trends. Solve interesting problems there and you’ll invent the future you want to see.

Brian Kardon
@bkardon
Twitter followers: 11,450
Title: Chief Marketing Officer
Company: Lattice Engines
Website: www.lattice-engines.com

1. I play the piano almost every night, even when I travel (you can often find me in empty hotel ballrooms playing the piano late at night). Music uses completely different parts of your brain, and I find it very stimulating. You gotta get out of the hood to find new ideas.
2. I rely on many sources, but I particularly like TED talks and conversations with academics. These take me out of my comfort zone and talk to ideas and possibilities that are often very new to me.

Shaun Smith
@ShaunSmith_CEM
Twitter Followers: 1,292
Title: Founder and Author
Company: Smith+co
Website: http://www.smithcoconsultancy.com

1. I study and write about BOLD brands and their inspiring leaders to find out how they are transforming their markets. http://bit.ly/YIwKh3
2. Look at the failures of the past; they are often a guide to the successes of the future.

Linda Ireland
@lindaireland
Twitter Followers: 1,716
Title: Partner
Company: Aveus
Website: http://www.aveus.com/

1. Voracious listening. Voracious reading. Voracious travel. All the better when either takes me someplace I didn’t expect, or pushes my point of view.
2. I stay focused on what customer’s value (and will pay for), not just what they’ll accept. What’s the unmet need? Who will solve it?

Gary Katz
@garymkatz
Twitter Followers: 866
Title: Chairman of Marketing Operations Partners and Marketing Operations Future Forum
Website: http://mopartners.com/

1. Innovative ideas are in rich supply. I find them through researching, exploring, sharing, brainstorming, facilitating and generally being a continuous learner. An idea is only as good as your ability to effectively synthesize and apply it to solve a problem or envision a new opportunity.
2. Look for gaps in the interfaces, longer-term implications and yet-to-be articulated opportunities that when addressed have potential to leapfrog current practice.

Lisa Radin
@milguy23
Twitter followers: 1,562
Title: Strategist
Company: Independent
Website: www.linkedin.com/in/lisaradinbrandstrategist/

1. To keep my creative juices flowing, I need to consume information – written and from people aka insights. Every part of my being is about info consumption – finding casual, ethnic and exotic treats to feed my brain. I don’t know how the human body works, but ‘this food’ creates an energy that ignites new thinking and always leads to innovation.
2. I keep my eye on the future by tracking over 50 trends from social media to nanotechnology. You would be surprised what you learn by opening your mind to new categories/industries/interests. Twitter is great for tracking business / market intelligence.

Christine Moorman
@chrismoorman
Twitter Followers: 908
Title: Professor and Founder
Company: Duke University, Fuqua School of Business and The CMO Survey
Website: http://www.cmosurvey.org/

1. Teaching my smart MBA students. I read broadly and think deeply about marketing issues to create class sessions to improve their thinking. Interactions with my students in and outside of class, in turn, improve my thinking. Every class is a great inspiration to me.
2. I started The CMO Survey to collect forward-looking measures of marketing. These indicators offer insight. In addition, my focus is on customers and what they want and need. When we follow this lead, it is hard to miss the mark.

And the author …

Alan See
@AlanSee
Twitter Followers: 56,400
Title: Chief Marketing Officer
Company: Alan See CMO Temps, LLC
Website: http://www.cmotemps.biz/

1. How and where do you find innovative ideas? Answer: I can express my personal story on this topic in six words: “Old dog, new tricks, no problem!” I love the idea of lifelong learning, so I read and network to tease out new ideas wherever I can.
2. What’s the best way to keep your eye on the future? Answer: To remember this formula; Legacy Mindset = Creativity Killer.

Remember, there are only two kinds of managers; the growing and the obsolete. Be a lifelong learner.

Today, I see a lot of social media activity that looks like a sledge hammer going through butter. Is your program one of them? In my opinion, here are a few elements of a social media sledge hammer at work:

1. Extreme cross linking automation: A tweet or post on one platform automatically sends the same message across several platforms. Yes, some automation can be helpful; but when you take it to the extreme it looks and feels like spam. If you want to improve your strokes turn off some of the automation. After all, how many different ways do you intend to pound your social audience with the same update?

2. Direct message automation: This can also lead to problems. Yes, it’s tempting to send an automated message that thanks someone for following you. It’s also tempting to suggest they check out your blog, Like you on Facebook, or connect on LinkedIn. As tempting as it is to declare total efficiency by throwing your social media program into marketing automation mode, don’t do it. Automated messages that thank people for following may seem like the polite thing to do, but it’s really just a non-value-add annoyance. In addition, think hard about whether or not services that generate automated direct messages such as TrueTwit are worth the splashing they give your audience.

3. Extreme posting automation: This is another marketing automation temptation. Preloading canned tweets and sending them out on a scheduled basis definitely lets you check the efficiency box. You might even argue that it allows you to check the effectiveness box because you can send out tweets based on time zones across the world. But what happens when someone replies with a question or comment to your tweet and you’re not there to respond? The answer; you get dunked by losing the opportunity to engage your audience in real time conversation.

When a great swimmer is moving quickly through the water they seem smooth and powerful. During Plebe Summer I eventually learned that rhythm, timing and stroke rate are critical to becoming a proficient swimmer. If you’re not careful, automation in relation to your social media program will actually create drag and slow you down. Now, at this point you may believe I have it out for the marketing automation folks. I really don’t. I use automation tools like TweetAdder to help me target, follow and unfollow profiles on Twitter, and I’ve been happy with the results. The key is to find a balance between efficiency and effectiveness that doesn’t leave you exhausted and your audience soaked.

During economic uncertainty, one of the major reasons businesses go under is because they run out of cash. Cash flow is the lifeblood of every business, and in order to keep the business healthy, cash needs to continue flowing; an economic crisis can be particularly hard-hitting for small businesses unless they have plenty of capital to ride out the recessionary waves.

In my blog post “You Can Support Headcount and Share of Voice on a Tight Budget,” I presented a high-level case study in which a small business was able to increase qualified leads by 7 percent while cutting their marketing budget by 24 percent, and the decrease in spend was not the result of reducing headcount.

Now, I’ll offer three cost-effective initiatives based on that case study that may help you bootstrap your 2013 marketing budget:

1. Blog: Create thought-leadership content by leveraging your in-house subject matter experts to craft blogs that focus on building customer trust, rapport, and credibility, while still supporting the sales cycle. Make sure all the content is search engine-optimized so certain keywords are likely to be picked up in industry-specific searches.

2. LinkedIn: Accept the use of social networking tools and encourage your employees to join. Form groups on LinkedIn that are relevant to your business (like user groups – but make sure you maintain control through a moderator) and encourage your customers to also join. Coach your employees to respond to questions that surface in the group discussions and encourage your business development organization to use LinkedIn much like they would use a contact management tool.

3. Twitter: Use Twitter for micro-blogging and micro-selling. You can automatically feed twitter your blogs, press releases, and other communications, and twitter can then feed your LinkedIn profile. As the process matures it takes on the characteristics of an integrated lead generation/lead nurturing system.

By integrating a social media-focused marketing strategy, you can make a cost effective difference in both your lead generation and lead nurturing programs. It will also help you maintain your customer focus while you’re doing everything possible to manage your cash flow in a very tough economy.

“You’re not going to mow over everyone to get ahead…
But you’re also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself.
You understand how the world works, even when it’s an ugly place.
You just don’t get ugly yourself – unless you have to!”

The key word in the Machiavellian characterization is manipulation. At least according to Abdul Aziz, associate professor of management at the Baltimore school in a recent Wall Street Journal article. A Machiavellian person, Prof. Aziz explains, is emotionally detached, prone to deceive, and believes that the end justifies the means, even if it is not morally right. In fact, Niccolo Machiavelli, who condensed his views on politics in The Prince, argued famously that “it is far better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both.”

So, am I really cut out to be a Chief Marketing Officer? I have to ask that question because it seems to me that “somewhat Machiavellian” could imply that I bring neither fear nor love to the executive table. Or in other words, no influence, and where does that leave a CMO during a C-level meeting?

Speaking of influence, what might Dale Carnegie (How To Win Friends & Influence People) have to say about the results? Few historical figures are as divisive and polarizing as Niccolo Machiavelli, and few are as quoted as Dale Carnegie when it comes to leadership and influence.

Let’s examine three key executive competency areas to see how Machiavelli and Carnegie might actually interplay:

1. Strategy: To quote Machiavelli, “I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.” Hmmm… actually that sounds a lot like a typical CMO! But you are going to need to manage your ego. Your peers on the senior staff are likely to consist of high-energy, strong-willed, and perhaps difficult-to-manage professionals. Such people have a tendency to work towards their own agenda. So, before you push your bold new social media program forward, ask your peers for their ideas. And then don’t be so quick with your own opinions. To quote Carnegie, “Be a good listener. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.”

2. Processes: Machiavelli believed, “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” One of the most difficult responsibilities of any C-level position is to be the lead person for process change. Regardless of how good a decision is, it will never work if employees fail to get behind it or, worse, if they sabotage your efforts. People who are involved in decisions are more likely to go the extra mile to make the decision a success. Or better yet, as Carnegie stated, “Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.”

3. Technology: Machiavelli also believed, “Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.” Leaders must learn to quickly adapt in a fast-changing world powered by technology in order to avoid corporate disaster. Have your peers stayed up-to-date on the latest knowledge in your industry? Do they make it easy for their reports to go to seminars and otherwise advance their education? If not, Carnegie would likely have coached you to “Appeal to the nobler ideas” in order to win them to your way of thinking.

Where do you fall on the Machiavellian scale? How could you apply a little advice from Carnegie to win friends and gain influence?

Has rational ignorance impacted your organization’s social media activity yet? Rational ignorance is the decision not to become more informed about something because the perceived cost of the additional intelligence — in terms of both effort and expense — is more than the expected return on the knowledge gained.

It kicks in for most of us when we believe we have reached the point of diminishing returns in relation to the value of acquiring additional insight. More than likely, your organization started its social media journey with great excitement and a willingness to invest and learn. Now that the honeymoon is over, most of your staff missed the profile page changes on LinkedIn, and it’s been months since they tweeted.

The concept of rational ignorance, while popping up on a daily basis for most of us, is particularly consequential to a social media strategy because the social media ecosystem is still evolving at a rapid pace. In short, we now live in an age when the most important marketing skill set is the ability to keep our social marketing knowledge relevant and up-to-date. Yes, as the saying goes, there was a time. And indeed, there was a time when knowledge of the 4 P’s of marketing – product, place, price, and promotion — was a sound, long-term investment. These campaign strategies seemed straight forward and predictable. But that was then and this is now.

So, with the help of Peter Senge’s book “The Fifth Discipline” here are three resolutions for 2013 I intend to focus on in order to keep rational ignorance from infecting my team.

1. Build a stronger shared vision about social media: Genuine caring about a shared vision is rooted in personal visions. I’ll be spending more time this year helping each of my team members build and nurture an even stronger vision of the personal branding benefits of social media — and how those personal visions join to create our shared vision.

2. Declare my training support: Training is one of the most important ways for a marketing team to keep their social media skills up to date. I’ll let my team know how vital training is to me and personally conduct “practice” sessions to hone our social media process and technology skills.

3. Enrollment, not selling: I’m a salesperson at heart. That means I have a tendency to try to “convince” my audience of the benefits of a vision. As I focus on vision and training with my team I need to make sure I turn down my need to persuade in order to let them have time to develop their own sense of vision.

I’m betting the year on a shared vision and building a learning organization. Where are you placing your bets?

“In Search of Failure.” That’s the title of chapter seven in Frederick Reichheld’s book The Loyalty Effect. In that chapter, Reichheld points out that an investor who built a stock portfolio out of the companies profiled in the book In Search of Excellence (Peters and Waterman) would have seen their returns trounced by the mediocre performance of the S&P index during the ten year period following the book’s 1982 publication. In fact, by time Reichheld’s book came out in 1996 only one-fifth of the original companies profiled as “excellent” had remained excellent. If success breeds success, how in the world did those companies lose their lofty status?

In Reichheld’s opinion what really helps us to achieve excellence is actually the study of failure. It’s not exactly in our nature to seek out failure though; in fact, your career path is probably linked to success. And yet, about 40 percent of new executive hires fail within their first 18 months, according to Forbes. If four out of ten of us are failing in our new roles, it’s easy to see how excellent organizations quickly lose their status.

The “onboarding” process for every new leader typically calls for them to outline their first 100-day action plan. In fact, these plans are supposed to be a road map for taking charge quickly and effectively during the transition period.

So what’s the problem? Are road maps out of date, or are we building them wrong?

Over the past five years I’ve put together three 100-day action plans as I’ve transitioned into different roles. The following list is not intended to be comprehensive, but it does represent some key factors I’ve found to be linked to a successful start.

1. “Once I’ve been in the position for three months, what will I have to do to hear you say; well done, great job, I like what I’m seeing!” I always ask that question before I accept the assignment. I want to know upfront exactly what early results my boss is looking for. Too often executives do a lot of work in the first 100 days without accomplishing the one or two things that their bosses are really looking for.

2. Connect, connect, and connect early. Before starting a new assignment, in fact during the interviewing and scoping process, I reach out and connect to all constituents on LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. I read their blogs and use this time to build trust, credibility and rapport with everyone who may be involved with my assignment. Too often executives fail to build trust and rapport early in the game with the people they’ll need to get buy-in from.

3. Accelerate. Almost every organization is really working from a sequence of short-term plans, so it’s disastrous for an executive to think they have six, nine, or 12 months to get up to speed. You need to accelerate the learning curve as fast as you can in order to understand the market, products, systems and culture. That’s exactly why managers should be lifelong learners.

The goals of your plan do need to be realistic and based on the current state of the company. The plan also needs to be updated as you acquire new information and gain a better understanding of what you’ve walked into. This is not to say you are going to solve all the problems in the first 100 days with your documented plan. But, first impressions and beginning momentum are important to moving the company in a new direction, and all plans have to start somewhere.

• Since they’ve been born, the United States has measured progress by a 2 percent jump in unemployment and a 16 cent rise in the price of a first class postage stamp.
• They can’t picture people actually carrying luggage through airports rather than rolling it.
• They have never seen an airplane “ticket.”
• Bill Clinton is a senior statesman of whose presidency they have little knowledge.
• Probably the most tribal generation in history, they despise being separated from contact with their similar-aged friends.
• They have always enjoyed school and summer camp memories with a digital yearbook.
• TheTwilight Zone involves vampires, not Rod Serling.
• Point-and-shoot cameras are soooooo last millennium.
• Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive baseball games played has never stood in their lifetimes.

In general, the Mindset List is a statement of experiences and events that shape the views of this year’s freshmen. And since most people believe their views are accurate it must also represent their understanding of the truth. The perception is the reality.

Marketing is involved in the process of dealing with perceptions. What makes the process even more challenging is that consumers frequently make purchasing decisions based on second-hand perceptions (friends, family and other social connections). In short, they make purchasing decisions based on someone else’s perception of reality. If your organization views the world through a product-centric position you may be inclined to dismiss the perception challenge. Market research facts and figures convince you that the real truth is on your side and that the best product – your product, will win.

Do you believe that all you need is to have the truth on your side? If so, you may need to modify your perceptions and embrace the phrase “through the eyes of the customer.”