{"id":5321,"date":"2014-02-12T18:52:23","date_gmt":"2014-02-12T18:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=5321"},"modified":"2014-02-12T19:16:29","modified_gmt":"2014-02-12T19:16:29","slug":"evolving-stories-beyond-closed-to-open-social-collaborative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/evolving-stories-beyond-closed-to-open-social-collaborative\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolving stories beyond closed to open social collaborative"},"content":{"rendered":"

THEME #4 FROM\u00a07 PART POST SERIES<\/a>\u00a0EXPLORING THE EVOLUTION OF BRAND STORIES & THEMES<\/h3>\n

\"Closed_by_bmills\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

The arts are one of the few industries that exist today where exclusive control may result in a stronger creation. \u00a0 Think of musicians who have succeeded without a record label, or independent films powered by open social interest. \u00a0In business, the opposite is happening. \u00a0Greater innovations are being created through shared IP and collaborative strategic partnerships. \u00a0 This open approach to business development is counter to traditional beliefs that IP if closed\/proprietary, or so unique that it is incompatible with competition – would be of greater value to the market. \u00a0 \u00a0The business culture and leadership vision, whether\u00a0closed or open, \u00a0is evident in a brand. \u00a0Brands born out of a culture that is closed and control-minded, usually show limited interest in engaging with people and pursuing new collaborative partnerships. \u00a0In contrast, brands born out of an \u00a0open, social, and collaborative business culture, are usually the brands that are most enduring, share-worthy, and human.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Open vs. Closed<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Open systems vs. closed systems.\u00a0 Open source vs. proprietary standards.\u00a0 There are strong arguments for both sides of the discussion.\u00a0 Those in favor of a more open approach to development and knowledge sharing say it maximizes creativity through group-think and collaboration opportunities.\u00a0\u00a0 Open standards are believed to allow for the rapid and a less expensive approach to development of products and services because of the reduced ramp-up and on-boarding time required. On the other hand, those who support a more proprietary and closed approach, whether technology or brand communication, have valid fears that the open model can result in loss of control, lack of accountability, and long-term inefficiencies due to the varied sources of input.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Beyond code there\u2019s coffee<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The debate of \u201copen\u201d vs. \u201cclosed\u201d is often thought of as having a technology impact i.e. Apple vs. Google. \u00a0 But the business philosophy of being compatible- or not, is evident in all aspects of daily life.\u00a0 Just think about the evolution of coffee makers.\u00a0 First it was the different shaped coffee filters, basket or cone.\u00a0 Then came the pods, K-Kups, bags etc. all \u201cspecially designed\u201d for use only with a specific coffee dispenser\/machine. \u00a0Who is benefitting from this proprietary design approach? Is it really the people? \u00a0Does a pod, k-cup or bag really make the coffee taste better? \u00a0All too often, exclusivity of design or distribution means that consumer choices are limited and usually more expensive. Business strategies that rely on exclusive control or planned obsolescence to gain or retain market share are relying on customer patience and living on borrowed time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sony<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Sony\"<\/p>\n

According to a Fast Company article by Kit Eaton<\/a>, Sony has a long history of format failures that stems from a leadership and culture preference for proprietary Sony-centric formats. This history of failed “innovations” dates back to 1975 with the launch of the betamax video, \u00a01993 with the minidisc, and the memory stick in 1998 for use on its own digital cameras and portable music players. I have one of these cameras collecting dust in a drawer somewhere so this article hit a personal nerve. The proprietary format created by Sony was for the creation of additional revenue streams – not a better digital media experience for me. The proprietary format also meant that it costs more to access the media off of such devices and develop\/process as with other photos or videos. How is this a benefit for me or an advancement for the industry?<\/p>\n

We see that in Sony\u2019s case, from a storytelling standpoint, being \u201cfirst to market\u201d or product attributes such as \u201cproprietary \u201d were no longer enough to power market interest or strengthen their brand. Limiting compatibility does not make a business stronger. \u00a0Proprietary and closed innovation that is not people-minded but \u201ccorporate control-centric\u201d signals a limiting relationship between the customer and Sony. “Innovations” that hinder verses help enrich the customer experience is not industry progress, but at best – just \u201cdifferent.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Open Innovation<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cOpen Innovation\u201d refers to more than just crowd-sourcing ideas. It represents a business philosophy wherein the corporate culture is open for external input (see Environmental Leader Post regarding CSR: Is it Becoming Unsustainable?<\/a>) Whether feedback comes from within the organization, i.e. employees or departments, or externally from customers. Such input can result in great innovation opportunities.But only if businesses know how to identify, harness, and implement such ideas. <\/b><\/p>\n

Open innovation does not require ideas to be new the company.Businesses who pursue strategic alliances by leverage their existing IP, can co-create and together achieve new heights of ingenuity. What is most exciting is that often such collaborative efforts are so unique in their mix of IP and shared resources, that it results in producing true market advances. We are starting to see more of this co-creation through shared IP in business, especially in the pursuit of more sustainable solutions.<\/p>\n

Coca-Cola and Ford<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"FordCoke\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"FordInterior\"<\/p>\n

Researchers from Ford and Coca-Cola recently collaborated on\u00a0the development of a new fabric for thelaunch of theFord Fusion Energi. Coca-Cola shared its<\/a>PlantBottle\u2122<\/a> packaging technology to help Ford create a more sustainable interior. The result was the creation of a fabric made up of 30 percent plant-based material. This materials was used throughout the car’s interior forthe door panels, seat cushions, headrests etc.<\/p>\n

John Viera,global director of sustainability and vehicle environmental matters at Ford Motor Company shared the following statement:<\/p>\n

“If we are going to truly make a difference, we need the power of numbers. We need to reach beyond the four walls of Ford and find like-minded people in like-minded organizations to work with us\u2026.Applying sustainable business practices is not the job of one person, one manager, one department \u2013 or one company. It\u2019s all of our responsibility. And that\u2019s why we will continue to look across industries for new areas of cooperation and collaboration with partners such as\u00a0Coca-Cola.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Open Leadership<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The creation of open corporate cultures does not happen as the result of relaxed or distanced leadership. \u00a0Just the opposite. We see CEOs becoming more involved and adopting culture building as their personal mission.IBM\u2019s 2012 CEO Study<\/a> cites collaborative cultures as being key to business success and a paramount focus for CEOs.The study points out that nearly 70 percent of the global CEOs mentioned strategic partnerships as being key to being competitive and building a differentiating business strategy<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pressure to innovate is not subsiding, and organizations are teaming to meet the challenge. Compared to their less successful peers, outperformers are partnering for innovation more aggressively. But they are also tackling more challenging and disruptive types of innovation. Instead of settling for simply creating new products or implementing more efficient operations, they\u2019re more likely to be moving into other industries or even inventing entirely new ones.\u201d – CEO, Retail, US.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

CEOs cited “employee engagement” as being key to business performance. When asked about the top three organizational attributes needed to create employee engagement, the following three attributes prevailed:<\/p>\n

Attributes of Employee Engagement<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Ethics and Values \u00a0\u00a0\u00a065%<\/p>\n

Collaborative environment \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 63%<\/p>\n

Purpose and mission \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 58%<\/p>\n

A company\u2019s evolution from being a closed and proprietary driven culture, to one that is social, open, and collaborative, is ultimately not a choice of management style, but one of business survival.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

by <\/span>Anneliza Humlen of SocialVoice LLC<\/a>. \u00a0\/ <\/span>@ADHumlen<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Special thanks to bmills for use of “Closed” photo. \u00a0Pictures for Sony and Coca-Cola Ford, are sourced from the original Fast Company article and Coca-Cola Press release.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0Related post recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022Humanizing Storytelling Principle #3 – From Demographics to Social Communities<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Humanizing\u00a0<\/span>Storytelling Principle #2 – From Mass Media Push to Engaging Relationships<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Humanizing Storytelling Principle #1 – From Corporate Size & Stats to the People Within<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a07 Ways to Humanize Storytelling for Business & Brands<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

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THEME #4 FROM\u00a07 PART POST SERIES\u00a0EXPLORING THE EVOLUTION OF BRAND STORIES & THEMES The arts are one of the few industries that exist today where exclusive control may result in a stronger creation. \u00a0 Think of musicians who have succeeded without a record label, or independent films powered by open social interest. \u00a0In business, the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,1904],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-annelizahumlen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5321"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5358,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321\/revisions\/5358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}