Beware of the seven most lethal tech sins in business.

While tough economic times linger, companies large and small are still investing in something that’s critical to their business: information technology. Whether it’s to protect data or plan for disaster recovery, streamline processes or better integrate systems, enhance remote access or mobile computing, company leaders are focusing on information technology to ensure that their operations and their people are ultraefficient today and in the future — no matter what the economic conditions. Read more

The financial case for solar in commercial real estate: being green can make you green.

You’ve likely heard the buzz around solar energy. There’s talk about “renewable energy,” the “green economy” and ways to reduce your “carbon footprint.”

This might all sound very good to you. Or, you might be the skeptical type who cares only about the “green” in dollar bills. Regardless, given the slowdown in commercial real estate, being green can also mean making green. That’s because commercial property owners will find that solar systems provide an opportunity for both clean energy and increased profits. Read more

Tampa Bay and Central Florida could emerge as a single economic region — and Florida’s dominant economic driver.

In the past, the area stretching from Tampa Bay through Orlando and Central Florida has been called such interesting names as Orlampa or Tamplando. Yet, regardless of the moniker, the potential for economic firepower across the entire area is just beginning to be addressed. Read more

The secret to winning in this economy is a high SEQ score — and to model your company after a futuristic smash-hit movie.

The economic meltdown coupled with advances in technology has birthed a new species of businesses classified as Social Enterprises. Companies of all sizes that adopt this New Normal are winning with their customers as well as their balance sheets.

WHAT IS A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

An organization with a transparent leader who fuses strategically chosen social technologies into the corporate culture, business model and systems. The result is improved economic value for employees, customers, partners and community.

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE QUOTIENT (SEQ)

Your SEQ pinpoints your location on the social enterprise spectrum. That location becomes your starting point to develop your strategic playbook. The higher your score is the greater the propensity for economic success. There are seven elements of the SEQ, including ecosystem, business model, culture, brand, customers, partners and competitors.

(1) ECOSYSTEM

Measuring the health of your ecosystem is the first step to SEQ. Let’s take, for example, the movie “Avatar.” Pandora, the moon on which the movie took place, was the environment where the Na’vi lived and worked. Similar to how we overlooked the last few decades of irresponsible fiscal policy, the Na’vi did not stop the RDA Corp. — a mining company from Earth — in time to prevent their ecosystem from collapse.

(2) BUSINESS MODEL

Does your current model work in the New Normal? Where are the bottlenecks? What metrics are you tracking?  The Na’vi’s business model included the main ingredient in any social enterprise, the “Tree of Souls.” James Cameron, the director of “Avatar,” referred to it as “a big input-output station.” The Na’vi were connected to this web of information all the time. Social enterprise companies have comparative systems. They tie data from the Internet and their internal databases, and mine new data from Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and other sources to touch their customers where they are located.

(3) BRAND

How do you leverage your brand with social technologies to reach new customers? The Na’vi were known for being great warriors who cared greatly for their ecosystem. They had high influence and respect. Their brand was well defined and easy to follow because they were connected to all their constituents in real time.

(4) CULTURE

Is your CEO transparent and does he or she foster an environment of collaboration, plus have a project-management mentality? The Na’vi were open, trusting and collaborated on everything, and even with competitors.

(5) CUSTOMERS

Do you who and where your raving fans are? How do you nurture and sustain them? A segment from the SEQ asks a simple question: Are you for us or against us? The objective is to move as many bystanders to the Raving For and Influencer For columns.

(6) PARTNERS

Do you know which of your vendors, investors, friends, affiliates and others are prominent online, and with whom you could be leveraging your relationships? Since the Na’vi were connected to their network, they were able to draw on those relationships and defeat their arch rival, the RDA Corp.

(7) COMPETITORS

Which of your competitors are influential, and how are they using social technologies? What are they saying, and how successful are they?

Editor’s note: Mark A. Carbone is FirstMonday’s resident “technology catalyst.” Follow him on Twitter @MarkACarbone or e-mail mark@marksnewnormal.com.

For Old Florida National Bank, 2009 was a year of leadership succession, capital accumulation and branch growth. With the help of a few neighbors. And just for starters.

While many companies — OK, most companies — were stuck somewhere between neutral and reverse last year, Old Florida National Bank found open road. With the January arrival of three-decade banking veteran Randy Burden as chairman and CEO, the federally chartered, locally owned and managed independent bank changed its name from Orlando National Bank. Three months later, the bank had raised $50 million through a stock offering and increased deposits by another $50 million. Since April, Old Florida National Bank (www.oldfnb.com), founded in 1982, has grown from two to seven locations across metro Orlando. Also, in October, John Burden, 33, the son of Randy Burden, was named president. Previously executive vice president, senior lender, he replaced veteran John Christman, who became chief operating officer. Read more

The Central Florida Partnership is proud to present its 2010 Volunteer Leadership Team.

The Central Florida Partnership — America’s Newest Regional Partnership — is an essential place for leaders to convene, set priorities, address our region’s toughest challenges and identify our greatest opportunities. It provides a platform where positive ideas are advanced on behalf of our region — ideas that matter most to the millions of people who live, work, learn and play in Central Florida. The Central Florida Partnership is moving “Ideas to Results.” Read more

Getting an offer is only part of the job in finding new employment. Here’s how to sweeten your compensation deal.

A lot of talented folks are out of work or “in transition” in Central Florida these days, and most are doing whatever they can to land a new job. When that goal is finally reached, when someone says, “We love you; please come to work for us,” the tendency is to respond with, “Thank you, YES.” Read more

Yes, sometimes in customer service, the customer is to blame.

I have a newfound appreciation for the people on the other end of the customer support phone lines at all those companies about which we have complained during the past decade. And we all complain — loudly at times — about the long wait times, the endless stream of prompts before we get to the live person, about reaching the wrong person who can’t help us and even about the thick accents that we have trouble understanding.

In the past, I have done customer support — both setting up small operations that take occasional calls, and even being a customer support rep myself. But that pales next to working in a company that does product support on a large scale. And lately, because my company has grown so fast, it has become one of them. (As all my friends say, “But that’s a good problem.”)

When you get hundreds of calls a week, you see patterns. Unfortunately, some of the patterns make people look less smart than I’ve always given them credit for.

Management of usernames and passwords comes to mind as the most common place for average people to show below-average intelligence. We all have them for our bank accounts, voice mailboxes and various other accounts. Some people, though, are just not smart enough to write them down. We encountered one guy who called us six times within a couple weeks because he kept forgetting his password. He, of course, didn’t think he forgot it. He blamed the system.

If you use a system only occasionally, you might forget it, and that’s fine. Most Web services have a way for you to instantaneously reset your password and receive it by e-mail. The link is usually right next to the login fields or perhaps on the page that indicates you didn’t login correctly. In most cases, it’s easy to find. It will say “Forgot password?” or “Having trouble logging in?” or something similar. All you need to do to get your password by e-mail is to click the link and then enter your username, screen name or e-mail address, so the system operator can make sure you are the right person. Then it sends you an e-mail with a new password or your existing password.

The process takes only seconds. Yet, there are people who call customer support instead and then complain because it takes too long. If you want it instantly, use the instant method.

There are lots of reasons for users to go brain dead. But the one that I find most interesting is that they’re in a rush, and they panic, because they didn’t give themselves enough time to learn how to use the system to do their tasks. The result is that they often try to offload some portion of their task to the customer support reps, most often expecting a tutorial on the spot.

No wonder so many companies hide their phone numbers and use lots of phone prompts before allowing the user to reach a real human.

Perhaps we can all identify with one or more of these behaviors. I know I have at times been quick to pick up the phone to ask for help. But now I know a little better. The person supporting you by phone is a lot like the cashier at the supermarket check-out. As soon as one shopper is through, another one is ready to go. The support personnel want to deal with people who at least try, not with those who turn off their brains before picking up the phone.

It’s a challenge for them, and for you, to think first.

Editor’s note: David Radin is a national radio show host and business consultant. You can reach him at www.megabyteminute.com.

What would I like to read about this year? Let’s start, of course, with world peace … plus SunRail and more.

Other than the obvious like world peace, security and good health, I’ve been blue-skying about what might be possible in the new year. Here are some sample headlines, along with my commentary, on goals that we should set for ourselves at the global, national, state, regional and local levels, if not in the next few years than certainly in our lifetime.

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SunRail and High Speed Rail Under Construction in Sunshine State

The third time was the charm during the Florida Legislature’s “special session” last month. The history-making passage of Statewide Rail Transit legislation means jobs, jobs and more jobs for hard-working families all across our state. Before we know it, travel delays that will come with these massive construction projects will be only a memory as our region and state join the ranks of great regions around the globe in providing modern, dependable and efficient transportation for residents and visitors. Just think of London, Paris, New York, Washington … and Orlando!

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Voters Elect Orange County School Board Chairman

It’s time for a change, and voters turning out in record numbers to elect the first countywide direct-elected chairman of Orange County Public Schools will signal that change. The position was established by an overwhelming margin in 2008 and has sustained ongoing opposition by members of the school board and special-interest groups. At press time, at least two people had declared candidacy, and others are likely to follow.

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Central Florida Ranked No. 1 Entrepreneurial System in Nation

With its new focus on entrepreneurship, Orlando Inc. (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) is creating a significant amount of buzz in the business community. Its recent offering, The B.I.G. Summit (Business Innovation & Growth), focused on creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem to provide resources and make connections, enabling entrepreneurs to grow and succeed. From the “rock star” setting of the Summit to an outstanding lineup of programs and activities during 2010, Central Florida is on its way to national recognition.

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Groundbreaking Regional Water Policies Enacted

Water is our most precious resource, and working to ensure that this vital commodity will be available to future generations in Central Florida is crucial. Regional thinking and long-term policies are necessary to ensure that limited resources and growing demand align in new and innovative ways.  All things considered — three water management districts, seven counties, 86 cities — this is not an easy task. Cooperation and collaboration must guide these discussions.

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Pro-Business Candidates Elected in Record-breaking Numbers

Building a cadre of informed and effective business leaders who are considering public service at local, regional, state and national levels makes our region stronger. Political candidates need not only the knowledge base of the critical issues facing our families of communities, but the courage to make the right decisions for all and withstand the criticism of the few. They also need our support. While we hold our elected officials to a higher standard, we must also stand behind them and lift them up lest they fall or fail. For the most part, their intentions are pure, their rewards are few, and the future of our region and our state is at stake.

Editor’s note: Jacob V. Stuart is president and CEO of the Central Florida Partnership.

What people are saying about you happens now in 60-second cycles.  What can you do to influence it?

The ability for Google and Bing to now show an angry tweet or Facebook comment that a customer posted minutes ago can rank higher on search engines than your company’s Web site. This is a game-changer for all who want to thrive in the emerging Conversation Economy.

Take the Tiger Woods Test: Even though it’s been nearly two months since the story broke, his online reputation and sentiment is bogeying in real-time. The adjacent screenshot lists posts and comments made within a 20-second time span — 20. They range from claims of steroid use and total conquests to pleas of forgiveness.

This is an extreme example. Yet, only weeks ago he was regarded as one of the most respected public figures on the planet and the biggest human brand in history, worth more than $1 billion in marketing dollars.

Celebrities have a lot of laundry aired out regularly, but in this new normal, you may soon have your share of “transgressions” aired on the Internet.

There are free as well as paid tools online that measure sentiment and what you and others are saying.  Go to www.SocialMention.com and give it a try. A key component of reputation is your “Sentiment Score” — the measure of positive, neutral and negative conversations about you.  To see this in action, go to www.TweetFeel.com, a fun Twitter tool to watch sentiment in real time about any topic, person or company. Another site, www.NewsSift.com, is better for business.

Why does reputation matter now more than ever? As social technologies continue to disrupt the status quo and we move from producer-controlled messaging to consumer-truth finding, our business models need disruptive overhauls. Case in point: I went to a new restaurant recently and asked the owner what he thought about www.yelp.com.  After he finished cursing me and anyone who’s ever used Yelp, I realized he was stuck in old-business-model thinking.  He’s been receiving poor reviews based on his prices and is choosing to ignore his real-time negative reputation.

Instead, he could be engaging those users, learning from them and encouraging his raving fans to post positive reviews to combat the negative.

We need a new model, one that can adapt to real-time reputation issues and much more. That new model is “Social Enterprise.”

In future articles, I’ll share how to become a social enterprise.

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What Can You Start Doing?

1. Gather your personal tools.

• Fortitude. This is not easy.  Becoming cyber savvy takes discipline and time.
• Smart Phone. iPhone, Blackberry, Nexus One or Droid.
• Browser.  FireFox is the best because of the powerful plug-ins.
• Twitter account. Use www.TweetDeck.com for greater ease.

2. Get strategic. Conduct a Social Enterprise Assessment of your company.  What is your SEQ — Social Enterprise Quotient? Come back in February to download your free SEQ.

3. Review your current business model. Incorporate a new communication strategy internally and externally into the new model.  Also, include a way to find and sustain raving fans to propel your message. Revisit your companies compelling story and improve and condense it to a one-minute video.

4. Become a blog reader. Being able to gather and read a lot of information quickly is key to success. (Google Reader is a great tool for this at www.google.com/reader.)

5. Start tracking your reputation and the reputation of others. There are hundreds of tools available.  You only need a few:

• www.google.com/alerts (basic alerts)
• www.newssift.com (great business tool)
• socialmention.com (holistic listening tool)
• www.ubervu.com (general listening tool)
• www.blogpulse.com (blog specific)
• www.peoplebrowsr.com (paid service that’s well worth the $5 a month)
• www.twendz.com (measures Twitter Trends)
• www.twitalyzer.com (Twitter specific)

Editor’s note: Mark A. Carbone is FirstMonday’s resident “technology catalyst.” Follow him on Twitter @MarkACarbone or email mark@marksnewnormal.com.

Related articles

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