- livingthedash.tv

The story of Matt Mullenweg is an interesting one. He is the founding developer of Wordpress, the popular open-source blogging software. At the age of only 25, he has already been named as as one of PC World’s Top 50 People on the Web and Business Week’s 25 Most Influential People on the Web.

Matt blogs at ma.tt and his latest post starts like this….

I often get asked something along the line of, “If you weren’t leading Automattic, what would you work on?” There’s not a single answer to this question; the answer changes day to day. But I think if you asked me today, I’d say I would like to start a bank.

He goes on to explain what kind of bank he would start….and it’s nothing like the bank you currently use. Go read the blog post here.

I can’t wait until this type of fresh thinking, creativity, innovation, common sense, and focus on the customer invade and disrupt all of our traditional industries like banking, auto, airline, real estate, etc.

“We train people to think about improvement all of the time, to have what I call a culture of creative dissatisfaction with the status quo.”  - Ananth Krishnan, Chief Technology Officer, Tata Consultancy Services [Business Week, How To Build A Culture of Innovation]

Creative dissatisfaction….I like that term.

Employers are always so worried about the satisfaction of their employees. They conduct survey after survey to measure the dissatisfaction. Employee dissatisfaction is seen as a liability.

What if employers changed their perspective and viewed their employee dissatisfaction as an asset? An asset to be used as fuel to drive significant, creative, innovative, positive change.

What if employers said to employees?…….

We recognize that you aren’t satisfied with the way things are. Neither are we. Our mission is not yet accomplished. Our vision is not yet achieved. We want a culture of creative dissatisfaction with the status quo. We want to hear your ideas on how to move forward. Where creativity, innovation, and change are needed, we want you to have the freedom and power to create, innovate, and change.”

Listening to ideas and giving employees the freedom and power to create, innovate, and change are key. Without that, then your employee dissatisfaction is, well, just a liability.

Just started reading Conversational Capital: How to Create Stuff People Love to Talk About based on the recommendation of my new friend, @jmkeller. [btw..check out his new blog at creativedropbox.blogspot.com.good stuff]

Conversational Capital is a book about building word-of-mouth into a brand experience.

The authors share the following eight engines of conversational capital……

1 // Myths

Myths are the narratives that become part of the very fabric of consumption because they provide important clues as to fundamental meaning of that act.

2 // Rituals

Rituals are an essential part of how human beings create and formalize meaning. The presence of ritual marks out an experience as deeper in meaning – a phenomenon that is true for consumer experiences, as well.

3 // Exclusive Product Offering (E.P.O.)

Exclusive Product Offering (E.P.O.) is about allowing consumers to create an experience that asserts and actualizes their individuality; to, in a world of six billion people, feel and be unique.

4 // Relevant Sensorial Oddity (R.S.O.)

Relevant Sensorial Oddity (R.S.O.) is about challenging our senses with something extraordinary, marking an experience as unique.

5 // Icons

Icons are signs and symbols that clearly demarcate a consumption experience from any other.

6 // Tribalism

Tribalism is about the power of a brand experience to inspire the association of like-minded people.

7 // Endorsement

Endorsement is not about celebrity – it’s about how the meaning and intensity of a brand experience naturally lead to credible people organically endorsing it.

8 // Continuity

Continuity is a strong harbinger of reputation, a fact that rests on the unity between what you promise, what people expect and what you deliver.

[HT: Wikipedia]

What new book is on your nightstand or your Kindle?