Where Are We Going For Lunch Today?
Marcia Esteves, Chief Digital Officer Grey Brazil, on the challenge of business transformation in the digital era.
Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? The next great existential crisis is still being discussed by philosophers. But I follow Douglas Adams’s line: after all this talk, the great question will be: “Where are we going for lunch today?”
In our professional day to day lives, I also feel that the discussions around the digital era have never seemed so old and yet at the same time, so current. When we analyze our routine, the conclusions are very similar: we lack time; the consumer has changed; there are an infinite number of media we can use to establish relationships; there are excessive data we don’t know how to use; companies and agencies need to reinvent themselves; budgets have been reduced; and talent is increasingly expensive and less committed. Besides that, results have been more and more difficult to achieve.
This initial reflection came about after the first Hyper Island Master Class held in Brazil last September: 35 executives reaching this conclusion with a mixture of relief, since we’re all on the same page, and despair, for exactly the same reason. There’s nothing like returning to our tribe and sharing our stories.
At the meeting we discussed the transformations in our business and how to serve the market within this new reality. And below are a few tips that may be applied in your company:
Have a clear purpose. Don’t confuse purpose with the mission and vision that framed on your office wall. Purpose goes much beyond that and must be experienced inside your company.
- Be open: honesty, transparency and authenticity are mandatory characteristics for your company. We don’t believe what we see. We see what we believe.
- Don’t be afraid of failing: research shows that 70% of companies seeking transformation experience failure.
- Be collaborative and proactive: go after the “yes”. Instead of criticizing and saying no (because it’s easier), try building and improving the ideas that are presented.
- Learn by doing: discover what you don’t know and be open to negotiate and explore what’s new.
- Focus your time on your influence cycle instead of focusing your time on your concern cycle.
- Discover the job to be done: human needs must be met so we can supply them.
- Think like a few young men in a garage in Silicon Valley: even if you don’t believe in what they develop, the way they act is an example to be followed.
- Be a beacon of light in your company so it can transform into what it must be. Take responsibility for your life, your team and the results you expect.
The way I see it, the great evil to be fought is not an external factor, but comes from within: you must be willing to make it happen. You know that app that takes up our time and hides our existential crises? It also ran out of time for us to translate our drive into actions. That uncontrollable desire to understand why we’re here and our purpose as communicators; the will to make of time – yours and the others’ – a memorable moment; these are the challenges. “How do you behave today? How do you explore the talents and opportunities around you?”
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If you’re hungry for life (including your job), it will become a unique opportunity to change the world, to contribute somehow to those you love or that will follow in your footsteps. Travel. Deal with it. Life is now. Now!
There is a very popular expression that, in my mind, summarizes the issue very well: without passion there’s no solution. When you become aware of your purpose in the world, it becomes easier to help your consumers do it too. And the results will come. And everyone will be able to move on to the next question – to the bla-bla-bla and decide on lunch, because I’m hungry.
* The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Note: This article was originally published in
Meio & Mensagem.