His suggestions include establishing an autonomous Web division that takes the medium more seriously than itself, encouraging (if not insisting that) all employees interact directly with online customers, and factoring in participatory or community aspects that actively attract those who share demographics or specific interests. Some may find that Siegel's recommendations suffer because of his repeated use of fictional case studies to make his point. However, those looking for new ideas will surely find some here. Futurize Your Enterprise is for Web masters, business people, and the many that Siegel won over through his earlier books. --Howard Rothman
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The crux of the message is for greater (don't be half-hearted); keep customer focus, especially through energising and actively encouraging open contributory communities for product development and marketing; view the Internet as a dialogue, a conversation, and not a "new channel for distribution"; and continually monitor, learn, and adapt your approaches in an ever-changing business world. The themes of globalisation, greater and faster collaboration, and the dynamic flow of information and relationships underpinning these hypotheses apply equally to research, consultant and recreational communities.
Supplementing the main text are numerous sidebar lists of "e-cancers" to watch out for in your organisation indicating areas of urgent concern e.g. "when the company's budget for copiers exceeds the budget for networking"; or "when employees get more voice mail than e-mail" (there are dozens more similar gems of prototypes, and predictions. The principle section discusses the necessary background and deals with the need for urgent action, common web strategy failures, e-business and e-customer, and the truth economy. The practice around, the customer-led web site, the customer-led company, cyber synergy, and navigating the new world. The prototype section presents largely store, magazine publisher, steel fabricator, real estate clearinghouse, book superstore, software company, bank intranet, and drug manufacturer. Finally, the prediction section presents an attractive automated, less bureaucratic view of the future through the eyes of different prospective the moviegoer, the frequent flier, the student, the lawyer, the patient, and the reputation consultant.
A particularly powerful scenario is that of the universal personal web site that everyone will have in 2010 (even the less-Web connected developing countries), which contains information in 7 areas at 6 security levels facilitating streamlined completion of all manner of business and personal matters through timely integration Worldwide of relevant information sources and sinks, and autonomous active acquaintance/colleague, friends/family, spouse, and self. The subject haves, and wants. Such a site supports medical emergency response, organising loans and mortgages, buying and selling goods, voting governments, and almost every transaction that nowadays involves many different systems, bottlenecks, and delays.
A key strength of FYE is that it successfully presents both a basic framework (e.g. background, action steps, prototyping, and customer scenarios) at a level detailed and exciting enough to proceed towards implementation with.
FYE is readable, enthusiastic in tone, relatively complete in vision, supported by anecdotal evidence and reason, well presented with charts and illustrations, and is delivered at an appropriate level for the generalist business/technology audience- truly enough to make you want to start energising your current workplace and setup "pure-play" web-based lateness of the heavily promoted companion web-site; gaps in the 'strategic futurising tools' (the basis is narrative with customers and little else); and the lack of support (either by reference, or full logical reasoning) for many assertions made which all reduce the book's credibility- would you commit your company's future on the basis of a 'glossy brainstorm'?
Three How to Create a Profitable Business Strategy for the Internet and Beyond" by Seybold et al (1998) which identifies 5 key steps in success in e-commerce, using 16 case studies and summarising current best practice. * "Enterprise.Com- Market leadership in the Information Age" by Lotus CEO Papows et al (1998) which examines the way organisations, market, the nature of competition, and global society are driven by advances in technology, including IT. *"Net Gain- Expanding Markets Through Virtual Communities" by Hagel/Armstrong (1997) proposing that future business success will depend on using the Internet to build communities (not just relationships) leading to phenomenal customer loyalty and high profits.
Overall, the reviewer recommends FYE as a suitable text to help quickly build up a positive picture of possible future web-enabled business and society scenarios. FYE is very suitable as a companion to one of the many change or operations management texts, which include a wide range of rigororus detailed methodologies supporting change towards "the customer-led Web revolution". END
"Principles" describes tools and methodologies to change a "management-led" and supply driven company into a "customer-led" company. This part is illustrated by real word examples like Toys-R-Us Direct and Hewlett-Packard. "In a customer-led environment everyone in the company is responsible for the customers experience". The principles part also contains a very clear description of Internet failures and the six most common mistakes companies make online. It also explains the natural development from brocureware Internet sites to real e-business. There is also a definition of different e-customers the transparency of the Internet.
"Practice" is the translation of the principles into practice. What does a company have to do to change into an e-business. There is a practical list of changes the company has to make and agenda's of meetings to organize those changes.
"Prototypes" contains a number of examples business categories like grocery stores, magazine publishers, steel fabricators, real estate clearing house, book superstore, software company etc. These examples use real-life examples as starting point, and show the many possibilities to improve the customer influence by the Internet.
"Predictions" shows speculative future scenario's in which Internet is no longer a tool but a platform for work, community-building and individual empowerment. The examples are fictional but very insightful and expiring. They show the possible developments into the year 2010 of the different roles of people like job seeker, homemaker, breadwinner, teenager, student, patient etc.
For retailers the prototypes of a grocery store and a book store are very interesting. "Futurize your Enterprise" does not touch the challenge of fulfillment of online retailing, but there is much attention for the possibility to add information to merchandise, and the importance to focus on different customer groups. For groceries these different customer groups might be households with young children, different religions with there own food restrictions, people with allergies etc. For bookstores Siegel does a good job trying to improve Amazon.com.
"Futurize your Enterprise" is focused very much on the culture, the mindset, the approach and the customers.
Siegels book is in my opinion a must for every manager who is planning to develop E-strategies. It bridges the huge gap between "Internet evangelists" and "How to"-books. The book is now the number one present for clients of my company.
If you currently work to build websites for a company that hasn't quite gotten it, this book makes a good bolster, friend, and consultant you can send off to your executive team to help them see the path ahead.
At the very least, business folks can direct their executive teams and marketing and customer service groups and -- well, everybody -- to the Web Boot Camp Siegel hosts on the amazing companion website. That site, again targeted to busy business professionals, is a great service to web developers of all kinds.
If you can't get anybody at your company to look at the site or read this book and at least consider this sensible approach: Run, dear reader. Run like the wind. There are other companies out there who want smart people like you to help change the world.
If you have common sense, don't listen to the stupid people who think this book has any value. Read more
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