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On Forbes: 10 New Rules for Mobile Payments and Loyalty Startups

By On · Leave a Comment · In Customer Experience, Entrepreneurship, Feature, Financial Services, Innovation, Mobile, Payments, Retail, Startups, strategy, Technology

This is a repost of Steve Faktor’s original Forbes article

My business is helping companies speed up innovation – often by partnering with tech startups. A wilder ride compared to my days leading innovation at Fortune 100 companies. But lately, I’ve experienced enough déjà vu to get a platinum medical marijuana card. Maybe you’ve heard of “multiple discovery”. The theory says that similar inventions happen simultaneously because of converging technologies and common problems. Among mobile payments and loyalty startups, easy money is fueling what I call “marginal discovery” – slight variations on similar ideas. For every truly outstanding startup, five or six have a faulty premise, fail to solve a problem, or choose “cool” over simple. To protect the innocent, I’ve turned my list of frustrations into a set of “rules” to help budding entrepreneurs and experienced executives steer clear of the weed dispensary…

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Measure Twice, Cut Once…Before Your Scissors Rust (via LinkedInfluencer)

By On · Leave a Comment · In Culture, Economy and Jobs, Entrepreneurship

This is a re-post of Steve Faktor’s original article on Linkedin Today (via LinkedIn’s INfluencer program)

I don’t remember exactly when my dad told me to “measure twice and cut once”, but it must have been right before I nearly sawed my fingers off doing one of our many tenement improvement projects. My family and I immigrated to the US from the Soviet Union. We lived in a small Brooklyn apartment where everything always broke, but would never know the joy of being fixed by a licensed professional. Instead, there we were – my engineer dad and I, wearing our irregular Fruit of the Loom T-shirts, poking, prodding and making sparks, like a pair of Iranian scientists trying to launch a chimp into space. We installed air conditioners, fixed pipes, and used a geriatric Soviet drill that would deafen Metallica. It’s only recently that I realized my dad’s advice was both the greatest and worst thing I ever got. And, it’s cast a huge shadow over my life and how I view business…and the world.

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The iPad Mini: Two Weeks of (First World) Suffering with an Adult Toy

By On · Leave a Comment · In Culture, Design, Mobile, Technology

This is a free bonus post for registered users only.  Just log in (below) or via social network (on the right).

 

I had to get an iPad for a startup I’m working with.  Despite my tireless dedication to their cause, I also tried to squeeze some pleasure from this adult toy. Like finding a Porsche on Gilligan’s Island, this sexy slab of tech taunted me – daring me to figure out why I needed it.  I learned that I didn’t, but got a firsthand glimpse into first world suffering. A condition no amount of inspirational Facebook posts can cure.  So here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all:

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Podcast: The Future of US Innovation and Rise of Producerism

By On · Leave a Comment · In Economy and Jobs, Econovation, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Podcast

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I had a great conversation with Yifat Cohen about what I see happening in the global economy, the future of American Innovation and what you can do about it.  It’s the first time I’ve spoken in such detail about some of the core ideas in my book, Econovation.  Get ready for the end of consumerism and rise of what I call ‘producerism’. You can watch the video or listen to the audio podcast.

You can follow Yifat on Google+ and her YouTube channel.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the IdeaFaktory podcast here.

Next week, I’ll have a fun guest – the author of Social Media is Bullshit, BJ Mendelson.

 

 

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On Linkedin Today: How to Choose The Perfect Business Idea…For You

By On · Leave a Comment · In Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Startups

This is a re-post of Steve Faktor’s original article on Linkedin Today (via LinkedIn’s INfluencer program)

Lately, several executives and aspiring entrepreneurs have asked me the same terrifying question: “What should I do next?” I’m not sure how I became Dr. Phil for anxious professionals, but suddenly I’m fighting the urge to grow a bushy, un-ironic mustache. Maybe writing a book about the future of US innovation makes people assume you have all kinds of answers… But everyone seeks a slightly different answer. Some aspire to build the next Facebook. Others are deciding what product to launch. A few just want to break free from their desks – and possibly, set them on fire. Today, I’d like to share the advice I gave them – minus the smudged napkin drawings and fire safety lecture.

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Steve Faktor on Finding Fulfillment in the Digital Workplace (CMS Wire Interview)

By On · Leave a Comment · In Culture, Economy and Jobs, Econovation, Psychology, Social Media, Technology, Trends

An interview I did with CMS Wire:  Steve Faktor on Finding Fulfillment in the Digital Workplace.

By  (@blakelandau)   Jan 21, 2013

Steve Faktor is the author of Econovation and the Harvard Business Review article “Happiness Will Not Be Downloaded.” Faktor is an entrepreneur, futurist and digital commerce expert. He was a senior executive at American Express, Citi and MasterCard.

Faktor spoke earlier this month at the New Media Expo on “What the crowd will do next: How Social Currencies will Re-define the Economics of Work.” In our interview Faktor talks about how one “can’t deposit retweets at Wells Fargo” or “use FB Likes for cab fare.” He also unpacks the state of knowledge work in the age of social business.

Log in to read on IdeaFaktory or read the rest at CMS Wire

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On LinkedIn Today: Unrig It Yourself! (A New Year’s Intervention of Hope —for Doers)

By On · Leave a Comment · In Culture, Economy and Jobs, Econovation, Entrepreneurship, Feature, Government, Psychology, Technology

This is a re-post of Steve Faktor’s original article on Linkedin Today (via LinkedIn’s INfluencer program)

Before the holiday, Matt Damon was quoted saying “the system is rigged.” Immediately, I felt horrible. If the world is against this handsome, famous millionaire, what hope does a business hobbit like me have?

It’s not the first time I’ve heard this feel-bad, defeatist mantra. It was a cornerstone of the 99% protests and famously reiterated by Elizabeth Warren, now Senator Warren. (And brilliantly rebutted by Adam Carolla). On the right, an anarchist flavor of the same pessimism is brewing. Conspiracy ringleaders like Alex Jones are quietly mobilizing an angry, disenfranchised army. In uncertain times, it’s easy to succumb to paranoid defeatism. Why? Because it excuses failure. It de-stigmatizes the shame of not trying. It justifies hating the other guy’s success or telling those with nothing to fend for themselves.

Let’s say the system is rigged and everything is a conspiracy. Now what? Do you keep stocking your bunker with guns, canned goods, and homemade jerky? Or, sleep until noon on mom’s couch, then rail online against your oppressors – in your underwear? Instead you can focus on the incredible list of things you can control. In fact, the only time better and more empowering than today is tomorrow. The real revolution already started, but an entire generation of young and able-bodied Americans is about to miss it. Here is their recipe for The Great Unrigging – and to never accepting excuses again.

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On Forbes: The 10 Types of Twitterers and How to Tame Their Tweets (+Bonus Infographic)

By On · Leave a Comment · In Culture, Feature, Marketing Advertising Promotion, Psychology, Retail, Segmentation, Social Media, strategy

10 types of twitterers ideafaktory forbesWhy am I writing about Twitter at midnight? Even Ashton Kutcher is icing his iThumb at this hour. I’m chasing a brainstorm for my keynote at New Media Expo/Blogworld on Sunday. My talk is about the future of social currencies and the new economics of work. Since launching several successful loyalty services at MasterCard and American Express, I’ve been obsessed with deconstructing what motivates us. That’s why social media and gamification are so amusing to me. They’re a shiny new set of controls that can change – or exploit human behavior. But before drunkenly commandeering The USS Twitter, it’s best to first meet its passengers. Like my 15 Faces of Facebook article last year, here is a deconstruction of Twitter – what it is, who uses it, and what motivates them.  In future articles, I’ll go deeper into tools to change both customer and employee behavior.

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Registered users will get the detailed infographic here (to be posted on 1/11)

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On Forbes: Shut Up, You’re Not Apple

By On · Leave a Comment · In Business Process, Innovation

At first, it was funny to hear insurers, IT firms, and startups with no revenues compare themselves to Apple. Since the iPod launched in 2001, I’ve seen hundreds of presentations that liberally use “learnings” from Apple. 1) The word is LESSONS, not “learnings”, my Hillbilly friend. 2) The comparison feels as fresh as that Michael Jackson impression your spouse has been doing since you started dating. 3) Drenching slides (or products) in an iconic brand’s juices won’t transmit innovation, like some benevolent plague. If that were possible, we’d never stop harvesting and packaging Brangelina extract. It’s time for an intervention. Here’s why brands must find their own voice (and scent)…and keep those synthetic Apple fumes from turning into laughing gas.

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IdeaFaktory Podcast – Episode 4: Social Strategies with Cirque du Soleil’s Andy Levey

By On · Leave a Comment · In Podcast

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Cirque du Soleil’s Andy Levey joins Steve Faktor to discuss the business of social, including:

  1. Can you make Charmin cool on social media?
  2. Is Mark Cuban alone at being mad at Facebook?
  3. Do platforms have monopoly power?
  4. The economics and future of Twitter and Google+
  5. How actionable is social data?
  6. Is the social user a real human or a “subset of humanity”
  7. Is buying fake followers like paying for a stripper?
  8. Who is a real influencer or expert? How to use brand ambassadors.
  9. Can you sell through social media?
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Steve Faktor Interview on NPR Radio Discussing His 9 Corporate Personality Types Forbes Article

By On · Leave a Comment · In Business Process, Culture, Innovation, Podcast

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Here’s the audio of a fun interview I did this morning on NPR’s Chicago station WBEZ about my 9 Corporate Personality Types article on Forbes.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast here and visit ideafaktory for more daring ideas for innovators.

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On Forbes: Unbreaking American Innovation: Three Ways to Reinvent Reinvention

By On · Leave a Comment · In Business Process, Economy and Jobs, Econovation, Entrepreneurship, Feature, Innovation, Startups, strategy

This is a repost of Steve Faktor’s original Forbes article

I’ll be first to admit that I’m a reforming “innovation” trollop. I’ve thrown the word around too lightly, at any old sailor. I need a hot shower and a Brillo pad… What’s so bad about “innovation”? It doesn’t mean much…and maybe never did. Today, we use it to describe an iPhone newsreader app and the reinvention of space travel by SpaceX. That’s more range than Meryl Streep.  My business is about creating great products and services, so I look for great tech partners. Some are startups led by brilliant entrepreneurs, bursting with optimism and 5-Hour Energy. As they describe their app, game, or web service, their words scream Johnny Depp, but the reality is a bit more Judah Friedlander. No shame in that, but I sometimes wonder how we could get these brilliant minds to work on meatier problems. My concern isn’t for them, but for us. The US needs jobs and as I wrote in Econovation, the big numbers still come from physical, capital-intensive businesses. Here are three ways we can help make brilliant minds deliver bigger results.

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