AS THE WORLD speeds into a new economic era, Ernst & Young CEO James Turley hammers home several key points that many companies still seem to ignore in the year 2010. Accounting giant Ernst & Young and other U.S. multinationals anticipated the new global diversity arising years ago. In a BusinessWeek opinion piece ("The New Global Mindset: Fostering Diversity . . . Is the Key"), Turley writes that global financial crisis has compelled companies to examine "talent management and development, and the connection between diversity of thought and innovation." Turley also talks about global diversity and innovation in an Ernst & Young videotaped interview for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland:
On global demographics and capital (World Economic Forum): "Each company in the world needs to recognize the two big shifts that are taking place: Both the demographic shift . . . and the shift in capital flows from West to East, from developing markets to emerging markets. If a company doesn't recognize these two big shifts, they're going to be left behind."
On women entrepreneurs (World Economic Forum): "Economic analysis by the World Bank, the United Nations and Goldman Sachs show links between gender equality and the level of development of countries. Other studies examine the relationship between corporate financial performance and women in leadership roles. Their conclusion is that having a critical mass of women at the top improves financial performance. One of the most important changes we can make is to support the vast potential of women as an economic force."
On innovation and diversity (BusinessWeek): "The knee-jerk reaction is to relegate diversity to the realm of human resources, associated with fair hiring practices and good corporate citizenship. But any company that clings to that old-fashioned notion of diversity risks limiting its creative potential and ultimately losing its competitive edge. In a globalized world, diversity is much more than just a question of race or gender. It is a spectrum of attributes, including culture, generation, educational background, skills, personality, education, and life experiences. And research shows that capitalizing on these differences is a powerful factor in encouraging innovation. Leading companies have shown that visible benefits to the bottom line result from leveraging inclusive ways of thinking."
HISTORY SHOWS THAT no economic kingdom lasts forever. And the good old U.S.A. -- the greatest of all times, as sports marketing legend Muhammad Ali might say -- will be no different. As some business leaders and scholars have been warning for years, the U.S.A. doesn't hold a monopoly on brainpower and hard work, and our kids and grandkids will be the outsourcing workforce for the Second World if we don't act now.
HOPING TO BOOST the U.S. innovation economy, the Kauffman Foundation -- the leading think tank on entrepreneurial issues -- is urging the U.S. government to grant citizenship to foreign students graduating from U.S. universities who want to launch new firms and create jobs. Among other ideas aired in Washington D.C. this week with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, the Kauffman Foundation said that classes and fellowships in entrepreneurship should be offered to high-school and college students, and to doctoral graduates in science and technology. Tax breaks and lighter regulation for startups and small firms also would help. Carl Schramm, CEO of the foundation, said: "Unleashing these innovators, these risk-takers, these job-creators, is the best way to assure a sustained recovery and to assure that the state of our union is strong."
EARLIER THIS MONTH, the Kauffman Foundation reminded economy watchers and policymakers that most U.S. jobs in recent years have been created by young companies, and that immigrants have launched 40% of all new U.S. technology firms. Robert Litan, the foundation's vice president of research, said that "the jobs and innovation that new firms bring reshape and accelerate the economy," and that "hundreds of thousands of Americans are poised to become entrepreneurs at any given time." The best thing that U.S. policymakers can do to encourage entrepreneurs is "to provide a hospitable environment that helps more startups become fast-growing, job-creating companies."
THE MOST VISIONARY writers and global thinkers often are the least-known in today's shallow pop culture. Sadly, one of them -- George Leonard, a journalist, aikido master and pioneer in the human-potential movement -- died earlier this month. A white man and military pilot from the Deep South, he documented the civil rights movement and worked as a senior editor at Look magazine (the Huffington Post and Politico.com of its era). He earned a black belt in aikido in his 50s, when most of us can barely squat, much less tumble and throw people half our age. Lastly, he wrote of the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and helped to create the Esalen Institute, a revolutionary think tank that was the TED conference of its day.
AS A YOUNG journalist, I read most of his books. For me, the most influential were The Transformation: A Guide to the Inevitable Changes in Humankind, which charted mankind's journey in politics, gender, the environment and spirituality; Walking on the Edge of the World, his memoir of the 1960s; and Mastery: the Keys to Success and Long-term Fulfillment Some 20 years ago, as a Los Angeles Times freelance contributor, I interviewed Leonard over lunch in Marin County and visited him at Aikido of Tamalpais, the dojo where he studied the Japanese martial art for years. Unfortunately, my story was killed. Too bad. It takes years, decades even, for closed minds to catch up to bold new ideas. Many values from Leonard's circle of free thinkers have influenced today's mainstream, from alternative health and fitness practices, to gender and race relations, to business creativity and management styles. (See "Can Feng Shui Ward off the Global Recession?")
IN AN AGE of snark and cynicism, where posers and brown-nosers seem to rule, George Leonard's passing is a reminder that the power of visionary thought can transform a culture.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A. -- HammerTime is in real time, and still legit. If you don't follow tech news, you might not know that rapper MC Hammer is a serious social-media evangelist and Twitter freak (over 1 million followers at twitter.com/mchammer) who rivals actor Ashton Kutcher for digital savvy. Hammer hangs with legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors, including Marc Benioff,Ron Conway and Tim Draper. He appears at tech and biz events (Intel Capital, TechCrunch), and speaks at Harvard and Stanford. Last year, Hammer co-founded DanceJam.com, a social-networking dance site, with Flock entrepreneurs Geoffrey Arone and Anthony Young, and he stars in the A&E reality show "HammerTime". Between things, he's retooling his Web site/blog, MCHammer.com, and he'll help Microsoft promote Xbox Live in November. Busy guy.
No doubt Hammer's got street cred in TechLand. He reminds me of Web evangelist and author Guy Kawasaki, a tough Hawaiian buddhahead who hasn't forgotten his roots either. Dabruddah from Honolulu and the Oaktown brother. I like that tag team. Beyond the old stereotypes of rappers, Hammer is a reverend and family man with wife and kids. And like Madonna and Bono, he's an artist with a conscience. Hammer gives back to his community, and his next CD will carry a strong humanitarian message, looking at homelessness, drunk driving and other social ills. Give the man credit. He rose from Oakland's mean streets to the heights of the entertainment field. While many would have given up, Hammer survived serious financial troubles in the 1990s and has found new acclaim today as an entrepreneur. (Although the Internal Revenue Service still is after him; see WSJ Blogs story and Hammer's denial, both below, that he owes back taxes.)
Like Michael Jackson, Hammer's global brand transcends borders. In the coming months, he's got concerts in Europe, Australia, Japan and elsewhere, and his music and Web 2.0 brand reach millions of fans abroad, including young trendsetters on the streets and in clubs. How does he do it? He thinks it's the continuity and positive nature of his message, and the universal appeal of music. (Real catchy and funky riffs don't hurt, either.) Hammer spoke recently on the branding power of Web 2.0 to corporate managers and executives at the ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference at theArizona Biltmore. (See full conference coverage by the ANA Advertiser online magazine here.) Most companies are moving too slowly -- they need to do more than simply start Twitter accounts, he said. They must create trust, two-way communication and products tailored to many consumer groups. “To build brand awareness in social media is a lot easier than traditional marketing dollars,” Hammer said. “If it’s good enough for NASA (to use Facebook and Twitter) to say they found ice on Mars, it’s good enough for us to figure out where in our business models we can use and maximize and optimize social media.”
After his speech, business people mobbed Hammer as if he was Apple's Steve Jobs. The rapper graciously signed every autograph and posed for every photo. No rampant ego, no fawning entourage, no cooler-than-thou vibe. In an interview with CoolGlobalBiz, I asked Hammer how he handles his celebrityhood. "I've been doing this for more than 20 years," he said. "I'm an extrovert -- I feed off people's energy." Hammer looked happy when I told him I could tell he was an avid reader from the rhythm of his talk. "You picked up on that?" he said, grinning. "I subscribe to over 100 magazines and newspapers."
More than 140 characters from Hammer:
On using social media to globalize corporate brands: "Using social media globally -- especially for a brand that's already established, whether it's McDonald's or Coca-Cola -- is the opportunity to engage your consumers from anywhere, anytime. And it's all happening in real time. It's a real reality show. Companies used to stagger the releases (of products). It would come out in America, then four months later in Asia, then Europe. Now companies can roll out on a global basis, in real time, using social media as a key tool and component."
On reaching fansworldwide through tech tools: "Using social media, you can create, plant seeds and begin to market your product and interact with consumers. My tweets are being translated into Japanese currently. Imagine how that shortens the distance between me and fans that I have in Japan. I've done five or six shows in the Tokyo Dome, and all of the youth there were tweeting and texting and all of these things."
On social media for market research: "I've played arenas in Russia, Brazil, Europe . . . Social media was how the promoters knew there was a demand for me over there. They're following the tweets (of fans). They're very plugged into social media there. They said, "Hey, Hammer, can we get you over here?" And all of a sudden there's six, seven shows in March in Europe, and I'm going down to Australia next month. Social media is driving the conversation and creating the interest."
On building his brand, "the culture of Hammer": "There's a consistency in the message, in thinking of myself as a brand. I'm consistent in what I'm trying to communicate. Once you get the template, the blueprint, you launch the Hammer brand the same way you launch (Microsoft's) Xbox. You go in and create awareness . . . and you use the same template on a global basis, keeping in mind you still have to finetune it. Music is a global language. It's a social language that connects and creates interaction. When you add social media to a local language or culture, that's a powerful combo."
On the estimated global value of his brand: "All things considered -- the albums, the videos, the books, the memorabilia, the Hammer signatures, the Hammer pants, the t-shirts, the name 'MC Hammer,' all the commercials that use "U Can't Touch This," the culture of Hammer and its positivity and spirituality -- the value of all that going forward is a billion dollars, and I say that conservatively. My brand is 20 years old and has already reached over 1 billion people around the world. If you had Google news alerts on me, it would be 24 hours, non-stop."
STANFORD, California, U.S.A. -- Most of the students, bicyclists and joggers at Stanford University didn't recognize him. But tech watchers and Chinese students knew that Robin Li (Li Yanhong), co-founder of Baidu.com and an entrepreneurial legend in Asia and Silicon Valley, was visiting the campus Wednesday afternoon. Several hundred filled a lecture hall at the William Hewlett Teaching Center to hear Li talk about Baidu's rise as the search engine dynasty of China. Afterwards, fanboys and young women surrounded the Internet king, snapping photos and squealing with glee. They were like devotees ofApple's Steve Jobs and super-investor Warren Buffett. Li smiled and listened patiently. The man must need security guards in Beijing and Shanghai.
Peering into Baidu's future, Li touted "box computing" -- integrating all of a user's online applications such as Yahoo! Finance, Facebook and Twitter, into one convenient Web page or "magic box." He said Baidu's "Post Bar" search offering for topics, rather than key words, makes up 10% of Baidu's traffic. Topics and questions that drew laughs from the crowd: "Where can I find a girlfriend in Beijing?" "How do I fix my hacked PC?" "What kind of college is good for a frail, introverted guy like myself?" Li also said Baidu has high hopes for the next generation of search on its Aladdin platform, which prowls the vast hidden Web and databases for info not found in simple searches. And like any politician or Western CEO, Li dodged answering a question on allegations that Baidu blocks controversial search subjects in China.
On Baidu's initial public offering in 2005: "It was great for us and many Baidu employees and investors. It was a very miserable thing for me, because when I decided to take the company public, I was only prepared to deliver financial results that matched the price of $27 or maybe a little higher. I was really shocked to see the price (go) to $122 the first day. That means I needed to deliver real results that matched expectations much, much higher than what I had prepared (for)."
On his early decision to change Baidu from a Web portal to a search-engine company: "Many people thought search was a done deal . . . Everyone had figured it out in terms of technology and products. But we thought we could do a better job. We resisted all kinds of temptations to become a portal (and) developing all kinds of things that could make in the short-term. We really focused on (the long-term promise) of Chinese search . . . When you decide to become a front-end, consumer-oriented service, you need to be significantly better than your competition . . . I'm really glad I took that risk."
On why U.S. Internet companies missed China's online market: "During the 1990s, the Chinese market was very very small, and nobody paid attention to it. But during the past decade, with the Internet coming to China . . . the market changed very quickly, very dramatically. American companies did not realize it . . . The second reason (is that) Chinese people are really enterprising, really hardworking (and) the Internet space in China has become very very competitive. The third reason is that . . . young companies do not plan for very long-term; sometimes they are not patient enough. They lose a lot of money, and five years later, they say 'Okay,I give up.' That happened to a lot of American Internet companies."
On Baidu growing globally: "Our approach is to do each market one by one, and design products according to the specific needs of that market. Right now, we're not ready to get into the U.S. or English search market. We understand Silicon Valley is the center of innovation, and we are willing to look at new technologies. But we do not believe in having separate research teams at separate locations. I think the efficiency does not justify the cost."
