Tim Leberecht: 3 ways to (usefully) lose control of your brand

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: David J. Kreps Finnemann Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

Companies are losing control.

Virksomheder mister kontrollen.

What happens on Wall Street

Det der sker på† Wall Street

no longer stays on Wall Street.

forbliver ikke læ‘ngere på† Wall Street.

What happens in Vegas ends up on YouTube. (Laughter)

Det der sker i Vegas, ender på† YouTube. (Latter)

Reputations are volatile. Loyalties are fickle.

Omdømme er skrøbelige. Loyalitet er upå†lideligt.

Management teams seem increasingly

Management teams virker til i højere grad

disconnected from their staff. (Laughter)

at væ‘re fjernet fra deres personale. (Latter)

A recent survey said that 27 percent of bosses believe

En nylig meningsm†åling viste at 27 procent af chefer tror p†å

their employees are inspired by their firm.

at deres personale bliver inspireret af deres virksomhed.

However, in the same survey, only four percent

Men, i den samme meningsmå†ling, var kun fire procent

of employees agreed.

af personalet enige.

Companies are losing control

Virksomheder mister kontrollen

of their customers and their employees.

med deres kunder og deres ansatte.

But are they really?

Men gør de virkelig det?

I'm a marketer, and as a marketer, I know

Jeg er markedsføringsmand, og som en markedsføringsmand, ved jeg

that I've never really been in control.

at jeg aldrig i virkeligheden har haft kontrol.

Your brand is what other people say about you

Ens brand er hvad andre mennesker siger om en

when you're not in the room, the saying goes.

mens man ikke er til stede i rummet, ifølge talemå†den.

Hyperconnectivity and transparency allow companies

Hyperforbindelse og gennemskuelighed tillader virksomheder

to be in that room now, 24/7.

til nu at væ‘re i det rum, 24/7.

They can listen and join the conversation.

De kan lytte og deltage i samtalen.

In fact, they have more control over the loss of control

Faktisk, har de mere kontrol over deres tab af kontrol

than ever before.

end nogensinde før.

They can design for it. But how?

De kan designe efter det. Men hvordan?

First of all, they can give employees and customers more control.

For det første, kan de give ansatte og kunder mere kontrol.

They can collaborate with them on the creation of ideas,

De kan samarbejde med dem i skabelsen af ideer,

knowledge, content, designs and product.

viden, indhold, designs og produkter.

They can give them more control over pricing,

De kan give dem mere kontrol over prisfasts‘ættelse,

which is what the band Radiohead did

som er det bandet Radiohead gjorde

with its pay-as-you-like online release of its album

med deres betal-hvad-du-vil online release af deres album

"In Rainbows." Buyers could determine the price,

"In Rainbows." Købere kunne bestemme prisen,

but the offer was exclusive, and only stood for a limited period of time.

men tilbuddet var eksklusivt, og var kun gyldigt i en begr‘ænset periode.

The album sold more copies than previous releases of the band.

Albummet solgte flere kopier end tidligere udgivelser fra bandet.

The Danish chocolate company Anthon Berg

Den danske chokolade virksomhed Anthon Berg

opened a so-called "generous store" in Copenhagen.

å†bnede en så†kaldt "gavmild butik" i København.

It asked customers to purchase chocolate

Den bad kunder om at købe chokolade

with the promise of good deeds towards loved ones.

med løftet om gode gerninger mod deres k‘ære.

It turned transactions into interactions,

Det vendte transaktioner til interaktioner,

and generosity into a currency.

og generøsitet til en valuta.

Companies can even give control to hackers.

Virksomheder kan endda give kontrol til hackere.

When Microsoft Kinect came out,

Da Microsoft Kinect udkom,

the motion-controlled add-on to its Xbox gaming console,

den bevæ‘gelses styrede udvidelse til deres Xbox spillekonsol,

it immediately drew the attention of hackers.

tiltrak det med det samme hackernes opm‘ærksomhed.

Microsoft first fought off the hacks, but then shifted course

Microsoft bekæ‘mpede først hackerne, men skiftede s†å kurs

when it realized that actively supporting the community

da de blev klar over at der var goder ved aktivt at støtte

came with benefits.

fæ‘llesskabet.

The sense of co-ownership, the free publicity,

Den følelse af medejerskab, den gratis omtale,

the added value, all helped drive sales.

den tilføjede væ‘rdi, hjalp med at drive salget.

The ultimate empowerment of customers

Den ultimative bemyndigelse af kunder

is to ask them not to buy.

er at bede dem om ikke at købe.

Outdoor clothier Patagonia encouraged prospective buyers

Udendørs klæ‘dehandleren Patagonia, opfordrede sine potentielle kunder

to check out eBay for its used products

til at kigge på† eBay efter deres brugte produkter

and to resole their shoes before purchasing new ones.

og til at sæ‘tte en ny så†l i deres sko inden de købte nye.

In an even more radical stance against consumerism,

I en endnu mere radikal holdning imod forbrugerisme,

the company placed a "Don't Buy This Jacket"

indsatte virksomheden en "Køb Ikke Denne Jakke"

advertisement during the peak of shopping season.

annonce i shopping sæ‘sonens højdepunkt.

It may have jeopardized short-term sales,

Det satte må†ske korttidssalget på† spil,

but it builds lasting, long-term loyalty

men det bygger varende, langtidsloyalitet

based on shared values.

baseret på† fæ‘lles væ‘rdier.

Research has shown that giving employees more control

Undersøgelser har vist, at at give de ansatte mere kontrol

over their work makes them happier and more productive.

over deres arbejde gør dem lykkeligere og mere produktive.

The Brazilian company Semco Group famously

Den brasilianske virksomhed Semco Group

lets employees set their own work schedules

lader deres ansatte sammensæ‘tte deres eget arbejdsskema

and even their salaries.

og selv deres løn.

Hulu and Netflix, among other companies,

Hulu og Netflix, blandt andre virksomheder,

have open vacation policies.

har en å†ben feriepolitik.

Companies can give people more control,

Virksomheder kan give mennesker mere kontrol,

but they can also give them less control.

men de kan også† give dem mindre kontrol.

Traditional business wisdom holds that trust

Den traditionelle virksomheds visdom fort‘æller at tillid

is earned by predictable behavior,

oprettes ved forudsigelig adf‘ærd,

but when everything is consistent and standardized,

men nå†r alt er jæ‘vnt og standardiseret,

how do you create meaningful experiences?

hvordan skaber man så† meningsfulde oplevelser?

Giving people less control might be a wonderful way

At give mennesker mindre kontrol er m†åske en vidunderlig m†åde

to counter the abundance of choice

at modvirke overfloden af valgmuligheder

and make them happier.

og gøre dem lykkeligere.

Take the travel service Nextpedition.

Se på† rejse servicen Nextpedition.

Nextpedition turns the trip into a game,

Nextpedition gør rejsen til et spil,

with surprising twists and turns along the way.

med overraskende twists og drejninger hen ad vejen.

It does not tell the traveler where she's going

Det fortæ‘ller ikke den rejsende hvor hun skal hen

until the very last minute, and information is provided

før det sidste minut, og information bliver leveret

just in time. Similarly, Dutch airline KLM

lige i tide. På† samme må†de, lancerede det hollandske flyselskab KLM

launched a surprise campaign, seemingly randomly

en surprise kampagne, der tilsyneladende vilk†årlig

handing out small gifts to travelers

delte små† gaver ud til rejsende

en route to their destination.

på† vej til deres destination.

U.K.-based Interflora monitored Twitter

Det engelsk baserede Interflora overv†ågede Twitter

for users who were having a bad day,

for brugere der havde en då†rlig dag,

and then sent them a free bouquet of flowers.

og sendte dem så† en gratis blomsterbuket.

Is there anything companies can do to make

Er der noget virksomheder kan gøre for at f†å

their employees feel less pressed for time? Yes.

deres ansatte til at føle sig mindre tidspresset? Ja.

Force them to help others.

Tvinge dem til at hjæ‘lpe andre.

A recent study suggests that having employees complete

En nylig undersøgelse foreslog at hvis man sørgede for at de ansatte

occasional altruistic tasks throughout the day

af og til udførte en altruistisk opgave i løbet af dagen,

increases their sense of overall productivity.

stiger deres samlede produktivitets følelse.

At Frog, the company I work for, we hold internal

Hos Frog, firmaet jeg arbejder for, afholder vi interne

speed meet sessions that connect old and new employees,

korte møder der forbinder gamle og nye ansatte,

helping them get to know each other fast.

der hj‘ælper dem med hurtigt at læ‘re hinanden at kende.

By applying a strict process, we give them less control,

Ved at bruge en striks process, giver vi dem mindre kontrol,

less choice, but we enable more and richer social interactions.

fæ‘rre valg, men vi sørger for flere og rigere sociale interaktioner.

Companies are the makers of their fortunes,

Virksomheder er skaberne af deres formuer,

and like all of us, they are utterly exposed to serendipity.

og ligesom os alle, er de total udsat for lykketr‘æf.

That should make them more humble, more vulnerable

Det burde gøre dem mere ydmyge, mere s†årbare

and more human.

og mere menneskelige.

At the end of the day, as hyperconnectivity

I sidste ende, som hyperforbindelse

and transparency expose companies' behavior

og gennemskuelighed afslører virksomheders opførsel

in broad daylight, staying true to their true selves

i fuldt dagslys, er det at v‘re sande overfor deres sande selv

is the only sustainable value proposition.

den eneste levedygtige v‘ærdiholdning.

Or as the ballet dancer Alonzo King said,

Eller som ballet danseren Alonzo King sagde,

"What's interesting about you is you."

"Det der er interessant ved dig er dig."

For the true selves of companies to come through,

For at virksomheders ‘ægte selv kan skinne igennem,

openness is paramount,

er å†benhed altafgørende,

but radical openness is not a solution,

men radikal †åbenhed er ikke en løsning,

because when everything is open, nothing is open.

fordi nå†r alt er å†bent, er intet †åbent.

"A smile is a door that is half open and half closed,"

"Et smil er en dør der er halvt å†ben og halvt lukket,"

the author Jennifer Egan wrote.

skrev forfatteren, Jennifer Egan.

Companies can give their employees and customers

Virksomheder kan give deres ansatte og kunder

more control or less. They can worry about how much

mere eller mindre kontrol. De kan bekymre sig om hvor meget

openness is good for them, and what needs to stay closed.

å†benhed er godt for dem, og hvad der skal forblive lukket.

Or they can simply smile, and remain open

Eller de kan bare smile, og forblive †åbne

to all possibilities.

for alle muligheder.

Thank you. (Applause)

Tak. (Bifald)

(Applause)

(Bifald)