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neilperkin

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Swimming Naked

"As house prices fall, a huge amount of financial folly is being exposed. You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out – and what we are witnessing at some of our largest financial institutions is an ugly sight."  Warren Buffett

The scarcity that has characterised this financial meltdown, perhaps more than any downturn before it, is of-course the scarcity in trust. It continues to paralyse the banking system, continues to damage business, sometimes beyond repair, and has largely confirmed to your average punter their darkest suspicions about the motivations of those remote and unreal city types.

It's interesting then, isn't it, that in other walks of business and life it is the exact opposite that is powering something of a revolution in the form of the rise in social technologies. Social technologies come from an entirely different place than productivity technologies. One is about co-creation, sharing, ideas, respect. The other is about control, analysis, security. One is about transparency, the other is about complexity. One is open, the other closed.

The reality is that the emerging economy has a very different set of rules. One facilitated above all by transparency and trust. A different kind of swimming naked, if you like. The good news about the meltdown is that it has presented us with quite possibly the best opportunity we've ever had to redefine the value system for business. Lets not squander it.

Hat tip to Johnnie and Rana for links used in this piece.

10 responses to “Swimming Naked”

  1. Rana Avatar
    Rana

    Superb post Neil, but I take no credit for any links used there. Yes I praise the Buffett principles and think all debt-based incentives will eventually catch us out, however I think it was excellent insight to highlight that the new business model absolutely relies on co-operation, economies of scale achieved by the growing collaboration of ideas rather than by ever bigger hierarchical structures. Well said. And only the brave will dare to swim naked.

    Reply
  2. Rana Avatar
    Rana

    Superb post Neil, but I take no credit for any links used there. Yes I praise the Buffett principles and think all debt-based incentives will eventually catch us out, however I think it was excellent insight to highlight that the new business model absolutely relies on co-operation, economies of scale achieved by the growing collaboration of ideas rather than by ever bigger hierarchical structures. Well said. And only the brave will dare to swim naked.

    Reply
  3. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    That’s true in some cases but I would question this to a large extent. Most people’s experience of social media is through the likes of Facebook and Youtube (Google). Both of these – and the other tools that most people use – are massive corporations that are based on harvesting people’s data to sell advertising space. More and more the tools that are being created are being driven by big brands as added value for customers and as a way to reinforce their brand and drive sales. I would argue that in these spaces there is very much control, analysis and a total lack of data transparency.
    Will social media completely revolutionise business? For this to truely happen on a large scale I think there will need to be a “transparency crunch” as there has been a “credit crunch”. Data transparency will need to be exposed as bad debt has now and there needs to be a reaction against that.

    Reply
  4. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    That’s true in some cases but I would question this to a large extent. Most people’s experience of social media is through the likes of Facebook and Youtube (Google). Both of these – and the other tools that most people use – are massive corporations that are based on harvesting people’s data to sell advertising space. More and more the tools that are being created are being driven by big brands as added value for customers and as a way to reinforce their brand and drive sales. I would argue that in these spaces there is very much control, analysis and a total lack of data transparency.
    Will social media completely revolutionise business? For this to truely happen on a large scale I think there will need to be a “transparency crunch” as there has been a “credit crunch”. Data transparency will need to be exposed as bad debt has now and there needs to be a reaction against that.

    Reply
  5. neilperkin Avatar
    neilperkin

    Cheers Rana
    Andy – thanks for the thoughtful comment. I believe the change is a lot more fundamental than Facebook, or even social media. The connected, networked world is changing the way we interact (professionally and otherwise), how we work, how we view our identity, how companies represent themselves and interact with their customers and each other. Interesting thought about a “transparency crunch”

    Reply
  6. neilperkin Avatar
    neilperkin

    Cheers Rana
    Andy – thanks for the thoughtful comment. I believe the change is a lot more fundamental than Facebook, or even social media. The connected, networked world is changing the way we interact (professionally and otherwise), how we work, how we view our identity, how companies represent themselves and interact with their customers and each other. Interesting thought about a “transparency crunch”

    Reply
  7. Niall harbison Avatar
    Niall harbison

    I loved this comment so much when I first read it, brilliant and so very true. Interesting that Buffet is piling in to the market now though. He says you should be greedy when others are nervous 🙂

    Reply
  8. Niall harbison Avatar
    Niall harbison

    I loved this comment so much when I first read it, brilliant and so very true. Interesting that Buffet is piling in to the market now though. He says you should be greedy when others are nervous 🙂

    Reply
  9. Charles Frith Avatar
    Charles Frith

    The emerging economy. I like it. You’re right

    Reply
  10. Charles Frith Avatar
    Charles Frith

    The emerging economy. I like it. You’re right

    Reply

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