By Emilie Totten

The Social Business Innovation Summit wound down earlier this May, after an exciting few days of discussions. Sponsored by Hearsay Social, a social media marketing management platform, the annual conference is a meeting of industry leaders in the technology and financial services sphere. Industry and thought leaders traveled from across the globe to join in the conversation in San Francisco. The conference put individuals from different areas in touch, creating vibrant discussion inspired by the speakers.

Hearsay Social CEO Clara Shih started off the summit with a presentation on how social media enhances human capital rather than replacing it. Customers are finding more information online and expect to be able to use multiple devices. They often want personalized service and the ability to interact with companies in the way they choose.

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By Emilie Totten

Financial service management sales reps and marketers have another upcoming event to get excited about. LIMRA’s 2014 Marketing and Research Conference in Boston started on May 28, and it’s not too late to register and attend sessions over the next few days.Read More

A major San Francisco-based investment manager has selected Synthesis Technology to automate the production of their fund factsheets, commentaries, pitchbooks, and RFPs. This firm is one of the nation’s largest and most experienced investment management and brokerage firms with over $250 billion in assets under management.

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I’ve been a business owner and consultant for nearly 25 years.  Over the years, I’ve become a keen observer of businesses and love to learn what makes them tick.  I find myself filling out a mental evaluation card on just about any business I encounter. I’m particularly inquisitive about what makes a company great (or not) and what the key drivers of the business are. In other words, how companies achieve excellence.

Every once in a while I encounter a business that really catches my attention for the excellence they exude.  I know for a fact that excellence doesn’t happen by accident. So, when I see an organization behaving in this manner, I immediately start looking for root causes and asking questions:

• What have they done to make themselves different?
• What is their hiring philosophy?
• Do they have discipline?
• What is their company culture?
• Are they really successful or just pretending?
• Are they investing in building something extraordinary or just playing for a payout?

If you learn to look for the nuances, the answers to these questions are often right in front of you.

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