New Rules and New Tools

Fortune has an interesting series of articles on the new rules of business that take an antithetical approach to the old rules as embodied by Jack Welch, the ex-CEO of GE. If you’re a Jack Welch fan—as many in business are—you may take umbrage with the conclusions in this series, but the new rules appear provocative and timely.

Part of this shift to the new rules is no doubt influenced by how technology has changed the fabric of the marketplace. The consumer, thanks to the ubiquitous and overwhelming information on the Web, is more informed and demanding than ever. Business needs to accept this shift and the new rules are about this new reality. As an example, Jack Welch espoused hiring a charismatic CEO, but the new rules suggest courage and innovation over charisma (think Steve Jobs). Or put another way: geeks are in.

New rules require new tools and there is a special report at Business Week about harnessing Web 2.0 for businesses big and small. You might be as sick of the term Web 2.0 as I am, but this series does an excellent job of turning an over-popularized buzzword into practical, ready-to-implement advice. An excerpt from the story underlines the importance of this Web shift:

“For all its appeal to the young and the wired, Web 2.0 may end up making its greatest impact in business. And that could usher in more changes in corporations, already in the throes of such tech-driven transformations as globalization and outsourcing. Indeed, what some are calling Enterprise 2.0 could flatten a raft of organizational boundaries—between managers and employees and between the company and its partners and customers. Says Don Tapscott, CEO of the Toronto tech think tank New Paradigm and co-author of The Naked Corporation: ‘It’s the biggest change in the organization of the corporation in a century.’”

But Web 2.0 is only part of the fundamental marketing changes that are taking place. What else is changing in marketing: Everything from a media perspective. PQ Media highlights some of the changes in a new report (via Jaffe Juice) about the proliferation and rise of different media alternatives. Given the huge growth numbers the report cites, it doesn’t appear to be long before what is now “alternative” will be tomorrow’s mainstream.