Big Data and Privacy - the debate evolves!

Recently, I was invited as a guest speaker by the Internet Society of Thailand on the topic – ‘Big Data and privacy’. The technology industry is quite interesting for its "seasonal infatuations" on certain topics that gets discussed to the hilt, but quite often remains shallow in its analysis and at times even the understanding. However this session was quite different with the audience and fellow speakers that included academicians to policy makers looking at the topic from various lenses.

The topic of privacy and big data is quite a relevant one for sure. The explosion of data creation and the ‘beginning’ of its capture and ‘thinking towards doing an almost instant analysis' has elevated the issue of personal privacy to a matter of debate. The industry’s attempt towards finding a solution or a coordinate where the line could be drawn has also started. However what is missing is the fundamental understanding that this conundrum belongs to a segment, which does not and cannot have a straightjacketed answer.

For the sake of clarity let us look at the fundamental premise of ‘why’ and ‘what’ is big data all about. The basic premise behind bothering about big data and its analysis is that 'randomness is a rendition of the limitation of human perception’. The world and the way it works has an underlying pattern which is why our research findings indicate that history repeats and humans are increasingly understood as ‘creatures of habit’. However all decisions and plans that drive and run this world are made with very limited amount of data leaving the remaining part of the probability to ‘chance’. However chance to a great extent is nothing but missing information, which by definition is 'processed data’.  With the advent of technology to capture and store the remaining 80% the thinking towards analyzing that has started taking shape, and with it the debate on ‘intrusion’

This debate to me is analogous to the social debate on "whether the society or the individual is more important”. The reason for this analogy is based on the common broader objective of both sides of the debate, which is ‘making the world a better place for its inhabitants – it could be spiritual, intellectual or physical’. The debate on the society v/s individual is broadly based on the thinking that if the individual is given more priority than the society and social norms, the individual is more enlightened and collective enlightenments make the world great. The other half of the debate is based on the assumption that the society is pivotal and needs to be the only priority which might mean norms and social practices that could be detrimental to individual freedom, thinking and empowerment but on the whole makes the world better. Very similar to this is the debate on privacy v/s benefits of big data. If the benefits of collecting individual data and understanding a pattern is predicting a terrorist attack then the benefit weighs higher. However if the benefits of understanding the pattern weighs towards helping a retail business predict a pregnancy of a customer based on her buying pattern changes and offer her pre-natal related offers on mail – it’s undeniably a breach (yes. It has happened!). However when the benefit is about predicting what a customer might like to buy next and be offered to increase his propensity to buy(like discounts) or when it can understand an employee’s animosity towards his manager – the line becomes gray! Some might feel it helps (that the world aligns to his need) while others might disagree and see it as an intrusion – this part of the debate will continue, and forever. Cultural and Social fabrics make it even more difficult to have a consistencey (for example Thai language does not even have a translation for the word privacy – I am told!)

It’s interesting to note that the society v/s individual debate is seeing a reversal of thoughts in the 21st century. The Asian cultures are gradually increasing their thrust on the individual enlightenment while the Western economies (more than cultures) are acknowledging the need for increased social and state involvements in matters supposedly classified as ‘individual’ or ‘privately operated’.  This is what any evolution teaches us, that for most teething issues there are no ultimate solutions but just ‘broad’ frame works or boundaries (just as the two use cases mentioned above that lingers in extremes tells us). As Big data and its advantages becomes more visible, so will the grey lines too. So does the evolution of our thinking and boundaries of ‘tolerance’. Interesting times!!

Marketing evolution fulled by Relationship analytics

The evolution of marketing can be summarized in the depiction of just one platonic shift - the focus from Pull to Push. An earlier basic B-school distinction between marketing and sales has been that sales is pushing a product to the customer while marketing is pulling the customer to the product. However the advent of psychology and technology hand in hand has made marketers recognize that capturing a customer attention and pulling him to a product is less effective, but capturing his interest even before he knows about it is the pinnacle objective of marketing. Organizations and CMOs could do that only by ensuring that the marketing thinking, including all aspects of marketing tools, processes and channels are targeted at the zero moment of truth (not the first). The fundamental of doing this is a customized approach to customer segments based on customer psychology.

Human psychology sounds abysmal to operationally integrate with business thinking and strategy. However the cream at the top is good enough to make sense of the coffee. The creamer in customer analytics would be customer behavior. Customizing marketing approaches by customer behavior is the best bet for any marketing approach. However capturing and understanding every single customer behavior is a task which could be limped financially if not operationally. The advent of communication analytics becomes most prominent here. One of the best and most tangible rendition of customer behavior in many cases would be the customer communication analytics. Analytics on the frequency, recency, alacrity, tone and direction of customer communication could be the best source to understand and leverge marketing tools for utmost impact. The ability to understand which among your customers are most responsive, most communicative, most frequently annoyed and classifying them in broad buckets of marketing strategy  is the ultimate leverage that data analytics can render to CMOs.
 
For example the customer segment with the highest level of responsiveness/alacrity to communication are the ones who would value a campaign promising the speed of customer response, while the ones with most frequent communication with your organization (both positive and negative) are the best candidates for marketing programs like loyalty programs and customer advisory groups. These customized psyche-based approach to marketing channels appeal and capture a customer at the zero moment. Welcome to the age of technology driven marketing, where our loyalties are captured at a subconsious level at the Zero Moment! Some of the next generation relationship analytics engines like Trustvault fuel this evolution and are the best weapons for next generation CMOs.

Marketing or Alliances - who precedes whom?

One of my friends who runs a multi-billion dollar APAC channels business for one of the largest ISVs told me about an interesting problem. His marketing team was finding it very difficult to convince many of his business partners on the need to participate in their annual kick-off conference. Having done business with them in the past and having worn the hats of marketing as well as alliance I had my logic taking sides. These two functions are diagonally opposite in their thought frame but equally critical and aligned to business. Diagonally opposite as ‘typical’ marketing thinking rests in the future while a 'typical' alliance thinking (where the rubber hits the road) rests in the present (read quarter).

The sales team of his partners may not invest in this kick-off as they do not see an RoI in a conference where you mostly have the large ISVs sales team and some of their top customers. A custom event where you are seen as a ‘Platinum sponsor’ costs the same and might give you much more access to prospects (and hence pipeline)

Large organizations, especially ISVs these days are no more organizations, rather ecosystems. Steadily, and at times subtly, customers too get intertwined in ecosystems. Their entry into the ecosystem might be through something as small as a 'feature' to as big as a 'platform'. However once business drivers take the engagement forward the entire world of options reduces to the ecosystem around that product. This essentially means there is a strong incentive for all, if not most (seller) organizations, to align and be seen as a part of an ecosystem.

Identifying the right ecosystem to play is an extremely strategic decision which the 'strategic alliance’ function has to lead while ensuring the world knows of your allegiance to that ecosystem is a function of 'tactical' marketing. However there is a layer in between these two which is often forgotten - 'Strategic alliance marketing'. The end customer (and shareholders, prospects and employees) are least bothered of your allegiance as long as you do not bring/articulate a clear value to the ecosystem by being a part of it. Identifying and articulating/building messages around that value add is a function of ‘strategic alliance marketing’. Quite often the whole marketing thinking is missing when the alliance function takes the driver's seat and the alliance thinking is missing when marketing takes a driver's seat. This is where the ‘Strategic Alliance marketing’ function becomes most critical. The world cares nothing about SAP, Intel and Cisco coming together unless there is a clear incremental benefit of them being together in my data center, which otherwise I don’t get.

As the ecosystem play expands, the future of these two pivotal functions, without doubt rests in the 'thinking' alignment of both.

Myanmar - a land at puberty

The disparity and diversity in Asia, if not the world is so profound that it is fascinating, disturbing and promising. I have just finished a week's trip of Myanmar (as a delegate at the World Economic Forum - East Asia in Nay Pyi Taw)

The WEF East Asia was held at Nay Pyi Taw, I guess as part of a good tradition of WEF to showcase emerging cities to the world. Nay Pyi Taw has an interesting history. Nay Pyi Taw was founded on a greenfield site in a shrub land approximately 320 kilometres from Yangon by the military government along with construction companies. Once partially completed, the military government began moving government ministries from Yangon to here at the astrologically auspicious time of 6:37 AM on 6th Nov 2005!! The move was so hasty and unplanned and unscrupulous that none of the fundamental thinking that has to go behind a community movement was done. The place lacks schools or other amenities as the military had earlier banned the families of government officials and civilians from residing here. A monumental flaw I must say which lacks both community consciousness as well as individual empathy.

I landed at Nay Pyi Taw (the new commercial capital of Myanmar) at the newly built airport (a virgin airport - I guess ours was probably the first major international flight, a chartered one from Bangkok). Most of the delegates were surprised at their mobile phones not working or catching a signal - something unheard of/unprecedented. Interestingly there is only one telco provider owned by the state which will work in this land. All were instructed to ensure enough 'unsoiled' US dollars were exchanged and kept with them as those 'visa' and 'mastercard' networks which are assumed to be 'hygiene' and granted are non-existent in the country. The chartered buses took us to the designated hotels, which were the best in the capital city. Best in any case is a relative word!

In my traverses around the world I have never come across such a land which in a moment takes you three decades back. What stands out among the local populace is not poverty, but 'a kind of puberty'. They were so alienated from the world progress for the last three decades with a life filled with toils and atrocities with exceptionally few visitors who could carry news of the outside world. But the hope and refresh of the recent changes is vibrant, confusing and promising for them. It is vibrant more on a relative scale as any positivity here is unprecedented, confusing as they are surrounded by 'aliens' and promising as an economy is getting built from the scratch. The newspapers were rampant with the names of telcos around the world flocking here as the licences are getting auctioned. The latest news is about Vodafone and China Mobile pulling out of the race possibly due to the heavy infrastructure needs that has to be laid from scratch to access this market of 60 million.

The plight of many in this beautiful nation is abysmally dismal. There are villages neighboring to the capital city where it is said that people pawn their lungies for food. While on one hand this is happening, the business houses across the world are making plans to access this 60 million fresh green field minds. There are already quite a few men of Western origin who have made consulting for foreign businesses to lay foundation in Myanmar their core business. The consulting companies in the world are flocking the land to understand more and advice businesses on their strategies for the land. But hardly did I hear of an inclusive growth nor a consideration of education and poverty alienation as a objective of this economic vibrancy. For a moment the post-independence Indian economic model (dubbed as licence raj) which is despised by many in my generation stood tall in respect. A gradual opening of economy making it extremely difficult for businesses at times finds a place considering 'the greater common good'.

A land right at the center of juggernauts India and China, which the military here over the years have strategically capitalized as an advantage, it is most exciting to see how this vantage point becomes economical and social. As puberty grows to adulthood, I can only wish that the common man here grows up to a healthy, thinking and educated adult who finds a rightful place in the world stage.

Did Hitler get it right?

The last seven decades one of the most prominent but subtle question that humanity has stumbled upon I believe is  'Did Hitler get it right'. The beauty of this question lies in the way it is perceived - not in the answers it generates. The sheer reason for the same is the relatively more number of perspectives to this question than the answers.


The above derives from the fact that Hitler is seen (and I believe) is an embodiment of a number of things. He is and is seen by many as someone who was bold to follow his dreams with the utmost selfish charter one can have, whilst there is a different group, which sees him as the greatest lover of mankind (the ones who believe in Aryan supremacy and Aryans as the only genre in mankind while others who believe Germans hold that stature). While this group may be political there is a different group with a social premise: who believe imperialism is a step in evolution that spans millions of years and lesser understood by the so-called human cognizance.

However, coming back to my broader question - Did Hitler get it right? - the answer lies in a different question - what is it that he chased?

Detractors are the ones most people would be keen to watch. Though difficult if someone (atleast in the world around me) does anything that detracts the traditional/day to day approach in the way the masses are used to approach/approve anything that in reality is not alignment with ones personal attribute, the acceptance and interest it generates is substantial.

This makes one ponder - what if someone took a Hitler route and detract substantially, rather follow a new approach which may not be right by the current premises/norms. This by design is bound to make heads turn and give one a visibility but not an acceptability which many crave for.

But essentially one gets it right  - if and only if he feels he is most right. However the world feels he got it right only if it followed over time when he took the first leap. Else the detraction isn't perceived as sustainable- as with Hitler where it is not and Gandhi where it.

This kind of gives a direction to my answer if not the answer itself - Hitler got it right only if he thinks he did and only if he was always uncomfortable and finally found a comfort when the whole world was amazed/confused..and he was riding with utmost clarity....

Business: The Aussie way

World over, I believe, business never happens between organizations but between people. The time and investment it takes, for organizations and people to forge these relationships and develop the trust and compatibility to enter into a business transaction, varies though.

In the APAC region where the external ramification of business and relationships are most inter-twined, one region stands out in its external rendering - Australia. Though a cursory observation would make one feel that it is most easy to build a relationship and trust in these markets, the reality is different. The ‘ostentatious’ or rather loud mannerism of a typical Aussie is a welcome change in the APAC market compared to his introvert peers. A typical meeting with the most stranger too starts in an interesting manner, mostly with conversations centered around the traffic he had to circumvent to reach the meeting place, the weather that day or a courtesy query about how I felt about being in Australia. As the meetings progress discussions around wine, wineries, food takes more precedence to the intended topic of discussion, which again is very welcoming.

A typical non-Aussie could very easily mistake this to be a great starter and fast paced move from a relationship point of view ( I was one of them) - it is not. The time and investment needed to develop trust from such conversations is much higher than one would expect. Building a layer of relationship  on top of that is even tougher - yes, the relationship  layer is on top of trust while in many markets and business cultures like in Japan the trust layer is on top of relationship.

It is quite normal to have a meeting scheduled over lunch extent to coffee to beer, which means nothing the first time. However if it recurs there is a subtle layer of trust that is being built whose premise is based on ‘mutual value’. Over time it can move to relationships, and relationships bring big businesses. This is unlike many other markets like Japan where relationships brings small businesses to start with, and then tests your patience, while your capability to deliver is evaluated - and then big businesses follow later as an indicator of large relationships.

Interesting, is this world of Asia - from Australia to Japan where there is a pattern of not having a pattern!

Mazing Japan!

I have just finished a week long trip to Japan - met around 30 people from across the influencer spectrum which included analysts, consultants, partners, trade bodies etc. Having met so many people in packed back to back sessions in a short period left me a little 'numb and itching'. Numb at the very mundane nature of the meetings and itching as I was getting an inkling that this mundanity is deep and has a pattern.There definitely was something remarkably different about this market and the way it behaves. This stark differences I am sure it is attributed to the softer/cultural aspects of the business community.

Most of the meetings, even with the influencer community which includes analysts, media, partners and visionaries who are known for their verbatim and exuberant knowledge in other parts of the world, never gets planned for more than an hour. At times the meetings get too interesting that it might go longer (atleast never  planned so in the outlook calender). However I had atleast 4 meetings where the calender invite itself mentioned the time slot as 90 minutes. Though I was initially surprised and thought it was a little insane in a world where things are real fast, on retrospect I understand why.

The attention to detail that they give on understanding every single aspect of what you are saying is amazing. The presentation which I myself compiled, which had some slides I have been using across Asia received attention and questions which had no precedent. I myself had to go back after the first couple of meetings to go through every single line and refresh myself.

The above quirk, if I may call it so, among many others points towards the trait of the Japanese business community. If there is one word that comes to mind in defining the softer aspect, it is 'empathy'. The consideration, respect and trust in and for others is what I believe marks Japan and its business. The very basis of Japan's success in having a world class service mentality and outstanding product designs is this empathy.

The 'empathy' trait sounds simple, but in reality is a 'conundrum' more complex than any other.

Consideration:

The very fact that no one uses a mobile phone inside the train in Japan to the utmost formal attire which is a norm in Japanese business is a reflection of the 'considerate' trait. The formal attire too has a different underlying premise than usual and ties back to this. The attention that a Japanese gives to his/her attire in a business context is considered as a reflection of the respect he has for the other person and not about making herself look smarter.

Respect:

The prefix 'san' explains it all. I am yet to know a language/community in the world which has so many gender neutral honorifics. These honorifics are not a part of Japanese grammar but socially developed and evolved to mark respect for the individual. The number of bows that you do before and after the meeting to the way you hold your business card while exchanging it (always with both the hands - something which will remind you of marriage ceremonies in Southern India where the bride and groom's parents exchange a silver plate of fruits and ornaments as a mark of exchanging/attaching their children in the relationship!) is a reflection of the respect for the community.

The man in the limousine bus at the airport who holds a hoarding around his neck and walks inside the bus requesting every passenger to be careful while travelling looks real funny. He always a finds place in the notes that all first timers to Japan exchange. However it could have been very easy for him to stand at the front end of the bus and announce once. The thinking surely is that the person who sits last too deserves to be 'respected' with a personal attention and proximity of the person who announces.

Trust: 

The basis of trust is an 'expectation of empathy'! If you are assured of empathy from the other person you can trust the other blindly.However, reaching a phase of comfort where you are assured of empathy is the ultimate, subtle/underlying objective in any relationship. In the Japanese context I believe this is even more profound in the world of business than others. While the underlying presumption elsewhere is in the processes and evaluation criteria while entering a business transaction, the prime here is 'trust'. Trust, always is preceded by mistrust. 'Transgressing' this phase of mistrust needs patience, understanding and utmost loyalty. This is where most fail to understand Japan!

Leveraging the ramification of the above I believe is most crtical to win in Japan. Many have tried to adapt to Japan but often failed not because of the lack of adaptation, but over adaptation forgetting the value that they bring. For example the current thinking of Japanese business houses to go global, thanks to a shrinking economy, presents a sweet spot for global enterprises in Japan. In such a context telling them what will NOT work which used to work for them in Japan is the value global enterprises bring to the table. This, coupled with empathy, is what would work, not one of these.

When the best performing 'local genius' is awarded a scholarship to the Oxford, there definitely are concerns deep inside him. Someone who offers help, expertise and advice to help him to 'navigate the Oxford' is of utmost value to him. However he will be trusted only when a strong consideration and respect to the basic values and ingenuity of this genius even in the western world is displayed. Whomsoever offers the genius these two, is sure to garner trust. And with trust, business just follows!