Staggering Stats And The New Reality

Have you seen the CTRL ALT Delete experience yet?

My latest book, CTRL ALT Delete, came out two days ago. In an attempt to create attention and interest, the team at Twist Image put together a very compelling story about business today. So far, the experience has been getting some rave reviews in places like Twitter and Facebook, but – for the most part – people are still misunderstanding what this all means. When you put things into context, provide the data to back it and present it as a story, you would think that the information would wake people up.

It rarely does.

It turns out that people still – wrongly – think that CTRL ALT Delete is a book about social media (it isn’t). It turns out that people still – wrongly – think that CTRL ALT Delete is a book about marketing (it isn’t). CTRL ALT Delete is a book about business life. We see facts, stats and data points all day long. We ‘re exposed to information, like we live in a world where more people have a mobile subscription than access to safe drinking water. We live in a world where Google‘s advertising revenue is greater than that of the entire print industry. But, beyond trying to catch our jaws as they hit the floor, what are we doing about it? We all struggle – deeply – to highlight companies that are handling this moment of business purgatory (as I call it) well. We can’t simple rattle them off. There are not a lot of great case studies (or simply not enough of them). Worse, each and every one of us struggles to figure our how to evolve professionally and bring the best "you" to work everyday. Will the company accept my new way of thinking? What will my clients and peers think? Is this too radical for our industry to handle?

What choice do we have?

In 2009, I published my first book, Six Pixels of Separation. It was a book that I wrote to demonstrate how technology, media our new inter-connected changes the very fabric of what it means to be a brand, create marketing and the relationship between consumers and these brands. It was a book that exposed the strategies we used at Twist Image to grow our business from a handful of employees and clients, to our current state of one hundred-plus full-time employees in two cities and working with some of the most iconic brands (we are one of the largest independent digital marketing agencies in North America). I don’t write this to brag, but rather as social proof that there was (and still is) alternatives to how to grow and market any business. In CTRL ALT Delete we have entered a world where the very fabric of business has changed forever (I break these out into five major movements in the business book), but brands are still not doing much about it. It didn’t end there. I felt that it would be unfair to write about these five movements without also spending a healthy chunk of time discussing us – the individuals – who are now entrusted to thrive in this new business environment.

Go through the CTRL ALT Delete story.

I encourage you to spend a few minutes going through the CTRL ALT Delete digital experience (you can do it online, on your tablet or smartphone). Keep a notepad nearby, answer the three questions that are a part of the experience and then think about two things:

1. Your business.
2. Your life.

Ready for a reboot?

What’s your take? How well-prepared is your business for this world that is not only constantly changing, but that has changed (dramatically)? How well-prepared are you, personally and professionally, for a world where we’ll no longer change jobs 4-5 times throughout our careers, but one where we will change careers 4-5 times throughout our lifetime? It’s funny, all of the staggering stats about the new reality in our world still triggers fear and anxiety. In reality, the feeling should be excitement and anticipation of a world that offers up a whole new layer of opportunity, wonder and amazement.

Do you still perceive this reboot to be something negative? You should not.