Archive - February, 2011

Women, Our Future is in Our Own Hands

February 24, 2011 in Digital, Women with 0 Comments

When I first saw this video last December, I was immediately impressed at how well Sheryl Sandberg (COO at Facebook and mother of two) articulated some of the challenges facing women in the workplace and especially what we can do about it.  As one of those women, I could connect with so much of what she said and it felt good to hear someone else in the same position.

In the video, she gives three very appropriate tips for women in achieving success.  Beyond these tips, there were two things in particular which struck me and which I think are critically important for all of us making choices about the right work-life balance:

(1) we must focus on the things that we as individuals can control.  Complaining about something being unfair or inappropriate is not actually going to change anything.  Having a positive attitude and taking a proactive approach is the only way to create a better outcome – even if it is ridiculously unfair in some circumstances how people are treated.  After all, it is still better than it was for our mothers.

(2) successful women are often perceived as aggressive and disliked for their success while the same behaviour is lauded in men.  On reflection, this is true.  How many times in our own experience have we seen a powerful or successful woman mercilessly attacked, disliked by peers, even picked on for their clothes when all else fails?  We should also ask ourselves if we’ve done this, even inadvertently, because for some reason society wires us this way.  I hope not, but as with so many things, awareness is the first step to making a change.  In the meantime, as women we must also accept and ignore unfounded dislike we encounter along the way – it is not personal.

Although the video is long (15 minutes), I encourage you to listen to it when you have time.  By supporting each other, we will build a better world for both our sons and daughters.

Sheryl Sandberg at TED December 2010

Carnival Cruise Lines Embraces Transparent Pricing

February 23, 2011 in Digital with 0 Comments

Port de grand Cayman

Image via Wikipedia

Taking a lesson from the digital world on transparency in setting rates, Carnival Cruise Lines leads their sector in offering flat rate commission on all cruises.  As an increasing number of online self service models have demonstrated, the long tail can be well served through self-service models and flat rate pricing eases administration of partners while allowing a proliferation of small businesses capitalising on the simplicity.  The travel industry has long relied on opacity in pricing and commissions to keep consumers guessing and to create massive profits for itself.  In a bold move, Carnival is showing that they understand the way business is headed and are becoming clear and transparent in their commission relationship with Travel Agents.

In the video that follows (warning, it’s 15 minutes), David Dingle, CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, explains their rationale in making the commission pricing change.  With Agents providing roughly 90% of sales, this is clearly an important channel.  Dingle suggests that 25% of these are late bookings made at 5% commission already so we’re talking about 67.5% of Carnival’s sales.  According to Dingle, this move will reduce the consumer rebates which agents use to compete with each other during peak sales periods, meaning that pricing will be consistent across agents and competition becomes a question of service and brand loyalty – are any of us actually brand loyal to a travel agent?  The benefits for Carnival are meaningful as they regain control over the price at which they sell their cruises, and therefore increase their importance in the supply chain.  Clearly there will also be an incentive for Carnival to use the savings from agency payments to attract more consumers – directly through their own promotional activity and indirectly through more attractive pricing that is available to all channels.

So how much of this is today’s spin on the well known practice of cost cutting?  Cruise lines are not the first to take control of their destiny as far as pricing and sales are concerned.  Earlier this year, American Airlines had a well publicized dispute with two prominent online travel agents (Orbitz and Expedia) and Sabre, a major GDS (global distribution system) that enables travel agents to sell American tickets.  The details are covered on MS-NBC here. Airlines have accomplished a much higher proportion of direct sales than cruise lines so far, but despite Dingle deflecting attention to the benefits for agents, direct sales make good business sense and are clearly on the horizon for Carnival.

There are many unanswered questions which will unfold in coming months:

  • Will there be enough margin for agents to change the way they compete as competition on service carries a cost?
  • Is this an opportunity to shift the mix of sales channels further online where innovations such as Zendesk are reducing customer service costs by improving efficiency?
  • Travel planning is complex and therefore should be a high value add activity for an experienced agent.  This is not a lower order task which can be comoditised, or is it?

Watch the full video here. 

Why Blog, Why Now?

February 18, 2011 in Digital with 0 Comments

I’ve thought about writing a blog for some time now, in fact since before I had children (my oldest is seven).  However, as with so many working parents, I convinced myself that I’d never find the time to be a good Business Executive, a good Mom, a good Wife, and make time for friends, extended family and actually sit down and write.  Well, that defeatist attitude coupled with a host of valid excuses ensured that I never managed it.

What’s changed?  Really just me.  Over the past seven years, I have been a part of a technology driven change to our media landscape in senior roles at three organisations.  At the same time, I have figured out that it is possible to have an exciting and compelling career while being a great Mom to my three children.  But most importantly, I have had to go through my own challenges and soul searching to get there.

I believe that technology is changing our lives for the better, but that there will certainly be bumps along the way as society, government, and individuals adapt to the new capabilities being enabled.  Countless millions have been spent on consultants to help various organisations – both public and private – learn how to adapt.  We are now facing a world of youth who have been connected throughout their lives and their parents who are still wondering what parts of technology are a fad and what parts are worth buying into.  Our society is grappling with privacy issues, new ways of doing business, a wider access to information than ever before, and significant media fragmentation – allowing many viewpoints to be aired, but simultaneously making it difficult to assess trust in a source.  The connectedness enabled by advances in technology is impacting social inequity as well as mobilising people to change for the better, whether righting a simple customer service snafu or driving a regime change in the Middle East.

This blog will talk about my digital days, that is those things I come across on a daily basis in my professional life which strike me as interesting for the impact they will have on the long term.  I am sure that I will focus heavily on innovation brought about by entrepreneurs and changes in technology, but will sprinkle in my thoughts about significant developments in regulation that impact the digital landscape, observations about management – good and bad, analysis of major news from key digital players, and the odd tribute to a good work life balance, particularly for women who must make challenging choices throughout their careers, especially in the child-bearing and child-rearing years.

At the end of the day, my parents raised me to give back to society in some way, something I still believe is important now that I make all my own decisions.  Hopefully this will be a part of that.  If I can help even one person find the confidence to pursue the career they want, then I will be happy.  Please make this a dialog.  I look forward to hearing what you have to say.