Best practices 5 and 6
Get on the same page.
As an industry, we have not put in place the foundations of a profession, with standards that we work to. Perhaps the pace of the industry means formalizing today feels like a waste of time when tomorrow will bite us on the backside if we aren't careful. But this is costing us all a fortune, and that's not the kind of job creation we need. Not to mention, history is set to repeat itself with mobile phone browsers and applications. .Net magazine is running a campaign to end IE6. It is a start, and I salute you.
We need a gun for past standards and a crystal ball for the future.
Equip yourself with a range of tactical responses to what the interactive future might hold.
In order to be a thought leader, you have to have a thought that sounds right and is (more often than not) proven to be right. But if any of us knew with any certainty how the digital landscape will change in the next five years, we would be shareholders in the companies that don't yet exist but will have market capitalizations to rival the GDP of countries in 2015. Last Exit partner Nuri Djavit is fond of "The Art of War." Chapter 8 deals with "variation in tactics" and the need for flexibility in your responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully.
We need to equip ourselves with a range of tactical responses to what the interactive future might hold. History is littered with companies that didn't adapt quickly enough -- something that some competitors to the iPhone and Blackberry will soon no doubt be experiencing first hand.
One very good source of information about what people want is our customers. The internet is awash with opinions on almost anything by almost everyone, and yet far too few companies tap in to that in order to inform their marketing approaches. Which leads us to my next point:
