AOL's "Crisis of Confidence"

Employee confidence has been a major issue that I have tried to address. I read an article today detailing plans of AOL's new CEO Tim Armstrong. "Can Tim Armstrong Think Different at AOL" His description of the "core" problem at AOL, was the employees have a "crisis of confidence". I LOVE that expression!! That fits almost everything I have been saying about the state of many employees!

AOL, has been a major web player, well, before I even knew there was a "web" (25years!). Previous CEOs have taken on numerous projects and partnerships (Time Warner), all in an effort to keep AOL competitive with the exponential growth of competitors like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. Mr. Armstrong, (formerly of Google's advertising division) has a "new" vision for AOL. What struck me, is it is not far from the "original" vision of AOL.

I really wish AOL the best of luck. I am excited to see a Leader remembering where their success came from and delivering their vision. I am also excited to see a company realizing their history, along with their successes and failures, and attempting to deliver a message of confidence and definitive direction to their employees.

Related BizBlog Articles:
-Is Customer Service Dead;
-Image Isn't Everything...It is the ONLY Thing

Comments

Always "Sweat" the Small Stuff

As we are all searching for the next best way to cut costs, I ran across an old article about an approach Delta Airlines took in the mid-90's. They asked their employees! On an employee suggestion, they removed the lettuce leaf that was served in their food trays as garnish to an astounding $1.4 million in annual savings! http://gtalumni.org/Publications/magazine/win93/delta.html I recently worked for a company that was so incredibly operationally inefficient that I was amazed they were still in business. Three months later, they weren't! From having way too much lighting in the stock areas, to a time-wasting price change procedure, to unnecessary shipping costs($4ship fee for a $.99 item), to incredible wastes of paper (I actually counted a minimum of 45 sheets per day wasted...in one store). This store had so many little things that could have completely changed the cost of business, it is a shame they didn't listen to their employees. Employees may not have t...

"Humility Time"

Yesterday I took part in a TweetChat presented by the #bealeader community. The topic for the chat was the importance of self-awareness for a successful leader. One of the questions posed was "How does one keep self awareness from becoming the less desirable self involved?". I responded with a concept that I had been taught very early in my career that I have since dubbed "humility time". I had a few responses that unfortunately, the 140 limit of Twitter made very difficult to properly respond to. Very early in my career, I worked off the premise that knowledge was power. At the time, I had all the knowledge, and assumed that granted me all the power. My team very quickly delivered me a very harsh reality check in letting me know that was not going to be the case. My manager at the time explained the importance of self-awareness. She recommended I mentally schedule time for myself to intentionally be the guy "that does not have all ...

The Power Of Social Networks-Myspace vs. Facebook

AOL started it. With very popular chat rooms and a skeletal, but functional, social network. Myspace , Facebook , Twitter , Bebo , Friendster , LinkedIN and several others have since emerged. All offering something unique to make their platform the biggest and most successful. As I learn more about blog writing/internet marketing (yes, they go hand-in-hand), it is clear that these sites drive the "personality" that the online society has taken. To be successful online, it is clear that a strong and steady participation and presence on these sites is critical. This blog generates reports that allow me to view the sources of my daily traffic. So far, Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn, are responsible for a LARGE portion of my visitors. I am pretty much a "nobody" writing on a topic that interests me. I realize how amazing it is that because of the internet, people from around the world are reading what I am writing!! I wonder how powerful these sites would be...

RetailBizBlog

Search This Blog