Leadership Activities

Business Planning, Development, and Management

Venture Capitalists

In a quest to unveil the underlying secret(s) for developing and operating a successful business in the world of entertainment, I unearthed two (2) prominent venture capitalists: Tim Berry and Guy Kawaski. Otherwise charged with leading tenderfoot entrepreneur's pitching their best pitches or overall best ideas for launching start-up companies year-over-year to self-efficacy, these two (2) real-world cognoscente's in business planning, business development, and business management have exemplary track records in establishing effective ways to devising well-written business plans.

Balance

A process in which Tim Berry is well-versed, particularly as an accomplished author, teacher, writer, speaker, blogger and father of five (5) children. After earning his BA at the University of Notre Dame and his MBA at Stanford University, he would achieve great success serving as President, Founder and Co-founder of Palo Alto Software, bplans.com, and Borland International. All of which, in the larger context of things contributed to the influence of his more recently published book entitled, “The-Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan”. Almost in the same way, Mr. Berry's longstanding status as an expert panelist for the Willamette Angel Conference contributed to his great achievements as a business manager. And his thirty (30) plus years, as a business owner contributed to his expanding company that has grown in size to over forty (40) employee's, which is otherwise indicative of the 70% market share he managed to secure during that time. A true testament to his proficiency, as a business planner, business developer, business manager, and business owner given his impeccable resume of extraordinary accomplishments.

Road Map

According to Mr. Berry, however, the business planning and business development process simply establishes a means to an end. It is not an end itself. In fact, it represents a road map that delineates how to get from point A to point B. He also stresses that it is a useful expedient for optimizing and tracking the company’s rate of success. It connotes flexibility as well as exhaustive study of the market. And despite the numerous articles and books written by skeptics attempting to invalidate its effectiveness, Mr. Berry makes it his business to otherwise stress its ability to successfully reign in capital investors, especially when simply constructed. A function that he asserts all-in-all, as being essential in treating "... the business plan as an increasingly dynamic body of work that is always changing and used to guide the businesses long-term goals", which includes steps applicable to strategic planning for more effective branding.

Escalation of Commitment

Mr. Berry's system provides a pragmatic approach to strategic branding that defends against threats known to the process as an escalation of commitment. A condition that he mentions is debilitating to many of today's entrepreneurs and calls for dispelling the misleading notion that “having a plan means getting locked into doing something that doesn’t make sense, mindlessly, because it’s in the plan". When leveraging the ensuing changes of the times by constructing and implementing a system that allows you to 'plan-as-you-go' best applies. A technique that Mr. Berry purports will provide a "powerful tool for managing your company better, controlling business destiny, establishing accountability, and developing teamwork," which above all helps to circumvent common pitfalls known to compromise quality brand building efforts of varying sizes and complexities.

Just one (1) of Mr. Berry's fellow associates in this complex field of business planning and business development is Guy Kawasaki, an accomplished author, writer, speaker, blogger and father of four (4) children, who earned his BA at Stanford University and his MBA at UCLA. After which time, he would land a position with Apple, Inc. and would work as a Software Evangelist from 1983 to 1987. In 1987, he would leave for approximately 8 years and return in 1995. From 1995 to 1997, he would serve as Apple's Chief Software Evangelist and Fellow before he would make his last and final departure from the company.

Shortly thereafter, Guy Kawasaki would go on to co-found Garage Technology Ventures and eventually Alltop.com. Two start-up companies validated and fortified by his desire to “make meaning” or "change the world". According to Guy Kawasaki, it is making meaning that serves as a key component in successfully transacting business. It represents a working principle borne out of his experience as a venture capitalist. Hence his natural inclination to inspire entrepreneurs in constructing business plans that "make the world a better place, increase the quality of life, right a wrong with the world or prevent the end of something good. Rather than focusing solely on making money". A business plan worth its weight in gold because it is virtuous and otherwise developed to represent the greatest good for the greatness number of people.Which often times is an initiative that gives way to socially responsible businesses that seek to solve social problems and contribute to social goods such as clean air, clean water and literacy.

Perpetual State of Flux

In that same fashion, Guy Kawasaki expresses how important it is to give emphasis to "changing as you learn more and more about the market“ by treating the business plan as an increasingly dynamic document and tracking tool. Like his fellow associate Tim Berry, he stresses that being “deliberate and acting emergent” when drawing up a business plan does not necessarily mean "adhering to the plan in the face of new information and new opportunities". Instead, it means being nimble, flexible, and exhaustive when managing that change. It means acknowledging the business plan as a viable document that is always in a perpetual state of flux and constantly evolving.

Moreover, the business plan represents a promulgation of standards that lead to better business management. Whether short-term or long-term, it can improve everything from products, services, and leadership effectiveness to increasing company productivity when constructed for the right reasons such as providing financial projections plus key metrics and/or defining success. These deliberate steps taken with enough discernment according to Guy Kawasaki provides the very foundation needed to successfully manage any business since one of the most salient elements of the business development process is the business plan itself. When treated as a living, breathing, constantly evolving document and tracking tool, it is very likely to meet the ever-changing demands of the marketplace. Aside from that, it provides a company's leadership with the guidance, focus, and support that is required to effectively manage day-to-day operations. Also, it satisfies overarching business priorities and drives company success. Success achieved through hard work, collaboration and proper execution of the business plan, as well as, an inherent social focus on social good similar to that of the pious businessman like Guy Kawaski. 

Check him out in this YouTube Video where he discusses what it means to build a more productive future and a better world by "Making Meaning in Your Company".

Mobile Marketing and Commerce

m-Commerce

The following survey is part of a market research project that I embarked on to determine consumer value related to mobile devices for purposes of improving m-commerce trends in the new digital space. The responses documented here were elicited using questions created in Zoomerang that were based on a focus group of five (5) individuals of the same sex and living in the same geographic locations. Their age(s) and socioeconomic status(es)were on the other hand different.

High-level Firmware                

The first respondent surveyed in the focus group is a female Retail Sales Clerk in her late 20’s, who has used cell phones for approximately 10 years. Her primary use of the mobile device is to check emails. Her comfort level with all features of her mobile device is very high to advanced. For reasons of convenience, she is willing to sacrifice ‘most’ of her rights to privacy for exclusive content. She expresses satisfaction with the current grade level of her mobile telephone, which is a Verizon Storm. Plus, she appreciates the provided Versatility and High-level Firmware respective of fewer dropped calls. A limitation of her Verizon Storm, however, is its inability to allow simultaneous talk and Internet access. A feature that her heart desires considering her cell phone is an exclusive means of communication in lieu of a land-line telephone at home. As for ringtones, ring-backs, video games or other forms of digital media, she maintains that she does not spend on monthly downloads.

The second respondent surveyed in the focus group is a female Recreation Therapist in her 40’s, who has used cell phones for approximately 12 years or since 1998. Her primary use of the mobile device is to send and receive SMS Messages, check emails, frequent social networking sites, and make phone calls. Her comfort level with all features of her mobile device is high to advanced. For reasons of convenience, she is willing to sacrifice ‘some’ of her rights to privacy. Every two years, she upgrades her phone to stay in step with up-scaled features like faster photo access and touch screen capabilities. And she does not spend monthly on ringtones or other forms of digital media. She did share the fact that she recently had a land-line installed for long distance calls to Canada and that her home phone is rarely used because she is always on the go.

Simultaneous Conversation and Internet Browsing

The third respondent surveyed in the focus group is a female Marketing Executive in her 30’s, who has used cell phones for approximately 12 years. Her primary use of the mobile device is to make phone calls, text messages, and check emails. Her comfort level with all features of her mobile device is high to advanced. For mere reasons of convenience, she is 'not' willing to sacrifice ‘any’ of her rights to privacy for exclusive content. It is not often that she upgrades her mobile device because she feels buying high-end supplants the need. Her ultimate desire is a mobile device that allows Simultaneous Conversation and Internet Browsing capabilities. She maintains that she had a land-line telephone installed a home, as a means to arming her house alarm, but it is rarely used because she has 3 hand held devices -- a Blackberry, an Apple Ipod Touch, and a PDA. They serve all of her daily communication needs. As for ringtones or other forms of digital media, she does not spend monthly on downloads.

Skype

The fourth respondent surveyed in the focus group is a female Recreation Therapist in her 30’s, who has used cell phones for approximately 10 years now. Her primary use of the mobile device is to make phone calls and text messages. Her comfort level with all features of her mobile device is high to advanced. And for reasons of convenience, she is not willing to sacrifice ‘any’ of her rights to privacy for exclusive content. Likewise, she is not very likely to upgrade her phone unless it is for the mobile Skype feature. She does not spend monthly on ringtones or forms of digital media and maintains that while she does have a land-line telephone at home, it still does not trump her mobile device. That she would much rather use her cell phone because it allows for more convenience and versatility like on-the-go access to the Internet.

P2P Music Sharing

The fifth respondent surveyed in the focus group is a 16-year old female high school student, who has used cell phones for approximately 3 years now. Her primary use of the mobile device is to make phone calls, text messages, check emails, and at times peruse the Internet. Her comfort level with all features of her mobile device is moderate to intermediate. For reasons of convenience, she is not willing to sacrifice ‘any’ of her rights to privacy for exclusive content. She maintains that she upgrades her phone every two years, prefers better digital photo editing, and desires P2P Music Sharing capabilities as those features to ramp up. On average, she spends $5- $10 per month on ringtones and further maintains that her cell phone is her exclusive means of communication. She also stresses that her infrequent use of her parent’s land-line telephone is most justified because her hand held device is more personal, convenient, and easily accessible. 

Overall, the surveyed respondents expressed great reservation and concern about privacy issues related to receiving exclusive content on their mobile devices. Similarly, they all subscribed to being the primary users of their mobile devices and maintained that it served as an exclusive means of communication for them. This otherwise suggested that their cell phones were near, dear, and personal to them. According to Rick Mathieson in “Branding Unbound”, this represents a major component of m-branding called ‘intimacy’, whereby the user perceives their mobile device as being “irrefutably, undeniably, and incontrovertibly” theirs. And thus validates the disproportionate number of respondents (3 out of 5) who were reluctant about sacrificing their privacy for convenience coming by way of it.

All of the respondents in that same vein subscribed to using their mobile devices for text messaging, checking emails, placing phone calls, and  accessing the Web. While the youngest of them exhibited a predilection for downloading ring tones, ring-backs and video games (among other things). These commonalities and differences alike, in usage, are additional components of m-branding known as ‘immediacy’, ‘immersion’, ‘interactivity’, and ‘mobility’. Mobile devices allow for the convenience of immediate participation, responsiveness, and real-time engagement with others. They are among those essential items we carry everyday like keys, purses, and wallets. And they serve as the most powerful driving forces behind content building and revenue growth in m-commerce. 

Such being the case, it spawned many relevant questions with one (1) in particular being: 

Could the success of a mobile marketing campaign in part be a function dictated by age-related trends and values?

Disposable Income

Based on the amount of disposable income spent per month on ring tones  and other forms of digital media  by the 16 year old, I believe the answer exists in the prescient generalization made by Mathieson  that “teenyboppers... build brand affinity and even sales” in this particular segment of the market. It may also be quite reasonable to surmise that the success of a mobile marketing campaign at least in part is a function dictated by age-related trends and values, especially given the 10 - 20 dollars of disposable income spent per month on ring tones and other forms of digital media by the teenager surveyed here, albeit a survey limited in mere size and scope.

Nevertheless, the mobile commerce industry is consumer driven. And this survey was administered in order to gather at least a modicum of relevant information relative to those values and demands of the mobile consumer who exercise their buying power and share in the experience. This is pivotal in forging successful mobile marketing campaigns that take into account the consumer needs and improves upon m-commerce trends taking place in the new digital space. The same campaigns that garner brand recognition, generate sales, and build brand loyalty. Or better yet, those mobile marketing campaigns that have the earning potential to enhance a company’s entire ecosystem of products and services while otherwise enhancing its overall bottom-line. This is the future of mobile media and communication. Just take a look below at what's to come. 

Internet Marketing and Web Search Optimization

Traditional Marketing vs Internet Marketing

If it is true that the best things in life are free, then company's engaged in traditional forms of marketing might want to cry freedom. Millions of dollars are strategically poured into television spots, radio spots, press releases, creative advertising ploys, direct mail, trade shows and/or the like in order to increase sales. But, the game has changed with burgeoning technology. So too has the marketing rules and resources used to meet a company's media marketing bottom-line.

And the very nature of this new marketing phenomenon is best captured in an e-book entitled, “The New Rules of Viral Marketing”, written by David Meerman Scott. Mr. Scott uses the story told by Cindy Gordon, the Vice President of New Media and Marketing Partnerships at Universal Resort Orlando to provide an inside look at the exploits of new viral marketing techniques used in connection with social media technologies, and the uproarious success it has garnered over a short span of time. To the extent where, it is rewriting the old rules of marketing and re-framing how information is disseminated. Cindy Gordon along with "7 rabid fans of Harry Potter" launched a viral marketing campaign using what they called "Word-of-Mouse" to promote her theme park, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter”. The campaign reached over 350 million people around the globe with random clicks of a mouse. It was an interactive marketing campaign built on the internal construction of a webcast and micro-site that reached hundreds-of-thousands of consumers and grew into hundreds-of-thousands more when cultivated like that of a fatal virus that replicates itself by ravaging everything in its path.

A Virus in Nature

In nature, all a virus needs in order to feed and live is a host that provides an environment with the right set of conditions for mutation. The same is true for the new rules in spreading ideas using viral marketing techniques. Except, in cyberspace, the Internet is the host where relationships are built one (1) click and one (1)consumer at a time. While Social media sites, Blogging sites, Micro-sites, Vlogging sites or the like serve as the new breeding grounds for viral marketing campaigns because they represent new environments that are conducive to effective branding and unlimited marketing success.

Avatar, the one (1) billion dollar box office sensation reinforces the effectiveness of these new breeding grounds evidenced in the sheer numbers generated during their campaign run to second highest grossing film of all times using viral marketing in connection with social media technologies. Below is a brief synopsis of their astronomical numbers according to the article, “How Social Media and the Web Helped Avatar Make $1 Billion”, written by Samuel Axon:

Social Media Technologies

• Twitter: 18,000 followers
• Facebook: 700,000 fans
• MySpace: 781,599 friends

Additionally, they expedited a viral marketing campaign that included the following:

• 2 Apple trailers in 2 alternating months where a lion’s share of their buzz came by way of fan remixed web trailers (interactivity).
• An interactive trailer presented by Adobe Air.
• MTV-hosted live webcasts on Facebook.
• A live broadcasting that premiered on Ustream.

It seems Avatar’s viral marketing campaign stole a page right out of David M. Scott’s e-book on ways, a business can benefit by "... harnessing word-of-mouse". And needless to say, it proved quite effective, as it expanded their ambit of influence. Though viral marketing and social media are two separate but equally plausible entities, they clearly mesh well. Well enough to forge a massive path to new marketing freedom. A freedom that company's using traditional forms of marketing can only cry out about when pushing to seal the deal on the same fate— a $1 billion dollar fate. Or better yet, a fate and deal that is sealed when a solid viral marketing campaign comes together with a solid social media plan, and by word-of-mouse drives home the point that maybe... just maybe, the best things in life are free.

Advanced Entertainment Law

Getting Signed to a Major Record Label— New 360 Deals

Practicing Entertainment Attorney Richard Jefferson

For more info:  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/arts/music/11leed.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Product and Artist Management

Becoming a Manager

Music Executive Michael Blue Williams

Recent Developments in the News: http://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle/guns-for-greatness-buyback-nypd/

Negotiation and Deal-Making

Arbitration, Mediation, Negotiation and Deal-Making

Global Entertainment Business

Shakespeare said in The Merry Wives of Windor that "the world is your oyster (Act 2, Scene 2, 2-5)." Meaning life is full of endless possibilities. But what would life on earth really be without all the lovely benefits of creativity? And since over 70 percent of the earth's landscape is made-up of water, it would probably be nothing more than a huge sea of eternal darkness without it. In the chapters of The Entertainment Marketing Revolution: Bringing the Moguls, the Media, and the Magic to the World by Al Lieberman with Patricia Esgate, it is asserted that “somewhere along the lines, there has to be the heart of the movie, the book, the script, the score–the creative idea." Bringing facts to bear about the creative component in global entertainment business and content marketing for that matter— it is indispensable. But more importantly, it is virtually consumed through all things digital which involves a digital creative process within a digital space that is driven by atomized 'bits' of rich media content. That rich media content situated between cross-platform universes of digital technology including, but not limited to: 

• TV 
• Cable  
• Broadband 
• Mobile Devices
• Internet

Moreover, the scores of content marketers and people worldwide that contribute to this digital creative process within the digital space in many ways alter what fuels, drives, and defines "the soul of entertainment" while giving impetus to its high-tech appeal. A high-tech appeal that certainly attract diverse audiences into the fold, but presents content marketers with challenges when trying to keep pace with the speed at which public opinion’s fluctuate, tastes change, trends shift, and information travels. An explicit dynamic that Lieberman describes as Perishability, and that of which he further laments about as being a 'game changer', as well as a "driving force behind the so called rat race" in the field of entertainment. Or further still, a system within a market that is readily exploited by those content marketers most proficient at “simultaneously producing, promoting, distributing, and transacting with consumers.” In other words, the entertainment industry is a fickle market, according to Lieberman. What is popular today could very well be passe' tomorrow. The only indelible truth in the field of entertainment is the fact that the digital creative process is heavily anchored by high quality content. And high quality content is unequivocally King in today's information age. It is a real force to be reckoned with nowadays, especially when it comes to launching Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Viral Marketing campaigns (among other things), whether in the field or outside the field of global entertainment business.

Such being the case, it was deemed imperative long ago that specific control measures be instituted to prevent unauthorized reproduction and/or use of it. First enacted into law at the Universal Copyright Convention in Geneva, as an alternative to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, but later adopted by the United States and administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) were the following conditions:

“…Protection that covers published and unpublished literary, scientific and artistic works, whatever the form of expression provided such works are fixed in a tangible or material form. This means that if you can see it, hear it and/or touch it - it may be protected. If it is an essay, if it is a play, if it is a song, if it is a funky original dance move, if it is a photograph, HTML coding or a computer graphic that can be set on paper, recorded on tape or saved to a hard drive, it may be protected. Copyright laws grant the creator the exclusive right to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute, perform and display the work publicly. Exclusive means only the creator of such work, not anybody who has access to it and decides to grab it.”

According to fact sheet P-08 of the Berne Convention, it should also be noted that certain actions are prohibited without the permission of the copyright owner, who retain exclusive rights to their works or high quality content for the minimum duration period that copyright awards. Rights such as the following:  

• The right to authorize translations of the work.
• The exclusive right to reproduce the work, though some provisions are made under national laws which typically allow limited private and educational use without infringement.
• The right to authorize public performance or broadcast, and the communication of broadcasts and public performances.
• The right to authorize arrangements or other types of adaptation to the work.
• Recitation of the work, (or of a translation of the work).
• The exclusive right to adapt or alter the work.

The author also has the following moral rights:

• The author has the right to claim authorship
• The right to object to any treatment of the work which would be ‘prejudicial to his or her honor and/or reputation.

Since the enactment of these Copyright provisions to protect the King of this thing called Intellectual Property (IP), there were also many changes made to the IP rules, criteria, and definitions too. Changes that transformed the entertainment industry, as a necessary function to accommodate its ever expanding platform of creative works steeped in mediums that ranged from traditional writings to motion pictures, videotapes, sound recordings, computer programs, databases, art works, and even sculpture works. All of which at the very speed of change itself would give passage to legal reforms by the U.S. Senate to criminalize acts that circumvent controlled access of copyrighted works as well as cyber-protect infringement of such works against unauthorized reproduction and/or use of it. The enactment of aforesaid reforms took place on the 28th day of October in 1998, when President Bill Clinton signed into law the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a piece of legislation written to address: 

1. Online copyright infringement liability limitation.

2. Computer maintenance competition assurance.

3. Six (6) miscellaneous provisions related to copyright protections. 

Entertainment Platform 

Not only did this represent a pivotal moment in the field of Intellectual Property protection, it served as another era of legal reforms made to the copyright laws that protected high quality content.



By signing into law the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the government attempted to accommodate those burgeoning technological developments of the new digital millennium– innovations that set the entertainment platform ablaze requiring change management and legal reforms that disallowed access to copyrighted material through the circumvention of copyright protection systems.

  

On venturing forth to the first (1st) day of December in 2005, an article was released by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) pushing back against these legal reforms and pushing back hard. In particular, the EFF took issue with Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies or circumvention control measures used to control access of CD's, DVD’s and other digital media products sold on the market. Those circumvention control measures that resulted in the following drawbacks:

     A. Inability to playback copy-protected audio CD’s.

     B. Inability to view foreign region-coded DVD movies on U.S. players.

     C. Inability to fast-forward through un-skippable commercials.

     D. Inability to play and make full use of public domain motion pictures.

These were all attributes married to a system that the EFF considered “broken” because it was considered an anti-competitive practice that impinged upon consumers rights and prevented optimum pleasure of the digital media (www.eff.org). Consequently, they entered two proposals in appeal of DRM technologies by requesting exemptions on fail safe mechanisms. It was rejected. And as a result, they were forced to capitulate and accept the DRM technologies used to govern the vast range of digital media products sold on the market in this new digital millennium because it was mandated by law.

In fast forwarding to present times, an interesting four (4) man panel discussion entitled: Protecting Your Intellectual Property (IP) - The Policies and Technologies for Managing Risk attempted to shed some light on existing issues and possible remedies related to digital media governance, as well. With moderator David Bloom at the helm and facilitating the process, the floor was opened up with the following question to start:  

"Are there changes that need to be included in the next stages of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)?" 

To lead the way was George Borkowski, a partner at Mitchell Siberberg & Knupp, who mentioned the prospect of updating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act altogether. So that it would reflect the full spirit of “… social networking sites exploding everywhere". He also stressed the need for Congress to re-assess and clarify what "contributory infringement, direct infringement, and secondary infringement” meant today in these recent times of the social media revolution (49:30).

MySpace

Not too long thereafter, David Bloom would extend to the panel a hypothetical scenario involving MySpace. He quipped, “… you can host video’s on your site and maybe even get revenues out of them, but try to figure out if someone puts something up there that’s a copyright violation.” And the following question was posed as a result: 

"Who would be liable-- MySpace or the member?" 

Critical Thinking

The objective here was to encourage critical thought about risk matters concerning copyright infringement issues, culpability matters, and/or impending liability claims that Congress would likely have to contend with in such an event.

Another touch point covered by David Bloom involved a scenario, whereby a European businessman with a flexible view of American Copyright Laws in turn travels to the United States, and reverse engineers the “Fair Play” of DRM for Apple's iPod. He does this with hopes of selling it to various companies and having them run their own content on it. The following question was then posed as a result: 

"Would it dodge the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and how would Apple and Steve Jobs feel about it?"

Interestingly enough, the consensus regarding reverse engineered DRM on Apple’s iPod received very little backlash by members on the panel. And to the contrary, they felt it actually represented a better business model— both domestically and internationally. They also felt the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks, as it would allow other providers to safe-harbor their own content through use of Apple’s iPod. Despite the fact that, it would literally force Steve Jobs hand at making certain concessions in way of iTunes, iTunes music, and all other relevant content that they host.

Reverse Engineering of DRM

Panelist and Chief Engineer Reza Rassool weighed in to offer a more technical viewpoint about matters by elaborating on the interplay of Apple’s encryption process. 

To that end, he dispelled the notion of hacking or reverse engineering DRM, as a necessary means to importing 'foreign' content into the device. 

He explained in clear terms that there were 'simpler alternatives' that existed, which received a substantial amount of attention in Europe. He further stressed that the lack of correspondence received from Apple’s attorney(s) with respect to the legal ramifications of alternative encryption otherwise suggested that imports of foreign content from other data sources into the Apple device(s) quite possibly had some legal standing. Bringing to bear the following question: 

"What legal parameters surround re-circumvention of the device— or better yet, serve as a platform for uploading legal copyrighted content?" 

This constituted one of the most compelling questions of the discussion and it left the panelists somewhat bewildered and unable to provide a concrete answer. 

Encased in Bewilderment

In sum, there are arbitrary legalities associated with the emergence of digital technology and related innovations that abound. Ever-increasing innovation does not come without a price, but there is growth through legal reform(s). And while digital technology has paved the way to a highly evolved entertainment industry and global world market, it is copyright and intellectual property laws that serve to provide the legal adhesive that keeps it all together. Also, it represents monetization and protection mechanisms (among other things) granted to firms and used by content marketers around the globe to attract, engage, and sale audiences on their works showcasing high quality content. High quality content from which all salient elements of value sprout, whether tangible or intangible, and whether disseminated in the form of expressions, information, knowledge or stories that truly have the propensity to build rapport, generate revenue(s), and optimize service(s) in this technology-driven market that is Global Entertainment Business. 

Business Finance versus Human Resources

Business Finance

Top professionals of business finance in positions of authority at most organizations hold titles such as Corporate Executive Officer (CEO), Corporate Financial Officer (CFO), and Chief Operating Officer (COO), which among other things calls for business and financial acumen, as well as exceptional analytic and decision-making skills. In these positions the evaluative focus is mainly rooted in financial capital and sustained by meticulous and close analysis of capital expenditures, revenues, cost structures, and profit margins etc. The quality characteristics inherent in and developed by these top business professionals tend to be more geared towards tackling complex issues related to finance, operations and marketing.

Human Capital Management

Whereas within the same organizational structure but marching to a somewhat different drum is Human Resources (HR), the acting gatekeepers and inadvertent matchmakers of the organization. Top positions of authority in Human Resources carry titles such as Director of HR, President of HR Generalist, Labor Relations Managers and many more, which among other things calls for a good code of ethics, superior organizational skills, sound judgement, and proper exercise of discretion. Within these positions the evaluative focus is primarily rooted in human capital and sustained by meticulous and close analysis of company labor costs, employee attendance rates, staff training or the number of performance reviews completed and distributed etc. The quality characteristics inherent in and developed by top HR professionals tend to be more geared towards tackling complex issues related to human capital management (with value given to people-oriented matters). 

 

Judging from the two profiles, it is not hard to discern the disparate ideological divide that is likely to exist between business finance professionals and human resources professionals. On one hand, it seems the business finance professional is likely to take a more quantitative approach to business functions. While on the other hand, it seems the human resources professional is likely to take a more qualitative approach to business functions. At the end of the day, it is all business. Right? Still, in order to get some insight into the process in general, as well as gain some perspective about the human capital strategy versus the financial capital strategy, I decided to hold a discussion with a Human Resources Executive at G2 Worldwide. In so doing, it unveiled some of the more elusive operating procedures that exist between and among the two entities. Also, it sheds light on ways to possibly bolster strategic consistency between the two of them, which allows the overall organization (in this case -- G2 Worldwide) to implement its chosen plan of action in a more seamless fashion.

In terms of G2 Worldwide's background information, the organization is a subsidiary to parent company Grey Global Group located in New York City. As one of the largest global networks in brand communications, Grey Global Group maintains 86 offices with well over 2000 employees throughout 42 countries covering regions, as far as Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, Latin America, North America and the Middle East. Their vast client base includes: Heineken, E*Trade, Coca-Cola, Adobe, Canon, Diageo, NFL, Aetna, and many others. They are the winners and recipients of the 2009 Cannes Award having worked on numerous high profile campaigns that produced record-breaking results by way of effective political branding (OBAMcCAIN and The United Nation), product branding (Pantene, Toshiba, and Coca-Cola Zero), and service branding (Frontier Airlines).

A most noteworthy span of time in the company's history dates back to 1970 - 2003. At that time, the CEO of Grey Global Group was advertising titan Edward H. Meyer. Meyer. He would help grow the company's profit margins by 40 times from $29.5 million to $1.3 billion dollars within 33 years of his 35 years at the helm. A truly remarkable accomplishment that resulted in Grey's designation as a super agency and rightful place in marketing communications as a global leader of the marketing and advertising world. 

In 2007, Edward H. Meyer would officially step down after 50 years at the helm. He would be succeeded by James R. Heekin III. Just prior to stepping into the position at the time, James R. Heekin III worked closely with a senior management group he created anew to carry-out a freshly minted initiative called the "New Grey". According to Heekin III, this new platform for Grey represented a bold new design that would "... sharpen our competitive edge in creativity, total communications, strategic planning and business development". This new vision for the company would raise the bar for Grey in the advertising and marketing communications space and resulted in a vast array of performance awards for creativity including: 

• 10 Cannes Lions
• "Agency of the Year" at the European Effies 
• Addy “Best of Show” for Nokia
• Clio for Frontier Airlines, 
• Emmy for Dairy Queen in North America

These performance awards for creativity while contributing to the legacy of the late great Edward H. Meyer  also made for a smooth succession transition for James R. Heekin III.    

G2 Worldwide

The HR professional of the New Grey or G2 Worldwide humble beginnings began in New York City, where she was born and raised and attended Elementary and Junior High school before heading off to Ithaca, N.Y. to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology at Ithaca College. Upon graduation, she moved into a position with New York Daily News. While at Daily News, she worked as an Administrative Assistant for a few years. She then transitioned into a position with Sotheby's New York-- an Art Auction House-- where she worked in a functional role as a HR professional. Also, where she labored for 6 progressive years before pursuing a Master’s Degree at The New School in downtown New York City. A decision and power move that would prove quite beneficial, as it helped forge the path to her current role as a Human Resources Manager with G2 Worldwide.

As manager at G2 Worldwide, the HR professional is charged with facilitating talent acquisition efforts, overseeing personnel, and managing day-to-day operations. Her role is considered highly crucial because it can have a considerable impact on the company's bottom-line. She explained, in terms of the company's bottom-line that taking a parsimonious approach to recruitment helps reduce costs and optimizes resource efficiency because effective recruitment efforts mean less turn-over. And less turn-over yields a high return on investment, which is a long-term benefit for the company.

Value Chain

The HR professional also mentioned that there are a combination of internal and external influences ranging in source, scope, and degree that either negatively or positively impact finances up and down the value chain. For instance, the internal influences of the marketing department may require an increase in talent acquisition efforts. Changes in their marketing strategies as a result of new product development or entry into a new market might require the creation of new positions to be filled. As the Human Resources Manager, it is her job to manage these changes by finding innovative ways to recruit, hire, and train new staff while providing them with the tools they need to succeed. This keeps staff morale, motivation, and interest levels up, as well as add to the company's bottom-line when properly aligned with its profitability objectives.

De-massing or Planned Downsizing

Furthermore, the HR professional explained how external influences like hard economic times resultant of lets say a recession is when a red flag is raised signaling 'cutbacks' and usually calls for de-massing or planned downsizing to reduce costs (e.g. 2009 - 2010 economic recession). In such cases, a meeting commences between human resources and senior management. Performance reviews are conducted and staff utilization reports are generated. Based on the numbers produced by the utilization reports or those reports that invariably serve as productivity indicators in assessing the performance levels of staff members within various units of the organization, a myriad of highly informed decisions are made to either improve employee productivity, reduce waste or eliminate useless activities in order to satisfy the budgetary requirements of the department. And this may be stating it lightly depending on the extenuating circumstances.

Nevertheless, the internal and external influences of the business affect the process of human capital management and how it relates to business financial management. This was made quite clear after chronicling the journey of HR professional and her role in the larger context of things within and throughout the organization. From her vantage point, it  was apparent that a philosophical divide existed between the Business Finance professional and the Human Resources professional. And that balancing the interests of the two through training represented a pivotal next step towards leveraging the business finance strategy against the human capital strategy in order to exact strategic consistency and overall better business.