Trust In Small
I’ve written about people, size, and trust plenty, but Harvard Business always says it better. This post connected a few ideas currently swirling around in my head, and put them so succinctly. Some snippets:
The gap of confidence between small companies and big ones is growing. We used to rely on the security of big companies. That’s why we worked for them. And hired them. And put our money in them.
But with the virtual collapse of AIG, Lehman, Citibank, GM, Chrysler, and many more — now even GE is in trouble — all that’s changed. Now it’s a risk to do business with the big ones.
We simply don’t trust companies anymore. We trust people. And in big companies, it’s hard to even find a person to trust as we scream “operator” into our telephones only to get transferred to another menu whose options have changed.
Small is the new big. Sustainable is the new growth. Trust is the new competitive advantage.
Everyone is Small On The Internet
So what do you do if you’re big? Act small of course. And if you look at the growing list of CEOs joining twitter, you realize many are – because social media helps us realize CEOs are people too.
A few days I ago I stumbled onto this slide from Undercurrent. It’s a handsome offer:
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Being Small Off-line
Obviously small brand tactics aren’t limited to the web. Newer successful mass brands like LuLuLemon and Innocent are built on smaller, non-corporate attitudes. Being human is hip. So have I mentioned this idea to Take Your Customer To Work on May 28th?
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