David Wyld
Founding member
Bio
Professor, Consultant, Doer. Founder/Publisher of The IDEA Publishing (http://www.theideapublishing.com/) & Modern Business Press (http://www.modernbusinesspress.com)
Stories (300/0)
Hal on the Line: AI and Automating the Customer Service Experience
Introduction: The Customer Service Dilemma for Companies - and All of Us - Today Let’s face it. All of us share a common experience - and a common modern problem. We fear, we dread, we lament, and yes, most of us literally hate having to call for customer service for anything! Of course, this is only if our cable company, our wireless carrier, our airline, or our health insurer even provides - let alone publishes somewhere - the actual phone number one should use to reach a real live customer service agent to speak with about whatever our problem - billing, technical, health, etc. might be of concern to us. As you no doubt have experienced, many companies today seem to go to great lengths to bury that 800 number that one could use to actually reach out to speak with a company representative about your issue under webpage after webpage. If you do manage to find the customer service information, often, you will be directed not to a phone number, but instead, you will see offerings to use their chatbot, their email, or their text-based customer service.
By David Wyld2 months ago in Futurism
The Confidence Gap
Could you land a plane if the pilot became incapacitated? Could you correctly use the Heimlich maneuver if someone at your table was choking? Could you give CPR if one of your friends, coworkers, or family members suddenly went into cardiac arrest? A recent study found that men were far more confident than women in their abilities - even if they lacked them - to do such critical tasks. We explore this “confidence gap” and how it translates into challenges - and opportunities - to build self-reliance in women, from school to career.
By David Wyld3 months ago in Viva
342 Coauthors?: Testing the Limits of Collaboration in an Age of Crowdsourcing
Overview Okay! If you have ever coauthored an article with one, two, three, or more people, you certainly looked at the title of this article and said something along the lines of “What the heck?” (or more, if you are alone right now). I know I did when I first heard of the existence of this article - an actual academic article that is accepted right now and will be appearing in an “A” journal (the Journal of Finance) very soon with - checks notes - well over 300 authors!
By David Wyld3 months ago in Education
Simply Splendid Splenda Motivation
Overview Sometimes, brilliant marketing is right there in front of you, and you don’t even notice it - or, more accurately, it hits you subliminally! It happened to me just the other day, even as one who seeks out great ideas to be able to share them with others in the world of business and beyond. A product that I had been using for a few weeks suddenly spoke to me - almost literally, and yes, their smart, splendid marketing move may have bought the company a customer for life - and yes, generated even more goodwill and potential sales as you read this article about my experience.
By David Wyld3 months ago in Journal
Alternative Publishing 101
Introduction: Have I Got a Deal for You in Academia Hey, all you writers out there! Do I have a proposition for you? Here’s the deal. You take your best ideas. You take your most current thoughts. You take your observations on the hottest topics in your field. You take your opinions on the top issues in the media and or in the minds of the general public. And then what do you do with them? Well, if you’re an academic, you take these and, in effect, shove them in a drawer for six months, a year, or two years - or maybe even longer. This sounds like a great strategy for building your personal brand, strengthening your social media presence, and marketing your expertise, eh?
By David Wyld3 months ago in Education
The “George Santosing of America”
Introduction: The George Santos Story IS America Today Okay, I will admit it. I am a management consultant and professor “of a certain age.” I have students in my classes who likely make far more in a year as influencers than I do from my “day job” as a tenured professor. And I "get" the new economy, where everyone is a brand and fame - whether from excelling and/or for doing good or for bad behavior - is marketable!
By David Wyld3 months ago in Journal
“And Do What?”: Why These Should Be the Three Most Important Words in Your Life and Career
Introduction: Two Magic Words - “It Depends!” One thing is for certain. Ask any consultant - usually loosened up after a few beers - what their “go-to” move is, and more than likely, you will hear what can be the several thousands of dollars - or much, much more - worth of wisdom that companies will pay highly for today. Every consultant has an area of expertise. Otherwise, what would they consult about (now no, we all know that doesn’t stop some people, now does it?).
By David Wyld3 months ago in Unbalanced
The "Go Big" Strategy for Colleges and Universities
College is more and more perceived as the pathway to a good career, even at a time when this pathway is being challenged on every front in a fast-transforming world in which institutions have struggled to keep up with the pace of change. Can colleges and universities change the way they market themselves to - and serve - a changing customer base with changing needs and wants out of the “college experience,” and if not, what does the future hold for the higher education industry? In this article, the author, himself a college professor and management consultant, offers his perspective on how colleges and universities must change in order to provide meaningful - and yes, customer-pleasing - experiences to be able to survive - and thrive - into the future.
By David Wyld3 months ago in Education
- Top Story - December 2023
The Tale of the Two Dollar Pizza BoxTop Story - December 2023
Introduction Two dollars. Most often, two dollars is not going to make the difference between “winning” and “losing” in business…but it sure can be! $2 can be the difference between making a profit and a loss on a specific transaction… and on a specific customer interaction. Two dollars can also be the difference between retaining a customer and losing a customer for good. In that instance, that two dollars is really worth a whole lot more than just two simple one-dollar bills. In fact, that two dollars can end-up costing the organization a far more than just two bucks, perhaps hundreds, thousands, or even more! If you lose a customer, and his/her/their business and thus, the future revenue stream you could have garnered from that individual/entity, you can cost your enterprise a whole lot more - many, many multiples of two dollars!
By David Wyld4 months ago in Feast
Red Lobster Meets Homer Simpson: A Lesson in Pricing for All
Introduction We Americans are known around the world for a lot of things. Our generosity. Our ingenuity and creativity. Our “can do” spirit. Our willingness to stand up for freedom. Our unique brand of football. Our guns. And yes, our gluttony.
By David Wyld4 months ago in Feast
Training Days…for Days and Days and Days!
Introduction Ah, it’s the fourth quarter. In what has now become one of America’s great sporting traditions, football players and their fans hold up four fingers to the sky - often eight, counting the digits on both their hands in the air. The goal of raising all of these hands with their fingers extended in the air: It is to let everyone in the stadium know exactly what time it is. In short, it’s time to get serious - damn serious - whether you are ahead, or behind, in the game. If you’re winning, the coaches, the players, and the fans know how important it is to “close things out” and win the game. On the other hand, if you’re losing, it’s time to “mount a comeback” and try to put your team in a position to win. Either way, everyone knows that the fourth quarter is “crunch time.” It’s where the game is one or lost, and with everything on the line, careers can be decided in an instant.
By David Wyld4 months ago in Journal
Are You Worth a Walmart Price…or an Airport Price?
Overview Sometimes, one social media post can teach you an important lesson. Yes, for all the time wasted on Twitter (or X, or whatever it is today), on Instagram, on Snapchat, on TikTok, or for us “of a certain age,” who are on Facebook, every once and a while, you can still land upon a real nugget of wisdom in the sea of dreck - and yes, sometimes even hate and porn - that is waaaaaaay too much of social media today! And, of course, for us “business”-types, LinkedIn is supposed to be the platform for “bidness” to be done and for jobs - and employees - to be found. And yet, it too has turned into all too often being a site where you are spammed with business and investment opportunities, and yes, some folks are even “looking for love” on LinkedIn.
By David Wyld4 months ago in Journal