“Hyperthinking” is the communicator’s solution to the “age of disruptive communication.” That’s the argument Philip Weiss will put forth in his session at the IABC World Conference. So what does it mean?

Let’s start with a definition for the “age of disruption” from Douglas Alden Warshaw, founder of First-Person Communication:

We’re living in the “age of disruption” — a time when technology has flattened the world, making it easier for new companies to be born, but more difficult for traditional companies to do anything but cut costs and cut jobs. In the age of disruption, change has become the only constant: business models are being torn up daily, and the skill-sets required of both workers and managers are in a constant state of redefinition.

Phillip Weiss describes “hyperthinking,” a term of his own creation, as a mindset that includes adapting to changes to the environment, changes in the technology we use and changes in the nature of unpredictable events.

What’s the role of innovation in a successful organization, and how can leaders foster a creative culture?

In this video produced by The CEO TV Show, Shelly Lazarus, former CEO and current chairman emeritus of Oglivy & Mather, shares her experience with building an innovative culture, which includes creating an environment where failure is OK and where great ideas are celebrated.

“It’s absolutely essential that people feel they can have wild and wacky ideas — some of them will by definition be ridiculous and will fail. But you’ve got to  make it all right to have some crazy ideas,” Shelly says, because it’s those unconventional concepts that pave the way for the “genius ideas” that will be successful.

How prevalent is deception in the workplace? How does it affect the organization and what should we do about it? IABC World Conference speaker and renowned communication expert, Carol Kinsey Goman, and other experts offer insights on lying in the workplace.

Goman shares the results of her initial research for her new book, The Truth about Lies in the Workplace: How to Spot Liars and What to Do About Them.

When I sent out a ‘deception in the workplace’ questionnaire, I received 547 responses that added to my growing knowledge – this time from first-hand accounts – about the negative effects that destructive lies have on individuals, teams and organizations. I learned that many people work (happily and productively) in organizations with ethical leadership and trustworthy co-workers. But I also learned that a majority does not: 67 percent of respondents said they have lost confidence in the truthfulness of senior leaders, 53 percent admitted that they don’t trust their managers, and 51 percent believed their co-workers regularly lied.

What does it take to be a transformational leader? Not just a good boss, but someone who can articulate a vision, and create profound change in both an organization and in the lives of employees.

In this video, Bill McDermott, co-CEO of business management software giant SAP, lays out some of the characteristics of great leaders, and great leadership.

First, he says, you need to have a compelling vision for why your business exists. As McDermott says: “Why do you matter in this world? And why should people care?” For SAP, which produces software for  business management, that purpose is to “make the world run better.”

Next, says McDermott, great leaders put people first. Because, he says, “The soft stuff is the real stuff.” That means having authentic, candid conversations with the people you work with.

Finally, great leaders “hire over their head every time.” They surround themselves with people who know more than they do to build superlative teams.

You can hear more from McDermott on leadership and communication at the “Conversation with transformative CEOs” panel at IABC’s upcoming World Conference in June.

Millennials are the largest generation in U.S. history, and though their importance isn’t disputed, the question remains, how should marketers target this large group?

In this interview for Market Research Technology TV, Jake Katz, general manager of YPulse, a youth research firm, and keynote speaker at this year’s IABC World Conference, has argued that marketers can’t rely on traditional marketing to successfully reach this audience. In fact, Katz notes that companies should “break the rules of traditional market research.”

Katz explains in the interview that marketers shouldn’t cling to the common behaviors of Millennials, but rather, understand the motivations and reasons behind those actions. “It’s more about the why behind the what,” notes Katz. “Why are those behaviors happening, where is it coming from…and as a marketer, how can you take that information and develop your creative so that it is more in tune with their psychological needs and less mirroring their behaviors?”

Kathleen Bush discusses the four “bad leader behaviors” that affect productivity and profits. What can business leaders and managers learn from watching the earnings of publicly traded companies? “Plenty,” says Kathleen Brush, a 25-year veteran of international business and author of “The Power of One: You’re the Boss,” (www.kathleenbrush.com), a guide to developing the skills necessary to become an effective, respected leader.

“When looking at the corporations reporting lower-than-expected earnings, you need to read between the lines. They are not going to admit that the reason is a failure of leadership, but 99 times out of 100 that’s what it is.”

She cites Oracle, the business hardware and software giant, which recently reported a quarterly revenue shortfall based on a decline in new software licenses and cloud subscriptions.

The company is “not at all pleased with our revenue growth this quarter,” Oracle co-president Safra Catz told analysts. “What we really saw was a lack of urgency that we sometimes see in the sales force …”

They are pointing the finger at the employees, but they are really admitting a failure of leadership, Brush says.

This article by Meg Carter for Fast Company looks at how Costa Coffee is using customer data to run a highly-personalized loyalty program that is beneficial to both customers and the organization’s brand. British-owned Costa Coffee is building brand engagement and an emotional connection with its customers through the effective use of data. Although, as Carter notes, customer loyalty programs are not new, Costa Coffee’s loyalty program is set apart by the number of active users who participate in the program. Carter cites that recent email campaigns have resulted in an estimated 35% open rate and promotion redemption rates have hovered around 70%. How is the organization achieving these numbers? The answer provides an interesting case study around using data effectively for brand engagement.  The company analyzes customer data across social media, retail and mobile to create emails that have 25 elements that can be personalized according to the unique products customers choose.

In addition Costa Coffee has launched a highly-evolved Coffee Club program. Carter notes, “This is where the brand’s sophisticated e-CRM strategy kicks in. By combining an understanding of where, what, why, and when registered Costa Coffee Club members buy with personalized e-marketing, Costa is motivating customers to consume more and to engage and interact more intimately with the brand.”

By understanding their customer and providing highly personalized and timely promotions, Costa Coffee has succeeded in building a deeply emotional and loyal connection with its customers in the highly-competitive coffee market.

The power of social media is playing itself out on the world stage this week, as U.S. authorities used crowdsourcing and the suspect’s own tweets to seek out the criminals of the Boston bombing case. But the advantages social media’s lightning speed can also be a disadvantage that causes confusion and chaos.

A string of tweets pointed the way

On the side of helping authorities, Twitter provided evidence of the suspect’s activities and mindset. According to a CNN post, a string of incriminating tweets lead authorities to the suspect, Dzhokar Tsarnaev. CNN also features a video on how social media was used by authorities during the disaster.Social media is both a help and a hindrance

In his article on CNET, Eric Mack showed how authorities in Boston bombing case are both helped and hindered by social media. Mack writes that “Authorities pursuing a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing have a love-hate relationship with social media. After initially asking for help via Twitter, law enforcement later requested that social-media users be a little more conscientious about the kind of information shared (or fabricated) on social networks.”

Often we discover that the greatest life lessons are learned when things don’t go according to plan. This is great for one’s personal life, but how can it be applied to your career? Embracing failure can be extremely difficult when your boss discourages mistakes and your job is on the line. However, there are a few organizations that are recognizing the value of acknowledging failure in the workplace.

Beth Kanter recently wrote a blog post for HBR on the importance of taking a “failure bow” when things go awry. Writes Kanter, “Instead of cringing when you make a mistake, you raise your hands in the air, announce, ‘I failed,’ grin like a submissive dog, and then move on.” She notes that doing so helps remove feelings of self-doubt and self-judgment which prevent us from growing.

Kanter points to a few examples of organizations who are finding creative ways of removing the shame from failure, including MomsRising. The team at MomsRising hold “joyful funerals” for failed campaigns, complete with flowers and a eulogy which they use as an opportunity to brainstorm ways to improve the campaign. By removing the stigma from failure, employees are encouraged to test new ideas to obtain success.