Real-Time Marketing & PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now

Chapter 16. Business at the Speed of Now

Congratulations, you've made it to the last chapter of this book! By this point, I hope you're convinced as I am of the real-time imperative facing business today. If you remain unconvinced, I hope at least you've found food for thought and some entertaining stories.

If you are convinced, though, you may face the dilemma I find that many people reach once they absorb these ideas. Where do I start?

I'll say it again: Business at the speed of now starts with a change of mind-set. Accept the challenge. Put real-time speed on your short list of top priorities. Rethink your assumptions.

I think this mind-set shift is much like the lifestyle change you make when you commit to a regular exercise routine. When I discuss the real-time mind-set, some people say "I'm too busy as it is, how can I add all this stuff to my day!" But that's what people say about exercise, too: They are too busy to exercise an hour a day. But once you build exercise into your routine, you don't know what you were doing before that was so important. Real time is the same.

Once you're focused on the challenge, implementing the changes you need to meet becomes straightforward.

In this chapter I offer you three diverse examples of real-time business at work. I relate how executives at General Motors embraced real-time engagement as the giant automaker emerged from the ashes of bankruptcy. Brian Halligan discusses how he created a software maker founded on real-time agility. Finally, ...