Oops! The financial services industry has some toilet paper on its shoe but is still unwilling to look down.

Happy New Year.
2012 marks a major milestone in financial advisor history, but it may take a while before it appears in the history e-books.

Online financial education and advice start-up firm, LearnVest*, (www.learnvest.com) has not only raised $25 million in venture capital, but it has also just launched the first series of prepackaged, e-enabled financial plans that are accessible to the masses and priced between $69 and $349.

How ’bout them apples?

For many years, financial services firms have either been trying to figure out how to reach the masses efficiently OR avoid them completely, focusing on the affluent and wealthy markets. After all, like Willie Sutton said, “that’s where the money is.”

While the rest of the financial services world is waiting for the younger, less affluent people to inherit the money of their boomer parents, LearnVest found a different opportunity.

Join Hosts Phil Davis and Kevin Gibson as they welcome Mike Maddock, founder of Maddock Douglas, self described as a "Innovation Company". Maddock and his team have successfully assisted many major brand companies to innovate more effectively and get great ideas to become great products and services that have we now get to enjoy!

Thinking About How Patients and Providers Can Get Health Care Done Without Any of What We Use Today

We’ve all heard about flash mobs. The first one was organized by a guy named Bill Wasik in 2003. He used social media, text messaging and email to organize about a hundred people to gather around an expensive rug on the ninth floor of Macy’s in New York. They told approaching sales and management staff that they all lived together in a warehouse and were choosing a “love rug” for their collective living room. It spawned a movement. Today, you can find hundreds of YouTube videos of crowds dancing, singing, clapping or chanting together for no other apparent reason than they wanted to do it together as a group.

The distinguishing features of flash mobs are what they aren’t. Flash mobs are not promotional. They aren’t sponsored. Flash mobs are 100 percent grass-roots driven. They have organizers but no command and control. Participation is optional. They are, by definition, local and assembled for no other purpose than to scratch some collective social itch. They happen and then fade instantly out of public view.

*For any of you who are not in the securities field who might be reading this, the U5 is the form that broker dealers use to terminate registered reps.

The U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights numero uno says that:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

But of course this does not really apply to social media for anyone who wants to keep their securities license.

While I will NOT say that broker dealers are in any way infringing upon any inalienable rights, FINRA and their interpretation of it sure makes it unattractive to say what you really think to a bunch of people who may be willing to listen. It

OK, I can’t hide this. This article is the 2.0 to the last one I wrote called What if the Insurance Industry Worked on Tips? While that idea was inspired by a Friday night with an industry colleague who had designs on reinventing the compensation system for insurance agents, we still had the rest of the weekend to figure out what the next generation of product would potentially look like.

And then it hit us—airlines, credit cards, retailers, etc., work on this “point” thing that has everyone figuring out whom they want to be loyal to, so they get points to either buy more, or use as a currency for other things they want.

As they say at Guinness…“brilliant.” But we were drinking something else.

How the heck does that apply to insurance?

Well think about this.

Suppose, just suppose, that individuals, particularly those who don’t think they can afford much insurance, whether it be health, life, auto, home, etc., etc., funneled their

Who’da thunk that a NYC cab ride to Buddakahn, a morning at Massage Envy and a bottle of Pouilly-Fuisse could inspire such a revolutionary idea. (OK, wipe that expression off of your face and keep reading.)

My friend Christi and I are both insurance geeks, and we are too young to retire.

So instead of lamenting about the janky* model of distribution that we are so familiar with, we dreamed up something else last Friday night.

What if the consumer was the one to determine how much an insurance producer ultimately got paid? (Said under your breath, “yeah right,… but hmmm.”)

Zowie.

One school of thought would be that the producer would starve to death because the consumer hates when they make money “off of them.”

Another school of thought might lean into the idea that today’s consumer likes to make his/her own choices. Oftentimes, they are making decisions based on social reasons, not just whether or not they like someone, or thought they did an excellent job, but also based on social norms.

I can’t resist this.

In the last few days, S&P downgraded the pristine credit rating of two leading mutuals, two fraternals, one stock company and a country. What is next? Will planet Earth become a mere AA+, as well?

I understand their position. They cannot look past the obvious facts about gross debt, unemployment and spending patterns of the U.S., and not do something. But the question is, is it an economic issue or a political one? In many ways, it doesn’t matter. Ratings are only valuable as relative to something else. And now they are all arguing about whether or not that data is correct.

Data, schmata.

Let them argue their butts off. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the future of the rating system is going to work very differently. There will no longer be a few experts who tell the world what your grade is. The transparency and access to information will

What Biopharma Marketing Needs to Learn About the Start-up “Pivot”

I feel like I’m having the same conversation over and over. I sit down with some smart, forward-thinking pharma or biotech marketing executive and we both agree that the health care landscape is changing radically and that it’s getting harder and harder for them to hit their numbers the way they used to. We discuss all sorts of new marketing paradigms based on experiences in other sectors — social media, paid content, location marketing, buzz marketing, whatever — and then there’s a pause … “yeah, but that’s not our core competency; we’re trying to focus on what we do best.”

Problem is, that’s not really working so well. Biopharma needs to pivot.

In 2009, Eric Reis, who wrote “The Lean Startup,” coined the term “pivot” to describe “the idea that successful start-ups change directions but stay grounded in what they've learned. They keep one foot in the past and place one foot in a new possible future.

You’ve probably heard many presentations that include the bleak LIMRA statistics telling us life insurance ownership is at a 50-year record low. You may also hear over and over again about the shrinking and aging of the agent distribution system, the frailty of product profitability and the regulatory threats to some of the key benefits of buying (or selling) life insurance. These problems are not separate from each other. They are all tied at some level to the widening relevance gap between the consumer and the industry.
Houston, we have a problem.

The insurance industry is confusing and boring our future consumers to tears. Actually, they are not crying about anything; they are just walking the other way. As Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo would say, “They’re just not that into us.”

Many have suggested that the solution is to simplify the product or make it easier and less painful to buy. And of course these things would help. However there is an area of

Death … it isn’t what it used to be.

As the life insurance industry reaches its 50-year record low for life insurance ownership in the U.S. (LIMRA 2010) and companies continue to struggle with how to reach the underserved middle market, one can’t be shocked at why the government is so hell-bent on taxing the cash value. Nobody’s talking about death these days.

A recent article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review took this statistic and shoved something in our faces. The consumer would rather go without life insurance than other “necessities.” Some experts in that article are suggesting that the point is limiting risk to survivors. If your spouse has a degree and can work, the risk of destitution is far less than it was in the past when women were barefoot, pregnant and without Facebook. 

While this could certainly play a role in the decline, I also think other factors are at play here. Not only is the consequence of the death of a breadwinner gentler than it used to be, the likelihood is also less. And that

Beyond the search for the really cool idea.

Where does innovation usually begin? With the product—the cool idea; the colorful gizmo whose ad copy writes itself, the paradigm-shifting process with the PowerPoint presentation that draws applause from the management committee.

Somebody in R&D develops a cell phone that will allow you to make calls from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro to anywhere in the world. A bunch of really smart people sit in a room and decide that “what this new Internet thing needs is its own online money to serve as an alternative to credit cards.” Someone in the company says, “I have the perfect solution to the problem that there are too many cars on the road, and people are too darn lazy to walk short distances or take a bike. Why don’t we create a two-wheel motorized scooter?”

What consumers eventually got, of course, was the Iridium phone, Flooz currency, and the Segway.

I work in green innovation. My job is to take the complexities of sustainability, find glimmers of innovative brilliance, then nurture those glimmers until they're fully formed and ready to change the world.

With that bias, I listened keenly to President Obama's State Of The Union speech. Would there be any ideas that could inspire revolutionary innovation? Any diamonds that America's green entrepreneurs could polish and turn into world-changers?

I believe there were.

The President hammered home the idea that We Do Big Things. We rally together in times of adversity. We take on impossible challenges. Innovation doesn't change our lives--it's what we do for a living.

I was inspired. And great innovation can't come without inspiration.

However, it takes more than just inspiration to create world-changers. It takes a nation that truly wants to be the best--and is willing to sacrifice and build together. Do we have what it takes?

Sustainability is very much a headline in B2C. But we don't hear much on the subject in B2B. Is it happening? What are the motivators for B2B businesses going green? And what are the consequences of 'wait and see'?

This article is the second in a three part series exploring B2B sustainability issues, culminating in a webinar Tuesday, February 8, 1pm EST (10am PST). To add the webinar to your Outlook calendar, click here.

Sometimes, a clever opener is the best way to draw readers. And other times, well, you just let the facts speak for themselves:

• Mail sorters at the main US Post Office in Reno, Nevada became the most productive and error-free in the western US after a 'green' energy and lighting upgrade in their building. The $300,000 upgrade produced $50,000 in yearly energy and maintenance savings...and a whopping $400,000 annual productivity gain from employees.

• VeriFone, a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard that makes electronic swipe readers to verify credit cards, renovated their building, beating California's strict Title 24 building code by 60 percent with a 7.5-year payback. More astonishing, however, was the

In the world of B2C, consumers form bonds with brands that deliver emotional benefits like security, smarts, and sex appeal.

In the world of B2B, there is a bond of trust between buyer and seller, but the product itself is scrutinized under the harsh light of performance. Is it better, faster, cheaper?

And more and more, is it greener?

How did sustainability make it to this top tier of B2B purchase considerations? To understand that, we can begin by looking at the profound shift to green in B2C.

Ignore Consumers at Your Peril

Today's consumers have more power over brands than ever before. Armed with new media and teamed with NGO's, they're forcing profound changes in the supply chain.

Consider Greenpeace's social media campaign against unsustainably sourced palm oil in Kit Kat bars. The campaign featured a grisly video that got more than 1.5 million views (even after Nestle had it yanked from Youtube). The video sparked an

We are witnessing an explosion of green products onto the North American market. By some measures, launches tripled between 2008 and 2009, and show no sign of slowing down.

True, of late there's been consumer fatigue in green sales. But this seems to be a natural reaction to the number of products flooding the market, and a symptom of the ongoing recession. It certainly hasn't put a damper on the pace of green products being launched.

The inevitable conclusion would seem to be supermarkets glowing green with brands espousing sustainable, organic, or fair trade credentials. But there are signs this scenario could be off the mark.

Shhhh, it's green

Nike is arguably one of the greenest consumer brands in the world. The company itself just won a gigaton award for carbon reductions at the Cancun climate talks. And shoes like the Air Jordan have been celebrated for their green innovation. But you won't find a green logo on the shoe.

I recently spoke at a marketing conference in Athens, Greece. Predictably, the conference theme was creativity in the face of austerity. Although the mood was dour, it was fascinating to hear delegate perspectives on what would heal the economy.

I asked many for their take on green innovation. Most thought it was a luxury for more prosperous times. Few made the connection between sustainability and cost savings, although they knew the story of Wal-Mart’s rise to green fame with eco-efficiency.

That said, I unearthed some great innovation stories, like the imaginative (and popular) subsidies Piraeus Bank was offering customers for everything from solar power to organic farming.

There were also rumblings that ‘old school’ public officials were being drummed out in favor of younger, more innovative thinkers. But on this front, the opinions seemed to reflect wishes more than facts.

The feeling overall was surreal. Although everyone sensed a pending emergency, nobody could paint a picture of the future or see the innovation opportunities the coming upheaval might bring.

Innovation thrives in ‘white space’: areas where a company can succeed by identifying and answering an unmet consumer need.

In the world of green business, there is incredible white space. In fact, the abundance can appear overwhelming to corporate leaders looking to turn sustainability into a business opportunity.

In this excerpt from a speech delivered late 2010, Maddock Douglas VP of Green Innovation Marc Stoiber describes five areas of massive white space that corporations should consider as jumping off points to success.

View Video Part 1

View Video Part 2

Stoiber speaks coast to coast on the subject, and advises Maddock Douglas clients on honing their green product and brand.

Have you seen the Maddock Douglas homepage?

Follow Maddock Douglas on Twitter

One of the greatest unsolved issues in the insurance and financial services industry is the business model of the future.

A recent study from IBM indicates that the “trust gap” between the industry and the end-consumer is fueling a “business model identity crisis." In other words, the thing that is keeping most of the industry executives awake at night is the fact that they do not know what the best way to deliver their products and services will look like in the future.

And it's no surprise. They've tried many solutions to the business model conundrum (they are expensive and “expensiver”). Face-to-face is effective but not always efficient. Online is efficient but not always effective. Direct to consumer causes angst, channel conflict, dark threats and a lot of emotionally charged procrastination. Direct to consumer puts smaller companies in a position to steal distribution “share” and it leaves larger brands with the task of coming up with a new way to "feed the beast."

More and more businesses are exploring ways to do good, whether it be by behaving with greater social conscience, seeking to lessen their environmental footprint, or both.

There’s only one problem with this business-as-savior model. That is, businesses weren’t designed to be saviors.

Certainly, you can tweak the model, introducing measures that write sustainability and social conscience right into the company dna. 

But you keep bumping into the fact that businesses are best when they’re focused on building shareholder value.

This fact wasn’t lost on Audette Exel. A no-nonsense Kiwi with an incredible pedigree as both a banker and lawyer, Exel wanted to make a positive impact but kept running into the limitations of the business model.

At the same time, she knew NGO was not the way to go. Although they seemed to have a better grasp of the complex systems that enveloped social or environmental problems, NGO

Just before the Olympics kicked off in Vancouver, our mayor unveiled a new logo and tagline for the city.

"Vancouver: Green Capital" was intended to focus the world on Vancouver's credentials as a green innovation hub. Instead of oohing and aahing at our scenery, Olympic visitors (and thousands of news cameras) would discover our prowess in greentech, urban planning and social justice.

Unfortunately, this new initiative is simply the latest in a long line of disconnected green branding efforts from a long line of well-meaning Vancouver mayors. And its effectiveness will no doubt be hampered by our inability to stick with one horse.

This scenario belies an innovation challenge for cities looking to establish themselves as green leaders.

So what is the key to building a strong green brand for a city? And is it worth the trouble?

Learning from Curitiba

Some cities seem to have cracked the code on successful green branding. Curitiba, for example, has achieved icon status as a center for green innovation. Speaking with Guilherme Fragomeni of Curitiba at this year's