O MANNY's

Several hidden organizations around us plan to keep everyone accountable.

Just came across this initiative that’s growing in momentum around the world, on a small scale at least. I take it; this was inspired by Wikileaks or possibly by people who feel empowered by affordable technology such as hidden cameras or self-surveillance-cameras, mobile phones, recording devices, tiny remote controlled robots, and social networking sites.

This might be an attempt by these groups to keep authority figures accountable for their actions in public or in private. Hey America, Britain, France, China, Russia, Visa, Amazon.com, think Wikileaks is scary wait to you see the baby wikileaks out there. They are like roaches constantly breeding. There are hundreds of groups of underground non-profit organizations in parts of Europe, North America, Asia, Middle East, and Australia that have come up with what I call, “GAMS” or “Global Authority Monitoring Systems” that observe authority figures in society, people in the position of power and trust: CEO’s, Officers, Pastors, Priests, Governments, Politician, Teachers, Environmentalist, Celebrities and even Parents.

They are so small, connected and lean therefore have several times the reach and size of any internal intelligence systems that exist. Imagine a 24/7 sophisticated network of organized surveillance, info sharing which in my opinion could either bring down civilization or improve civilization. A network of groups who observe others, from the time they wake up to their last meal, all for record keeping and that people in position of trust and power are accountable for their actions.

People with power fear people with power however some are never deterred from fighting if it warrants it. Think about it, would a pack of wolves go chasing a group of deer at once or try to isolate one? Would USA have invaded Iraq if it had the same military power? Microsoft doesn’t go head to head with Apple because every fight with an equally matched opponent can cost both parties.

Many of you might say, “Manny, everyone knows this.” However, I would say it’s always something to think about frequently and it’s something to think about when it comes to ones life because our world is base on that simple premise.

I have been observing how Donald Trump, not his Daughter, in “Celebrity Apprentice” and other celebrities interact with each other. Watching how Police Officers and Judges engage the vulnerable and the well-off. In the Apprentice, everyone has some form of strength in a particular area. Star Jones commands power with her presence, organizational skills, communication skills, connections, attitude, and determination to crush her opponents. But it’s always individuals who can’t match her that are thrown out the door. Gary manages to use his creativity to imagine ideas but his lack of focus and leadership skills makes him an easy target. Remember who were the first two to get fired on The Apprentice?

Some officers, politicians, celebrities, c.e.o’s or judges assert some form of unfair leverage to achieve their own agenda with no regard to fairness. Their position or access to resources enables the utilization of power over others and a deliberate declaration of superiority in the presence of those who appear inferior.

Take away anyone’s means of power and they are merely as frail as a roach. It’s just something to think about, do you want power or don’t you? Do you want to use your power for a greater good or exploit others while pretending to have their best interest in mind?

Who am I to judge? I know some people who work and play in a cruel and cold world that learn to practice the craft of survival tactics only to give back to society in tremendous ways. Their methods are their choice and eventually will either have to answer to their family, peers, the law or a greater power.

Trend #1: The salesperson of yesterday is becoming extinct.

Gerhard Gschwandtner, CEO of Selling Power magazine and host of the Sales 2.0 Conference, predicted that up to 15 million traditional sales positions will be displaced by technology over this decade. The trends of globalization and Internet-empowered buyers are devaluing the roles traditionally filled by salespeople—to provide product information and take orders. Gschwandtner says, “70% of purchasing decisions are now made online, before the buyer comes in contact with a salesperson. Customers are on the web, so if salespeople and marketers are not on the web, they’ll lose the business to competitors who are.” Gschwandtner continued, “A new breed of salesperson, which I call Salesperson 2.0, will evolve that is highly proficient with technology.”

Trend #2: The customer is in control.

Paul Melchiorre, VP Sales & Alliances at Ariba, defined Sales 2.0 as “buying cycles, rather than sales cycles, that are customer-driven and technology enabled.” Noting that buyers prefer to talk to their peers, rather than to salespeople, to get product information and opinions, Craig Rosenberg, VP of product and services at Focus Expert Network, proposed the new role of “sales facilitator,” a salesperson who “connects peers and stays out of the way.” The shift to accepting that customers control both information and sales velocity will likely be difficult for generations of marketing and sales executives who have traditionally been driven to produce short-term results.

Trend #3: Marketers are becoming publishers.

The fuel for these customer-driven buying cycles is Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah’s concept of “remarkable content”-- information and entertainment that attracts and engages buyers. The need to produce this content requires marketers to acquire new competencies. Rosenberg noted, “marketing organizations increasingly look like publishing and media organizations.” For example, a new trend in 2011 is the use of video, which is being enabled by technologies that greatly reduce the cost of producing video content. Speaker, Dave Fitzgerald went so far as to proclaim, “The whole world is going to video.” Marketing organizations, therefore, must now learn to be competent in video production.

Trend #4: Sales operations is becoming the revenue engine.

While remarkable content is the fuel, sales operations teams are becoming the engine on which marketing and sales are run. As most of the marketing and sales cycle increasingly happens “online,” the people, processes and technologies used to create and operate those “online” activities become mission-critical for the business. Michael Gerard, VP, Sales Advisory Practice at IDC, summarized, “The sales-operations function will be the driving force for productivity improvements in 2011.”