ÁLVARO GONZÁLEZ-ALORDA

Building Businesses in Emerging Markets

2013-05-07T19:44:00.004+02:00

I've recently participated in the program "Building Businesses in Emerging Markets" at Harvard Business School. It's hard to summarize in a post so many learning experiencies. Here is one: the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) is quite diverse across the world, but the following recommendations presented in the classroom by Professor Kas Rangan may help you to designing your entry approach depending on each sub-segment: Middle Income, Low Income and Subsistence.

We were 40 people from 18 different countries. But let me introduce the formidable team with which I was pleased to work: Tolu Adesalu, Ralf Otto, Álvaro, Tasu Adamjee, Jesús García and Thomas Holenia.

Mellon Hall at HBS.

Charles River.

View from my room at HBS. Not bad, uh? ;-)

10 cosas que he aprendido vendiendo servicios profesionales...

2013-04-29T10:33:00.002+02:00

...en la última década. Vídeo de la sesión que impartí en el Congreso Internacional de Madrid Excelente: Claves para convertirse en una miniMultinacional.

CNN lo ha publicado en versión vídeo + artículo: ¡Por favor despídeme!

Just got back from Peru...

2013-04-15T17:16:00.001+02:00

...and this is what I've found... Behind this macroeconomic indicator there are millions of families improving their quality of life step by step, as one gets to Machu Picchu, where I hope to go next June. ||| Acabo de regresar de Perú. Y esto es lo que me he encontrado... Detrás de este indicador macroeconómico hay millones de familias mejorando su calidad de vida pasito a pasito, como se llega a Machu Picchu, adonde espero subir en junio.

Entrevista sobre The Talking Manager en CNN Español

2013-03-23T18:42:00.002+01:00

Glenda Umaña me entrevistó para CNN sobre el libro The Talking Manager.

CNN también me ha publicado este artículo:
12 claves para abordar conversaciones difíciles.

Escoge una conversación pendiente y...

2013-03-16T18:32:00.000+01:00

My talk at TEDxPuraVida. Mi charla en TEDxPuraVida.

Programa de INNOVACIÓN 2013

2013-03-02T12:16:00.000+01:00

2013 Programs download. ||| Descargar Dossier de Programas 2013.

emergap · innovation in emerging markets

2013-01-23T12:23:00.000+01:00

I will devote my energy to this project over the next decade. We dream of contributing to improve the quality of live of thousands of people in the emerging countries by helping companies to develope disruptive innovations. Voy a dedicar mi energía a este proyecto durante la próxima década. Soñamos con que contribuya a mejorar la calidad de vida de miles de personas en los países emergentes, ayudando a las empresas a implementar innovaciones disruptivas. www.emergap.com

LA OPORTUNIDAD DE LOS PAÍSES EMERGENTES

CÓMO TRABAJAMOS

WORKSHOPS

Dedicated to the 'anonymous' followers...

2012-12-26T19:37:00.003+01:00

IT'S NOT SO DIFFICULT from Alvaro González-Alorda

A Christmas Short Story ··· Un relato breve navideño

2012-12-16T10:22:00.000+01:00

Before Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were around, almost a decade ago, I wrote this short story with which I would like to wish you merry Christmas. ||| Antes de que existiesen Facebook, Twitter e Instagram, hace casi una década, escribí este breve relato con el que me gustaría felicitarte la Navidad. Play&Read

Winter Song by Sarah Mc Lachlan on Grooveshark

Please, lay me off ··· Por favor, despídame

2012-12-12T09:29:00.000+01:00

On December 12th 2002, I was laid off as a consequence of the internet bubble. What a blessing! These are 10 lessons I’ve learned selling professional services over the last decade. /// El 12 de diciembre de 2002 me despidieron como consecuencia de la burbuja de internet. ¡Qué bendición! Estas son 10 lecciones que he aprendido vendiendo servicios profesionales durante una década.

PLEASE LAY ME OFF by @agalorda from Alvaro González-Alorda

Wear my shoes!

2012-12-05T19:31:00.001+01:00

I'm so excited! Preventi has chosen me to represent the brand as a Global Nomad. And they have named these shoes with my own name.

¡Estoy emocionado! Preventi me ha elegido para representar a la marca como Global Nomad. Y han llamado a estos zapatos con mi propio nombre.

Thanks TED, in 2006 I stopped watching TV

2012-11-06T17:40:00.001+01:00

When I signed up in TED in 2006 I stopped watching TV. Probably, one of the smartest decisions I have ever taken. Since then, I've watched hundreds of videos from unknown scientists and professors and all sort of professionals. After 6 years belonging to this comunity, it's hard to explain how excited I am to participate at TEDxSevilla, the city were I was born.

Cuando me inscribí en TED en 2006 dejé de ver la televisión. Probablemente, una de las decisiones más inteligentes que he tomado. Desde entonces, he visto cientos de vídeos de científicos y profesores desconocidos y de todo tipo de profesionales. Después de 6 años perteneciendo a esta comunidad, es difícil de explicar lo emocionado que estoy de participar en TEDxSevilla, la ciudad donde nací.

How collaborative is your company?

2012-10-18T13:46:00.000+02:00

How collaborative is your company? - Floqq Pill by Álvaro González-Alorda from Floqq on Vimeo.

Qué está pasando en los países emergentes (en 7 minutos)

2012-10-12T12:00:00.000+02:00

In a recent session at INALDE Business School I tried to explain briefly (just 7 minutes) what's going on in the Emerging Countries.

En una reciente sesión en INALDE Business School intenté explicar brevemente (apenas 7 minutos) qué está pasando en los Países Emergentes.

NEW PROGRAMS (Download the English version)

2012-10-11T17:52:00.000+02:00

To download, click the link above ^

Diseñar tu carrera profesional en mitad de la tempestad...

2012-10-10T12:30:00.003+02:00

Recently, INALDE Business School asked me to give this session for prospective MBA students about How to Design Your Own Career in the middle of the storm...

Recientemente, INALDE Business School me pidió que diese esta sesión a futuros MBA sobre Cómo diseñar tu carrera profesional en mitad de la tempestad...

Avance de PROGRAMAS 2013 (English version coming soon)

2012-10-09T17:17:00.000+02:00

Para descargar el programa, pulsar el link de arriba ^

You don't need to be extraordinary, just...

2012-09-28T14:23:00.002+02:00

The soundtrack of the presentation:
You & Me by Elizabeth & The Catapult on Grooveshark

#SuperOrdinary -by @agalorda from Alvaro González-Alorda

Latin America: the risk is growing old before it grows rich

2012-08-17T18:56:00.000+02:00

Check out the ideas of this post in a recent interview at Canal EL TIEMPO:

The coming decade will be the first in 200 years when emerging-market countries contribute more growth to the world economy than the developed ones. A phenomenon which is amazing both the developing countries and the emerging ones. No wonder the 20.000 multinationals that are already operating in the emerging markets expect to find there 70% of their future growth.

The reason behind this unprecedented growth is the creation of a new middle class, whose needs, by the way, have little to do with those of the developed countries. Only in Latin America, the working-age population is projected to grow in 85 million people by 2040. And its relative youth offers the region a historic demographic opportunity, which will only last until the second half of this century, when its demographic profile will look more like old Europe's (working population shrinking while providing for the growing proportion of older people).

Besides, the region is more urban than any other in developing markets (80% of its population lives in cities, while in China this figure is only 50%), linking heavily its future growth to the economic performance of the cities. Around 200 cities are expected to generate 65% of the region's growth over the next 15 years, but many of them have grown faster than their infrastructures, their transportation systems and some critical public services like water supply and waste water treatment.

In a few words, if we combine these factors (emerging market growth, new middle class, historic demographic opportunity and urban growth), the conclusion is bold: if politicians, institutions, companies and entrepreneurs didn't collaborate efficiently and failed to speed up the economic performance of the cities generating jobs in the formal economy, Latin America run the risk of growing old before it grows rich. The window of opportunity is wide open now, but it may last just for a couple of decades.

Summer Business School

2012-07-31T17:41:00.000+02:00

It takes months to collect these documents that, through subscriptions or recommendations, reach your inbox. But it only takes one day to make a selection and around ten days to study them.

I'm looking forward to diving in these 50 docs on my fields of teaching and consulting:

· Strategy and Innovation
· Change and Transformation
· Emerging Markets
· Fashion Industry and Retail

A decade ago, this sort of research required to go to a University or a Business School library and to spend a ridiculous amount of time finding articles and books relevant to your research.

But fortunately, those days are gone, and now we all have access to the Summer Business School. Wherever you are, enjoy the ride.

#MassiveUnfollow

2012-07-28T19:08:00.000+02:00

After four years in Twitter, I've done a #MassiveUnfollow. Why? As a platform to connect people and organizations it's magnificent. But it could easily be an addictive way to waste your time, and what is worse, your energy. Definitely, the information overload is creating more anxiety than structured knowledge. In fact, we don't really need to know about so many things from so many sources. On the other hand, I find particularly boring this growing trend to seek fake followers through new ways of flattery (RT and FF) in order to become a "wannabe Twitter celebrity" (haven't we enough celebrities!?).

What we need is some time to Stop&Think who we are, who we want to be and what habits and tools may help us in the process. And then, we need the courage to draw a line between relevance and irrelevance, online and offline too. If we don't want to literally #StayFoolish (as Steve Jobs recommended), we need to #StayFocused. Let me suggest you to do a #MassiveUnfollow and start again choosing carefully whom to follow. If you choose well, maybe a dozen could be more than enough.

Who is who in your organization?

2012-06-25T13:08:00.001+02:00

Leaders change what needs to be changed (and don't change what it doesn't) and take the risk of innovators: the results aren't necessarily always good. But in the process they learn and grow, and keep trying until they succeed. Followers like change, but when others assume the responsability. And laggards... they are so boring... Though leaders know how to deal with them.

Quién es quién en tu organización:
Los líderes cambian lo que requiere ser cambiado (y no cambian lo que no) y asumen el riesgo de los innovadores: los resultados no son siempre necesariamente buenos. Pero en el proceso aprenden y crecen, y siguen intentándolo hasta que alcanzan el éxito. A los seguidores les gusta el cambio, pero cuando otros asumen la responsabilidad. Y los rezagados... son tan aburridos... Aunque los líderes saben cómo manejarse con ellos.

COLLABORATION 360

2012-06-12T13:36:00.001+02:00

I've seen it in many companies: they're willing to innovate and they spend time and resources trying to develop initiatives that may end up being their future growth, but:

The quality of their collaboration is low, starting from top management. Mostly, due to a lack of personal trust among them... (a big issue).
The center of gravity of the company is too high, inhibiting talent across the organization, increasing the amount of e-mails they receive and, as a consequence, laying aside innovation in their agendas.
Top management spends much more time attending meetings and reading emails than talking (and developing collective intelligence) with their teams.
Assuming that they have a tested methodology to transform the company (which is unusual), when they sit together to innovate they lack the needed empathy that creative meetings require. Therefore, only incremental ideas come out of those meetings, spreading frustration within the team.

Download my COLLABORATION 360 program and check out this musical example of collaboration from Walk off the Earth:

Lo he visto en muchas empresas: están dispuestos a innovar e invierten tiempo y recursos en desarrollar iniciativas que puedan convertirse en una fuente de crecimiento, pero:

La calidad de su colaboración es baja, empezando por la alta dirección. Sobre todo, debido a la falta de confianza personal entre ellos...
El centro de gravedad de la empresa es demasiado alto, lo que inhibe el talento del resto organización, aumenta la cantidad de e-mails que reciben y, en consecuencia, no deja espacio a la innovación en sus agendas.
La alta dirección se pasa mucho más tiempo asistiendo a reuniones y leyendo e-mails que hablando (desarrollando inteligencia colectiva) con sus equipos.
Asumiendo que tienen una metodología probada para transformar la empresa (lo cual es inusual), cuando se sientan juntos para innovar carecen de la empatía que requieren las reuniones creativas. Por tanto, sólo ideas incrementales salen de esas reuniones, extendiendo la frustración en el equipo.

Descarga mi programa COLABORACIÓN 360 y echa un vistazo a este ejemplo de colaboración musical by Walk off the Earth.

My talk at #LearnovationDay

2012-06-08T11:32:00.000+02:00

This is the video (English simultaneous translation) and these are the slides of my talk at #LearnovationDay. (Since they are mostly in Spanish, you can also check this presentation to get the message). The event took place at Hub Madrid, a place I would recommend if you want to create the right atmosphere for innovation. You can even swing before you talk... ;-) /// Este es el vídeo y éstas (ver abajo) son las dispositivas que usé en #LearnovationDay, que tuvo lugar en Hub Madrid, una localización que recomiendo si quieres crear la atmósfera adecuada para la innovación. Puedes incluso columpiarte antes de hacerlo en directo... ;-)

#LearnovationDay by @agalorda

View more webinars from Alvaro González-Alorda

Goverments: turn OFF the news and turn the music ON!

2012-06-05T10:02:00.000+02:00

While I was having such a lot of fun yesterday celebrating my birthday, I saw something crystal clear: if we want to shake off this crisis mood that is overwhelming us, we definitely need to stop reading, listening and watching the news. All right, it's been our lot to live in tempestuous times, but to know more and more details about this disaster just consumes our energy and cut the wings of our creativity, when we need it most. Governments should take an urgent measure: turn OFF the news and turn the music ON in the streets, in the public buildings and in the underground... Thanks for your birthday messages in Facebook! Enjoy the playlist of the celebration. /// Cuando ayer estaba disfrutando de la celebración de mi cumpleaños vi algo muy claro: si queremos sacudirnos el ánimo apesadumbrado con el que la crisis nos está aplastando, tenemos que tomar una medida drástica: dejar de leer, de escuchar y de ver las noticias. De acuerdo, nos ha tocado vivir en tiempos tempestuosos, pero saber más y más detalles acerca del desastre simplemente consume nuestras energías y corta las alas de nuestra creatividad, cuando más la necesitamos. Los gobiernos deberían tomar una medida urgente: apagar las noticias y encender la música en las calles, en los edificios públicos y en el metro... Gracias por vuestros mensajes de felicitación en facebook! Disfruta del del playlist de la celebración.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY by Alvaro González-Alorda on Grooveshark