Talk with your customers, not at them

There's a new idea for dealing with your customers. It's as simple as it is complex. Instead of talking at your customers, talk with your them. You will get more work done by engaging them rather than putting a fence around them. The key to online business success is a constantly moving target, according to Google CIO Douglas Merrill. "The world has changed, and we have to redraw all the maps, and all the assumptions that we make--and all the ways that we think about technology," he told a conference recently. It's no longer about putting the customer first. It's about incorporating the customer into your world and you incorporating into his world. It's a new world out there, and the technology executive has to make sure the customers are not alienated from it.

For more on the new relationship with your customer:
- See this Computerworld article