On its best days, Apple shapes consumer behavior. And we are seeing Apple on its best day with the launch of Apple Watch. One of the world's most valuable brands seeks to turn everyday consumer behavior (such as paying for coffee or reading the news) into a more graceful, fluid action by encouraging watch owners to swipe our wrists or merely glance at a fashionable device we wear. In essence, Apple wants to make utility cool. Thanks to the onslaught of branded apps being developed for the device, Apple will likely turn its vision into reality. Following is a glimpse of significant third-party apps that will influence how we manage our lives in five key ways.

Last year I sustained a moderate concussion as a result of a car accident. The word “moderate” in this case is misleading; a minor concussion heals in 6-8 weeks, but it can take 6-8 months for a moderate concussion to resolve. In the meantime, the concussed individual suffers a host of immoderate inconveniences, including everything from headaches and photophobia to memory loss and depression. 

When a sales associate misrepresents your products or services and misinforms your customers, the bad experience can lead to lost sales, inferior customer service, and brand erosion. 

The current situation is dire. Virtually every major manufacturer/retailer relies on third parties to market and sell the majority of their products. But too often, sales people responsible for your brand struggle to keep up with well-informed customers armed with extensive product research conducted online. So how do we solve such a significant business problem? 

Traditional methods for digital product development aren’t designed for rapid innovation and don’t support a “test-and-learn” approach in shaping the product. The traditional approaches are fraught with risk – you may end up with a product that doesn’t serve your market needs. Whether it’s a mobile app or a website, now you can build better products faster with cutting-edge cloud tools. Here are five cloud tools that we use in our work with major brands: 

Our culture is rampant with references to momentum: a sports team has “momentum going into the playoffs”; a business has “momentum following a successful IPO”; and an Internet meme or viral video “gains momentum through virtual and real word-of-mouth”. In all of these situations – even physics - momentum is understood to be like riding a wave. Somehow, that team or company has harnessed a kind of power and is being propelled forward beyond the competition. In business, if you have momentum, you will be a market leader. What do companies like Uber, Apple, and GoPro have in common? Aside from being successful brands, they have momentum. Brands with momentum dictate the terms for the market and their competitors and attain powerful and profitable leadership positions.