it lunatics

Death of a Model & Implications to Organizations

Today, many people are mourning the passing of the Rocky Mountain News.  A highly respected paper found itself unable to compete against the shifts in individual in media consumption from a daily/off-line event to a real-time/on-line activity. While the Rocky Mountain News attempted a number of ways to extend its paper to the on-line work, it was a little too late to survive.

I am attending a United Methodist Communication's meeting as part of the Global Council on Communication at Southern Methodist University.  It was interesting to here the reaction of one of the journalism professors to this crisis.  At the core of his message was that news is becoming a deafening noise of clutter vs. a clear signal of the truth.

In other words, he believes that news is becoming trivialized, unverified, and deafening.  The extension of the argument was articulated with a video talking about "Google-zon" produced a few years ago.  Take a watch here...

Why are people ignoring well written papers that are very insightful failing as a business?  Why are people choosing "crowd-written" blogs over "professional journalist" analysis?  I think that consumers have decided that they want it real-time, on-demand, and participative so people can co-create ideas and thoughts.

There is a new belief that we are "smarter together" than one individual or institution on its own.  People want to access information on their own terms and then participate in true dialogue to uncover the meaning together.

Consumers habits have shifted.  The Internet helped accelerate the shift.  How will newspapers adjust?  How does the shift in consumer trends impact your business or organization?

The wave is coming.  Will you surf it or get smashed by it?

Get back in the box - Staying focused on your strategy for 2009

I am starting to plan ahead for 2009 and determine what are am even doing in the social media space.  2008 represented a “playground” year when I tried a bunch of stuff out and played in the social media sandbox.  I am now on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and other social media sites.  I have tried to follow great advice from C.C. Chapman, Chris Brogan, and Mitch Joel among hundreds of others.  My iPod is full of podcasts, and my Google Reader is overflowing.  So how do I get focused?

 

Aaron Strout in his article, “Keeping in a box” outlines the need to focus the social media strategy on business goal and then execute against it.  Think about this simple question, “why am I doing this?”  Aaron was with Mzunga’s marketing department at the time.  So, his four goals were closely associated with his job:  Lead Generation, Brand Awareness, Content Creation, and Education/Sales Support.

 

Get clear on why you are engaging in social media.  Write it down.  Does it make sense?  Are they aligned with your business goals?  Does it help you move forward?

 

Here are a few examples from my life:

 

·        The Abreon Group: 

o   Lead Generation - make connections with as many corporate IT people as possible and form relationships.

o   Thought Leadership via Content Creation - show that I am an expert in helping IT organizations run as a business and provide a reason to believe that I know what I am doing to help others achieve their goals.

o   Stay Top of Mind in Time – Stay in conversation with clients to stay within their “selection set.”

 

·        My Local Church (Elberon UMC): 

o   Community Awareness –Create a connection with the local community so they know what is going on and why we are relevant to their lives.

o   Donor Outreach – As an poor, urban church, we need the support from outside donors.  We need support from people in the suburbs to make ends meet.  We need to help them feel connected to the ministry and what their dollars are doing for the poor..

o   Congregation Support – How do we keep the congregation connected together and informed with what is going on?

 

·        United Methodist Communications: 

o   General Awareness – Conducting marketing efforts to help people understand the United Methodist Church.

o   Educating Congregations – Providing information and education how to effectively communication.

o   Create Global Awareness of Key Issues – The United Methodist Church is focused on global health (malaria, AIDS, etc.) and combating poverty.  Outreach efforts will connect with both its members and the external media.

o   Crisis Management – Be prepared to respond to any particular issues in the media.

 

Once I can get clear on my goals, then I can start to work out the finer points of the strategy.  Who is my target?  What benefits are they looking for?  How can I connect and communicate with them in a meaningful and relevant way?

 

How about you?  What are your goals for the next year?  Have you written them down yet?  Is this the right approach?  What do you do to stay focused?

 

Barriers to Corporate Use of Social Media - A debunking by tweetpr

While scanning through Twitter, I found a very interesting article by tweetpr on "Debunking the Social Media Barriers."  It focused on the 44% of companies who stated they would probably or definitely not use social media in a recent CEO Survey by PRWeek.  PRWeek followed up by asking them what they considered to be the most serious barriers holding them back.

Here they are:

• 44.5% said they consider it lack of relevance to target stakeholder groups.
• 37% said they are concerned about losing control of the message.  
• 28% said they were concerned about return on investment (ROI)  
• 22.5% said they were concerned about lack of knowledge and capability within the company.
• 19% said they were concerned about the lack of knowledge and capability within the public relations, advertising, and/or other marketing agencies the company works with.  

David does a great job in debunking these barriers.  I especially liked his discussion on controlling the message.  Consumers gained their own megaphone with the advent of Web 2.0 and consumer generated content.  Companies no longer control the message; it is a shared conversation with all of us.

So...what reasons does your company, organization, or group use social media to join the conversation?

 

Can Obama's Campaign 2.0 turn into Change 2.0 for America?

After last night's historic election, I am taking a moment to reflect on my hopes that this campaign can change how we create change in our schools, our communities, and yes, even our government.  I found the choice at the polls a difficult one.  For me, it came down to a simple question ... who can rally the American people to create a better country?  It isn't the government, or policies, or laws that make the U.S. and the world a better place.  It is the power of people who make a difference every single day.

Yes, I voted Obama.  Here's why?  Over that past 21 months, I have watched with interest as Obama leveraged the best in social media and grassroots organizing to cast a very compelling message and mobilize millions through social media.  It empowered the disenfranchised and gave people hope.  Do I agree with many of his policies?  No.  Do I think he has the best experience?  No.  Do I think he can change the tone of the country?  Absolutely.

The Obama campaign changed the dynamic of politics by creating real conversation again in politics.  I watched the election on TV, web, Facebook, and Twitter last night.  The reaction and real dialogue was amazing.  Both McCain and Obama supporters having real conversations about the direction of the country instead of yelling at one another.  People expressing hope.   We have watched the advent of Campaigning 2.0.  

But can this continue?  Can we turn this into Change 2.0?  Can we turn this amazing Obama campaigning methodology to assist non-profits to fight malaria?  Can we start making real strides on the war on poverty?  Can we get focused on what really matters in life?  

Let us pray that the Obama presidency will continue to rally change beyond getting out the vote and make a real difference.

Your thoughts?

Keeping the team focused in an economic downturn

I was reading my RSS feed when I came across a great article from bNet.  bNet is a mega-blog (my own term for a massive compliation of blogs and content from lots of sources) for business folks to get advise on everything from hiring Gen Y, to how to apply Web 2.0 applications for business, to leading your team through change.

Today, I found their post "How to Manage Your Team in a Downturn (and Come Out on Top)" enlightening and helpful with my own team.  Here is the intro...

Layoffs have truncated staff; cost-cutting measures are threatening projects, and morale is in the toilet. From the manager’s perspective, getting the most out of employees in this kind of environment can seem like a Sisyphean task. In fact, it’s a perfect opportunity to rejigger processes and fix what’s broken — and managers are uniquely positioned to do just that. Here’s how being candid with your employees, rewarding them in creative ways, and enlisting them to help make hard decisions can not only keep your team motivated but pull your company out of its slump.

It provides meaningful and tangible steps to help your team stay focused on what needs done and how to do it.  Read the article by clicking here...

Why can't IT and business managers get along

Why can't IT and the business get along and work together to deliver value?  I am often called in to help facilitate conversations between the Information Technology organizations and the Business Units they support.  Many times, I am a organizational "marriage counselor" trying to help them communicate with one another instead of talking "past one another."

So why do smart, business-focused, professional people struggle to work together?

1. Lack of common goals.  Business people focus on top and bottom-line growth.  IT people focus on Service Level Agreements (SLAs), requirements, and in-process metrics.  But how do they drive one another?  Most IT organizations cannot articulate the value they create, so they become a commodity in the eyes of the business.

2. Lack of a common language.  Anyone who has ever called tech support knows that IT speaks a different language.  They focus on specifics, details, and functions.  The business focuses on broad objectives.  It is the battle between "my PC doesn't work" (outcome) and "your hard drive is 95% fragmented."

3. Lack of frequent interactions.  Many IT departments collaborate with their business unit partners to gather requirements and then disappear to deliver the solution.  Many decisions get made that the business managers may not understand the full implications to their business,

So how do we fix it?  Get a organizational counselor?  Run a great IT marketing campaign with pretty pictures on why IT is the greatest? Tell the business they're wrong?

It takes time an effort to bring the Executive Suite, Line Management and IT in alignment.  It takes real dialogue and understanding.  It requires looking at multiple perspectives.  It takes hard work.  You may need some outside help to work through the issues, but it can pay huge dividends in the end.

Are you willing to put in the effort?  Can you afford not to?  Failure to do so will result in more budget cuts or calls for outsourcing in these economic times.

Make sure you are cutting the right things.

As I watch the Dow continue to tank, there is a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt for all of us.  Our retirement funds are taking a beating and our companies are frenzied, worrying about the bottom-line.  As many companies start slashing costs, I would ask a simple question, "are you cutting the right things?"

Many companies turn to cutting travel budgets, headcount, and other expenses to make their quarterly numbers.  While I agree that this is prudent, I would ask, "are we counting the long-term cost?"  When we cut travel, what is the cost to collaboration.  When we cut people, what is the cost to the people who are left (both psychologically and physically).  When we cut buying software upgrades (or keeping everyone on the same platform, what is the cost to interoperability.

I am not saying that these cost cutting measures are bad; I would just ask us to count the cost.  If we know we cannot travel, how can we improve collaboration without meeting face to face?  How can we use those desktop tools (LiveMeeting, Instant Messenger, SharePoint) that have been collecting dust on shelf to meet the need?  What is holding us back?

Here comes the kicker...maybe you need to spend money to drive adoption of new ways of interacting to save bigger pots of money in the long run.  You might even be able to use this period of uncertainty to create a new culture which can help you save money when times are good.

Jon Kotter and Dan Cohen, authors of The Heart of Change, say the first step to initiate change is to "create a crisis."  We already have one.  What are you going to do about it? 

Are we asking the right questions?

I have been working with a number of companies and organizations over the past couple weeks and a recurring theme keeps coming back. A number of the organizations I work with are trying to determine their future direction. Today, Fortune 25 companies and non-profits alike are seeking to see how to be relevant in the 21st century. What strategies will help us survive and thrive? But is this the right question?

Our questions determine our focus. If I ask, "how can we cut costs?" or "what's wrong with our department?" then guess what you will focus on? Our focus determines where we explore. Our exploration determines where we end up. Asking the right questions is absolutely critical to move ahead. So, I would ask, "what is the right question for our?"

For example, "why is the United Methodist Church in decline?" would create very depressing discussion about the increasing age of the congregations, the age of our buildings, the outdated models, etc. But is this the right discussion? Would we be able to get the church further ahead? Or does it turn into a group therapy session?

Would a better question be, "What United Methodist Churches are growing and why?" What themes can be identified? What strategies can be identified? What situations is this relevant? Doesn't this create a better conversation?

The same goes for businesses. Think about Information Technology departments. Instead of asking, "how do we cut costs?," why not ask the question "how can we create tangible value for the organization?" The cost discussion focuses on what to eliminate, while the value discussion to create new ideas on how to act differently to drive BOTH the top and bottom line.

The same process can be used for the marketing environment, the presidential debates, and how we relate to our families. We are in interesting times. With the financial market meltdown, the presidential elections, and increasing globalism, we cannot get stuck in the process of looking backwards. We must look ahead to new ways of thinking to solve these problems.

Questions create conversations. Conversations can take us to new places. The new media world allows us to create very broad conversations with diverse people.

A simple question can change the world. So, what is on your mind?

How to win without your star player

I am sitting in the Cincinnati airport this AM watching CNN when they showed Tom Brady going down for the hundredth time (My condolences to New England fans).  NFL teams often plan for this contingency by having a good back-up in the wings, one that knows the playbook and has practiced for the team.  While unfortunate, the Patriots will still move forward and have a descent season. 

But what about business?  How do we prepare for the sudden loss of a key player?  What about the retirement of a very valuable one?  While succession plans are often done at the highest level, does this same level of rigor happen in other areas of the business?  Many times, the sudden loss of a key play leaves the business struggling to find a replacement.  A brilliant technologist loss to a company may set back the innovation pipeline significantly.  Other times, it just rolls along.  But why?

1.  Establish a solid playbook.  I am not a process guy by any stretch of the imagination, but having a process allows for the team to continue working together even when the backup is called in.  It helps everyone stay on track while the "new guy" gets up to speed.  If you don't have one, try to capture "ways of doing it" using a Corporate Anthropologist.

2. Build an Idea Pipeline.  Inventing the new ideas is one of the toughest things to do.  Make sure that you brainstorm what can game-change our industry when you have the best minds around.  Then prioritize them so you can reach back into the pool when that "great idea person" goes missing.

3.  Build a Talent Pipeline.  I have worked from both "promote from within" and "hire the best outside" and both work.  The one element that makes sure it is successful is the willingness to cultivate talent.  From inside, it means building employees to have a broad set of experiences, and growing their skill base.  From outside, it means having a strong enough social network and relationships to be able to "call someone up" on pretty short notice. 

4. Promote Knowledge Archeology.  Here is a quick question...when someone leaves your company, what happens to the files on their laptop?  Most companies reformat the hard drive or dump the files on some shared drive to access by the few.  But is it possible to train someone to extract knowledge from their files and then share it with the company.  I would think you need to be careful here, but there is a considerable amount of knowledge to be gained by reviewing someone's collection of files, bookmarks, and contacts after they leave a company.

5. Promote internal practices to make knowledge social.  Use of wikis, SharePoint, or even having someone blogging can make an individual's knowledge searchable vs. buried in a sea of files.

There is a ticking time bomb awaiting many companies when their boomers retire and millennials come into their own.  More on that later.  Time to catch a flight.

Finding your voice...passion and blogging

I have spent a lot of time in the car today going from appointment to appointment, and spent a lot of time listening to podcasts.  I have been working through a couple episodes of "Manging the Gray" by CC Chapman and "Six Pixels of Separation" by Mitch Joel.  While I haven't met either CC or Mitch personally, I find that they have provided a lot of indirect mentorship for me as I am trying to figure this blogging thing out.  If you don't subscribe to their podcasts, stop reading this blog post, open up iTunes, and subscribe to their feeds.  I have learned more from their podcasts while driving in the car than I ever could doing research.  If you want to know about new media, subscribe to them and Joe Jaffe's "Jaffe Juice."

They are going to do a joint presentation at PodCamp Montreal in late September called "Podcasting From The Heart - The Value Of Recording A Show With No Editing And No Second Takes."  One of the reasons I respect both CC and Mitch is that their podcasts are authentic.  They aren't the most polished in the world, but they both come from the heart and create a sense of conversation about really cool stuff.

When I first started this blog, it focused on how to dramatically change the world of IT.  How can we think differently about apply technology to help the world of work?  Whether this is interface design or allowing Web 2.0 tools into the enterprise, I really felt the need to talk about why the current paradigms of IT will not work in this new world of work.

As I continue to blog "in one take," I find my thoughts going broader than just IT.  CC, Mitch, and Joe talk a lot about the consumer and the new world of marketing.  I find myself thinking a lot about the people "inside the walls" of a company and the world of work.  Whether it is a non-profit struggling to operate or a Fortune 500 company trying to figure out how to engage millennials as they enter the workforce, I find that the answers do not just reside in Information Technology.  They require changes in how people relate with one another, different work processes, or the tools they use to get the job done.

It is kind of like the evolution of the digital nomad.  The digital nomad has left the confines of the office to collaborate with any and all people both inside the four walls of their company or out in the broader landscape.  They think differently, work differently, and are equipped differently to always be connected to the broader world.  They achieve through real-time collaboration rather than 5 year strategic plans.  In other words, they are agile both physically and mentally to get the job done.

So, here I am at a dilemma.  Do I change the name of the current blog?  Do I start another one?  Do I just do my thing and just go with it?  I am not sure, but we'll see how these thoughts continue to grow.

Feel free to add your two cents...