Category: Thoughts

A friend of mine started work at a relatively modern company with a relatively modern product. It’s a product that’s always needed, so there is always a market. The initial impressions are really good. Before her first day she received an email with a bunch of information. Mainly about her first day (and week), her account on the company network, and of course about the culture of the company.

After starting her job she hears about how social this company is, how it connects with customers, how green and ecologically conscious it is. Combining these two impressions and you might be tricked into believing this company is well on its way to becoming a Social Business.

Well.., you’d be wrong.

Still Old School

Once in the office for a while, she started to notice that it was pretty much like any old office ever was. People had a little too much work, working late was accepted as normal, systems did not tie in with in each other, training was done haphazardly, and communication was…, well.., lets say email still prevails.

All in all, the picture painted by the interviews and initial communications did not reflect the experience of the employee at all.

So why is it that she doesn’t notice anything from all those initiatives on the ground floor?

I get the distinct impression that this company tries really hard to make it look like it’s pretty social, but that it’s more like window dressing, ticking the boxes.

But, if an employee, at her desk, still feels she works for a disorganised, old school, “normal” company, then what are the efforts really worth? And is the company missing a golden opportunity.

Or, are their intentions genuine, but the execution poor. This is not unthinkable, in a recent rapport by Adi Gaskel I read that 80% of all SocBiz initiatives fail. So, there is a (very) fair chance that’s the problem, we could give them the benefit of the doubt.

Having a Social Media presence does not make for a Social Business.

Global Companies

Now, this company we’re talking about is an American company, but the office my friend works at is in Europe. Contact with the US is minimal and ‘we’ even have no clue who the CEO is.

This can pose a problem.

If we give the company the benefit of the doubt, and we assume that they do have significant initiatives planned (or in progress) to socialise the business more, than somewhere down the line this message is not heard, or not acted upon.

This could very well be a result of that 80% we mentioned earlier.

Something that gets easily accepted in one culture, might not be easily accepted in another.

Walk the Walk

It may very well be (and I do not know this for sure, but we decided to give the benefit of the doubt, remember), that US HQ has a bunch of initiatives, and that a plan is in place to bring the company into the 21st century.

It may very well be they are talking the talk.

Making a plan is one thing, executing the plan quite a different one.

Granted, in business, changes happen on a regular basis. Budgets have to be kept in check, objectives have to be met, new products launched, a merger, new software, new leadership, bigger office… many things change. However, we are accustomed to these kind of changes.., we even come to expect them, they are part of our working life. Therefore, they tend to be accepted and adopted with relative ease. Mind you, I do mean relative, some changes are harder than others, but they still happen.

Social Business tends to be a more fundamental change, more profound.., and more significant. This brings with it a lot more apprehension, and requires a lot more attention.

The adaptation to a Social Business is not a regular change. And cannot be deployed as such.

Adoption

In general it can be said that the adaptations needed to become a Social Business are fundamental, especially in a full fledged overhaul.

We change the way people go about there daily work life.
We change the way they communicate.
We change the way the company communicates (to employees, customers and partners).

Therefore it is extremely important to follow up on the plans. Simply sending a memo throughout the company will not have the desired effect. In fact, quite the opposite, you can expect significant resistance when you simply ‘drop’ the talk on people.

Change is the one constant, while adapting to change is the most difficult.

Two Plans

There has to be two plans, one laying out the changes, where we want to end up, what you want to achieve.., and why!
The other, how do you achieve this.

In my experience, there’s always some hand holding going on with any change. Some people need a bit more attention than others, take a bit more convincing. Usually a project leader, or even someone from the helpdesk can cover that task.

In Social Business, it’s a bit more complicated than that. The changes usually affect every person within the company, and we have to assume that most will resist on some level. Therefore, a structured approach to reach every single individual to get them ‘on board’ has to be considered.

Social Business is a long term commitment.

The Message

Becoming a Social Business takes time.., depending on the state and culture of your company.., maybe a lot of time.

Simply having an idea, reading a blogpost, or attending a conference doesn’t provide enough tools to complete this monumental task. Chances are you need outside help.

As leadership of a company, this change is most likely outside the realm of any job description you have at the moment.

A good community manager is essential for the long term stability of your social platform.
A SocBiz evangelist will be needed to ‘convert’ people, help them adapt.
A CSO (Chief Social Officer) might be appointed to oversee the continuous progress and development of the program.

The list can be longer, depending on your needs. Any business, any company, any organisation and even governmental institutions can benefit from at least some ideas within the realm of Social Business.

Bottom line, don’t be part of that 80% and waste a lot of time, money and energy on ideas which are doomed to fail.

Enterprise 2.0 Summit

On 26th November, another #E20S event is organised in London. Speakers will talk about how companies can benefit from Social Business. How to make sure your efforts are not wasted.

Here you can, in one day, get a good understanding of the pains and gains of the Digital Transformation.

Collaboration is an important part of productivity. It’s a highly desired commodity, but seemingly more elusive that you’d might think.., and it cannot be forced.

The other day my wife saw a message from an old colleague.., they’re moving her to a flex desk. “Now, I’m no longer allowed to place a photo of my grand children on my desk”, is what she said.

Her work is routine, she’s not allowed to work from home, needs no collaboration, won’t hop from desk to desk, and nobody will wander in looking for a place to work.., in other words.., that particular department does not need flexible workspaces. What they need is a working environment where an employee feels comfortable, secure and relaxed. A place where it’s okay to have a picture of your grand children on your desk.

This message reminded me of a conversation I had with Peter Vander Auwera about this very topic. I didn’t know quite how to put this in a post, until now.

The Key to Success

There is a wide variety of approaches to SocBiz, or Enterprise 2.0, some say the business goals have to be aligned to social, or we need to measure everything first, or we have to have a Digital Village first… others take a more tangible approach. A more non-virtual one. They reshuffle the physical space people work in.., the office floor.

Collaboration is the key to success.., so.., we create a (physical) working environment where collaboration is as easy as raising your hand and ask a question. Serendipity is guaranteed because people have no fixed desk, so you never know who you’re going to sit next to.

The Myth

According to Peter “[the office space] has been designed to enhance collaboration… working with each other across departments.”

The myth is, you have to collaborate all the time.

But, not everybody operates that way. As far as I’m concerned, I like my work area quiet. I need focus to concentrate, and more often than not, my work needs to be accurate and creative. Two things I can (or need to) do alone, no collaboration is needed.

For Peter it’s the same; “I don’t function that way… I need time on my own to think.”

Collaboration is Not Happening

Peter explains his view further; “When you sit with other colleagues around a “collaboration” table.., I hardly see any collaboration. Everybody still works in their own zone, because they have work to do. It just doesn’t happen.”

This happens when culture and progressive ideas clash. You can’t force people into a collaborative state of mind. Reshuffling desks, open up the floor, and taking away personal offices does not guarantee collaboration.., it just doesn’t.

I’m sure at some companies, for some departments this approach can do wonders. But, we should judge the merit of such huge changes on any specific floor/office/department/company. You could simply ask employees their stand on such a high impact change.

Personal Space

“The other aspect has to do with physical space and emotional space. When working in a collaborative space I have the feeling my privacy is disturbed. At any time somebody can come up behind you and look over your shoulder.., it feels like a sort of surveillance.”, Peter says.

“It’s difficult to articulate, because I have nothing to hide, in fact, I have a lot of things to share. The idea of collaboration has the opposite effect, it doesn’t invite me to collaborate with the people who look over my shoulder. Because I feel they are intruding in my privacy zone, my creativity zone.”

The idea that anybody can criticise your work at any time can be a great hinder. This is not just in the physical space, but can also occur in a collaborative on-line space. When I’m working on something, a blogpost for instance, I like to write a great deal, preferably all the way to the end with a revision or two, before I let anybody read it.

This is my process, the way I want to work.., I do not want any input, suggestions or comments until I’m good and well ready for them.

More about working in peace can be read in “Silence, I’m Painting“, an article by Peter on his personal blog.

Inspiration

… or lack thereof. Most people in the office have nothing or very little to do with your work. The chance of having exactly that person that you need come sit next to you in an open floor space is quite slim.

The odds of serendipity (fortuitous happenstance or pleasant surprise) are against you, against us. Even if you plan and scheme everything to enhance those chances.

Inspiration therefore is one of those things we seek out. We connect with those people who can help us move beyond a certain point.., everything else is just noise.

Controversial

Peter worries about this attitude sounding arrogant. Knowing Peter.., this is far from what is happening.

What’s really happening is that, at times, we should stop and think, reflect on the changes we’re trying to make, and the goals we want to achieve. Despite the fact there are a lot of talented people out there with a great number of good ideas, we cannot, and should not, just apply them. This goes for collaboration, but also hierarchy, job titles, software.., you name it.

Social business, The New Way of Working.., or whatever you want to call it.., is NOT generic. There is no One-Size-Fits-All. Not only does this apply to every company, but also to each department and each individual. To generalise, automate, or standardise this idea works as good as trying to fit every person in exactly the same suit.

Balance

Like any other undertaking, regardless of what it is, for it to have long term success, there has to be balance.

An office should provide spaces for all sorts of productivity styles. Employees should be involved in the design, their opinions should drive the change. After all, it is they who do the work.

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Thank you Peter for the insights and challenging us to think.

Peter is a creative thinker, creator and sensemaker. Co-initiator of Corporate Rebels United, a movement to unite corporate rebels worldwide to ensure that true change happens virally. Charter Member of Change Agents Worldwide.

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Edit: Richard Martin (@IndaleGenesis) pointed me to this wonderful video made by Dave Coplin (@DCoplin). It really adds to the points made in the post. It’s only 9 minutes, I encourage you to watch it.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G11t6XAIce0?rel=0]