Monday, September 1, 2008

IBM Executive to Speak at TAG Enterprise 2.0 Event

I have written from time to time about my involvement in the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Enterprise 2.0 Society. TAG is dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of the state’s technology industry. The Enterprise 2.0 TAG Society explores key strategic and organizational shifts that organizations need to make in order to adapt to the changing landscape of the digital world.

For those who will be in Atlanta on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 (7:30am - 9:00am at the GTRI Conference Center), TAG Enterprise has invited growth & innovation expert Steven Kloeblen to discuss proactive approaches to business transformation.

I wanted to pass along some information that Sherry Heyl the chair of Enterprise 2.0 sent out:

Steven’s role as VP of Business Development for IBM’s World Development Initiative has made him a sought after thought leader in the area of global growth through the application of enterprise 2.0 technology. Steve will refer to IBM’s recently completed bi-annual survey of over 1,100 CEO’s from around the globe. He will also speak to the trends that demonstrate how the highest performing companies scale innovation, extend and integrate global partnership networks, exploit disruptive business models and embrace social responsibility as a competitive advantage.

A little more background. In his current role as IBM Vice President Business Development – New Growth Platforms Steve concentrates on developing market strategies and business designs in new growth environments. Steven is also leading The IBM World Development Initiative. This is a group of more than 250 volunteer IBM’ers focused on creating a commercial business that leverages IBM’s capabilities to address the needs of the world’s most poor. Together the WDI has committed to a 10-year outcome to improve the lives of 1 billion people, while generating $1 billion annually of profitable revenue.

If you want more information, go to the Enterprise 2.0 site. I hope you can make it.

Let me get back to you.

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Enterprise 2.0 – Building Consensus

Yesterday I wrote about the limits of vision and its role in the enterprise.

Now there are some that say that vision is exactly what is needed to transform corporate cultures resistant to web 2.0. But framing new media around visionary buzz words such as transparency and decentralization can sometimes distract and alienate those in management more accustomed to control.

At the Web 2.0 Expo last month, I had a chance to hear David Carter address his vision of Web 2.0 and its impact on the future direction of the enterprise. David Carter is CEO of Awareness, which helps companies build and operate branded Web 2.0 communities.

As he wrote to me in a follow up email,

“Enterprise 2.0 is about using Web 2.0 tools and practices, but in a way that decreases the tension between the users and the corporate IT Department.”

And right now there is plenty of tension out there across the enterprise.

With concerns about security and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, IT is understandably resistant to loss of control and decentralization. Its role is to protect the kingdom by keeping intruders out and data in. IT is all about accountability, ROI, department buy-in and structure.

At the same time, as David Carter points out, other departments have issues as well. HR has concerns about compromising privacy and creating the potential for a hostile work environment. Legal is concerned with limiting liability and avoiding lawsuits that may result from a misuse of data.

On the other hand, business units are under extreme pressure to conquer new markets by any means and anywhere possible –- whether it’s inside the firewall or data sources and applications outside of it. They are about frictionless participation and customer engagement. Similarly, employees want easy to use tools to share information and manage connections with their colleagues.

With all this tension and competing interests, where do vision, values and the big picture fit in?

Well clearly they can’t be ignored, but in challenging times, companies may need to be “more tactical” when it comes to social media as Stan Anderson, managing partner at TechDiscovery said to me.

TechDiscovery develops custom applications for software and technology-based services companies. In a tactical world, it is not about storming the Bastille or tearing down the company firewall. It’s about finding solutions that address quarter by quarter goals. In this environment, Anderson believes the business units will win out. IT may not be 100 percent happy, but at the end of the day, the compromise may come down to five words: “I can live with that.”

The Take Away for Corporate Communications

So what does this mean for corporate communications professionals?

The adoption of enterprise Web 2.0 tools helps pave the way for the adoption of web based communications tools. It raises the comfort level for decentralization and collaboration — the buidling blocks of social media.

I truly believe that corporate communications can play a pivotal role in managing the benefits of Web 2.0 technology. At the most basic level, we can create and implement the tools needed to communicate externally and internally to the various stakeholders. Equally important we can help the enterprise put Web 2.0 into the context of an overall business strategy and company culture.

But this responsibility requires us to be sensitive to the competing needs across the enterprise. After all, our job is to help reduce tension not heighten it. That is something we can all live with.

Let me get back to you.

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Monday, May 12, 2008

Enterprise 2.0 — Putting Vision in Perspective


When it comes to new media, I often see practitioners fall into two camps – techies and non-techies.

I was reminded of this dichotomy last week at our Technology Association of Georgia Enterprise 2.0 Society Speakers Series here in Atlanta. The presenters were from Brighthouse and their discussion centered less on technology and more on the power of new media to unleash new ways of thinking, communicating and marketing.

Geoff Livingston in a recent article exploring the value of a Chief Blogging Officer position mirrors that point of view. “The problem is that too many people focus on the actual tool: the blog.”

So in the world of techies and non-techies, where do you stand?

For the most part, techies focus on the features and tools. Non-techies talk about community, conversations and strategy.

At their best, techies guide us through the maze of new applications, while non-techies give us context. At their worst, techies get bogged down in the minutiae, and non-techies soar into generalities.

In their passion, both sides are self-proclaimed evangelists offering competing visions for a communications practitioner. One talks about the primacy of the message, and the other talks about the tools to deliver it.

Professionally I prefer the term advocate. Evangelism sounds too extreme. Trying to keep a foot in both camps, I am either a really smart consensus builder or a just plain wishy-washy generalist.

Especially in the context of Enterprise 2.0, I say enough with the Age of Aquarius (primacy of community) and — to borrow a title of a book from Ray Kurzweil — the Age of Spiritual Machines (primacy of technology).

In the rough and tumble world of today’s enterprise, perhaps it’s time to take the “new age” out of new media and give vision form and function. Vision by itself can only take you so far especially when management needs a business case for adopting social media.

Sometimes as Brighthouse CEO Joey Reiman suggested to me, it does take one voice with passion and vision to get the ball rolling. But at the same time, I don’t believe blogs, social networks and community building will be widely embraced in the business world until we start grounding web 2.0 in practical terms that address real business objectives.

So in the context of today’s enterprise, non-techies and techies alike can benefit from a little perspective. Perhaps we should focus on how we are going to reach the millennials  (the generation Y who are tomorrow’s consumers) and not millenarianism (how we are going change the world).

Let me get back to you.

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