Tag: enterprise 2.0

Collaboration is not a remedy, it is an outcome

In this on-going collaboration debate, too many people view collaboration as a solution to a problem. It is not. Collaboration is the behaviour that emerges in contexts that invite for collaboration.
The Xpragmatic View #185 - December 17, 2011

The delicate balancing act of collaboration

Enterprise 2.0 and social business are all about connecting individuals, facilitating the emergence of greater knowledge and understanding via the confrontation of different experiences, ideas and opinions. Does it work?
The Xpragmatic View #184 - November 19, 2011

The dawn of the real Enterprise 2.0

Not large corporations, but networks of small companies and individuals will be the future drivers for innovation and prosperity. A policy paper of The Lisbon Council.
The Xpragmatic View #182 - October 15, 2011

The case for integrated disconnectedness

The potential of Enterprise 2.0 is real, but it has to be looked for in the spaces where it really can excel. One of these spaces is business-to-business interoperability.
The Xpragmatic View #181 - October 8, 2011

Talking about a world without faces

The employees are a company's most valuable assets. So they say. But do they really understand what it means?
The Xpragmatic View #180 - August 30, 2011

The Holy Grail of Knowledge Management: capturing meaning

Especially we, people with an IT-background, live too much with the illusion that we can capture our reality in bits. Unfortunately, what we are capturing is only a poor representation of a far deeper and far more complex reality.
The Xpragmatic View #178 - July 10, 2011

Old pigs in new pokes

The name we give to something influences the way we look at it. It creates another perspective on the same reality. In many cases, this can be very useful. However, perception alone does not create a different reality.
The Xpragmatic View #167 - January 23, 2011

The future of work - Enterprise 2.0, get real!

With Enterprise 2.0, we are trying to solve some of the problems of today's business organisations. However, we must not forget that our business environment is rapidly evolving and therefore, we might be solving the problems of the past instead of those of the future.
The Xpragmatic View #164 - December 22, 2010

Knowing why drives behaviour, not knowing how

Even without formal policies, most employees are likely to make 'appropriate' use of the tools that are given to them. Still, companies can do a much better job to maximize the likeliness of such behaviour by communicating about how certain capabilities drive business success.
The Xpragmatic View #163 - December 18, 2010

The future of work - Does social business scale?

For Enterprise 2.0, the main challenge is getting the workforce to adopt the new tools, business practices, and philosophies. But is it only a challenge or just an impossible dream?
The Xpragmatic View #161 - November 26, 2010

About collaboration and dog crates

Collaboration is about engaging in undefined interactions to achieve a common goal in a way that makes that all participants have to leave their comfort zone. Do we really want to leave our comfort zone?
The Xpragmatic View #159 - November 8, 2010

The future of work - The Chief Disconnection Officer

Collaboration is the mantra of the Enterprise 2.0 movement, but organisational boundaries complicate adoption and progress. Therefore, we need someone who takes a holistic view of what is needed to get employees to work across silos. Good idea?
The Xpragmatic View #157 - October 23, 2010

The future of work - Collaboration spaces

In the social enterprise debate, we always talk about collaboration, about connecting individuals. However, connecting more people as such should not be an objective. The thing that really matters is connecting the right people, which implies disconnecting from the wrong ones.
The Xpragmatic View #156 - October 10, 2010

The future of work - Disconnectedness

The disconnectedness of people and information in today's enterprises is often the unfortunate by-product of a relentless drive for more growth, expansion, cost reduction and unnecessary control. However, disconnectedness as such is not a bad thing. Moreover, future enterprises should be intentionally designed for disconnectedness.
The Xpragmatic View #155 - September 27, 2010

At the end, the only difference is perception

Especially in technology-driven contexts, such as IT or the Internet, our perception is most influenced by the observed differences and largely ignores the underlying similarities. The net result are unfortunate 'surprises' at the end.
The Xpragmatic View #154 - September 17, 2010

Three questions to answer before starting your Enterprise 2.0 project

Technological solutions often only address the symptoms of a problem. Clearly understanding the root causes of the problem and identifying the correct remedies for removing these causes are threfore the mandatory, preliminary steps for choosing the right solution.
The Xpragmatic View #153 - September 15, 2010

Collaboration comes before the problem

Collaboration, the engine of the social enterprise. The magic that will solve all our enterprise problems. It sure can do. However, did we ever seriously think about 'when' collaboration must happen?
The Xpragmatic View #151 - August 26, 2010

The -real- enterprise 2.0

Technology has dramatically changed our world. However, most often, these changes were not planned for or expected. In a similar way, when we try using technology to drive change, results are in general highly unpredictable.
The Xpragmatic View #150 - August 10, 2010

Can the real-time enterprise be efficient?

We are living times with a growing focus on NOW. Increasingly, we have access to information anywhere, anytime and increasingly, our interaction behaviour asks for anywhere, anytime, now. That is evolution. However, is it also progress?
The Xpragmatic View #149 - August 9, 2010

Building the Social Enterprise

Technology and technology-driven change has virtually nothing to do with igniting a transformation from good to great. Technology can accelerate a transformation, but technology cannot cause a transformation. Jim Collins. Good to Great.
The Xpragmatic View #148 - July 30, 2010

From social strategy to social media

In order to really achieve great things, we sometimes have to take a step back. We have to reconsider our options. Great things rarely come naturally. They are planned. The same goes in the social enterprise.
The Xpragmatic View #146 - July 2, 2010

Can technology build community?

While revelling about the marvels of a given tool, we often tend to forget that every tool will be used 'in context' and that, in most cases, the presence of the right context will prove to be more important than the choice of the right tool. Also in a network economy, this rule still holds.
The Xpragmatic View #144 - May 13, 2010

Investment to Return

In business, most investment decisions are based upon a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis. This is OK as long as the assessment of the potential outcome can indeed be made in a realistic and objective way. Otherwise it simply becomes a leap of faith or the false excuse for not investing.
The Xpragmatic View #143 - May 8, 2010

Serendipity is not a business model

Enterprise social networks reach their full potential when there is broad acceptance, because then, the potential for unexpected ideas or making new discoveries is highest. However, in order to reach broad acceptance, there must also be basic value.
The Xpragmatic View #142 - April 25, 2010

Question of the week

In order to make correct decisions, you must understand the context. And in order to understand the context, you better have hands-on experience. It all makes sense. But is it always true?
The Xpragmatic View #141 - April 21, 2010

The future of customer service

Enterprise 2.0 and social media allow for new approaches to interact with customers and for various new forms of community building. Will the result be better customer service?
The Xpragmatic View #136 - January 15, 2010

Explaining it to your grandmother

If you can't explain it to your grandmother, forget it. This was written a couple of weeks ago on Twitter. It is a great call for simplicity but, in general, we humans do not really excel in responding to this call.
The Xpragmatic View #131 - November 16, 2009

The remainders of the day - 2

The use of enterprise social tools can improve the operational efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation. Unfortunately, it will not cure the real diseases of today's organisations.
The Xpragmatic View #130 - November 2, 2009

Reaching for the edge

Real solutions and progress emerge when we are able to unify apparently conflicting views on the same reality. Do emergent social software platforms (ESSPs) provide a context for this to happen?
The Xpragmatic View #129 - October 25, 2009

The future of work will determine the success of social tools

Change does not come because there is the option to change. Change comes when there is a need for doing things differently.
The Xpragmatic View #128 - October 11, 2009

Selling collaborative business performance internally

In sales, most solutions are bought for other reasons than the salesperson thinks. Therefore, when these 'other reasons' don't exist, selling is an uphill battle.
The Xpragmatic View #127 - October 4, 2009

The future of business

Change cannot be planned. It cannot be controlled. There is no right direction. It happens. You can only create conditions that will maximize your chances to benefit from change when it happens.
The Xpragmatic View #126 - September 22, 2009

Confirmation economics

Social networks, discussion groups, (micro-) blogging, sharing bookmarks... Never before it was easier to connect with like-minded people or people with the same interests. But perhaps that is becoming one of the problems of the Web. It has become too easy to find like-minded people or people with the same interests.
The Xpragmatic View #125 - September 6, 2009

We simply need new enterprises

July 2007, we wrote our The case for Business Interaction Management (BIM) white paper. At that moment, the need for such approach was clear. However, it was less clear how companies would (or would not) adjust to this new paradigm. Where do we stand today?
The Xpragmatic View #124 - September 1, 2009

The remainders of the day

In management, failure seems to be the only way to get to insight. Whatever the level of experience we have built up in the past, as soon as we have to make decisions in a new context, we tend to forget most of the basic rules. Perhaps, this simply is the way we move forward.
The Xpragmatic View #123 - August 27, 2009

Direction is a consequence, not a choice

While discussing the pros and the cons of different methodologies, we often tend to forget that the methodology will only be a minor part of the whole solution. Therefore, in most cases, the choice of a certain methodology will not be a real choice but merely the logical consequence of an existing context.
The Xpragmatic View #122 - August 25, 2009

First chaos, then direction

Today, we stand at a time point where companies must choose a new direction. The convergence of a number of conflicting influences makes that keeping the current status quo is no longer an option. But do we choose the right direction?
The Xpragmatic View #121 - August 19, 2009

Weak signals

In many companies, Enterprise 2.0 adoption continues to be hampered by doubts about the real returns of the investment. Unfortunately, companies that are looking most for such ROI are likely the ones that will be unable to get it.
The Xpragmatic View #120 - August 2, 2009

Enterprise 2.0 - Enter the dark force

More than ever, Enterprise 2.0 is the talk of the town. However, the discussion remains difficult due to a continuing bias towards tools and technology. Therefore, an attempt for a real look at the internals of Enterprise 2.0, the dark forces of collaboration.
The Xpragmatic View #119 - July 11, 2009

Disintegration 2.0

Enterprise 2.0 usage is on the rise. Recent publications indicate that a growing number of companies have implemented so-called ' social tools' and that the effective use of such tools increases. Is this the year of the final breakthrough?
The Xpragmatic View #117 - May 19, 2009

Looking at the past

Facing today's difficult economic conditions, companies are considering any solution that will allow reducing costs or that will strengthen their operational effectiveness. However, before moving further, they better know why they didn't use such solution before.
The Xpragmatic View #112 - February 24, 2009

Aphorisms and Enterprise 2.0

Already for some time, Enterprise 2.0 is a hot item on the agenda of management teams. Only, the confusion remains. Does it really exist? Does it work? And, if so, can someone please tell us what it really is?
The Xpragmatic View #98 - March 23, 2008