Question of the week

The Xpragmatic View #141
April 21, 2010
by Marc Buyens (@mbuyens), Xpragma
marc.buyens@xpragma.com
url: http://www.xpragma.com/view141.php
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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?

Recently, we discovered the Ideas Project website, an initiative of Nokia providing a platform for the exchange of ideas on the future of communications and technology.

In order to stimulate the discussion and the interaction, there is a so-called 'Question of the Week' topic where industry experts ask a challenging question and then select the best answer. The winner gets a Nokia phone.

Last week's question was asked by Charlene Li, ex-Forrester and founder of the Altimeter Group, and went like this:

As social technologies change the way leaders interact with customers, employees, & partners, what one thing should they do to prepare for this change?

In this case, the best answer was provided by someone, known as maggielmcg, who stated that:

[Leaders should] start using social tools in their personal lives, on a daily basis. If they aren't committed to using these tools to do everyday things--get news, stay connected with friends, share information--how can they expect to: a) understand how their prospects/employees use them or b) expect to provide anything of value via these channels.

It is a very sensible answer. How on earth can you assess the value of a given tool or approach if you never made the attempt of using it or doing it yourself?

However, when thinking it over again, does it really make sense?

Does your personal experience matter?

First, this thinking builds upon the assumption that a leader who is using these tools "to do everyday things" will indeed derive the right insights from this participation.

Well, he/she might, but he/she might as well not.

Over the past years, we have participated in various ways in this virtual social world. It gave us all kind of interesting information, connections, new experiences, insights, etc. However, assuming we were a 'leader' in some company, would it have given us the "right" insight and understanding for our business?

We seriously doubt it. If there is one thing that we have learned from this participation, then it is the understanding that people, also in the social world, are different individuals. Very different individuals.

Depending upon your personality, your way of using these tools, the frequency of using them and the level of engagement will vary significantly. As a result, your "experience" will also vary significantly. If you are an open, extravert individual, your perception of value might be extremely positive, whereas an individual with a more closed personality is likely to use these tools in a more "low profile" way and he/she might find things rather boring or pointless. Everyone's experience is unique.

Therefore, whatever the personal experience you get from using these social tools, does it give you the right insight for your business?

Do you need to understand it?

Second, this thinking also builds upon the assumption that in order to deploy these tools in the correct way within the enterprise, a leader has to "understand" these things.

Again, this makes sense. And if you are the Altimeter Group and your business objective is to bring the social media message to the leaders of this world, then of course, you want them to UNDERSTAND. Your hearth is full of these ideas and you want to share this and you want everyone to be as enthusiastic about this as you are. The world is fundamentally changing, DON'T YOU SEE IT?

We understand, but is it the role of the leader to "understand" every aspect of change in this world and in his/her organisation? We might like to think that this social technology storm is the most important thing that ever happened on earth, but is it really so?

We see an unprecedented rate of change, but we also live in a world that is already a lot more change-able than it was before, so who cares? Of course, some categories of individuals will have difficulty dealing with these changes, but wasn't it always like that? Already for decades, we are debating the value or non-value of organisational change. Does social technology really bring something fundamentally new to the table?

It might. But even then, leaders must not focus on the details, on the 'how things are being done'. There is already much too much process thinking in this world.

Instead, leaders must focus on the essentials, on the larger picture of WHAT is being done and WHY it is being done. In this larger context, the only thing that really matters in the context of social media is the correct assessment of where your company currently stands in the social paradigm.

To what extent are your internal interactions with and between your employees and your external interactions with your customers and partners already "socially aligned"? Can social technology be a simple extension of your current way of operating or are you in for the next major change exercise?

Questions that are easy to answer and you do not need a Facebook account for it.

Of course, you might not like the answers...

About Marc Buyens

Marc Buyens is analyst, management consultant and owner of Xpragma. He started Xpragma in 1999 after a 20+ years career in the IT sector. Today, he provides advice, training and mentoring services focusing on the intersection of technological evolution, organisational change and business strategy: a messy world of unfulfilled promises.

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