A Year’s Summary of Personal Reflection IV

Every year for the past four years, after the Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston, I have written an introspective piece about where we are on our journey bringing 2.0 to the large enterprise.  These pieces tend to be idealistic, and I ask readers to bear with me.  You can read their predecessors at this link.

I’ve decided to write a final piece in this series, as we are now well on the road to market acceptance.

In short, the Enterprise 2.0 journey reminds me of learning how to drive a stick shift  my first car: a ’66 Ford Mustang convertible.  Like every new driver, I was extremely excited about the prospects of getting behind the wheel and experiencing the life-changing freedom that comes with mobility.  Each year the Enterprise 2.0 market has grown, it’s been like a new gear on my 3-on-the-floor stick shift.

1. Years 2006-07/Gear 1.  We focused on just getting the clutch engaged and propelling the the damned thing forward.  Those early years were the most difficult of all.  I used every trick in the book to get people interested in the space, including invoking the name of Bruce Springsteen.

“I believe there is something BIG going on here– not because I’m an investor, not because I’m a CEO of a web 2.0 company, not because I’m a journalist of a SF-based publication, heck– I’m not even on the West Coast.  I feel a little like Mr. Springsteen in those early days, playin’ his heart out in those NJ dives hoping someone would dance, or better– listen to the lyrics.”

A handful of us hardcore Enterprise 2.0 bloggers kept pounding away and trying to get some attention for what we all saw as something, “New under the Sun” to quote Andrew McAfee.

2. Year 2008/Gear 2.  We got the thing to move by 2008 albeit in slow gear.  Momentum began to pick up toward the end of 2008 with

Adoption is Dead. Long live Adoption!

Rumors surrounding the death of adoption have been greatly exaggerated.

The 2.0 Enterprisey crowd is gearing up to head to Boston for our annual pilgrimage.  This will be my fourth conference as a participant and board member.  Having watched and often interpreted the trends in this sector, I find it interesting to report that things have not changed much in general since our first get-together in 2007.   While it’s true that we have many, many more organizations large and small experimenting with and committing to 2.0 strategies– internally and externally– and the business itself is morphing into something much more grand and all-encompassing, the truth of the matter is: we are still early adopters of this new way of working.

The notion of “adoption” in general occasionally gets called into criticism by bloggers who are looking at the phenomenon purely through the lens of new technology adoption.   The adoption phenomenon is much more far-reaching and encompasses a wholesale reinvention of the way we will work in the future.  Social data and social layers that will filter transactions in the enterprise are the Next Big Thing in enterprise.  Period.  But before we can get there, we need to on-ramp legions of employees to change their attitudes and behaviors to maximize the benefits of what the socially connected universe offers.

It’s easy for us who spend a lot of time on the social web to re-imagine where we are in real terms relative to widespread embrace of social strategy and tactical best practices.   This is a mistake, and we need to scale back our expectations and see the immediate opportunity for what it is: an early adopter market.  This reality has been difficult to swallow, perhaps especially for me.   We’ve kicked off our case study series and early indicators are reinforcing the relative immaturity of the market.  We’ll have more details on those in upcoming months.  The good news is: we are all really early on a phenomenon that is changing the world as we know it.  This social transformation will be larger and more comprehensive than any technology transformation (including the Internet and mobile) we’ve seen thus far.  Those of us who are in this for the long haul know this instinctively and welcome the opportunity to shape the future.

That said, the Council members (who are squarely on the front lines of galvanizing change) have been working hard to put together some thinking on what’s working and what’s not  on the Adoption Trail.  In addition to our full-day workshop, we have an  entire track devoted to adoption issues at the conference this year.  I invite you to hear directly from these customers– at their sessions, at lunch, at the bar, in the halls… wherever they are.  You’ll know them because they’ll be wearing our pins, as well as a star on their badges.  We have over 30 Council members attending from a variety of industry sectors including: IT/High Tech, Telecommunications, Pharmaceuticals, Public Utilities, Government, Construction, Publishing, Retail, Non-Profit, Health Care, Financial Services, and Manufacturing.

On the last day of the conference, in the last session time slot, I’ve reserved time to discuss “what we missed” in our agenda planning.  As board members, we try hard to include everything topical that’s fit to present, but invariably, we could fall short and miss or underplay something important.  This session is an attempt to capture that lost content and discuss it with a panel of customers and industry thought leaders (including Dennis Howlett and Lee Bryant, as well as a team of sharp shooter Council members).  So, while you’re attending sessions, please keep a mental note of anything you feel has been missing from the dialog all week and bring it to the session.  We’re going to try and keep the session as interactive as possible.

Look forward to seeing you all in Boston.

Let Go and Let Talent

What is the most important leadership competency for the successful enterprise of the future?  According to a new study by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, CEO’s point to creativity as the engine for future growth.

Creative leaders are key to driving the kind of change large organizations require to wrestle with global complexity and information overload.  Open leadership coupled with inspiring creativity is the management mantra of this new decade.  It’s a far cry from the pop management themes of yesteryear which advocated tightly controlled hierarchies, silos, and re-engineered and structured processes that slashed costs, jobs, and produced routine outcomes.

One of the reasons I love working with the Council members is because their energy and passion is nearly limitless.  They all work in the sweet spot of this new corporate cultural revolution.  Selling transparency, collaboration, trust, and authenticity– they’re armed with the principles that will guide their organizations to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

As these corporate positions are relatively new, there is a lot of flexibility and opportunity for our members to express creativity to advance the state of adoption company-wide.   Along these lines, I want to highlight one of our members’ (Ted Hopton) efforts to inspire adoption of its socio-collaborative platform.  Called, “the Wiki” (although admittedly, much more than a wiki), UBM employees brainstormed fun and engaging ways to introduce its employees to Jive SBS 4.0’s new features.  As it turns out, employee Chris Harris (aka DJ $crilla) is an award-winning rapper.  He wrote the lyrics, performed, and directed the video.  The video was also filmed and edited by UBM employees.

And what did the CEO, David Levin, think of the creative execution?   He was the chief sponsor and appears in a cameo role.  Big ups, all around.

2.0 Reality Rehab: SAPPHIRE

I posted recently on my Facebook page that I was actually looking forward to attending SAPPHIRE this year. One of my Council members questioned the wisdom of that desire. SAPPHIRE is SAP’s annual bash where SAP customers come out in droves to hear what the enterprise software company is planning for the next 12 months.  As a member of the highly influential Enterprise blogger troupe, the Enterprise Irregulars, I get the privilege of attending the conference as a blogger/industry influencer and receive great access to SAP execs to question them directly about SAP’s short and long-term plans.

Of course, SAPPHIRE is  a world-class vendor event, filling up restaurants, taxi cabs, and hotels all around Orlando’s massive convention center (as well as much of the convention center’s real estate).  Anyone with a vested interest in SAP makes the pilgrimage every year.

For me, SAPPHIRE presents a unique opportunity to re-calibrate and diffuse the hype chamber that self-perpetuates around the 2.0 phenomenon.   SAPPHIRE is the 2.0 Rehab that I voluntarily commit myself to every year for one week. Only at SAPPHIRE do I get an opportunity to see the world the way my Council members do– that the 2.0/social business hoopla is enjoyed and shared by a small minority of corporate professionals.  Through the eyes of SAP customers and the SAP eco-system, I gain unique insight into the tremendous task ahead which involves a host of issues, not the least of which is tying 2.0 transformation to the enterprise business processes that run the world’s most successful businesses.  Every year, I see small improvements, but this rational level-setting is essential to keep perspective about where Enterprise 2.0 fits in the broader Enterprise landscape.

The good news is there are SAP executives that welcome this crusade and are making strides to bring the benefits of social collaboration to business decision-making and business process.  I expect to hear a lot more “transparency” and “collaboration” themes in executive keynotes this year.

This year’s SAPPHIRE is particularly crucial for SAP, as outlined by my friend and EI compadre, Josh Greenbaum.   But for me, I will quietly go about my business, taking inventory of the progress year-over-year in embracing 2.0.   And even though I may leave Orlando, defeated and despondent (once again), I will be looking forward to next month’s Enterprise 2.0 conference which will re-energize my passion and commitment to this growing industry sector.   Until then, I’m here to take my medicine and attend group therapy.  I hope to emerge smarter, more sober, and more determined than ever.

The 2.0 Adoption Council is now part of The Dachis Group

What?  Wow!  How come?

History

Let’s begin at the beginning.  The beginning of the social business (r)evolution didn’t begin in with web 2.0, it began with web 1.0 in the mid-90s. From research I published in 2000, we wrote this about the company Jeff founded in 1995, Razorfish:

Razorfish’s vision states, “Everything that can be digital, WILL be”  The company claims that organizations that identify and embrace digital technology will succeed because they can react more quickly to market needs, are more efficient and customers actually enjoy doing business with them.  In addition, Razorfish claims its digital communications solutions can make implementating this technology a reality for its clients. Razorfish believes companies must reevaluate their traditional business models in order to remain competitive in the digital economy.  The company helps clients incorporate digital technologies… to better communicate and transact with their customers, suppliers, employees and other business partners.

A whole pack of Razorfish wannabes were singing the same tune in that sector at the time.  I found them fascinating.  But, in truth, it was really Jeff who wrote the original lyrics to that song.  He set the tone for revitalization and disruption.  When I came back into the business in 2006, it was that same energy with a new set of tools that attracted me to this sector.  We’ve been calling it Enterprise 2.0, but over the past few weeks, I’ve come to agree that the Social Business Design strategy the Dachis Group is promoting is synonymous with the vision I see for what’s coming, for what’s possible.  In essence, it’s the same vision Jeff had in the 90s– an extension of what has already been in motion.

Today

In the Council, our members are truly on the front lines of massive transformation at their large enterprises. But they know it’s only the beginning of something profound.  One of our members said recently,  “I’ve never, in my 25-yr career, worked on something so valued and so feared by executives in the same company. This must be big.”

For the past few hundred years, we’ve been working the old way.  I look at this stage of market maturity as analogous to the age of enlightenment.  It’s an interesting blend of art, science, and intellectual thinking that is dominating the conversation on how we will work in the future.  One of our members referred to it as the “social spring” after the dark, aftermath of the Internet dotcom winter.  Once this digital-social idealism propagates around the globe and is embraced by leading institutions, that’s when the real work will begin, and all customers are going to need help getting to the next level of productivity and business performance.  When it does, we will be there. Ready for what’s next.

What’s next for us?

I founded the Council last summer.  Here was my introductory post to the members on why I did:

In concert with the Dachis Group, which now includes Lee Bryant and the whole Headshift team, Dion Hinchcliffe, Peter Kim, Jevon MacDonald, Bryan Menell, and Kate Niederhoffer, as well as scores of talented others, we can bring incomparable resources to our members– in programs and actionable discussion that will help them achieve their goals.  I’m truly thrilled to be joining the Dachis team and am looking forward to seeing all our hard work come to fruition.

Social is as Social Does

One of the greatest joys of owning your own business is you get to break the rules when it’s warranted.  We have a hard and fast rule about Council membership that states only large enterprises can join with more than 10K employees.  Chris McGrath of ThoughtFarmer referred Ephraim Freed to me when we were first getting started.  I took one look at the Oxfam America website and immediately told Ephraim, “You’re in.”

In two different business contexts I’ve been asked recently what my personal goals are for my career.  In both instances, I simply stated, “I want to change the world.”  Now, that always merits a chuckle or a smirk.  But, the truth is, I’m serious.  In my small way, I think I can add to the collective voice of individuals who want to create a better “customer experience” living on our planet.

Today, Craig Cmehil is running a 24-hour marathon to raise money for Doctors without Borders.  I’ll be doing a segment at 11am ET on the Council, and I’ll be having a bit of fun with Dennis Howlett on “Enterprise 2.0 is a crock” at 1pm ET.  Please join us and do some social good today, and think about the larger implications of connecting a social planet.

Video of my interview with Ephraim.  (Sorry for quality; recorded on Skype.)