Social Business Digest
by caro
Curated hints on Digital Transformation, Enterprise 2.0, Enterprise Social Networks, Social Intranets, Social Collaboration, Knowledge Management, HR 2.0, ... and all the rest
Dr.-Ing. Carsten Rose – Effective: 29.02.2016
Dr.-Ing. Carsten Rose – Effective: 29.02.2016
Archive 02/2016
Warum wir von Toyota, Semco & Co. nichts lernen können
29.02.2016
von Niels Pflaeging - Die Zukunft der Arbeit existiert bereits. Nicht nur in den Köpfen einiger Querdenker, Idealisten, Spinner und Utopisten. Oder in Ihrem als Besucher dieses Blogs! Nein, die Zukunft von Arbeit und Unternehmensführung gibt es auch ganz real, in der Welt da draußen: Nämlich in der Praxis einiger Dutzend außergewöhnlich erfolgreicher Pionierunternehmen, die den Code geknackt, das Rätsel gelöst, die Zweifel ausgeräumt haben. Ich spreche von "den Toyotas" dieser Welt. Den W.L.Gores, den DMs, den Southwest Airlines, den Googles, den Handelsbanken, ...
29.02.2016
von Niels Pflaeging - Die Zukunft der Arbeit existiert bereits. Nicht nur in den Köpfen einiger Querdenker, Idealisten, Spinner und Utopisten. Oder in Ihrem als Besucher dieses Blogs! Nein, die Zukunft von Arbeit und Unternehmensführung gibt es auch ganz real, in der Welt da draußen: Nämlich in der Praxis einiger Dutzend außergewöhnlich erfolgreicher Pionierunternehmen, die den Code geknackt, das Rätsel gelöst, die Zweifel ausgeräumt haben. Ich spreche von "den Toyotas" dieser Welt. Den W.L.Gores, den DMs, den Southwest Airlines, den Googles, den Handelsbanken, ...
Wie Ego-Manager in geschlossenen Netzwerken scheitern
29.02.2016
von Gunnar Sohn - Mittelstand, Konzerne und die Protagonisten der informellen Deutschland AG sollten die Schwächen von geschlossenen Zirkeln nicht unterschätzen. In der Organisationstheorie sind sie gut erforscht: Geschlossene Netzwerke punkten bei Kooperationen und Verlässlichkeit. Sie sind stabiler, aber auch inflexibler. "Einer durch ein festes Normengefüge abgesicherten, verlässlichen Kooperation steht somit der Nachteil mangelnder Anpassungsfähigkeit gegenüber", erklären die Wissenschaftler Mark Ebers und Indre Maurer. Die Beharrungskräfte der Netzwerk-Akteure ...
29.02.2016
von Gunnar Sohn - Mittelstand, Konzerne und die Protagonisten der informellen Deutschland AG sollten die Schwächen von geschlossenen Zirkeln nicht unterschätzen. In der Organisationstheorie sind sie gut erforscht: Geschlossene Netzwerke punkten bei Kooperationen und Verlässlichkeit. Sie sind stabiler, aber auch inflexibler. "Einer durch ein festes Normengefüge abgesicherten, verlässlichen Kooperation steht somit der Nachteil mangelnder Anpassungsfähigkeit gegenüber", erklären die Wissenschaftler Mark Ebers und Indre Maurer. Die Beharrungskräfte der Netzwerk-Akteure ...
How to Manage Without a Community Manager
29.02.2016
Can you have a community without a community manager? Communities don't just happen - they're built and nurtured over time, so having a dedicated community manager is ideal. But sometimes it's just not realistic - there isn't the money or executives don't realize how important community managers are for ensuring ROI. If that's the case - what do you do? Don't be deterred if you can't hire a community manager (yet). If your growing organization is excited and ready for a community, you can create a thriving ecosystem without one - if you have a good plan ...
29.02.2016
Can you have a community without a community manager? Communities don't just happen - they're built and nurtured over time, so having a dedicated community manager is ideal. But sometimes it's just not realistic - there isn't the money or executives don't realize how important community managers are for ensuring ROI. If that's the case - what do you do? Don't be deterred if you can't hire a community manager (yet). If your growing organization is excited and ready for a community, you can create a thriving ecosystem without one - if you have a good plan ...
Mindful Social and the Community Manager
29.02.2016
Not all digital communities are created from scratch. Often a few users start a Facebook, Linkedin, or Google group. They may be volunteers who want to have a place to talk to each other, or teams working at diverse geographic locations and need a central place for information sharing. The community grows organically for a while, but when the organization hires a community manager to manage this valuable resource, they must give that manager clear intentions for the purpose of the community and the direction they'd like to see it develop. That manager ...
29.02.2016
Not all digital communities are created from scratch. Often a few users start a Facebook, Linkedin, or Google group. They may be volunteers who want to have a place to talk to each other, or teams working at diverse geographic locations and need a central place for information sharing. The community grows organically for a while, but when the organization hires a community manager to manage this valuable resource, they must give that manager clear intentions for the purpose of the community and the direction they'd like to see it develop. That manager ...
20 Must-Have Guidelines For Employee Social Media
29.02.2016
[...] It's really important in this digital age that employees understand the risks - both personally and professionally - when conducting themselves on social media. Social media guidelines not only protect the organisation (e.g if an employee shares something that damages the reputation of the brand) but should also protect the employee. Guidance around etiquette and improper usage of social media will help the employee embrace the technology for their professional brand in a safer environment whilst potentially advocating on behalf of the company ...
29.02.2016
[...] It's really important in this digital age that employees understand the risks - both personally and professionally - when conducting themselves on social media. Social media guidelines not only protect the organisation (e.g if an employee shares something that damages the reputation of the brand) but should also protect the employee. Guidance around etiquette and improper usage of social media will help the employee embrace the technology for their professional brand in a safer environment whilst potentially advocating on behalf of the company ...
Five reasons measuring intranets is essential
29.02.2016
Intranet metrics. The very topic tends to bring intranet managers out in a rash or a cold sweat. This is one area of intranet management that seems to not get any better. On one hand the tools are getting better and better, but on the other hand intranets are getting so much more complicated. If you hadn't noticed intranets have absorbed collaboration, social networks and applications into the mix of communications and information, and they don't care whether they are inside or outside the organization. As they have matured they have become intricate ...
29.02.2016
Intranet metrics. The very topic tends to bring intranet managers out in a rash or a cold sweat. This is one area of intranet management that seems to not get any better. On one hand the tools are getting better and better, but on the other hand intranets are getting so much more complicated. If you hadn't noticed intranets have absorbed collaboration, social networks and applications into the mix of communications and information, and they don't care whether they are inside or outside the organization. As they have matured they have become intricate ...
So Long Google Search Appliance, Long Live Enterprise Search
29.02.2016
Google Enterprise Search Appliance's days are numbered. And while the announcement has already received some great coverage in this space, I'd like to look at how the announcement may affect your strategy -- whether or not you're a Google Search Appliance customer. But before we get into that, let's reiterate a few points from the previous coverage: Miles Kehoe (@miles_kehoe) covered what to look for in a replacement if you're a current GSA customer. The main takeaway -- don't panic! There are plenty of good alternatives out there ...
29.02.2016
Google Enterprise Search Appliance's days are numbered. And while the announcement has already received some great coverage in this space, I'd like to look at how the announcement may affect your strategy -- whether or not you're a Google Search Appliance customer. But before we get into that, let's reiterate a few points from the previous coverage: Miles Kehoe (@miles_kehoe) covered what to look for in a replacement if you're a current GSA customer. The main takeaway -- don't panic! There are plenty of good alternatives out there ...
7 ways to import knowledge into your organisation
29.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Sometimes your organisation needs to acquire new knowledge, new know-how or new capability. Here are 7 ways to approach this. Knowledge Acquisition is a core component of Knowledge Management. The ISO 9001:2015 quality standard recognises this, as follows: "When addressing changing needs and trends, the organization shall consider its current knowledge and determine how to acquire or access any necessary additional knowledge and required updates." Knowledge acquisition therefore needs to be covered as part of your KM program, at least ...
29.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Sometimes your organisation needs to acquire new knowledge, new know-how or new capability. Here are 7 ways to approach this. Knowledge Acquisition is a core component of Knowledge Management. The ISO 9001:2015 quality standard recognises this, as follows: "When addressing changing needs and trends, the organization shall consider its current knowledge and determine how to acquire or access any necessary additional knowledge and required updates." Knowledge acquisition therefore needs to be covered as part of your KM program, at least ...
The Insecurity of Things
29.02.2016
The Internet of Things was such a beautiful idea ... too beautiful for this world. We watched it move from being a standard talking point of innovation evangelists to being a serious priority for top CEOs the world over. After being confirmed by the tech high priests at CES16 it is suddenly falling heavily, rather gracelessly, into the laps of lowly product managers. These poor souls may not dream as big as evangelists and CEOs, but they are the ones stuck with the job of actually making the damned thing work. And in this antediluvian world of ours that ...
29.02.2016
The Internet of Things was such a beautiful idea ... too beautiful for this world. We watched it move from being a standard talking point of innovation evangelists to being a serious priority for top CEOs the world over. After being confirmed by the tech high priests at CES16 it is suddenly falling heavily, rather gracelessly, into the laps of lowly product managers. These poor souls may not dream as big as evangelists and CEOs, but they are the ones stuck with the job of actually making the damned thing work. And in this antediluvian world of ours that ...
Unselfish Self Promotion
29.02.2016
Beware: what follows is a hardcore defense of self promotion. You may be wondering who in their right mind would defend self-promotion, twice (I wrote on this topic in 2012)? But this morning, I decided to throw caution to the wind. Why? Because once again a well meaning friend has pulled me to the side and suggested, "Have you considered that it might be better if someone else shares the work you have been doing? When you share your own work it seems like self-promotion." I smiled. But inside I wanted to scream, "No, it is idea promotion and these ideas ...
29.02.2016
Beware: what follows is a hardcore defense of self promotion. You may be wondering who in their right mind would defend self-promotion, twice (I wrote on this topic in 2012)? But this morning, I decided to throw caution to the wind. Why? Because once again a well meaning friend has pulled me to the side and suggested, "Have you considered that it might be better if someone else shares the work you have been doing? When you share your own work it seems like self-promotion." I smiled. But inside I wanted to scream, "No, it is idea promotion and these ideas ...
Just Make Stuff - Radical Transparency as the New CV
29.02.2016
"Is there more evidence than evidence?" That's the question my dear friend Alan Levine posed in in recent blog post "Seeking Evidence of Badge Evidence". As far as credentialing goes, I've always been a fan of Open Badges (key word is "open") if they are framed in the Doug Belshaw framework (I respect and admire that guy very much). I think, like anything they are misunderstood and often misused. Some might be issued with no metadata attached, becoming more of a digital certificate than a tool that can point to exactly what one has accomplished. In other ...
29.02.2016
"Is there more evidence than evidence?" That's the question my dear friend Alan Levine posed in in recent blog post "Seeking Evidence of Badge Evidence". As far as credentialing goes, I've always been a fan of Open Badges (key word is "open") if they are framed in the Doug Belshaw framework (I respect and admire that guy very much). I think, like anything they are misunderstood and often misused. Some might be issued with no metadata attached, becoming more of a digital certificate than a tool that can point to exactly what one has accomplished. In other ...
The Serendipity Effect - Unlocking Knowledge, Innovation & the Best Ideas in an Organization
26.02.2016
by Jim Claussen - Enterprise Social Networks enable social collaboration across an organization. Social collaboration platforms, like IBM Connections, flatten the organization, connecting people, connecting ideas, connecting insights. One of the greatest sources of value for a business collaboration platform comes from collective intelligence, magnified by the Serendipity Effect. The Serendipity Effect - What is it? The Serendipity Effect is the notion that great ideas can come from anywhere, often (and usually) from unexpected places in an organization. ...
26.02.2016
by Jim Claussen - Enterprise Social Networks enable social collaboration across an organization. Social collaboration platforms, like IBM Connections, flatten the organization, connecting people, connecting ideas, connecting insights. One of the greatest sources of value for a business collaboration platform comes from collective intelligence, magnified by the Serendipity Effect. The Serendipity Effect - What is it? The Serendipity Effect is the notion that great ideas can come from anywhere, often (and usually) from unexpected places in an organization. ...
When Cognitive Takes Over Your Inbox
26.02.2016
by Silvia Cambie - Would you trust a computer that can't tell jokes? I was fascinated to hear recently from Vinith Misra how important it has become for computers to develop a sense a humour. Humans use humour as a safety valve to relax and overcome frustration. With computers surrounding us more and more, computational humor or computers' ability to generate jokes is becoming vital. "We need this lubrication or we are going to get too frustrated". Vinith explained that data, as it keeps growing, can now teach machines how to have a humorous personality ...
26.02.2016
by Silvia Cambie - Would you trust a computer that can't tell jokes? I was fascinated to hear recently from Vinith Misra how important it has become for computers to develop a sense a humour. Humans use humour as a safety valve to relax and overcome frustration. With computers surrounding us more and more, computational humor or computers' ability to generate jokes is becoming vital. "We need this lubrication or we are going to get too frustrated". Vinith explained that data, as it keeps growing, can now teach machines how to have a humorous personality ...
A Global Survey Explains Why Your Employees Don't Innovate
26.02.2016
Ask a roomful of CEOs if they want a workforce that innovates, and you'd be shocked not to see all hands in the air. But how many CEOs really mean what they say? Do they truly believe that innovative work can be left to the non-management ranks - and do they give individual contributors the time and resources they need to do so? We surveyed nearly 3,500 people from companies in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Germany, and India. What we found is that although a majority of employees say innovation is everybody's responsibility, not everyone actually gets the ...
26.02.2016
Ask a roomful of CEOs if they want a workforce that innovates, and you'd be shocked not to see all hands in the air. But how many CEOs really mean what they say? Do they truly believe that innovative work can be left to the non-management ranks - and do they give individual contributors the time and resources they need to do so? We surveyed nearly 3,500 people from companies in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Germany, and India. What we found is that although a majority of employees say innovation is everybody's responsibility, not everyone actually gets the ...
7 ways to create a culture of teamwork in the workplace
26.02.2016
We all have experience working in a team in the workplace, on the sports field, or in a social setting. From these experiences, we all know the hallmarks of poorly functioning teams - weak cohesion, poor communication, low trust, and missed milestones. Not to mention the lack of fun and celebration. On the flipside, there's something to be said for a team operating in the "zone" - when work becomes effortless, supportive, constructive, and incredibly satisfying. So exactly why does teamwork matter and what can be done to make it happen? Why is teamwork ...
26.02.2016
We all have experience working in a team in the workplace, on the sports field, or in a social setting. From these experiences, we all know the hallmarks of poorly functioning teams - weak cohesion, poor communication, low trust, and missed milestones. Not to mention the lack of fun and celebration. On the flipside, there's something to be said for a team operating in the "zone" - when work becomes effortless, supportive, constructive, and incredibly satisfying. So exactly why does teamwork matter and what can be done to make it happen? Why is teamwork ...
How to destroy the copmplacency behind "not invented here"
26.02.2016
by Nick Milton - "Not invented here" is a huge barrier in Knowledge Management, but there are two ways to overcome it. "Not invented here" is a form of complacency. It is the feeling that "my knowledge is good enough", which then drives behaviours of failing to listen to others, failing to look for ideas and knowledge from others, and failing to learn from others. When people are unwilling to listen and learn, then knowledge management is stifled. However there are two ways to shake people out of this complacency. You can outlaw "not invented here" You ...
26.02.2016
by Nick Milton - "Not invented here" is a huge barrier in Knowledge Management, but there are two ways to overcome it. "Not invented here" is a form of complacency. It is the feeling that "my knowledge is good enough", which then drives behaviours of failing to listen to others, failing to look for ideas and knowledge from others, and failing to learn from others. When people are unwilling to listen and learn, then knowledge management is stifled. However there are two ways to shake people out of this complacency. You can outlaw "not invented here" You ...
How to Transform Your Culture To Stay Ahead
26.02.2016
How to Transform Your Culture In all of the organizations I have had the privilege to lead, I am always thinking and focusing on culture. Culture, to me, is important both at home and at work. It is the engine that either limits potential or sustains success. "Transforming culture is the real leadership work." - John Mattone Today it seems every forward-thinking company is focused on cultural reinvention. John Mattone and Nick Vaidya's new book, Cultural Transformations: Lessons of Leadership and Corporate Reinvention was one that I read with great interest. ...
26.02.2016
How to Transform Your Culture In all of the organizations I have had the privilege to lead, I am always thinking and focusing on culture. Culture, to me, is important both at home and at work. It is the engine that either limits potential or sustains success. "Transforming culture is the real leadership work." - John Mattone Today it seems every forward-thinking company is focused on cultural reinvention. John Mattone and Nick Vaidya's new book, Cultural Transformations: Lessons of Leadership and Corporate Reinvention was one that I read with great interest. ...
What's in the White Space on your Organization Chart?
26.02.2016
Organizations work by connections. These include the prescribed connections of the hierarchy, formal business processes, assigned teams -- the structures put in place by management. Other organizational structures are emergent -- they are neither designed, nor engineered. These include advice, expertise, support, mentoring and leadership relationships that emerge during the course of business. Employees form these connections to get their job done -- especially when their formal work flow is either broken, blocked, or behind schedule. It is often what ...
26.02.2016
Organizations work by connections. These include the prescribed connections of the hierarchy, formal business processes, assigned teams -- the structures put in place by management. Other organizational structures are emergent -- they are neither designed, nor engineered. These include advice, expertise, support, mentoring and leadership relationships that emerge during the course of business. Employees form these connections to get their job done -- especially when their formal work flow is either broken, blocked, or behind schedule. It is often what ...
The bold new world of talent: 10 predictions for 2016
26.02.2016
Entering 2016, we see dramatic changes in the world of HR, learning, talent, and HR technology. Our latest report, Bersin by Deloitte Predictions for 2016, discusses 10 predictions for the year ahead. In this post, I will highlight the findings and encourage you to read the study and give us your thoughts. As a backdrop, let me note the headlines released at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The theme this year is the "Fourth Industrial Revolution," focused on the way digital technologies have radically impacted our lives, our societies, and our experiences ...
26.02.2016
Entering 2016, we see dramatic changes in the world of HR, learning, talent, and HR technology. Our latest report, Bersin by Deloitte Predictions for 2016, discusses 10 predictions for the year ahead. In this post, I will highlight the findings and encourage you to read the study and give us your thoughts. As a backdrop, let me note the headlines released at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The theme this year is the "Fourth Industrial Revolution," focused on the way digital technologies have radically impacted our lives, our societies, and our experiences ...
Is Your Collaboration More About Me, Myself and I?
25.02.2016
Collaboration within medium and large organizations typically falls under a pull model: collaborating to pull knowledge out of the network to get a job done. Simple, basic collaboration, often driven more by technology vendors than by our own prescribed needs. A push model, however, is a more advanced form of collaboration. People don't just consume knowledge in the network, they constantly look for ways to improve and build on it. Pushing it out into the open for others to leverage, advancing it for the next person who needs it, making it more ...
25.02.2016
Collaboration within medium and large organizations typically falls under a pull model: collaborating to pull knowledge out of the network to get a job done. Simple, basic collaboration, often driven more by technology vendors than by our own prescribed needs. A push model, however, is a more advanced form of collaboration. People don't just consume knowledge in the network, they constantly look for ways to improve and build on it. Pushing it out into the open for others to leverage, advancing it for the next person who needs it, making it more ...
Using Your Enterprise Social Network (ESN) for Collaboration
25.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - On the February 18th #ESNchat we discussed "Using Your Enterprise Social Network (ESN) for Collaboration." Collaboration is one of the holy grails of community. The movement from Connection to Communication to Collaboration is a chain that demonstrates increasing maturity of #ESN usage. It can also be applied at the user level, signifying higher levels of engagement within a community. Users transition from Lurker to Contributor to Creator to Collaborator (@TheCR Levels of Engagement). Collaboration is not for every situation, nor ...
25.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - On the February 18th #ESNchat we discussed "Using Your Enterprise Social Network (ESN) for Collaboration." Collaboration is one of the holy grails of community. The movement from Connection to Communication to Collaboration is a chain that demonstrates increasing maturity of #ESN usage. It can also be applied at the user level, signifying higher levels of engagement within a community. Users transition from Lurker to Contributor to Creator to Collaborator (@TheCR Levels of Engagement). Collaboration is not for every situation, nor ...
The Four Ways to Use Video in Your Community
25.02.2016
According to numerous sources, 2016 is the year of video. We couldn't agree more, and last week, Margot Mazur from Wistia and yours truly talked about visual story-telling in your community. There are lots of compelling facts about the importance of video in the buying process. This also extends beyond just the simple act of people buying more things. Video offers your community a few benefits: It helps build brand rapport It humanizes your brand It keeps folks' attention It helps to explain complex ideas and is great for support As a community manager ...
25.02.2016
According to numerous sources, 2016 is the year of video. We couldn't agree more, and last week, Margot Mazur from Wistia and yours truly talked about visual story-telling in your community. There are lots of compelling facts about the importance of video in the buying process. This also extends beyond just the simple act of people buying more things. Video offers your community a few benefits: It helps build brand rapport It humanizes your brand It keeps folks' attention It helps to explain complex ideas and is great for support As a community manager ...
Improving enterprise search results: Why don't you just tell me what you need?
25.02.2016
by Stan Garfield - In our company's Enterprise Social Network (ESN), someone recently typed just the words "value map" into the posting box of the community group for Enterprise Search, hoping that this would perform an actual search. This made me think of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer, posing as Movie Phone, asks, "Why don't you just tell me the name of the movie you selected?" Search engines such as Bing and Google now return actual content along with the traditional search results. For example, on the right side of the Bing search for knowledge ...
25.02.2016
by Stan Garfield - In our company's Enterprise Social Network (ESN), someone recently typed just the words "value map" into the posting box of the community group for Enterprise Search, hoping that this would perform an actual search. This made me think of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer, posing as Movie Phone, asks, "Why don't you just tell me the name of the movie you selected?" Search engines such as Bing and Google now return actual content along with the traditional search results. For example, on the right side of the Bing search for knowledge ...
The 8-inch culture shift in Knowledge Management
25.02.2016
by Nick Milton - What's the magnitude of the culture change in KM? The answer is 8 inches. This was the message we got in the mid 90s from Colonel Ed Guthrie of the US Army, who had been instrumental in their massive KM change program. When Colonel Ed talked about culture change, he described it not as an incremental change, but as a leap - a quantum leap across a culture gap - rather like getting an army across a river. Then he would ask, how wide do you think that gap is? How wide is the "river"? He would wait for a few moments, as we all tried ...
25.02.2016
by Nick Milton - What's the magnitude of the culture change in KM? The answer is 8 inches. This was the message we got in the mid 90s from Colonel Ed Guthrie of the US Army, who had been instrumental in their massive KM change program. When Colonel Ed talked about culture change, he described it not as an incremental change, but as a leap - a quantum leap across a culture gap - rather like getting an army across a river. Then he would ask, how wide do you think that gap is? How wide is the "river"? He would wait for a few moments, as we all tried ...
7 Game Changers To Improve Your Leadership Position
25.02.2016
Shift Your State Anese Cavanaugh's new work, Contagious Culture: Show Up, Set the Tone, and Intentionally Create an Organization that Thrives is a terrific guide to upping your leadership and creating a positive, contagious atmosphere. After our first interview, I thought to ask Anese about some of her tips for shifting someone's state. Why? Because it's one of the most important aspect of leadership. The ability to help someone from one state to another is a skill that every leader should master. 7 Game Changers In your work as an advisor and "thinking ...
25.02.2016
Shift Your State Anese Cavanaugh's new work, Contagious Culture: Show Up, Set the Tone, and Intentionally Create an Organization that Thrives is a terrific guide to upping your leadership and creating a positive, contagious atmosphere. After our first interview, I thought to ask Anese about some of her tips for shifting someone's state. Why? Because it's one of the most important aspect of leadership. The ability to help someone from one state to another is a skill that every leader should master. 7 Game Changers In your work as an advisor and "thinking ...
The Employee Experience Equation
25.02.2016
by Jacob Morgan - I'm betting big on the concept of the employee experience, which I believe is the next evolution of HR and people related functions inside of our organizations. We are already seeing employee experience related roles and executive titles emerge, and the very concept of Human Resources is morphing into something else (a topic for another post). Everything around people analytics, workplace design, compensation, engagement, well-being, etc. is all tied to this concept of creating an environment where people actually want to show up, not ...
25.02.2016
by Jacob Morgan - I'm betting big on the concept of the employee experience, which I believe is the next evolution of HR and people related functions inside of our organizations. We are already seeing employee experience related roles and executive titles emerge, and the very concept of Human Resources is morphing into something else (a topic for another post). Everything around people analytics, workplace design, compensation, engagement, well-being, etc. is all tied to this concept of creating an environment where people actually want to show up, not ...
Adoption; why before how
24.02.2016
We see many organisations use tool training as the key pillar of the adoption of new technology. With the latest collaboration tools this approach does not lead to any productivity increase. Yet productivity was probably the reason you invested in the technology in the first place. Nobody would dispute that in order to use a tool people need to know how. However, training people how to use the tool is far from a guarantee they will use it. Why is that? Let's start with a simple formula: what for + how = productive use If you know what to use a tool for ...
24.02.2016
We see many organisations use tool training as the key pillar of the adoption of new technology. With the latest collaboration tools this approach does not lead to any productivity increase. Yet productivity was probably the reason you invested in the technology in the first place. Nobody would dispute that in order to use a tool people need to know how. However, training people how to use the tool is far from a guarantee they will use it. Why is that? Let's start with a simple formula: what for + how = productive use If you know what to use a tool for ...
Collaboration is an Inside-Out Exercise
24.02.2016
by Angela Ashenden - For several years now, organizations -- across industries -- have been shifting away from top-down, command-and-control organizational structures in recognition that employees need to feel more empowered and autonomous in order to increase motivation and engagement. Hand-in-hand with this trend goes the growth in collaboration initiatives, and the rise of new social and collaborative technologies that support a more open, interactive and fluid org structure. These tools bring people together from across the business in ad hoc teams ...
24.02.2016
by Angela Ashenden - For several years now, organizations -- across industries -- have been shifting away from top-down, command-and-control organizational structures in recognition that employees need to feel more empowered and autonomous in order to increase motivation and engagement. Hand-in-hand with this trend goes the growth in collaboration initiatives, and the rise of new social and collaborative technologies that support a more open, interactive and fluid org structure. These tools bring people together from across the business in ad hoc teams ...
In Too Many Organizations, We Take Generosity for Granted
24.02.2016
Generosity should be a core value in any Great Work Culture. Instead, it's something we overlook and under-appreciate. Even when it's clear that your own organization isn't filled with toxic colleagues or people bent on out-competing each other, you're probably not paying attention to the generosity around you. You're probably taking generosity at work for granted. Taking generosity for granted leads to these mistakes: - We think generous behavior is "nice to have" in our organizations, but we don't notice the details of ...
24.02.2016
Generosity should be a core value in any Great Work Culture. Instead, it's something we overlook and under-appreciate. Even when it's clear that your own organization isn't filled with toxic colleagues or people bent on out-competing each other, you're probably not paying attention to the generosity around you. You're probably taking generosity at work for granted. Taking generosity for granted leads to these mistakes: - We think generous behavior is "nice to have" in our organizations, but we don't notice the details of ...
Role of Social Business in the Digital Workplace
24.02.2016
First, let's start with a few of definitions. What is a Digital Workplace? Actually, the Digital Workplace has been with us for quite a while. It had its earliest beginnings when business applications replaced clerks and ledgers, when email replaced interoffice memos. The digital workplace has constantly evolved though the years with the adoption of intranets and extranets for communication and collaboration, and the use of knowledge repositories to capture intellectual capital. It continues to evolve today with telephones being replaced by voice over ...
24.02.2016
First, let's start with a few of definitions. What is a Digital Workplace? Actually, the Digital Workplace has been with us for quite a while. It had its earliest beginnings when business applications replaced clerks and ledgers, when email replaced interoffice memos. The digital workplace has constantly evolved though the years with the adoption of intranets and extranets for communication and collaboration, and the use of knowledge repositories to capture intellectual capital. It continues to evolve today with telephones being replaced by voice over ...
How to Be a Kick-Ass Community Manager in 2016
24.02.2016
Community Management sure did change a lot in 2015. Two major trends were identified in the B2B and B2C social landscape: The Shift in B2C Social Customer Service Brands big and small realised quickly that providing exceptional social customer service could land them with some fabulous PR, brand advocates and a boost in brand image to boot 1 in 3 users prefer to contact brands using social media rather than the telephone, according to research conducted by Neilson. Furthermore, 32% of social customers expect a response to a social complaint within 30 ...
24.02.2016
Community Management sure did change a lot in 2015. Two major trends were identified in the B2B and B2C social landscape: The Shift in B2C Social Customer Service Brands big and small realised quickly that providing exceptional social customer service could land them with some fabulous PR, brand advocates and a boost in brand image to boot 1 in 3 users prefer to contact brands using social media rather than the telephone, according to research conducted by Neilson. Furthermore, 32% of social customers expect a response to a social complaint within 30 ...
Working Out Loud: une méthode pour un objectif!
24.02.2016
de Claude Super - «Working out loud», [travailler à voix haute] une expression que vous avez peut-être entendue ou repérée dans le discours des «gourous» du social business, made in America! Derrière ce buzzword, qui pourrait passer aux yeux de certains comme un énième tentative pour mieux vendre de la mise en oeuvre de collaboratif sous forme de solutions et/ou de services, se cache une méthode, des pratiques, au service d'un objectif! Si on regarde un peu plus près la « littérature » consacrée à cette méthode et notamment les propositions faites par ...
24.02.2016
de Claude Super - «Working out loud», [travailler à voix haute] une expression que vous avez peut-être entendue ou repérée dans le discours des «gourous» du social business, made in America! Derrière ce buzzword, qui pourrait passer aux yeux de certains comme un énième tentative pour mieux vendre de la mise en oeuvre de collaboratif sous forme de solutions et/ou de services, se cache une méthode, des pratiques, au service d'un objectif! Si on regarde un peu plus près la « littérature » consacrée à cette méthode et notamment les propositions faites par ...
Painful reflections
24.02.2016
by Euan Semple - The internet is like one of those shaving mirrors you get in hotel bathrooms. You know the ones, especially those with bright lights around their frame, that seem to expose and exacerbate every flaw and blemish on your face. Learning to use social tools for work feels the same. Starting to work out loud, and in groups, is awkward to begin with. What might have been got away with in a face to face exchange lingers online. A brusque response, a glib aside, a "light hearted" criticism, sits there staring at us for hours days and weeks, ...
24.02.2016
by Euan Semple - The internet is like one of those shaving mirrors you get in hotel bathrooms. You know the ones, especially those with bright lights around their frame, that seem to expose and exacerbate every flaw and blemish on your face. Learning to use social tools for work feels the same. Starting to work out loud, and in groups, is awkward to begin with. What might have been got away with in a face to face exchange lingers online. A brusque response, a glib aside, a "light hearted" criticism, sits there staring at us for hours days and weeks, ...
How KM changes culture
24.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Implementing KM requires culture change, but KM itself changes the culture. There is always a lot of energy around the topic of KM and culture change. Everyone accepts that culture will help or hinder KM implementation, and that there are supportive cultures and hindering cultures. What we also need to remember, is that Knowledge Management practices are themselves agents of culture change. The After Action review was first introduced by the US Army after Vietnam as a culture change process, and they found that learning was a major by-product. ...
24.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Implementing KM requires culture change, but KM itself changes the culture. There is always a lot of energy around the topic of KM and culture change. Everyone accepts that culture will help or hinder KM implementation, and that there are supportive cultures and hindering cultures. What we also need to remember, is that Knowledge Management practices are themselves agents of culture change. The After Action review was first introduced by the US Army after Vietnam as a culture change process, and they found that learning was a major by-product. ...
Von hierarchischer Agilität und fraktaler Stabilität
23.02.2016
von Siegfried Lautenbacher - Fraktale Darstellungen sind oft wunderschön anzusehen. Bei einem Fraktal (fractus = lateinisch "gebrochen", von frangere = in Stücke (zer-) "brechen") handelt es sich um ein "sich selbst ähnliche Gebilde". Fraktale stehen nicht nur für Komplexität, sondern auch für die Strukturbildung in der Natur. Viele agile Instrumente in Unternehmen funktionieren ebenfalls nach dem Prinzip der "Selbstähnlichkeit". Dadurch sind sie in der Lage, Strukturen und Stabilität in einem ansonsten sehr dynamischen Umfeld zu bieten. Eine Eigenschaft, ...
23.02.2016
von Siegfried Lautenbacher - Fraktale Darstellungen sind oft wunderschön anzusehen. Bei einem Fraktal (fractus = lateinisch "gebrochen", von frangere = in Stücke (zer-) "brechen") handelt es sich um ein "sich selbst ähnliche Gebilde". Fraktale stehen nicht nur für Komplexität, sondern auch für die Strukturbildung in der Natur. Viele agile Instrumente in Unternehmen funktionieren ebenfalls nach dem Prinzip der "Selbstähnlichkeit". Dadurch sind sie in der Lage, Strukturen und Stabilität in einem ansonsten sehr dynamischen Umfeld zu bieten. Eine Eigenschaft, ...
Enterprise Collaboration: Turn the Conversation from 'No' to 'How'
23.02.2016
Firms face significant risks when deploying enterprise collaboration tools, but these risks can be mitigated to reap the benefits. Today's communications landscape is growing increasingly complex. That old standby, email, is now just one option of how employees communicate. Employees may be using unified communications, public instant messaging, industry-specific networks, external social media applications, and enterprise-wide collaboration tools. And the pace and number of options is only accelerating. Firms that are able to leverage these new ...
23.02.2016
Firms face significant risks when deploying enterprise collaboration tools, but these risks can be mitigated to reap the benefits. Today's communications landscape is growing increasingly complex. That old standby, email, is now just one option of how employees communicate. Employees may be using unified communications, public instant messaging, industry-specific networks, external social media applications, and enterprise-wide collaboration tools. And the pace and number of options is only accelerating. Firms that are able to leverage these new ...
Linking the Internal Digital Workplace to External Success
23.02.2016
by Steve Bynghall - A few years ago I managed a custom-built extranet solution for a global professional services firm, which helped coordinate internal global projects across member firms. It supported project management by gathering data and tracking progress on complex global accounts. It was moderately successful, but didn't justify the investment we'd put into building and managing the solution. This changed when we gave external clients and third parties the ability to view the progress of projects. It was as if we'd accidentally stumbled ...
23.02.2016
by Steve Bynghall - A few years ago I managed a custom-built extranet solution for a global professional services firm, which helped coordinate internal global projects across member firms. It supported project management by gathering data and tracking progress on complex global accounts. It was moderately successful, but didn't justify the investment we'd put into building and managing the solution. This changed when we gave external clients and third parties the ability to view the progress of projects. It was as if we'd accidentally stumbled ...
From information to knowledge - collection, collation, synthesis
23.02.2016
by Nick Milton - There are three ways to manage collections of codified knowledge - collection, collation and synthesis. We can illustrate this by looking at lesson learned systems. Imagine your organisation has been documenting lessons from projects for years, and storing the documented lessons in project reports and project files. The first step is to collect the lessons and to store them in one place, such as a lessons database or lessons folder. This is significantly more convenient than leaving them in project files, as there now becomes one place ...
23.02.2016
by Nick Milton - There are three ways to manage collections of codified knowledge - collection, collation and synthesis. We can illustrate this by looking at lesson learned systems. Imagine your organisation has been documenting lessons from projects for years, and storing the documented lessons in project reports and project files. The first step is to collect the lessons and to store them in one place, such as a lessons database or lessons folder. This is significantly more convenient than leaving them in project files, as there now becomes one place ...
From Life-Crushing to Life-Affirming Work
23.02.2016
by Simon Terry - My Marie Kondo parody post on the Life-crushing Magic of Hierarchy, rightly prompted the reaction: "Yes, but what do you recommend we do about it?". My client work and my blog is an extended essay on what to do to help make work more human. I believe the critical challenge for organisations as we move into the future of work is how to use learning, leadership and collaboration to create more life-affirming workplaces and work. For those who are looking for quick clarity, I thought I would distill a few basic responses to the challenge. ...
23.02.2016
by Simon Terry - My Marie Kondo parody post on the Life-crushing Magic of Hierarchy, rightly prompted the reaction: "Yes, but what do you recommend we do about it?". My client work and my blog is an extended essay on what to do to help make work more human. I believe the critical challenge for organisations as we move into the future of work is how to use learning, leadership and collaboration to create more life-affirming workplaces and work. For those who are looking for quick clarity, I thought I would distill a few basic responses to the challenge. ...
Why Collaboration Value is Understated
22.02.2016
by Simon Terry - Applying mechanical process productivity to collaboration provides us with an efficiency benefit case for collaboration. Understanding the true benefits of collaboration requires us to understand the knowledge work systems in place and the broader effectiveness of the organisation at creating value. Value of Collaboration is Not Easy We always facing the challenge of valuing the benefits of collaboration. Collaborative technology is part of the infrastructure of the organisation. It's use is open to many applications that will be co-created ...
22.02.2016
by Simon Terry - Applying mechanical process productivity to collaboration provides us with an efficiency benefit case for collaboration. Understanding the true benefits of collaboration requires us to understand the knowledge work systems in place and the broader effectiveness of the organisation at creating value. Value of Collaboration is Not Easy We always facing the challenge of valuing the benefits of collaboration. Collaborative technology is part of the infrastructure of the organisation. It's use is open to many applications that will be co-created ...
Seven Ways To Inspire Your Team To Collaborate
22.02.2016
Some years ago, when I was speaking to a group of executives about change leadership, the topic of collaboration came up as a corporate initiative many in the audience were dealing with. On a whim I asked, "How many of you are totally comfortable sharing information with others in your organization?" I was astonished when out of an audience of about 200, only three hands went up. Clearly, if the people responsible for managing, creating, and promoting collaboration were uncomfortable doing it themselves, we were looking at a big problem -- a human problem. ...
22.02.2016
Some years ago, when I was speaking to a group of executives about change leadership, the topic of collaboration came up as a corporate initiative many in the audience were dealing with. On a whim I asked, "How many of you are totally comfortable sharing information with others in your organization?" I was astonished when out of an audience of about 200, only three hands went up. Clearly, if the people responsible for managing, creating, and promoting collaboration were uncomfortable doing it themselves, we were looking at a big problem -- a human problem. ...
How an Intranet will Strengthen Your Social Business Strategy
22.02.2016
by Tim Eisenhauer - Collaborating today goes beyond connecting computers or having people in a conference room together. Social networking technologies have led to a seismic shift in the way people work and interact, leading to the development of social business and collaboration. Over the last several years, many innovative and growing companies across the world have recognized this trend and saw opportunity. They have been adopting social intranet software and collaboration tools to engage employees, simplify communications, and provide consistent, ...
22.02.2016
by Tim Eisenhauer - Collaborating today goes beyond connecting computers or having people in a conference room together. Social networking technologies have led to a seismic shift in the way people work and interact, leading to the development of social business and collaboration. Over the last several years, many innovative and growing companies across the world have recognized this trend and saw opportunity. They have been adopting social intranet software and collaboration tools to engage employees, simplify communications, and provide consistent, ...
How to Break Down Business Silos with Intranet Software
22.02.2016
by Tim Eisenhauer - At one time or another, most organizations, both large and small, will have to resolve dysfunctional units or departments within an enterprise that are characterized by a tendency to protect themselves. These business silos are not good for any business since they waste resources, kill productivity, and jeopardize the achievement of goals. A business silo is characterized by the tendency to hold and maintain information with little or no desire to share or communicate with other teams. As you can imagine, this can result in inefficiencies, ...
22.02.2016
by Tim Eisenhauer - At one time or another, most organizations, both large and small, will have to resolve dysfunctional units or departments within an enterprise that are characterized by a tendency to protect themselves. These business silos are not good for any business since they waste resources, kill productivity, and jeopardize the achievement of goals. A business silo is characterized by the tendency to hold and maintain information with little or no desire to share or communicate with other teams. As you can imagine, this can result in inefficiencies, ...
The Benefits of Peer-to-Peer Praise at Work
22.02.2016
In The Happiness Advantage, I describe an experience with a leader at a Fortune 100 company who told me, "We don't need a happiness program, we pay people to be engaged." This is a surprisingly common refrain from unenlightened leaders, an assumption based upon the belief that pay equals engagement. However, a meta-analysis of the relationship between pay and job satisfaction shows that there is only a small correlation between the two, and that there is much more to the high performance equation than merely income. We know that recognition and intrinsic ...
22.02.2016
In The Happiness Advantage, I describe an experience with a leader at a Fortune 100 company who told me, "We don't need a happiness program, we pay people to be engaged." This is a surprisingly common refrain from unenlightened leaders, an assumption based upon the belief that pay equals engagement. However, a meta-analysis of the relationship between pay and job satisfaction shows that there is only a small correlation between the two, and that there is much more to the high performance equation than merely income. We know that recognition and intrinsic ...
Loss Aversion, and the dis-incentives for KM-based change
22.02.2016
by Nick Milton - The risk of loss of the status quo can be a powerful disincentive for change, and can be a powerful factor working against knowledge management implementation. There is a very apt quote from Machiavelli (The Prince, 1532), which applies to Knowledge Management as it does to any change initiative: "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well ...
22.02.2016
by Nick Milton - The risk of loss of the status quo can be a powerful disincentive for change, and can be a powerful factor working against knowledge management implementation. There is a very apt quote from Machiavelli (The Prince, 1532), which applies to Knowledge Management as it does to any change initiative: "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well ...
How to Overcome 5 Barriers to Digital Transformation
22.02.2016
Digital transformation touches many areas of an organization -- from interactions with customers to the company's vision, operations and culture. In a webinar last week hosted by St. Louis, Mo.-based Perficient, Michael Porter, Perficient's principal strategic advisor, discussed five barriers to digital transformation with Forrester analyst Nigel Fenwick. Perficient is a digital transformation consulting firm serving Global 2000 and enterprises in North America. The conversation was also tweeted at #PerficientDigital. Kicking Off Digital Transformation ...
22.02.2016
Digital transformation touches many areas of an organization -- from interactions with customers to the company's vision, operations and culture. In a webinar last week hosted by St. Louis, Mo.-based Perficient, Michael Porter, Perficient's principal strategic advisor, discussed five barriers to digital transformation with Forrester analyst Nigel Fenwick. Perficient is a digital transformation consulting firm serving Global 2000 and enterprises in North America. The conversation was also tweeted at #PerficientDigital. Kicking Off Digital Transformation ...
Wie plane ich ein Social Intranet im Großkonzern? (Teil 1)
19.02.2016
von Martin Seibert - Großkonzerne sind Universen für sich und sie ticken anders als "normale" Unternehmen. Wer es sich in einer klassischen Organisation mit zehntausenden Mitarbeitern auf die Fahnen geschrieben hat, für eine bessere digitale Zusammenarbeit und für einen Kulturwandel zugunsten von mehr Effektivität, Effizienz, Transparenz und Vertrauen mithilfe einer modernen Social-Intranet-Lösung einzutreten, muss Willensstärke und einen langen Atem mitbringen. Wenn Sie sich als ein solcher Intranet-Pionier in Ihrem Unternehmen verstehen, können Ihnen ...
19.02.2016
von Martin Seibert - Großkonzerne sind Universen für sich und sie ticken anders als "normale" Unternehmen. Wer es sich in einer klassischen Organisation mit zehntausenden Mitarbeitern auf die Fahnen geschrieben hat, für eine bessere digitale Zusammenarbeit und für einen Kulturwandel zugunsten von mehr Effektivität, Effizienz, Transparenz und Vertrauen mithilfe einer modernen Social-Intranet-Lösung einzutreten, muss Willensstärke und einen langen Atem mitbringen. Wenn Sie sich als ein solcher Intranet-Pionier in Ihrem Unternehmen verstehen, können Ihnen ...
What is Social Business Software?
19.02.2016
by Tim Eisenhauer - How we do business today has changed dramatically since the advent of the Internet. No longer do employees need to be in the same room to get things done. Many businesses are shifting towards virtual workspaces, thanks in large part to a relatively new addition to the professional world -- social business software. Before Social Business Software Intentionally or not, the Internet has always been about communication. When email first became available for use in the 1980s, it was met with much praise from businesses and individuals ...
19.02.2016
by Tim Eisenhauer - How we do business today has changed dramatically since the advent of the Internet. No longer do employees need to be in the same room to get things done. Many businesses are shifting towards virtual workspaces, thanks in large part to a relatively new addition to the professional world -- social business software. Before Social Business Software Intentionally or not, the Internet has always been about communication. When email first became available for use in the 1980s, it was met with much praise from businesses and individuals ...
Familiarity Breeds Collaboration
19.02.2016
We've all done it. You're sitting there, chatting online with someone, and you fire off a quick sarcastic joke complete with a smiley face. It's a joke that's worked a thousand times. And yet this time it upsets the other person. They weren't in a great mood and they saw the comment as a jibe. Oops. In person you would have picked-up on the signals that now wasn't a good time for sarcasm. Or maybe the person would have seen your face and known that you were simply clueless, not mean. Even failing that, delivering a quick apology would have ...
19.02.2016
We've all done it. You're sitting there, chatting online with someone, and you fire off a quick sarcastic joke complete with a smiley face. It's a joke that's worked a thousand times. And yet this time it upsets the other person. They weren't in a great mood and they saw the comment as a jibe. Oops. In person you would have picked-up on the signals that now wasn't a good time for sarcasm. Or maybe the person would have seen your face and known that you were simply clueless, not mean. Even failing that, delivering a quick apology would have ...
How Technology Makes Non-Routine Work Routine
19.02.2016
The challenges businesses leaders face today are coming at speeds incomprehensible just a few years ago. And one person solving them alone is not an option. More than ever, success means deepening collaboration and embracing transparency. The organizations that best leverage employees' experience, knowledge and workstyles -- regardless of role, rank or location -- will thrive in this new reality. Those that fall back on out-of-date management models and ineffective technologies will struggle to achieve their business goals. Increasing Information Flow ...
19.02.2016
The challenges businesses leaders face today are coming at speeds incomprehensible just a few years ago. And one person solving them alone is not an option. More than ever, success means deepening collaboration and embracing transparency. The organizations that best leverage employees' experience, knowledge and workstyles -- regardless of role, rank or location -- will thrive in this new reality. Those that fall back on out-of-date management models and ineffective technologies will struggle to achieve their business goals. Increasing Information Flow ...
Social Bookmarking
19.02.2016
Harold Jarche has said that using social bookmarking could be "...the simplest way to start sharing organisational knowledge." and I totally agree. It's also an easy way to get started with the concept of "Working Out Loud" and curation. It is super easy to get started with social bookmarks and it's only slightly different from what you're already doing when you save bookmarks in your web browser. A few of the benefits of social bookmarking include: Moving your bookmarks online and accessible from anywhere instead of being locked in a single place/device. ...
19.02.2016
Harold Jarche has said that using social bookmarking could be "...the simplest way to start sharing organisational knowledge." and I totally agree. It's also an easy way to get started with the concept of "Working Out Loud" and curation. It is super easy to get started with social bookmarks and it's only slightly different from what you're already doing when you save bookmarks in your web browser. A few of the benefits of social bookmarking include: Moving your bookmarks online and accessible from anywhere instead of being locked in a single place/device. ...
Will Cognitive Computing Kill the "Teachable Moment"?
19.02.2016
Back in 2014, I attended the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) conference and we talked a lot about the teachable moment. If this term is new for some of you, the "teachable moment" refers to a time when an individual is most receptive to learning something. It includes the idea that the thing learned at that moment, when the individual needs to know or use it, is likely to be deeply impressed on the person. It also includes the concepts that these moments are somewhat unpredictable and can be fleeting; it isn't always possible to create teachable moments; ...
19.02.2016
Back in 2014, I attended the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) conference and we talked a lot about the teachable moment. If this term is new for some of you, the "teachable moment" refers to a time when an individual is most receptive to learning something. It includes the idea that the thing learned at that moment, when the individual needs to know or use it, is likely to be deeply impressed on the person. It also includes the concepts that these moments are somewhat unpredictable and can be fleeting; it isn't always possible to create teachable moments; ...
Don't Let HiPPOs Define Your KM Strategy
19.02.2016
A HiPPO is the "Highest Paid Person's Opinion." Often HiPPOs are very wrong. Just ask BlackBerry and Nokia, two big name TELCOs with leaders who completely misread the smartphone market. Allowing the HiPPOs in your organization to have complete control of your KM strategy could result in similar consequences. Heard this one before? With much fanfare, an organization announces a KM initiative that will further organizational goals or provide a competitive advantage. Everyone is excited, resources are allocated and some progress is made. Then the ...
19.02.2016
A HiPPO is the "Highest Paid Person's Opinion." Often HiPPOs are very wrong. Just ask BlackBerry and Nokia, two big name TELCOs with leaders who completely misread the smartphone market. Allowing the HiPPOs in your organization to have complete control of your KM strategy could result in similar consequences. Heard this one before? With much fanfare, an organization announces a KM initiative that will further organizational goals or provide a competitive advantage. Everyone is excited, resources are allocated and some progress is made. Then the ...
Social Process Reengineering?
19.02.2016
As much as I hesitate to introduce this term into social software lingo, I think it's exactly what Enterprises are doing with social software on the road to Enterprise 2.0 - striving for a fundamentally new way to work. The title of this entry had three goals. First, I wanted to convey and play off the stark differences between Social Process Reengineering and Business Process Reengineering. Second, I wanted to leverage the similarities of SPR and BPR to explain that these two processes can, and need, to co-exist rather than compete. Finally, I ...
19.02.2016
As much as I hesitate to introduce this term into social software lingo, I think it's exactly what Enterprises are doing with social software on the road to Enterprise 2.0 - striving for a fundamentally new way to work. The title of this entry had three goals. First, I wanted to convey and play off the stark differences between Social Process Reengineering and Business Process Reengineering. Second, I wanted to leverage the similarities of SPR and BPR to explain that these two processes can, and need, to co-exist rather than compete. Finally, I ...
Emergineering!
19.02.2016
Since introducing the idea of Social Process Reengineering? earlier this week I've socialized it virtually and personally (at E2.0 Boston) with at least a dozen customers, bloggers, analysts and other leading thinkers. Consensus on the concept was generally positive with a variety of feedback ranging from the matter that the "facebook" approach doesn't just work in the enterprise to the matter that the social, structural and business pain have to be taken into account for successful E2.0 efforts. Two real gems came out of conversations with ...
19.02.2016
Since introducing the idea of Social Process Reengineering? earlier this week I've socialized it virtually and personally (at E2.0 Boston) with at least a dozen customers, bloggers, analysts and other leading thinkers. Consensus on the concept was generally positive with a variety of feedback ranging from the matter that the "facebook" approach doesn't just work in the enterprise to the matter that the social, structural and business pain have to be taken into account for successful E2.0 efforts. Two real gems came out of conversations with ...
Motivating Millennials Takes More than Flexible Work Policies
19.02.2016
A 2015 Gallup Poll found that Millennials are the least engaged cohort in the workplace, with only 28.9% saying that they are engaged at work. This, combined with high turnover rates and greater freelance and entrepreneurial opportunities, means that if companies want to retain these valued workers, they will have to double their efforts to meet Millennials where they are. A 2015 report on Millennials from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce emphasized flex-time as one way to do this -- it found that three out of four Millennials reported that work-life balance ...
19.02.2016
A 2015 Gallup Poll found that Millennials are the least engaged cohort in the workplace, with only 28.9% saying that they are engaged at work. This, combined with high turnover rates and greater freelance and entrepreneurial opportunities, means that if companies want to retain these valued workers, they will have to double their efforts to meet Millennials where they are. A 2015 report on Millennials from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce emphasized flex-time as one way to do this -- it found that three out of four Millennials reported that work-life balance ...
10 ways to lose your best employees
19.02.2016
There's hardly a company I've ever visited that didn't have a poster or sign somewhere touting 'employees are our greatest asset.' After all, what could be more essential to organizational success and the corporate bottom line than talent? Yet, many employees continue to be marginalized and neglected, often taking a backseat to the various other matters that occupy our workdays as leaders. And the problem seems to be pervasive. While writing The Talent Mandate: Why Smart Companies Put People First, the author spoke with a prominent business school professor ...
19.02.2016
There's hardly a company I've ever visited that didn't have a poster or sign somewhere touting 'employees are our greatest asset.' After all, what could be more essential to organizational success and the corporate bottom line than talent? Yet, many employees continue to be marginalized and neglected, often taking a backseat to the various other matters that occupy our workdays as leaders. And the problem seems to be pervasive. While writing The Talent Mandate: Why Smart Companies Put People First, the author spoke with a prominent business school professor ...
#cebiteda16 Interview: Nachgefragt bei Siegfried Lautenbacher
18.02.2016
von Ellen Trude - Unser aktuelles Interview führten wir zum Expert-Panel "Kollaboration als Enabler für die High-Performance Organisation", das am 17.03.2016 um 11:10 Uhr stattfindet. Unseren Fragen beantwortete diesmal Siegfried Lautenbacher, Mitgründer und Geschäftsführer der Beck et al. Services GmbH. Er beschäftigt sich seit 2007 mit Digital Collaboration als Treiber für die Transformation. Darüber hinaus ist er Partner für Social Business des Munich Digital Institute. #Würde, #Ermächtigung und #HighPerformance lauten seine Hashtags, und im folgenden ...
18.02.2016
von Ellen Trude - Unser aktuelles Interview führten wir zum Expert-Panel "Kollaboration als Enabler für die High-Performance Organisation", das am 17.03.2016 um 11:10 Uhr stattfindet. Unseren Fragen beantwortete diesmal Siegfried Lautenbacher, Mitgründer und Geschäftsführer der Beck et al. Services GmbH. Er beschäftigt sich seit 2007 mit Digital Collaboration als Treiber für die Transformation. Darüber hinaus ist er Partner für Social Business des Munich Digital Institute. #Würde, #Ermächtigung und #HighPerformance lauten seine Hashtags, und im folgenden ...
Your Collaborative Team Building Ingredients
18.02.2016
Your work culture is ready. You've got unified collaboration software tools in place. The stage is set, you've done the groundwork. And then .... Your team doesn't collaborate. Even if you've laid the foundation for collaboration in your organization, it can still be a challenge getting teams to change work habits. But a few strategies help mitigate typical problems when nurturing and building collaborative teams. Goals, Not Roles Interdisciplinary Teams Iterative / Agile Methods Achieving Mastery [...] ...
18.02.2016
Your work culture is ready. You've got unified collaboration software tools in place. The stage is set, you've done the groundwork. And then .... Your team doesn't collaborate. Even if you've laid the foundation for collaboration in your organization, it can still be a challenge getting teams to change work habits. But a few strategies help mitigate typical problems when nurturing and building collaborative teams. Goals, Not Roles Interdisciplinary Teams Iterative / Agile Methods Achieving Mastery [...] ...
Collaboration in the Workplace: A Goal or Mission-Critical
18.02.2016
Collaboration is the latest buzzword in the business world. Businesses are deploying collaboration software, hiring community managers, and employees are being told to "work together." Collaboration sounds like a good thing, but, do you know what effective collaboration looks like? collaborationEphraim Freed, self-proclaimed Internet Nerd, defines collaboration as two or more people (team), working together (processes) toward shared goals (purpose.) In the workplace, collaboration often takes place in the form of a team, a network or a community. Teams ...
18.02.2016
Collaboration is the latest buzzword in the business world. Businesses are deploying collaboration software, hiring community managers, and employees are being told to "work together." Collaboration sounds like a good thing, but, do you know what effective collaboration looks like? collaborationEphraim Freed, self-proclaimed Internet Nerd, defines collaboration as two or more people (team), working together (processes) toward shared goals (purpose.) In the workplace, collaboration often takes place in the form of a team, a network or a community. Teams ...
Enterprise Social Networks - Getting a company on board in under 5 months
18.02.2016
In my area of business there has been lots of debate for years about enterprise social networks. The main issue is getting companies to embrace them and actually using them. As a consultant in the communications sector I have had the opportunity to get a look inside many companies. I found that even within companies that create and sell their own ESN's and gracefully try to drink their own champagne, resistance is quite high and getting staff on board (passive and active) - or better said 'on the network' - is a constant struggle. As with ...
18.02.2016
In my area of business there has been lots of debate for years about enterprise social networks. The main issue is getting companies to embrace them and actually using them. As a consultant in the communications sector I have had the opportunity to get a look inside many companies. I found that even within companies that create and sell their own ESN's and gracefully try to drink their own champagne, resistance is quite high and getting staff on board (passive and active) - or better said 'on the network' - is a constant struggle. As with ...
Supporting the Next Layer of Social Collaboration
18.02.2016
by Christian Buckley - Technologists, analysts and pundits love to talk about revolutionary changes within enterprise technology. New features, new technologies, and new ways of doing old things makes great news -- and the bigger the leap in technology, the bigger the news cycle. That's why you generally see the same news cycle around major platform updates, such as SharePoint 2016, in which the early news focuses on describing exciting new features, but often provide little detail about how these things will actually work. Later in the cycle, maybe ...
18.02.2016
by Christian Buckley - Technologists, analysts and pundits love to talk about revolutionary changes within enterprise technology. New features, new technologies, and new ways of doing old things makes great news -- and the bigger the leap in technology, the bigger the news cycle. That's why you generally see the same news cycle around major platform updates, such as SharePoint 2016, in which the early news focuses on describing exciting new features, but often provide little detail about how these things will actually work. Later in the cycle, maybe ...
Is your intranet dead?
18.02.2016
Be they traditional or social, employee intranet platforms seldom work. And sadly, employee participation rates under 10% are the norm. Here are six common problems and some tips on how to cure them: Stale content Problem: Stale content and broken links. Cure: Ensure content ownership is clear. Make it easy for subject matter experts to publish content, without IT or HTML in the way. Build in tools that make it easy for content owners to spot popular and stale content. Not people focused Problem: Thinking of your intranet as a content repository and ...
18.02.2016
Be they traditional or social, employee intranet platforms seldom work. And sadly, employee participation rates under 10% are the norm. Here are six common problems and some tips on how to cure them: Stale content Problem: Stale content and broken links. Cure: Ensure content ownership is clear. Make it easy for subject matter experts to publish content, without IT or HTML in the way. Build in tools that make it easy for content owners to spot popular and stale content. Not people focused Problem: Thinking of your intranet as a content repository and ...
10 Intranet Trends for 2016
18.02.2016
In the past few years, the world of intranet technology has been changing and improving more rapidly than ever. Most recently, we've seen the adoption of a more social variant of intranets by many businesses, and the advancements just keep coming. Long gone are the days of intranet systems with limited features and seemingly nominal productivity increases. Today's intranet is a well-oiled machine with intuitive features, time-saving elements and an increased capacity for collaborative efforts. The year ahead is set for even more advances to allow intranets ...
18.02.2016
In the past few years, the world of intranet technology has been changing and improving more rapidly than ever. Most recently, we've seen the adoption of a more social variant of intranets by many businesses, and the advancements just keep coming. Long gone are the days of intranet systems with limited features and seemingly nominal productivity increases. Today's intranet is a well-oiled machine with intuitive features, time-saving elements and an increased capacity for collaborative efforts. The year ahead is set for even more advances to allow intranets ...
Why I Stopped Selling Social Business Strategy to Clients
18.02.2016
by Michael Brito - I wrote my first book about social business in early 2011. At the time, I worked for Edelman and we had a handful of people in the firm that specialized in employee engagement, collaboration and technology deployment of community platforms like Jive and Lithium. I remember being criticized by people because "how could a PR firm know anything about change management, consulting or technology?" I shrugged it off and kept the grind on anyway. For over a year and half, I tried to convince our clients that they needed to adopt social internally ...
18.02.2016
by Michael Brito - I wrote my first book about social business in early 2011. At the time, I worked for Edelman and we had a handful of people in the firm that specialized in employee engagement, collaboration and technology deployment of community platforms like Jive and Lithium. I remember being criticized by people because "how could a PR firm know anything about change management, consulting or technology?" I shrugged it off and kept the grind on anyway. For over a year and half, I tried to convince our clients that they needed to adopt social internally ...
Zooming in to knowledge - just like Google Earth
18.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Think of how you find your house on Google Earth. Maybe we can package knowledge that way. You can browse to your house very quickly on Google Earth. First you find your country, then your city, then your suburb or village + then your street then your house. Sure, you can get there very quickly indeed if you know the postcode, but if you don't know the code, you can still find your house by zooming in. Can you find your way to knowledge just as quickly within your own knowledge base? If you don't know the exact title of what ...
18.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Think of how you find your house on Google Earth. Maybe we can package knowledge that way. You can browse to your house very quickly on Google Earth. First you find your country, then your city, then your suburb or village + then your street then your house. Sure, you can get there very quickly indeed if you know the postcode, but if you don't know the code, you can still find your house by zooming in. Can you find your way to knowledge just as quickly within your own knowledge base? If you don't know the exact title of what ...
A Modest Proposal: Eliminate Email
18.02.2016
In the early 1980s, IBM decided to deploy an internal email system. In typical careful IBM fashion, they began by measuring employee communication, so they could estimate how many messages would be sent on the new system. Based on this research, IBM provisioned a $10 million mainframe to run their email server -- an amount of processing power that should have easily handled the typical volume of intra-office interaction. Within a week, the machine was overwhelmed. As an engineer who worked on this project recently recalled, the email team had gravely ...
18.02.2016
In the early 1980s, IBM decided to deploy an internal email system. In typical careful IBM fashion, they began by measuring employee communication, so they could estimate how many messages would be sent on the new system. Based on this research, IBM provisioned a $10 million mainframe to run their email server -- an amount of processing power that should have easily handled the typical volume of intra-office interaction. Within a week, the machine was overwhelmed. As an engineer who worked on this project recently recalled, the email team had gravely ...
Social Collaboration - die Diretissima zur Exzellenz
17.02.2016
von Siegfried Lautenbacher - Social Collaboration oder Digital Collaboration ist ohne Zweifel "in". Unternehmen widmen sich dieser Form der Zusammenarbeit, genauso angesehene Institute. Aber vor lauter Zusammenarbeit, Kooperation und Kollaboration, wahlweise mit und ohne dem Adjektiv sozial (oder social) davor, kann es schon mal passieren, dass die grundsätzliche Idee von Social Collaboration, wie sie vor allem im digitalen Kontext, d.h. auf Plattformen, stattfindet, verloren geht. Darum bemühe ich einen Blick zurück und eine grundlegende Unterscheidung ...
17.02.2016
von Siegfried Lautenbacher - Social Collaboration oder Digital Collaboration ist ohne Zweifel "in". Unternehmen widmen sich dieser Form der Zusammenarbeit, genauso angesehene Institute. Aber vor lauter Zusammenarbeit, Kooperation und Kollaboration, wahlweise mit und ohne dem Adjektiv sozial (oder social) davor, kann es schon mal passieren, dass die grundsätzliche Idee von Social Collaboration, wie sie vor allem im digitalen Kontext, d.h. auf Plattformen, stattfindet, verloren geht. Darum bemühe ich einen Blick zurück und eine grundlegende Unterscheidung ...
How to Minimize Distractions on Enterprise Social Networks
17.02.2016
Even with a tool tailor-made for enterprise productivity, it's easy to get distracted by the wealth of information available on enterprise social networks. You may log in just to check your team's activity, but by the time you open up another application, you've probably thrown your hat into the ring on a Challenge, read what your coworkers think about the latest announcements, scrolled the most recent Town Hall to read the comments, gloated over your brand new Thanks badge and found an entirely new group to start following. And while all of these things ...
17.02.2016
Even with a tool tailor-made for enterprise productivity, it's easy to get distracted by the wealth of information available on enterprise social networks. You may log in just to check your team's activity, but by the time you open up another application, you've probably thrown your hat into the ring on a Challenge, read what your coworkers think about the latest announcements, scrolled the most recent Town Hall to read the comments, gloated over your brand new Thanks badge and found an entirely new group to start following. And while all of these things ...
The Unexpected Power of Collaboration
17.02.2016
by Silvia Cambie - When foragers hunt, their hunting patterns resemble the wires on a computer board. I didn't know that. I find this utterly fascinating. The host of National Geographic's Brain Games, Jason Silva, used this example at the opening of IBM Connect 2016 to show that "there is no duality between technology and humanity". He talked about how information technology is evolving exponentially. Nanotechnology, biotechnology and AI are all going to transform the world the way aviation changed it. And... exponential technology is turning matter ...
17.02.2016
by Silvia Cambie - When foragers hunt, their hunting patterns resemble the wires on a computer board. I didn't know that. I find this utterly fascinating. The host of National Geographic's Brain Games, Jason Silva, used this example at the opening of IBM Connect 2016 to show that "there is no duality between technology and humanity". He talked about how information technology is evolving exponentially. Nanotechnology, biotechnology and AI are all going to transform the world the way aviation changed it. And... exponential technology is turning matter ...
3 Excuses to Collaborate
17.02.2016
"Meetings are by definition," wrote Peter Drucker in 1967, "a concession to deficient organization. For one either meets or one works." So what is this "collaboration" business all about, and why are we anxiously working to automate it? If the electronic form of "collaboration" is simply an app wrapped around the process of meeting, then theoretically, every minute we collaborate is one fewer minute being productive. Unless, of course, Drucker was wrong. Or, alternately, electrons changed the world so much in 49 years that electronic communication can ...
17.02.2016
"Meetings are by definition," wrote Peter Drucker in 1967, "a concession to deficient organization. For one either meets or one works." So what is this "collaboration" business all about, and why are we anxiously working to automate it? If the electronic form of "collaboration" is simply an app wrapped around the process of meeting, then theoretically, every minute we collaborate is one fewer minute being productive. Unless, of course, Drucker was wrong. Or, alternately, electrons changed the world so much in 49 years that electronic communication can ...
How Do You Explain Social Learning to Learning and Development?
17.02.2016
by Helen Blunden - The most frequent questions I am asked about social learning by Learning and Development managers in corporates are: "Can you help our Learning Development team implement social learning into our current programs?" No one refers to our courses on the LMS. If we incorporate social learning in them, will it make them return to our courses? "Can you run a short social learning workshop/webinar/session/presentation for us?" "What's the best social learning system out there? Yammer isn't a social learning system or is it? We have Yammer ...
17.02.2016
by Helen Blunden - The most frequent questions I am asked about social learning by Learning and Development managers in corporates are: "Can you help our Learning Development team implement social learning into our current programs?" No one refers to our courses on the LMS. If we incorporate social learning in them, will it make them return to our courses? "Can you run a short social learning workshop/webinar/session/presentation for us?" "What's the best social learning system out there? Yammer isn't a social learning system or is it? We have Yammer ...
Using internal social channels for leadership communications
17.02.2016
by Steve Bynghall - Managing successful internal communications in a modern, complex digital workplace requires taking a strategic approach. This includes using social tools to enhance communications, by amplifying messages and in ways that play to the strengths of each channel. Let's face it, it's hard for CEOs and other senior leaders to connect with their workforce. Social channels provide an opportunity to deliver more personal and less corporate messages which can resonate with employees. Leaders can also get direct feedback and engage in two-way ...
17.02.2016
by Steve Bynghall - Managing successful internal communications in a modern, complex digital workplace requires taking a strategic approach. This includes using social tools to enhance communications, by amplifying messages and in ways that play to the strengths of each channel. Let's face it, it's hard for CEOs and other senior leaders to connect with their workforce. Social channels provide an opportunity to deliver more personal and less corporate messages which can resonate with employees. Leaders can also get direct feedback and engage in two-way ...
#EmployeeConf - Exploring the employee engagement journey
17.02.2016
by Gloria Lombardi - Boosting performance, productivity and retention. These themes were discussed at 'The Engaging Employees' conference in London this week. With over 20 speakers and 13 in-depth sessions, the event was a vibrant exploration of the employee engagement journey - from managing change, to driving digital communications, creating innovation and interpreting data. While the choice of which presentations to review is not the easiest to make, here are a few personal takeaways. Change with SCARF 'Why? Who? When? What? How?' Our brain deals ...
17.02.2016
by Gloria Lombardi - Boosting performance, productivity and retention. These themes were discussed at 'The Engaging Employees' conference in London this week. With over 20 speakers and 13 in-depth sessions, the event was a vibrant exploration of the employee engagement journey - from managing change, to driving digital communications, creating innovation and interpreting data. While the choice of which presentations to review is not the easiest to make, here are a few personal takeaways. Change with SCARF 'Why? Who? When? What? How?' Our brain deals ...
Listening for Sounds of Digital Transformation
17.02.2016
"Digital transformation" is a phrase bandied around relentlessly these days. Yet no one seems capable of defining it clearly - much less correctly. Case in point: this article claims that "Digital transformation is about the use of technology to radically improve the performance and reach of enterprises. Digital transformation is also about change and adapting to turn technological capabilities into transformation". I'm not even sure what the last sentence means but in any case, equating "digital transformation" with technology, reach, or performance ...
17.02.2016
"Digital transformation" is a phrase bandied around relentlessly these days. Yet no one seems capable of defining it clearly - much less correctly. Case in point: this article claims that "Digital transformation is about the use of technology to radically improve the performance and reach of enterprises. Digital transformation is also about change and adapting to turn technological capabilities into transformation". I'm not even sure what the last sentence means but in any case, equating "digital transformation" with technology, reach, or performance ...
A Crowd is Not a Network
17.02.2016
by Dennis Pearce - In a recent blog post on the future of work, Jacob Morgan extols the power of the Wisdom of Crowds (WOC). He opens with the famous anecdote that James Surowiecki used in his book The Wisdom of Crowds, in which Francis Galton noticed at a country fair how the average of the guesses on the weight of an ox was more accurate than any of the individual guesses, thus demonstrating that the collective intelligence of a group is sometimes more powerful than that of any of the individuals in the group. This is all well and good, but then Jacob ...
17.02.2016
by Dennis Pearce - In a recent blog post on the future of work, Jacob Morgan extols the power of the Wisdom of Crowds (WOC). He opens with the famous anecdote that James Surowiecki used in his book The Wisdom of Crowds, in which Francis Galton noticed at a country fair how the average of the guesses on the weight of an ox was more accurate than any of the individual guesses, thus demonstrating that the collective intelligence of a group is sometimes more powerful than that of any of the individuals in the group. This is all well and good, but then Jacob ...
Reuse it or lose it: The many uses of reuse
17.02.2016
by Stan Garfield - Knowledge management doesn't happen until somebody reuses something. Reused and adapted from: "Nothing happens until somebody sells something - Red Motley" Reuse is applying and adapting existing knowledge and content to new situations. Reuse is the core process of knowledge management. I regularly reuse ideas and content in writing these posts, including my own and that of others. Some content from this post is taken from my book, and the image is reused from a logo I created for a KM program I led. My own content includes old blog ...
17.02.2016
by Stan Garfield - Knowledge management doesn't happen until somebody reuses something. Reused and adapted from: "Nothing happens until somebody sells something - Red Motley" Reuse is applying and adapting existing knowledge and content to new situations. Reuse is the core process of knowledge management. I regularly reuse ideas and content in writing these posts, including my own and that of others. Some content from this post is taken from my book, and the image is reused from a logo I created for a KM program I led. My own content includes old blog ...
Collaboration Snakes and Ladders
16.02.2016
Let's play snakes and ladders. Collaboration snakes and ladders. Every organization that launches a platform for the purpose of generating conversations across silos and speeding up the sharing of knowledge, whose intent is to make internal collaboration more 'social' and thereby more effective, plays this game -- whether they realize it or not. The rules are simple: Wrong move, and down the snake you slide. Right move, up the ladder you go. In this game though, we're not moving along the board through random chance, the throw of a dice. Here, we ...
16.02.2016
Let's play snakes and ladders. Collaboration snakes and ladders. Every organization that launches a platform for the purpose of generating conversations across silos and speeding up the sharing of knowledge, whose intent is to make internal collaboration more 'social' and thereby more effective, plays this game -- whether they realize it or not. The rules are simple: Wrong move, and down the snake you slide. Right move, up the ladder you go. In this game though, we're not moving along the board through random chance, the throw of a dice. Here, we ...
Introducing Content Standards in Social Organizations
16.02.2016
How can spontaneous innovation and organizational standards live happily in the same knowledge management system? While working with a client recently, I was impressed by how much innovation I was seeing throughout the organization. Folks were "figuring things out" in real time, answering questions, building tools and capturing processes to help them do their jobs better. That is of course just the kind of thing that social organizations try to inspire: Actual organic knowledge creation that can be reused again and again. This type of spontaneous knowledge ...
16.02.2016
How can spontaneous innovation and organizational standards live happily in the same knowledge management system? While working with a client recently, I was impressed by how much innovation I was seeing throughout the organization. Folks were "figuring things out" in real time, answering questions, building tools and capturing processes to help them do their jobs better. That is of course just the kind of thing that social organizations try to inspire: Actual organic knowledge creation that can be reused again and again. This type of spontaneous knowledge ...
Information on demand
16.02.2016
Knowledge is power. The more you know, the better equipped you are to handle and control events. But given how much information organisations have to deal with on a daily basis, managing all of this data can prove troublesome. The rate at which information and knowledge is being produced is increasing by the day, notes Henri Fourie, GM for content and collaboration at Decision Inc. "Being able to find the right information easily and quickly is becoming more important than ever. Connecting to peers and experts across the organisation that can guide you ...
16.02.2016
Knowledge is power. The more you know, the better equipped you are to handle and control events. But given how much information organisations have to deal with on a daily basis, managing all of this data can prove troublesome. The rate at which information and knowledge is being produced is increasing by the day, notes Henri Fourie, GM for content and collaboration at Decision Inc. "Being able to find the right information easily and quickly is becoming more important than ever. Connecting to peers and experts across the organisation that can guide you ...
Joined-up knowledge management
16.02.2016
by Nick Milton - One of the major differences between a Knowledge Management Toolbox and a Knowledge Management Framework is that in a framework, the components are joined up. I have blogged before about the evolution in KM thinking from tool, to toolkit, to framework. I have argued that the framework is more complete than the toolbox, as it includes not just a listing of the processes and technologies, but a definition of when they are expected to be used, and by whom. The framework adds the governance element (the expectation), and the roles element ...
16.02.2016
by Nick Milton - One of the major differences between a Knowledge Management Toolbox and a Knowledge Management Framework is that in a framework, the components are joined up. I have blogged before about the evolution in KM thinking from tool, to toolkit, to framework. I have argued that the framework is more complete than the toolbox, as it includes not just a listing of the processes and technologies, but a definition of when they are expected to be used, and by whom. The framework adds the governance element (the expectation), and the roles element ...
Seeking and sense-making
16.02.2016
by Harold Jarche - How do you make sense of your work? Many of us subscribe to newspapers, magazines, web feeds, blogs, and other forms of push information. In themselves, these are low sense-making activities and often are difficult to share, due to digital rights management restrictions, or because of the format. I use Feedly to organize my web feeds and Diigo to capture what I find on the web. The key is to subscribe to a diverse assortment of perspectives and opinions. I read a lot of books and write reviews to share with others. I share some things ...
16.02.2016
by Harold Jarche - How do you make sense of your work? Many of us subscribe to newspapers, magazines, web feeds, blogs, and other forms of push information. In themselves, these are low sense-making activities and often are difficult to share, due to digital rights management restrictions, or because of the format. I use Feedly to organize my web feeds and Diigo to capture what I find on the web. The key is to subscribe to a diverse assortment of perspectives and opinions. I read a lot of books and write reviews to share with others. I share some things ...
Cognitive Computing and Analytics Will Bring Big Changes
16.02.2016
Cognitive computing will be as disruptive to organizations in the next decade as social media was in the last. Maybe more. Cognitive computing, along with its engines machine learning and predictive analytics, will radically transform the way we interact with content and each other in our digital lives. Content management, collaboration and the entire search experience will change and become more personal, more customized, and more automated. Cognitive computing tools -- adaptive and interactive systems that enable computers to handle more complex, context-driven ...
16.02.2016
Cognitive computing will be as disruptive to organizations in the next decade as social media was in the last. Maybe more. Cognitive computing, along with its engines machine learning and predictive analytics, will radically transform the way we interact with content and each other in our digital lives. Content management, collaboration and the entire search experience will change and become more personal, more customized, and more automated. Cognitive computing tools -- adaptive and interactive systems that enable computers to handle more complex, context-driven ...
Digital Unleashes Knowledge, Brings Collaborators Together
16.02.2016
In a digitally connected society, open innovation will take businesses to the next level. Technology can be a polarizing subject. Many believe that the digital age has made people more technology-dependent or obsessed with their mobile devices and social profiles, and to some extent this is true. But technology has also bridged the gap between businesses and people, making us much more efficient individuals capable of advancing innovation through collaborative efforts. Suppose you're responsible for discovering the next big thing to help propel ...
16.02.2016
In a digitally connected society, open innovation will take businesses to the next level. Technology can be a polarizing subject. Many believe that the digital age has made people more technology-dependent or obsessed with their mobile devices and social profiles, and to some extent this is true. But technology has also bridged the gap between businesses and people, making us much more efficient individuals capable of advancing innovation through collaborative efforts. Suppose you're responsible for discovering the next big thing to help propel ...
Now to New: How to Flip Your Company to Perpetual Beta
16.02.2016
by Niels Pflaeging - Five key insights into creating profound, transformational change, quickly and easily. Sounds impossible? Then check out these concepts for a more constructive and robust alternative to change management, or planned change as you know it. Let´s get started. Insight 1: Change is not a journey - it is "constant flipping" Insight 2: There is no such thing as Resistance to Change - only smart response to dumb method Insight 3: The problem is in the system - almost always Insight 4: Org change is socially dense - the technical side is ...
16.02.2016
by Niels Pflaeging - Five key insights into creating profound, transformational change, quickly and easily. Sounds impossible? Then check out these concepts for a more constructive and robust alternative to change management, or planned change as you know it. Let´s get started. Insight 1: Change is not a journey - it is "constant flipping" Insight 2: There is no such thing as Resistance to Change - only smart response to dumb method Insight 3: The problem is in the system - almost always Insight 4: Org change is socially dense - the technical side is ...
Does social media help us work smarter?
15.02.2016
Social media was meant to help us work smarter. So far it has only given us additional work, according to Lene Pettersen's doctoral thesis from BI. A number of organizations have adopted different types of social media (social collaboration solutions), such as yammer or jive business software in the workplace. The solutions are especially developed for the workplace, with inspiration from Facebook and other popular social media. Such social media were meant to help free up time that could make us more productive at work. Researcher Lene Pettersen's ...
15.02.2016
Social media was meant to help us work smarter. So far it has only given us additional work, according to Lene Pettersen's doctoral thesis from BI. A number of organizations have adopted different types of social media (social collaboration solutions), such as yammer or jive business software in the workplace. The solutions are especially developed for the workplace, with inspiration from Facebook and other popular social media. Such social media were meant to help free up time that could make us more productive at work. Researcher Lene Pettersen's ...
Why your Enterprise Social Network is your most valuable social learning platform
15.02.2016
by Jane Hart - In the workplace, social learning comes through social collaboration. Social learning is a natural everyday phenomenon; simply put, we learn from our colleagues as we work with them. For this reason the new enterprise social platforms (like Enterprise Social Networks (ESNs) that underpin social collaboration are your most valuable social learning platforms. as these platforms are designed to foster collaboration, communication and knowledge sharing among employees. But an ESN also provides an ideal technological environment to host more ...
15.02.2016
by Jane Hart - In the workplace, social learning comes through social collaboration. Social learning is a natural everyday phenomenon; simply put, we learn from our colleagues as we work with them. For this reason the new enterprise social platforms (like Enterprise Social Networks (ESNs) that underpin social collaboration are your most valuable social learning platforms. as these platforms are designed to foster collaboration, communication and knowledge sharing among employees. But an ESN also provides an ideal technological environment to host more ...
What's the Value of Mobile ESNs?
15.02.2016
Companies are gradually realizing that mobile capability is becoming critical to the success of the corporate ESN. If your company ESN or intranet is not mobile, you're cutting off too many people too much of the time. It's no longer acceptable to consider any kind of ESN that isn't mobile. Some insist that mobile must be a given for any social network you intend to deploy. Users need new ways to find experts in their company or easily leverage useful content from all over the organization, whether they are at the desk or on the road. The rapid adoption ...
15.02.2016
Companies are gradually realizing that mobile capability is becoming critical to the success of the corporate ESN. If your company ESN or intranet is not mobile, you're cutting off too many people too much of the time. It's no longer acceptable to consider any kind of ESN that isn't mobile. Some insist that mobile must be a given for any social network you intend to deploy. Users need new ways to find experts in their company or easily leverage useful content from all over the organization, whether they are at the desk or on the road. The rapid adoption ...
Teach Them to Fish -- Community Management Builds the Community
15.02.2016
Last week I was working with a customer, planning for their 2016 community management education and awareness program. One thing that struck me was her reference to wanting to teach her community managers "how to fish". I loved this analogy. Where this was coming from was that this customer, like most of those that I work with, has a small central team to manage adoption of their enterprise social network. When you have a small team, a strong program of community management is an important component in extending the reach and efficacy of the central ...
15.02.2016
Last week I was working with a customer, planning for their 2016 community management education and awareness program. One thing that struck me was her reference to wanting to teach her community managers "how to fish". I loved this analogy. Where this was coming from was that this customer, like most of those that I work with, has a small central team to manage adoption of their enterprise social network. When you have a small team, a strong program of community management is an important component in extending the reach and efficacy of the central ...
8 Essentials for Effective Online Communities
15.02.2016
Are you leveraging the power of your Community? How many of the following 8 requirements for achieving effective Communities are you using? Communities have emerged as exceptionally high value and high ROI strategies for BtoB and BtoC marketers. They are the epitome of deep customer engagement and the power of peer-to-peer influence. The following 8 requirements are based on thousands of hours of VoC research conducted by our firm for clients including IBM, MassMutual, Gilt, QVC, HP, Microsoft and Norton AntiVirus. Per the research, please keep in mind ...
15.02.2016
Are you leveraging the power of your Community? How many of the following 8 requirements for achieving effective Communities are you using? Communities have emerged as exceptionally high value and high ROI strategies for BtoB and BtoC marketers. They are the epitome of deep customer engagement and the power of peer-to-peer influence. The following 8 requirements are based on thousands of hours of VoC research conducted by our firm for clients including IBM, MassMutual, Gilt, QVC, HP, Microsoft and Norton AntiVirus. Per the research, please keep in mind ...
Social Media Manager vs. Community Manager: What's the Difference?
15.02.2016
Social media is quickly becoming one of the most important channels businesses can use to interact with their customers. Similar to every other form of communication out there, it is important to arm your business with a smart, nimble team to ensure every inbound message and outbound opportunity is addressed. Enter the social media and community managers. Though some may think that those two roles are synonymous, their functions and responsibilities are actually quite distinct. In fact, here at Sprout Social, we treat each role very differently. To better ...
15.02.2016
Social media is quickly becoming one of the most important channels businesses can use to interact with their customers. Similar to every other form of communication out there, it is important to arm your business with a smart, nimble team to ensure every inbound message and outbound opportunity is addressed. Enter the social media and community managers. Though some may think that those two roles are synonymous, their functions and responsibilities are actually quite distinct. In fact, here at Sprout Social, we treat each role very differently. To better ...
A Simple Visual History of Digital Transformation
15.02.2016
by Simon Terry - Since the Mosaic Browser helped introduce the internet to the world, we have experienced a digital transformation of business. We had digital activities in our organisations before. We had already spend almost 50 years computerising processes. However, the digital connectivity of the internet began more radical change. Here's an overly simple graphical reminder of elements of that journey. We began by creating digital channels to connect our organisations to their customers. The website began with simple digital brochures and basic contact ...
15.02.2016
by Simon Terry - Since the Mosaic Browser helped introduce the internet to the world, we have experienced a digital transformation of business. We had digital activities in our organisations before. We had already spend almost 50 years computerising processes. However, the digital connectivity of the internet began more radical change. Here's an overly simple graphical reminder of elements of that journey. We began by creating digital channels to connect our organisations to their customers. The website began with simple digital brochures and basic contact ...
What's the Endgame of Collaboration?
12.02.2016
It's all too easy to get to a point where collaborating just ... stops. When, despite our best efforts, we get lost in the maze of process that's part of any complex organization and tell ourselves we'll collaborate tomorrow, when we have more time. These are the times when all those stirring management messages about how we all need to collaborate to become a better organization suddenly seem like yet another workplace platitude, easily paused when we need to get on with a task and meet a deadline. Yet collaboration naturally occurs in ...
12.02.2016
It's all too easy to get to a point where collaborating just ... stops. When, despite our best efforts, we get lost in the maze of process that's part of any complex organization and tell ourselves we'll collaborate tomorrow, when we have more time. These are the times when all those stirring management messages about how we all need to collaborate to become a better organization suddenly seem like yet another workplace platitude, easily paused when we need to get on with a task and meet a deadline. Yet collaboration naturally occurs in ...
Breaking the Silo: Why Every Department Can and Should Benefit from Social Intelligence
12.02.2016
For companies of all sizes, sharing knowledge between departments is a challenge. Information that could be of use to multiple departments - from Marketing and Customer Support to PR and Risk - can easily get stuck, preventing businesses from performing at full capacity. Social data is particularly susceptible to getting stuck in "siloes" due to common perception that social data is only of use to social media and marketing departments. Our latest report looks to dispel this myth and explain why and how social intelligence should be shared across the ...
12.02.2016
For companies of all sizes, sharing knowledge between departments is a challenge. Information that could be of use to multiple departments - from Marketing and Customer Support to PR and Risk - can easily get stuck, preventing businesses from performing at full capacity. Social data is particularly susceptible to getting stuck in "siloes" due to common perception that social data is only of use to social media and marketing departments. Our latest report looks to dispel this myth and explain why and how social intelligence should be shared across the ...
Six commandments of internal community management for communications pros
12.02.2016
by Wedge Black - Virpi Oinonen lays down the law for managing your enterprise social network. 1. Don't dominate the newsfeed If most messages in the newsfeed are from you people will think the network is just another channel for comms people to push out their messages. After that they won't post anything. Make sure most messages are not from comms people. 2. Poke people behind the Scenes Contact people via email, chat or phone and encourage them to post questions and answer each others questions on the network. Find the influencers and get them to post. ...
12.02.2016
by Wedge Black - Virpi Oinonen lays down the law for managing your enterprise social network. 1. Don't dominate the newsfeed If most messages in the newsfeed are from you people will think the network is just another channel for comms people to push out their messages. After that they won't post anything. Make sure most messages are not from comms people. 2. Poke people behind the Scenes Contact people via email, chat or phone and encourage them to post questions and answer each others questions on the network. Find the influencers and get them to post. ...
The Force Is Weak on Information Management
12.02.2016
Think Star Wars -- and you probably don't think information management. But throughout the entire Star Wars series there have been epic instances of bad information management and disastrous knowledge management (not to mention abysmal information security, but that's for a different article). Oh, and this is the point where I say: spoilers ahead. Bad information management isn't restricted to the bad guys. The force makes some egregious errors as well. Where, Oh Where? Don't Get Me Started on the Dark Side [...] ...
12.02.2016
Think Star Wars -- and you probably don't think information management. But throughout the entire Star Wars series there have been epic instances of bad information management and disastrous knowledge management (not to mention abysmal information security, but that's for a different article). Oh, and this is the point where I say: spoilers ahead. Bad information management isn't restricted to the bad guys. The force makes some egregious errors as well. Where, Oh Where? Don't Get Me Started on the Dark Side [...] ...
Achieving a digital state of mind
12.02.2016
Digital isn't merely an add-on; it's a way to think differently about business models, customer journeys, and organizational agility. Companies that successfully adopt digital technology don't view it as an extra; digitization becomes central to what they are because they transform their value propositions and evolve every level of the organization so that it becomes data driven, customer obsessed, and highly agile. In this episode of the McKinsey Podcast, recorded in November 2015, principals Karel Dorner and David Edelman talk with Barr Seitz about ...
12.02.2016
Digital isn't merely an add-on; it's a way to think differently about business models, customer journeys, and organizational agility. Companies that successfully adopt digital technology don't view it as an extra; digitization becomes central to what they are because they transform their value propositions and evolve every level of the organization so that it becomes data driven, customer obsessed, and highly agile. In this episode of the McKinsey Podcast, recorded in November 2015, principals Karel Dorner and David Edelman talk with Barr Seitz about ...
Enterprise Social Networks: Vision, Benefits, and Principles
11.02.2016
by Stan Garfield - Vision Enterprise Social Networks (ESNs) are for cross-organizational interaction Share: beyond personal networks to reach everyone who might benefit Innovate: build on one another's work to implement improvements Reuse: take advantage of what has already been done Collaborate: work together across boundaries for the common good Crowdsource: get help and resources from people you don't know Work out loud: trigger serendipitous connections through transparency Learn: information that you were not seeking but is valuable to know ...
11.02.2016
by Stan Garfield - Vision Enterprise Social Networks (ESNs) are for cross-organizational interaction Share: beyond personal networks to reach everyone who might benefit Innovate: build on one another's work to implement improvements Reuse: take advantage of what has already been done Collaborate: work together across boundaries for the common good Crowdsource: get help and resources from people you don't know Work out loud: trigger serendipitous connections through transparency Learn: information that you were not seeking but is valuable to know ...
Managing Multiple - Global and National - Enterprise Social Network (ESN) Locations
11.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - On the February 4th #ESNchat we discussed "Managing Multiple - Global and National - Enterprise Social Network (ESN) Locations" with our special guest, Luke Sinclair. [...] On the chat, we had a strong difference of opinion when it came to managing multiple ESN locations with respect to strategy (same or different) and management (centralized vs. decentralized). However, consensus prevailed on principles and elements of execution. [...] Does your strategy change as you take into account multiple locations? How? Centralized or decentralized ...
11.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - On the February 4th #ESNchat we discussed "Managing Multiple - Global and National - Enterprise Social Network (ESN) Locations" with our special guest, Luke Sinclair. [...] On the chat, we had a strong difference of opinion when it came to managing multiple ESN locations with respect to strategy (same or different) and management (centralized vs. decentralized). However, consensus prevailed on principles and elements of execution. [...] Does your strategy change as you take into account multiple locations? How? Centralized or decentralized ...
Dear IT Department, Why Community Management Matters
11.02.2016
by Dion Hinchcliffe - It's one of the curiosities of enterprise technology: Despite collaboration and engagement being an exclusively human activity -- even when augmented and improved by digital tools -- it's the IT department that most often gets put in charge of rolling out said tools and then operating them long term. According to recent research by the Real Story Group, IT is in fact far and away the most likely the department to both fund and sponsor, as well as implement social platforms in most organizations. Certainly, this seems to make sense, ...
11.02.2016
by Dion Hinchcliffe - It's one of the curiosities of enterprise technology: Despite collaboration and engagement being an exclusively human activity -- even when augmented and improved by digital tools -- it's the IT department that most often gets put in charge of rolling out said tools and then operating them long term. According to recent research by the Real Story Group, IT is in fact far and away the most likely the department to both fund and sponsor, as well as implement social platforms in most organizations. Certainly, this seems to make sense, ...
The changing role of managers in the collaborative organisation
11.02.2016
by Angela Ashenden - One of the most important pieces of advice that I give when I'm talking to organisations about how to build a collaborative culture, is to avoid underestimating the power of middle management when it comes to potential risks to your collaboration adoption strategy. I touched on this in my post If you build it, will they really come? Getting the conditions right for adoption of social collaboration, but let me explain in more detail why I believe this is such an issue. One of the key characteristics of a collaborative organisation ...
11.02.2016
by Angela Ashenden - One of the most important pieces of advice that I give when I'm talking to organisations about how to build a collaborative culture, is to avoid underestimating the power of middle management when it comes to potential risks to your collaboration adoption strategy. I touched on this in my post If you build it, will they really come? Getting the conditions right for adoption of social collaboration, but let me explain in more detail why I believe this is such an issue. One of the key characteristics of a collaborative organisation ...
Breaking the ubiquity of Stream Mode
11.02.2016
A blog post by Luis Suarez has served nicely as a catalyst to start crystallizing some thoughts from the last couple of weeks. Discomfort I've become increasingly aware of tensions I feel when I think about how I manage my personal sense-making. In hindsight the seeds were sown when taking Harold Jarche's PKM in 40 days course. During that study I realised that although I "talk the talk" around PKM, mostly what I do is the "Seek" part of Seek-Sense-Share, with sharing only at the level of filtering a set of public bookmarks. My approach to sense-making ...
11.02.2016
A blog post by Luis Suarez has served nicely as a catalyst to start crystallizing some thoughts from the last couple of weeks. Discomfort I've become increasingly aware of tensions I feel when I think about how I manage my personal sense-making. In hindsight the seeds were sown when taking Harold Jarche's PKM in 40 days course. During that study I realised that although I "talk the talk" around PKM, mostly what I do is the "Seek" part of Seek-Sense-Share, with sharing only at the level of filtering a set of public bookmarks. My approach to sense-making ...
Enterprise Social Non-Working
11.02.2016
To some Facebook is just a time wasting stream of unconscious noise, to others it provides an addictive distracting window into the world of your "friends". With 1.23 billion monthly active users, 945 million mobile users, and 757 million daily users you can't argue that's a pretty impressive user base. Twitter has 316 million active users many obsessed with how many followers they have, how many retweets and likes they got this week compared to last. They follow people simply in the hope that they follow them back. Their Twitter feed is a mis-mash of ...
11.02.2016
To some Facebook is just a time wasting stream of unconscious noise, to others it provides an addictive distracting window into the world of your "friends". With 1.23 billion monthly active users, 945 million mobile users, and 757 million daily users you can't argue that's a pretty impressive user base. Twitter has 316 million active users many obsessed with how many followers they have, how many retweets and likes they got this week compared to last. They follow people simply in the hope that they follow them back. Their Twitter feed is a mis-mash of ...
What CMOs Need to Know about Web Accessibility
11.02.2016
In nearly every website Request for Proposal (RFP), there's a line about accessibility. It either says it's important, or it's not. But a funny thing happens between RFP and website launch: Even those who claim web accessibility is important lose sight of it. Sometimes it's scrapped to cut back on cost. Other times it fades into the background as meatier project details emerge. When the project "gets real," accessibility gets forgotten. Both client and agency march on toward the finish line and avoid the distraction of what some assume is an edge case. ...
11.02.2016
In nearly every website Request for Proposal (RFP), there's a line about accessibility. It either says it's important, or it's not. But a funny thing happens between RFP and website launch: Even those who claim web accessibility is important lose sight of it. Sometimes it's scrapped to cut back on cost. Other times it fades into the background as meatier project details emerge. When the project "gets real," accessibility gets forgotten. Both client and agency march on toward the finish line and avoid the distraction of what some assume is an edge case. ...
Connecting cooperation and collaboration
11.02.2016
by Harold Jarche - According to The Collaboration Paradox: Why Working Together Often Yields Weaker Results, some of the reasons that workplace collaboration fails is due to: overconfidence in our collective thinking; peer pressure to conform; and reliance on others to do the work. The article goes on to show that collaboration works when: we work with people with different skills; we do what each person does best; and we all contribute our own work. This shows the underlying problem with collaboration. To be effective, collaborative work needs to be ...
11.02.2016
by Harold Jarche - According to The Collaboration Paradox: Why Working Together Often Yields Weaker Results, some of the reasons that workplace collaboration fails is due to: overconfidence in our collective thinking; peer pressure to conform; and reliance on others to do the work. The article goes on to show that collaboration works when: we work with people with different skills; we do what each person does best; and we all contribute our own work. This shows the underlying problem with collaboration. To be effective, collaborative work needs to be ...
How to reinvent your internal communications department (before it's too late)
10.02.2016
The employee communications department is at risk of becoming irrelevant. There already are voices calling for companies to do away with them, arguing that a function focusing on one discrete audience is anachronistic given everybody's ability to see what everybody else is saying. I noted in a post about a year ago that BBC's former HR and Internal Communications Director, Lucy Adams, wrote, "Internal communications as a narrowly defined function and approach is dead." Gerard Corbett -- a PR agency CEO and former honcho at PRSA, wrote that "Maybe it's ...
10.02.2016
The employee communications department is at risk of becoming irrelevant. There already are voices calling for companies to do away with them, arguing that a function focusing on one discrete audience is anachronistic given everybody's ability to see what everybody else is saying. I noted in a post about a year ago that BBC's former HR and Internal Communications Director, Lucy Adams, wrote, "Internal communications as a narrowly defined function and approach is dead." Gerard Corbett -- a PR agency CEO and former honcho at PRSA, wrote that "Maybe it's ...
5 Awkward Moments You'll See on Enterprise Social Networks
10.02.2016
Now that enterprise social networks (ESNs) connect entire companies across the world, employees have more opportunities to learn, network and collaborate than ever. There are also more opportunities to embarrass yourself in front of everyone. 5 Awkward Moments on ESN -- and How to Recover awkward social network momentsJust like Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites, ESN platforms are ripe for miscommunication and conflicts. Here are five awkward moments you'll likely encounter on ESN and team communication tips to nip them in the bud. When the ...
10.02.2016
Now that enterprise social networks (ESNs) connect entire companies across the world, employees have more opportunities to learn, network and collaborate than ever. There are also more opportunities to embarrass yourself in front of everyone. 5 Awkward Moments on ESN -- and How to Recover awkward social network momentsJust like Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites, ESN platforms are ripe for miscommunication and conflicts. Here are five awkward moments you'll likely encounter on ESN and team communication tips to nip them in the bud. When the ...
Four Collaboration Mistakes You Can Stop Making Today
10.02.2016
There's something undeniably magical about collaboration and the energy unleashed by a group of people working on something together. It's a little bit like the energy you feel when in a packed stadium when your favourite band plays - everyone knows the lyrics, everyone knows the songs and there's just that buzz. It's amazing. When we try to create this collaboration buzz in our organizations, we often focus on building the stadium (ie we buy a piece of collaboration technology) and hope that the buzz somehow follows. We're so focused on the stadium, ...
10.02.2016
There's something undeniably magical about collaboration and the energy unleashed by a group of people working on something together. It's a little bit like the energy you feel when in a packed stadium when your favourite band plays - everyone knows the lyrics, everyone knows the songs and there's just that buzz. It's amazing. When we try to create this collaboration buzz in our organizations, we often focus on building the stadium (ie we buy a piece of collaboration technology) and hope that the buzz somehow follows. We're so focused on the stadium, ...
Easing the Way to External Collaboration
10.02.2016
At one time or another, we've all found ourselves with a question that no one in the immediate vicinity could answer. And depending on the organization, finding and making the most of that expertise either ended in new opportunities or a source of frustration. An organization I once worked for invested in a web-based project system to allow file sharing with the many different external contractors and consultants it worked with. But the tool's security layers made it so difficult to use, they needed to run an onboarding program for external ...
10.02.2016
At one time or another, we've all found ourselves with a question that no one in the immediate vicinity could answer. And depending on the organization, finding and making the most of that expertise either ended in new opportunities or a source of frustration. An organization I once worked for invested in a web-based project system to allow file sharing with the many different external contractors and consultants it worked with. But the tool's security layers made it so difficult to use, they needed to run an onboarding program for external ...
Sorry, Slack lovers: You'll soon hate group chat as much as you hate email
10.02.2016
David Warsh wants you to imagine an office worker hunched over his computer. "Then comes a little chuckle," he wrote in the Washington Post. "A rapid-fire series of keystrokes. He hits the send button, and the scene is repeated by another manager across the room." It sounds like a day in the life of the modern employee, one who spends hours on Slack, HipChat, or any number of work-sanctioned group chat platforms to procrastinate with office mates. But the article is from 1991, and those workers aren't chatting; they're emailing. When email first entered ...
10.02.2016
David Warsh wants you to imagine an office worker hunched over his computer. "Then comes a little chuckle," he wrote in the Washington Post. "A rapid-fire series of keystrokes. He hits the send button, and the scene is repeated by another manager across the room." It sounds like a day in the life of the modern employee, one who spends hours on Slack, HipChat, or any number of work-sanctioned group chat platforms to procrastinate with office mates. But the article is from 1991, and those workers aren't chatting; they're emailing. When email first entered ...
Can chatops succeed in the enterprise where social networks failed?
10.02.2016
This is part of an investigation into a new space for my own learning (and shared for others benefit). I think its going to be hot and have been following it for a while. See this as a mini trend report, similar but smaller in scale to what I'm working on. Its no secret that enterprise social networks have a difficult time justifying their value. Most recent criticism comes from research by Charlene Li. She is Founder and CEO of Altimeter Group. Here she covers their main findings: Why No One Uses the Corporate Social Network. Few of the failings ...
10.02.2016
This is part of an investigation into a new space for my own learning (and shared for others benefit). I think its going to be hot and have been following it for a while. See this as a mini trend report, similar but smaller in scale to what I'm working on. Its no secret that enterprise social networks have a difficult time justifying their value. Most recent criticism comes from research by Charlene Li. She is Founder and CEO of Altimeter Group. Here she covers their main findings: Why No One Uses the Corporate Social Network. Few of the failings ...
Forget internal communication and focus on interesting conversations
09.02.2016
by Virpi Oinonen - The following insightful piece on enterprise social networks and communication in the workplace brought to you by Virpi Oinonen. Virpi is an enterprise social consultant with a background in online campaigning and mobilisation (Greenpeace and other nonprofits) and communications in general - including journalism, online marketing and, believe it or not, cartooning. I was talking to the internal community manager of Telefonica, Luz Rodrigo Martorell, the other week. She is one of those internal communicators who understands that the ...
09.02.2016
by Virpi Oinonen - The following insightful piece on enterprise social networks and communication in the workplace brought to you by Virpi Oinonen. Virpi is an enterprise social consultant with a background in online campaigning and mobilisation (Greenpeace and other nonprofits) and communications in general - including journalism, online marketing and, believe it or not, cartooning. I was talking to the internal community manager of Telefonica, Luz Rodrigo Martorell, the other week. She is one of those internal communicators who understands that the ...
The Psychology of How and Why We Share
09.02.2016
To be clear, hamsters eating tiny burritos are a relevant part of this story. You scroll through your Facebook feed, skimming post after post, ignoring most, liking a few. After a couple of swipes on the trackpad, you stop. There's a video that catches your eye and after watching it, you feel compelled to share it with your friends. Everyday citizens of the internet go through this same routine. But what makes us stop and share one piece of content when nearly everything else gets ignored? Is it the type of content? Is it the source of the content? Or ...
09.02.2016
To be clear, hamsters eating tiny burritos are a relevant part of this story. You scroll through your Facebook feed, skimming post after post, ignoring most, liking a few. After a couple of swipes on the trackpad, you stop. There's a video that catches your eye and after watching it, you feel compelled to share it with your friends. Everyday citizens of the internet go through this same routine. But what makes us stop and share one piece of content when nearly everything else gets ignored? Is it the type of content? Is it the source of the content? Or ...
Knowledge Work and the Metric Black Hole
09.02.2016
One of the books on my reading list for 2016 was a choice because of its focus on something that is extremely rare and thus much more valuable when achieved - mastering the art of learning complicated things quickly, and operating at a high skill level. Reading Deep Work: the Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport contributes to becoming more aware of the value of creating uninterrupted stretches of time on which to focus on one question, task, or problem and develop the skills to transform the potential into tangible results ...
09.02.2016
One of the books on my reading list for 2016 was a choice because of its focus on something that is extremely rare and thus much more valuable when achieved - mastering the art of learning complicated things quickly, and operating at a high skill level. Reading Deep Work: the Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport contributes to becoming more aware of the value of creating uninterrupted stretches of time on which to focus on one question, task, or problem and develop the skills to transform the potential into tangible results ...
Why are KM roles such a blind spot?
09.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Knowledge Management roles and accountabilities are one of the four legs on the KM table, but receive comparatively little attention. They seem to be a bit of a "blind spot". As I pointed out in this post, Google finds five times as many hits for "knowledge management processes" than it does for "knowledge management roles". And I had a couple of conversations recently which made me think that roles are just not perceived as important. The first was with a KM consultant who said "I just include roles as part of processes. They are just ...
09.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Knowledge Management roles and accountabilities are one of the four legs on the KM table, but receive comparatively little attention. They seem to be a bit of a "blind spot". As I pointed out in this post, Google finds five times as many hits for "knowledge management processes" than it does for "knowledge management roles". And I had a couple of conversations recently which made me think that roles are just not perceived as important. The first was with a KM consultant who said "I just include roles as part of processes. They are just ...
The Changemaker's Guide to Managing
09.02.2016
Most social entrepreneurs I know start their organization because they have a burning desire to create change in society - to bend the arc of history towards justice. They're visionary, brave, and have passion pouring out of their pores. In short, they want to create and innovate. Most social entrepreneurs I know, however, don't start their venture because they relish the idea of managing an organization - of creating roles and responsibilities, leading budget meetings and coordinating steering committees. In short, they don't want to ...
09.02.2016
Most social entrepreneurs I know start their organization because they have a burning desire to create change in society - to bend the arc of history towards justice. They're visionary, brave, and have passion pouring out of their pores. In short, they want to create and innovate. Most social entrepreneurs I know, however, don't start their venture because they relish the idea of managing an organization - of creating roles and responsibilities, leading budget meetings and coordinating steering committees. In short, they don't want to ...
Why a Change Pathfinder is Essential to HR Transformation
09.02.2016
Why is it so difficult to successfully implement change? This is a haunting question for any HR professional. Any perusal through common literature in the genre of change management will reveal high probabilities of failure - some sources stating that as many as 70% of all attempts at change fail. Whether you're implementing an analytics application in your HR department, trying to drive a change in mindset to become more data-driven, or pushing through a transformational redesign, if these frightening statistics are even remotely accurate then we should ...
09.02.2016
Why is it so difficult to successfully implement change? This is a haunting question for any HR professional. Any perusal through common literature in the genre of change management will reveal high probabilities of failure - some sources stating that as many as 70% of all attempts at change fail. Whether you're implementing an analytics application in your HR department, trying to drive a change in mindset to become more data-driven, or pushing through a transformational redesign, if these frightening statistics are even remotely accurate then we should ...
Here's Why You Need to Speak Up More at Work
09.02.2016
Don't hesitate to share your opinion. The Leadership Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today's answer to the question "What is the most important quality a leader should demonstrate?" is by Rich Cavallaro, president and CEO of Skanska USA. Many of us have been in a meeting where we had something valuable to add to the conversation, but for one reason or another didn't feel comfortable speaking up. For this reason, I believe ...
09.02.2016
Don't hesitate to share your opinion. The Leadership Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today's answer to the question "What is the most important quality a leader should demonstrate?" is by Rich Cavallaro, president and CEO of Skanska USA. Many of us have been in a meeting where we had something valuable to add to the conversation, but for one reason or another didn't feel comfortable speaking up. For this reason, I believe ...
10 Tips For Keeping Your Best Employees Happy
09.02.2016
Your best employees are the people who drive your organization forward - they are more creative, more productive, and bring more value to your organization. So, keeping them happy must be a priority, because these are the employees that are typically not replaceable. Here are 10 tips on how you can do that: Know what motivates them Remove the obstacles Treat them unequally Involve them Be flexible Don't force them to always come to the office Don't force them onto a 9-5 schedule Don't force them into a stuffy business dress code Don't force them to follow ...
09.02.2016
Your best employees are the people who drive your organization forward - they are more creative, more productive, and bring more value to your organization. So, keeping them happy must be a priority, because these are the employees that are typically not replaceable. Here are 10 tips on how you can do that: Know what motivates them Remove the obstacles Treat them unequally Involve them Be flexible Don't force them to always come to the office Don't force them onto a 9-5 schedule Don't force them into a stuffy business dress code Don't force them to follow ...
How Online Communities Became Vital to Managing Partner Relationships
08.02.2016
by Dion Hinchcliffe - Until recently, it used to be sufficient to maintain an online microsite or portal to enable business partners to help themselves to information or tend processes between their respective organizations. However, what was state-of-the-art a decade ago with partner relationship management (PRM) software is now almost completely outdated in today's fast-moving, complex, highly competitive, and organizationally interdependent operating environments. Today, digital engagement between companies is shifting rapidly, with the objective ...
08.02.2016
by Dion Hinchcliffe - Until recently, it used to be sufficient to maintain an online microsite or portal to enable business partners to help themselves to information or tend processes between their respective organizations. However, what was state-of-the-art a decade ago with partner relationship management (PRM) software is now almost completely outdated in today's fast-moving, complex, highly competitive, and organizationally interdependent operating environments. Today, digital engagement between companies is shifting rapidly, with the objective ...
When internal communication meets mobile apps
08.02.2016
by Gloria Lombardi - What happens to an organisation when mobile enters its Internal Communication function? Gloria Lombardi speaks with analyst and Founder of Lopez Research Maribel Lopez, to find out. "Mobile is everywhere and broadly applicable to everyone. It has the opportunity to change how employees connect and communicate. It facilitates the sharing of whatever they need to access for doing their job. And, it makes it easier for them to participate in important conversations." Maribel Lopez has had a keen interest in mobility since a young age. ...
08.02.2016
by Gloria Lombardi - What happens to an organisation when mobile enters its Internal Communication function? Gloria Lombardi speaks with analyst and Founder of Lopez Research Maribel Lopez, to find out. "Mobile is everywhere and broadly applicable to everyone. It has the opportunity to change how employees connect and communicate. It facilitates the sharing of whatever they need to access for doing their job. And, it makes it easier for them to participate in important conversations." Maribel Lopez has had a keen interest in mobility since a young age. ...
Work Out Loud Behaviors: Considering Downstream Impacts of Collab Decisions
08.02.2016
by Bryce Williams - A common phrase you hear from people when trying to convince them to adopt new behaviors is WIIFM ... "What's In It for Me?". While I'm not a fan of that mindset, personally, I understand why it's important to help people get it. But I'll come back to that. I tend to lean more toward the WIIFE approach ... "What's In It for Everyone?" Unfortunately I just realized that my acronym spells "wife"...and that was totally unintentional and could get awkward depending on where I go with this. TheBrycesWife might be reading. Tread lightly... ...
08.02.2016
by Bryce Williams - A common phrase you hear from people when trying to convince them to adopt new behaviors is WIIFM ... "What's In It for Me?". While I'm not a fan of that mindset, personally, I understand why it's important to help people get it. But I'll come back to that. I tend to lean more toward the WIIFE approach ... "What's In It for Everyone?" Unfortunately I just realized that my acronym spells "wife"...and that was totally unintentional and could get awkward depending on where I go with this. TheBrycesWife might be reading. Tread lightly... ...
The Roots of Working Out Loud
08.02.2016
by Dennis Pearce - When people first hear about the concept of Working Out Loud, their minds immediately frame it in the context of sharing information. In fact, most objections to the practice come about because of that framing: "My work needs to stay secret." "I don't want to look like I'm bragging." "I'm shy when it comes to talking about myself." "What if nobody's interested in what I have to say?" And this makes perfect sense, because the essence of WOL is about sharing. But I want to flip that idea on its head and argue for ...
08.02.2016
by Dennis Pearce - When people first hear about the concept of Working Out Loud, their minds immediately frame it in the context of sharing information. In fact, most objections to the practice come about because of that framing: "My work needs to stay secret." "I don't want to look like I'm bragging." "I'm shy when it comes to talking about myself." "What if nobody's interested in what I have to say?" And this makes perfect sense, because the essence of WOL is about sharing. But I want to flip that idea on its head and argue for ...
How a Knowledge Supermarket helps the knowledge customer to find what they need
08.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Your knowledge base should be less like a teenagers cupboard, and more like a supermarket. Here's how. Following on from last week's post on findability, lets think not just how you make knowledge findable, but also how you make it browsable. Too many knowledge bases use the "teenager's bedroom" approach )which I mentioned in this blog post) - where you dump everything into the knowledge base willy-nilly and rely on a good search engine to dig it out again. However the problem with relying on search is two-fold: Good search ...
08.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Your knowledge base should be less like a teenagers cupboard, and more like a supermarket. Here's how. Following on from last week's post on findability, lets think not just how you make knowledge findable, but also how you make it browsable. Too many knowledge bases use the "teenager's bedroom" approach )which I mentioned in this blog post) - where you dump everything into the knowledge base willy-nilly and rely on a good search engine to dig it out again. However the problem with relying on search is two-fold: Good search ...
Stop knowledge from walking out the door
08.02.2016
Do you know whether parts of your organization are reinventing the wheel, not learning from past experience or making repeated mistakes? Well, if your organization is even a few years old, this must be happening unless you have put in place a robust knowledge management practice. Managers leaving or moving to new assignments always take with them valuable knowledge that they don't know they have. In 2004, a study of 240 organizations in the US found that the greatest impact of employee turnover was lost knowledge -- not profitability! BP learnt this ...
08.02.2016
Do you know whether parts of your organization are reinventing the wheel, not learning from past experience or making repeated mistakes? Well, if your organization is even a few years old, this must be happening unless you have put in place a robust knowledge management practice. Managers leaving or moving to new assignments always take with them valuable knowledge that they don't know they have. In 2004, a study of 240 organizations in the US found that the greatest impact of employee turnover was lost knowledge -- not profitability! BP learnt this ...
So entsteht der digitale Arbeitsplatz: Arbeiten in Netzwerkstrukturen
05.02.2016
Digital Workplace: Wieder einer der Begriffe, die bislang sehr schwammig und in unterschiedlichen Bedeutungen verwendet werden. Dieser Beitrag zeigt, wie das althergebrachte Intranet ein Ausgangspunkt sein kann für den digitalen Arbeitsplatz der Zukunft. Unternehmensgründungen im digitalen Umfeld stoßen klassische Wertschöpfungsketten um und zerstören ganze Märkte. Die Auswirkung dieser Disruption: Einstige Marktführer in ihrem Segment verschwinden; der Fall Kodak ist dafür ein Beispiel. Auch große und etablierte Konzerne geraten durch Herausforderer ...
05.02.2016
Digital Workplace: Wieder einer der Begriffe, die bislang sehr schwammig und in unterschiedlichen Bedeutungen verwendet werden. Dieser Beitrag zeigt, wie das althergebrachte Intranet ein Ausgangspunkt sein kann für den digitalen Arbeitsplatz der Zukunft. Unternehmensgründungen im digitalen Umfeld stoßen klassische Wertschöpfungsketten um und zerstören ganze Märkte. Die Auswirkung dieser Disruption: Einstige Marktführer in ihrem Segment verschwinden; der Fall Kodak ist dafür ein Beispiel. Auch große und etablierte Konzerne geraten durch Herausforderer ...
Facebook at Work: Wo ist der Nutzen für Unternehmen?
05.02.2016
von Siegfried Lautenbacher und Sebastian Thielke - Mit Facebook at Work startet das Zuckerberg-Imperium mit lautem Trommelwirbel nun auch im Markt der Enterprise Social Network Anwendungen. Durch die Verbindung zu einem Produkt, dass wir alle kennen - unser täglich Facebook - hat der Social Network-Anbieter einen großen Startvorteil, auch wenn er in einen reifen Mark eintritt. Facebook at Work kann ähnlich wie Slack vom starken Bedürfnis der Unternehmensnutzer nach Einfachheit und Mobilität profitieren. Allerdings ist noch unklar, was Facebook mit dem ...
05.02.2016
von Siegfried Lautenbacher und Sebastian Thielke - Mit Facebook at Work startet das Zuckerberg-Imperium mit lautem Trommelwirbel nun auch im Markt der Enterprise Social Network Anwendungen. Durch die Verbindung zu einem Produkt, dass wir alle kennen - unser täglich Facebook - hat der Social Network-Anbieter einen großen Startvorteil, auch wenn er in einen reifen Mark eintritt. Facebook at Work kann ähnlich wie Slack vom starken Bedürfnis der Unternehmensnutzer nach Einfachheit und Mobilität profitieren. Allerdings ist noch unklar, was Facebook mit dem ...
Six Obstacles To Building Communities In Organizations
05.02.2016
Rachel Happe begins her latest post, 10 Trends for the Future of Communities, with a comprehensive description of the various intersecting and intermingling streams and characteristics that inform communities, and I am quoting her below: "Communities sit at the intersection of a number of trends; social media, digital transformation, a generational shift to prioritize purposeful work, the future of work, change management, leadership and social learning." This is one of the most inclusive descriptions that captures the various threads and reasons for ...
05.02.2016
Rachel Happe begins her latest post, 10 Trends for the Future of Communities, with a comprehensive description of the various intersecting and intermingling streams and characteristics that inform communities, and I am quoting her below: "Communities sit at the intersection of a number of trends; social media, digital transformation, a generational shift to prioritize purposeful work, the future of work, change management, leadership and social learning." This is one of the most inclusive descriptions that captures the various threads and reasons for ...
Optimising for the internal search engine
05.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Internal company search seldom works as well as Google, because so few people optimise the findability of their content. People often cite Google as the gold-standard in search, but partly Google works so well because of the prevalence of search-engine optimisation in the World Wide Web. Anyone who uses the web as a market place or a means of making publications available, knows about the issues of Search Engine Optimisation. And if you own a website, you probably receive 10 emails a day from people offering to improve your SEO ranking. ...
05.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Internal company search seldom works as well as Google, because so few people optimise the findability of their content. People often cite Google as the gold-standard in search, but partly Google works so well because of the prevalence of search-engine optimisation in the World Wide Web. Anyone who uses the web as a market place or a means of making publications available, knows about the issues of Search Engine Optimisation. And if you own a website, you probably receive 10 emails a day from people offering to improve your SEO ranking. ...
Social Leadership: Are We There Yet?
05.02.2016
Over the past few years, the use of social media has ceased to be seen as "cutting edge" or "innovative," and has simply become a core part of how companies communicate and do business. In our recent interview with Mark Babbitt and Ted Coiné, authors of the popular business management book A World Gone Social: How Companies Must Adapt to Survive, they discussed what success looks like for companies today when it comes to social media. You no longer get credit for trying or simply having a presence on a social platform; it's time for companies to ...
05.02.2016
Over the past few years, the use of social media has ceased to be seen as "cutting edge" or "innovative," and has simply become a core part of how companies communicate and do business. In our recent interview with Mark Babbitt and Ted Coiné, authors of the popular business management book A World Gone Social: How Companies Must Adapt to Survive, they discussed what success looks like for companies today when it comes to social media. You no longer get credit for trying or simply having a presence on a social platform; it's time for companies to ...
The Soft Skills of Great Digital Organizations
05.02.2016
Smart organizations have recognized that introducing new technology into the workplace isn't about hardware or software: it's about wetware, also known as human beings. If you want to be the kind of nimble business that can make the most of successive waves of tech innovation, you need human beings who can adapt to change. That means equipping each person in your enterprise with the skills and mindset that will help them successfully adapt whenever you introduce new tools like Slack, Basecamp, or even Google Drive into your workplace. But what exactly ...
05.02.2016
Smart organizations have recognized that introducing new technology into the workplace isn't about hardware or software: it's about wetware, also known as human beings. If you want to be the kind of nimble business that can make the most of successive waves of tech innovation, you need human beings who can adapt to change. That means equipping each person in your enterprise with the skills and mindset that will help them successfully adapt whenever you introduce new tools like Slack, Basecamp, or even Google Drive into your workplace. But what exactly ...
How To Find And Utilize Your Organization's Hidden Leaders
04.02.2016
When we think of leaders, we often think of strong Type-A personalities that can motivate change and lead with a commanding presence. What is overlooked however, is the behind the scene players that are often taking on valuable leadership responsibilities without the spotlight or recognition. While many organizations look for these strong type-A's to fill their management and executive roles, they're ignoring how other personalities are contributing to the growth and success of an organization. After all, it's these hidden leaders that ...
04.02.2016
When we think of leaders, we often think of strong Type-A personalities that can motivate change and lead with a commanding presence. What is overlooked however, is the behind the scene players that are often taking on valuable leadership responsibilities without the spotlight or recognition. While many organizations look for these strong type-A's to fill their management and executive roles, they're ignoring how other personalities are contributing to the growth and success of an organization. After all, it's these hidden leaders that ...
What role will ESN's play in the forthcoming years?
04.02.2016
18 out of 34 speakers at IntraTeam Event Copenhagen 2016 have giving us their thoughts about what role ESN will play in the forthcoming years. You can read the answers here and your comments are appreciated. Neil Morgan, Richemont International: They will completely replace (integrated) commenting on the Intranet. Core collaboration tool for external communities/teams. Steve Sale, AstraZeneca: The corporate intranet will likely follow the trends of the intranet and ESNs shall become central to the intranet experience. More so as the work from home culture ...
04.02.2016
18 out of 34 speakers at IntraTeam Event Copenhagen 2016 have giving us their thoughts about what role ESN will play in the forthcoming years. You can read the answers here and your comments are appreciated. Neil Morgan, Richemont International: They will completely replace (integrated) commenting on the Intranet. Core collaboration tool for external communities/teams. Steve Sale, AstraZeneca: The corporate intranet will likely follow the trends of the intranet and ESNs shall become central to the intranet experience. More so as the work from home culture ...
ESN Strategy
04.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - On the January 28th #ESNchat we discussed ESN (enterprise social network) strategy. What we determined: ESN strategy must tie to business strategy (unanimous) as it enables greater visibility within the organization, executive engagement, and proper budgets/resources. This marks an evolution in the disciple from the early years (3-5 yrs ago) when it was only narrowly viewed as a tool for Communications or IT. This shift is driven by the growing realization of the business value associated with ESN, maturity of the industry of community, ...
04.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - On the January 28th #ESNchat we discussed ESN (enterprise social network) strategy. What we determined: ESN strategy must tie to business strategy (unanimous) as it enables greater visibility within the organization, executive engagement, and proper budgets/resources. This marks an evolution in the disciple from the early years (3-5 yrs ago) when it was only narrowly viewed as a tool for Communications or IT. This shift is driven by the growing realization of the business value associated with ESN, maturity of the industry of community, ...
Lightning in a Bottle: How to Build a Successful Community in Days
04.02.2016
by Rachel Happe - In the community space, we like to say you can't assume that if you build it, 'they' will come. But sometimes they do. A parenting community I recently joined took off like wildfire. [...] What's the magic and how can you get some? Sharing was the key that unlocked the flood of engagement and triggered questions. However, It wasn't just any sharing, the first members shared deeply personal stories about parenting, which established a behavior norm. The response those initial posts got was warm, welcoming and validating which encouraged ...
04.02.2016
by Rachel Happe - In the community space, we like to say you can't assume that if you build it, 'they' will come. But sometimes they do. A parenting community I recently joined took off like wildfire. [...] What's the magic and how can you get some? Sharing was the key that unlocked the flood of engagement and triggered questions. However, It wasn't just any sharing, the first members shared deeply personal stories about parenting, which established a behavior norm. The response those initial posts got was warm, welcoming and validating which encouraged ...
Why KM "minimum standards" are vital
04.02.2016
by Nick Milton - What are the minimum conditions of satisfaction in your company for KM? If you have not set any, then the long term future of your KM activity may be at risk. Knowledge Management becomes embedded in an organisation when everyone who needs to be is involved and engaged. However not everyone wants to be engaged, and knowledge management is always in conflict with other less important but more urgent activity. As a result, people may begin to "skimp" on KM - doing the bare minimum that they can get away with. Although this sounds bad, ...
04.02.2016
by Nick Milton - What are the minimum conditions of satisfaction in your company for KM? If you have not set any, then the long term future of your KM activity may be at risk. Knowledge Management becomes embedded in an organisation when everyone who needs to be is involved and engaged. However not everyone wants to be engaged, and knowledge management is always in conflict with other less important but more urgent activity. As a result, people may begin to "skimp" on KM - doing the bare minimum that they can get away with. Although this sounds bad, ...
3 steps that will enliven a struggling corporate culture
04.02.2016
Culture is about how your management treats employees, how employees treat each other, and how everyone at your company treats customers. It's a reflection of the day-to-day experience everyone has at and with your company, and has a big impact on business outcomes. That's why HR knows that culture especially matters at a time when competition for talented employees is as fierce as ever. With the US job market hitting new highs and UK unemployment at a ten-year low, companies are looking beyond traditional compensation packages and placing a greater ...
04.02.2016
Culture is about how your management treats employees, how employees treat each other, and how everyone at your company treats customers. It's a reflection of the day-to-day experience everyone has at and with your company, and has a big impact on business outcomes. That's why HR knows that culture especially matters at a time when competition for talented employees is as fierce as ever. With the US job market hitting new highs and UK unemployment at a ten-year low, companies are looking beyond traditional compensation packages and placing a greater ...
We don't need better leaders
04.02.2016
by Harold Jarche - "Why is everyone so hung up on Leaders, Leadership and Leadership courses - it's what gets us into a mess. Think banking, politics, sport..." - Donald Clark If all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail. If all you know is hierarchical leadership by virtue of one's position, then all solutions are in the hands of the CEO. Conversations with 150 CEO's only yield 'CEO thinking'. "To raise the organization's confidence in their decisions, leaders must carefully balance the various personal paradoxes involved in the ...
04.02.2016
by Harold Jarche - "Why is everyone so hung up on Leaders, Leadership and Leadership courses - it's what gets us into a mess. Think banking, politics, sport..." - Donald Clark If all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail. If all you know is hierarchical leadership by virtue of one's position, then all solutions are in the hands of the CEO. Conversations with 150 CEO's only yield 'CEO thinking'. "To raise the organization's confidence in their decisions, leaders must carefully balance the various personal paradoxes involved in the ...
10 Dinge die ich am digitalen und vernetzten Arbeitsplatz überhaupt nicht mag - Der Anfang
03.02.2016
von Sebastian Thielke - Dann lassen Sie uns mal loslegen. Ich finde es ist Zeit, dass man sich mal den Ängsten, den Ärgernissen und den Problemen mit diesen Unternehmensnetzwerken und digitalen Arbeitsplätzen stellt. Wir hören immer bloß, dass es ganz toll ist, dass es unentbehrlich wird und das wir im Unternehmen damit fit für die ganzen digitalen Herausforderungen werden. Theorien sind ja schön und gut. Aber sie sind nur die Ideen von Vermarktung und Werbung. Niemand schert sich um den Alltag, die wirkliche Arbeit und das Praktische. Deswegen hier ...
03.02.2016
von Sebastian Thielke - Dann lassen Sie uns mal loslegen. Ich finde es ist Zeit, dass man sich mal den Ängsten, den Ärgernissen und den Problemen mit diesen Unternehmensnetzwerken und digitalen Arbeitsplätzen stellt. Wir hören immer bloß, dass es ganz toll ist, dass es unentbehrlich wird und das wir im Unternehmen damit fit für die ganzen digitalen Herausforderungen werden. Theorien sind ja schön und gut. Aber sie sind nur die Ideen von Vermarktung und Werbung. Niemand schert sich um den Alltag, die wirkliche Arbeit und das Praktische. Deswegen hier ...
Konkrete Antworten auf konkrete Fragen
03.02.2016
Die Bedeutung von Wissensmanagement wird in der Regel dann klar, wenn eine erfahrene Schlüsselkraft das Unternehmen verlässt. Die Erkenntnis kommt jedoch zu spät, denn mit dem Mitarbeiter verschwindet in der Regel auch ein wertvoller Teil des Unternehmenswissens. Die bisherige Lösung reicht nicht Da Wissen immer mehr zum vorherrschenden Differenzierungsmerkmal in einer Welt vergleichbarer Angebote wird, sind Maßnahmen, das verteilte Wissen unternehmensweit verfügbar zu machen, zunehmend strategischer Natur. "Wissensmanagement-Tools sollen helfen, alle ...
03.02.2016
Die Bedeutung von Wissensmanagement wird in der Regel dann klar, wenn eine erfahrene Schlüsselkraft das Unternehmen verlässt. Die Erkenntnis kommt jedoch zu spät, denn mit dem Mitarbeiter verschwindet in der Regel auch ein wertvoller Teil des Unternehmenswissens. Die bisherige Lösung reicht nicht Da Wissen immer mehr zum vorherrschenden Differenzierungsmerkmal in einer Welt vergleichbarer Angebote wird, sind Maßnahmen, das verteilte Wissen unternehmensweit verfügbar zu machen, zunehmend strategischer Natur. "Wissensmanagement-Tools sollen helfen, alle ...
The Limits to Collaboration
03.02.2016
Collaborative Overload Evidence is emerging that too much Collaboration can be a bad thing - Economist: [...] Problems The HBR article referred to above notes X main problems emerging from modern Collaboration systems - I have split the issues into teh 3 main issues: - Volume - Victims of Virtue - Vampires [...] Solutions? From the HBR article, we can see 3 practical approaches (there are some impractical ones that we discuss later): - Redistribute the work - Structure for Collaboration Boundaries - Measure and Reward the right things [...] The HBR article ...
03.02.2016
Collaborative Overload Evidence is emerging that too much Collaboration can be a bad thing - Economist: [...] Problems The HBR article referred to above notes X main problems emerging from modern Collaboration systems - I have split the issues into teh 3 main issues: - Volume - Victims of Virtue - Vampires [...] Solutions? From the HBR article, we can see 3 practical approaches (there are some impractical ones that we discuss later): - Redistribute the work - Structure for Collaboration Boundaries - Measure and Reward the right things [...] The HBR article ...
What Will Facebook at Work mean for #ESN?
03.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - The believers, the optimists, and the skeptics joined us last week as we discussed Facebook at Work. Carrie Basham Young, brought to the conversation key observations and facts about this new market entry that forced the group to think beyond the traditional confines of #ESN and Community Management to a world that is truly connected. Facebooks' mission is "to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." It begs the question, what does this mean for Social Communities and #ESNs (Enterprise Social Network)? ...
03.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - The believers, the optimists, and the skeptics joined us last week as we discussed Facebook at Work. Carrie Basham Young, brought to the conversation key observations and facts about this new market entry that forced the group to think beyond the traditional confines of #ESN and Community Management to a world that is truly connected. Facebooks' mission is "to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." It begs the question, what does this mean for Social Communities and #ESNs (Enterprise Social Network)? ...
What Will Facebook at Work mean for #ESN? Part 2
03.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - On the January 21st #ESNchat we discussed "Facebook at Work" with our special guest Carrie Basham Young. [...] This is Part 2 in a 2 part series. Resources mentioned during the chat How will Community Management change as Facebook at Work grows? Do you think that Facebook at Work will be the social "killer app" in the enterprise? What future opportunities does Facebook at Work create for employees and organizations? [...] ...
03.02.2016
by Jennifer Honig - On the January 21st #ESNchat we discussed "Facebook at Work" with our special guest Carrie Basham Young. [...] This is Part 2 in a 2 part series. Resources mentioned during the chat How will Community Management change as Facebook at Work grows? Do you think that Facebook at Work will be the social "killer app" in the enterprise? What future opportunities does Facebook at Work create for employees and organizations? [...] ...
How to Set SMART Goals for Your Online Community
03.02.2016
There are several different paths to creating a successful online community -- and there are even more ways to measure that success. Unfortunately, with so many metrics available in your online community platform, figuring out exactly what kind of success you're striving for can be confusing and overwhelming. Many community managers end up setting goals that are too abstract or too broad to truly be successful. Still, when you're managing an online community, goal setting is still necessary and important. Goals not only help to track your community's ...
03.02.2016
There are several different paths to creating a successful online community -- and there are even more ways to measure that success. Unfortunately, with so many metrics available in your online community platform, figuring out exactly what kind of success you're striving for can be confusing and overwhelming. Many community managers end up setting goals that are too abstract or too broad to truly be successful. Still, when you're managing an online community, goal setting is still necessary and important. Goals not only help to track your community's ...
Intranet team sizes, support ratios and other complex dilemmas
03.02.2016
"How big should my intranet team be?" is generally a question considered only by larger organisations and then usually during or after an implementation project. For most companies a more common question is "Do I need a full time intranet manager?". The default position for most intranets is to under resource the central person or team responsible, particularly once in business-as-usual mode. I can't think of any intranet teams who complain about not having enough to do. Part of the problem is that is very difficult to obtain any reliable data which ...
03.02.2016
"How big should my intranet team be?" is generally a question considered only by larger organisations and then usually during or after an implementation project. For most companies a more common question is "Do I need a full time intranet manager?". The default position for most intranets is to under resource the central person or team responsible, particularly once in business-as-usual mode. I can't think of any intranet teams who complain about not having enough to do. Part of the problem is that is very difficult to obtain any reliable data which ...
Demographics and Digital Workplace Maturity
03.02.2016
by Jane McConnell - I've been asked at least a hundred times which countries are the strongest in digital workplace maturity. People always ask about their own country. Many assume that the US is more advanced than Europe, Northern Europe more than Southern Europe, and so on. I have always hesitated to give my opinion based on my firsthand experiences and decided it was time to look at some data and see if there are some answers or maybe just some points to think about. First I'll start with some basics. The larger the workforce, the more mature the ...
03.02.2016
by Jane McConnell - I've been asked at least a hundred times which countries are the strongest in digital workplace maturity. People always ask about their own country. Many assume that the US is more advanced than Europe, Northern Europe more than Southern Europe, and so on. I have always hesitated to give my opinion based on my firsthand experiences and decided it was time to look at some data and see if there are some answers or maybe just some points to think about. First I'll start with some basics. The larger the workforce, the more mature the ...
Are You Communicating or Collaborating?
02.02.2016
by David F. Carr - Where exactly is the borderline between communications and collaboration? Am I confusing the two when I opine about Why Messaging Has the Momentum in Business Collaboration? I was challenged to answer this question recently while participating in a panel discussion moderated by Jon Arnold, an independent analyst who covers unified communications. I was representing Glip, the team chat platform that RingCentral bought over the summer. Funny thing, but I got the opportunity through my old boss at Redbooth. When he was unable to fulfill ...
02.02.2016
by David F. Carr - Where exactly is the borderline between communications and collaboration? Am I confusing the two when I opine about Why Messaging Has the Momentum in Business Collaboration? I was challenged to answer this question recently while participating in a panel discussion moderated by Jon Arnold, an independent analyst who covers unified communications. I was representing Glip, the team chat platform that RingCentral bought over the summer. Funny thing, but I got the opportunity through my old boss at Redbooth. When he was unable to fulfill ...
How messaging bots will change workplace productivity
02.02.2016
Messaging bots patrolling collaboration platforms such as Slack and startup Kore will lean increasingly on machine learning and natural language processing to automate travel booking, expense management, help desk and other services, experts say. It's a familiar story to perhaps every knowledge worker suffering software fatigue and frustrated by the inefficient task of switching between different applications to manage information and collaborate with colleagues. Work is perhaps the one place where "there's an app for that" is viewed as burden rather ...
02.02.2016
Messaging bots patrolling collaboration platforms such as Slack and startup Kore will lean increasingly on machine learning and natural language processing to automate travel booking, expense management, help desk and other services, experts say. It's a familiar story to perhaps every knowledge worker suffering software fatigue and frustrated by the inefficient task of switching between different applications to manage information and collaborate with colleagues. Work is perhaps the one place where "there's an app for that" is viewed as burden rather ...
Workato Chat Bot Brings Enterprise Workflow Into Slack
02.02.2016
As we head into 2016, enterprise chat applications like Slack are suddenly a hot commodity, and if you're inside chat a good portion of the day the argument goes, you should be able to access other work without leaving the chat client. This is exactly what Workato's newly announced chat bot, Workbot, is designed to do. Chat bots are small programs that integrate with a chat platform and provide some advanced type of functionality in a fairly easy fashion. The new Workbot-chat bot enables users to access and control over 100 enterprise applications such ...
02.02.2016
As we head into 2016, enterprise chat applications like Slack are suddenly a hot commodity, and if you're inside chat a good portion of the day the argument goes, you should be able to access other work without leaving the chat client. This is exactly what Workato's newly announced chat bot, Workbot, is designed to do. Chat bots are small programs that integrate with a chat platform and provide some advanced type of functionality in a fairly easy fashion. The new Workbot-chat bot enables users to access and control over 100 enterprise applications such ...
Collaboration, Trust & Sustainability: The Catalysts to Transform a Value-Chain
02.02.2016
These were, perhaps, the three most impactful words at ProcureCon's Berlin conference earlier this month: collaboration, trust and sustainability. Ton Guerts, (CPO at Bekaert) put it well when he said "If you think in 'sustainability' you rejuvenate and transform your value-chain." But as others such as Pieter Swarts (CPO at KPN) pointed out, that transformative power is dependent on your ability to collaborate, which in turn is dependent on high levels of trust. It is not surprising that these three words are increasingly seen as the catalysts to drive ...
02.02.2016
These were, perhaps, the three most impactful words at ProcureCon's Berlin conference earlier this month: collaboration, trust and sustainability. Ton Guerts, (CPO at Bekaert) put it well when he said "If you think in 'sustainability' you rejuvenate and transform your value-chain." But as others such as Pieter Swarts (CPO at KPN) pointed out, that transformative power is dependent on your ability to collaborate, which in turn is dependent on high levels of trust. It is not surprising that these three words are increasingly seen as the catalysts to drive ...
Reflections on Facebook at Work (& Promises of Universal Adoption)
02.02.2016
by Simon Terry - One core reasons collaboration tools have an adoption problem is a lack of benefits to users. That problem is not solved by a new tool. The benefit problem is solved by working out loud purposefully - creating an environment to learn, solve problems and create new solutions together. The reviews of Facebook at Work are starting to come in. The claims from Facebook are intriguing: no community management required, no need to worry about adoption (after all its Facebook - your users are using it already) and so on. Does a new solution ...
02.02.2016
by Simon Terry - One core reasons collaboration tools have an adoption problem is a lack of benefits to users. That problem is not solved by a new tool. The benefit problem is solved by working out loud purposefully - creating an environment to learn, solve problems and create new solutions together. The reviews of Facebook at Work are starting to come in. The claims from Facebook are intriguing: no community management required, no need to worry about adoption (after all its Facebook - your users are using it already) and so on. Does a new solution ...
The value of intranet and digital workplace conferences
02.02.2016
When I was a practitioner running a collaboration platform for a large accountancy firm, I wish I had gone to more professional conferences. Those organised on themes such as intranets, collaboration and knowledge management would have all been very useful. Yes, I went to a few events here and there, but a more focused effort would have given me a broader perspective on what I was doing inside the company and also sparked some valuable ideas. As a consultant I still need to get that exposure to ideas, insights and inspiring people and conferences are ...
02.02.2016
When I was a practitioner running a collaboration platform for a large accountancy firm, I wish I had gone to more professional conferences. Those organised on themes such as intranets, collaboration and knowledge management would have all been very useful. Yes, I went to a few events here and there, but a more focused effort would have given me a broader perspective on what I was doing inside the company and also sparked some valuable ideas. As a consultant I still need to get that exposure to ideas, insights and inspiring people and conferences are ...
How to Keep Employees from Tweeting Company Secrets
02.02.2016
Sharing is good. When customers share great stories about your company, that positive word of mouth helps you build brand equity and attract more customers. Likewise when employees tweet about happy customers, their fun working environment, or amazing managers. Yes, sharing is good. But what happens when employees share too much? Should companies worry about the threat of sensitive company information getting out on social media? James Pooley, author of Secrets: Managing Information Assets in the Age of Cyberespionage, says companies should be very worried. ...
02.02.2016
Sharing is good. When customers share great stories about your company, that positive word of mouth helps you build brand equity and attract more customers. Likewise when employees tweet about happy customers, their fun working environment, or amazing managers. Yes, sharing is good. But what happens when employees share too much? Should companies worry about the threat of sensitive company information getting out on social media? James Pooley, author of Secrets: Managing Information Assets in the Age of Cyberespionage, says companies should be very worried. ...
So, How Are You Doing Mr. Digital Transformation?
02.02.2016
If you haven't read about the Digital Transformation last year, you might have had a Wifi-connection issue. Digital Transformation is everywhere. Connected networks provide access to new (un)structured data. In-memory platforms provide the capabilities to process stunning amounts of information and the Internet of Things allows us to connect and follow to almost any device or object. Digital Transformation is about the use of technology to radically improve the performance and reach of enterprises. Digital Transformation is also about change and adapting ...
02.02.2016
If you haven't read about the Digital Transformation last year, you might have had a Wifi-connection issue. Digital Transformation is everywhere. Connected networks provide access to new (un)structured data. In-memory platforms provide the capabilities to process stunning amounts of information and the Internet of Things allows us to connect and follow to almost any device or object. Digital Transformation is about the use of technology to radically improve the performance and reach of enterprises. Digital Transformation is also about change and adapting ...
Zusammenarbeit im "Enterprise 2.0"
01.02.2016
Trends wie Cloud Computing, soziale Netzwerke oder mobiles Arbeiten verändern Bedürfnisse und bringen neue Herausforderungen mit sich. Darum ist Wandlungsfähigkeit - vor allem auch in der IT - entscheidend für die Gestaltung einer effizienten Zusammenarbeit im Unternehmen der Zukunft - dem "Enterprise 2.0". Dazu befragten wir Felix Binsack, Geschäftsführer der Timetoact Software & Consulting GmbH, der ja bereits in der Oktober-Ausgabe die optimale Gestaltung von Kommunikations- und Kollaborationsplattformen skizziert hatte. Herr Binsack, welche Vorteile ...
01.02.2016
Trends wie Cloud Computing, soziale Netzwerke oder mobiles Arbeiten verändern Bedürfnisse und bringen neue Herausforderungen mit sich. Darum ist Wandlungsfähigkeit - vor allem auch in der IT - entscheidend für die Gestaltung einer effizienten Zusammenarbeit im Unternehmen der Zukunft - dem "Enterprise 2.0". Dazu befragten wir Felix Binsack, Geschäftsführer der Timetoact Software & Consulting GmbH, der ja bereits in der Oktober-Ausgabe die optimale Gestaltung von Kommunikations- und Kollaborationsplattformen skizziert hatte. Herr Binsack, welche Vorteile ...
"Social Intranet" wird quicklebendig
01.02.2016
Die E-Mailflut kostet Zeit und Nerven, sagt Felix Binsack, Geschäftsführer der Timetoact Software & Consulting GmbH. Im Interview mit DV-Dialog macht er deutlich, dass damit auch viel Wissen verloren geht. Effizienter und für das Wissensmanagemet im Unternehmen förderlich sei ein "Social Intranet" mit Communities, Blogs und Wikis. Selbst wenn ein Mitarbeiter ausscheiden sollte, bleibt das darin gespeicherte Wissen so für das Unternehmen erhalten. Nach dem revolutionären Erfolg der sozialen Netzwerke im privaten Bereich hat es Social Business nun ...
01.02.2016
Die E-Mailflut kostet Zeit und Nerven, sagt Felix Binsack, Geschäftsführer der Timetoact Software & Consulting GmbH. Im Interview mit DV-Dialog macht er deutlich, dass damit auch viel Wissen verloren geht. Effizienter und für das Wissensmanagemet im Unternehmen förderlich sei ein "Social Intranet" mit Communities, Blogs und Wikis. Selbst wenn ein Mitarbeiter ausscheiden sollte, bleibt das darin gespeicherte Wissen so für das Unternehmen erhalten. Nach dem revolutionären Erfolg der sozialen Netzwerke im privaten Bereich hat es Social Business nun ...
Enterprise Social Networks: a Higher Purpose?
01.02.2016
by Lee Bryant - ESNs are now part of the furniture A basic form of social business collaboration is now an expected feature of the modern workplace, at least in terms of the prevalence of ESN platforms like IBM Connections, Jive and Sharepoint, or chat apps like Slack and Yammer. Social networking and knowledge sharing in the enterprise has brought real improvements to internal communications and employee engagement, but in many cases it remains too unconnected to everyday working practices and processes to really change the way in which work gets done. ...
01.02.2016
by Lee Bryant - ESNs are now part of the furniture A basic form of social business collaboration is now an expected feature of the modern workplace, at least in terms of the prevalence of ESN platforms like IBM Connections, Jive and Sharepoint, or chat apps like Slack and Yammer. Social networking and knowledge sharing in the enterprise has brought real improvements to internal communications and employee engagement, but in many cases it remains too unconnected to everyday working practices and processes to really change the way in which work gets done. ...
Knocking Down Your Collaboration Borders
01.02.2016
Journalist Thomas Friedman's best-selling book "The World is Flat" explains how the flattening of the world in the 21 century impacted countries, companies, communities and individuals and how they have adapted. Friedman posits that globalization has given us more opportunity for success. He claims, "When the world is flat, you can innovate without having to emigrate." Though we are more interconnected today than ever before, barriers still hinder us from complete productivity and efficiency. In my 15 years as a business professional, I have seen ...
01.02.2016
Journalist Thomas Friedman's best-selling book "The World is Flat" explains how the flattening of the world in the 21 century impacted countries, companies, communities and individuals and how they have adapted. Friedman posits that globalization has given us more opportunity for success. He claims, "When the world is flat, you can innovate without having to emigrate." Though we are more interconnected today than ever before, barriers still hinder us from complete productivity and efficiency. In my 15 years as a business professional, I have seen ...
Social Collaboration: The Battle to Keep Content Fresh
01.02.2016
"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes." - Peter Drucker In today's throwaway society, content has developed a limited shelf-life. Not only does consumer appetite for information burn through it quicker than ever before, but with technologies, behaviors, and even entire industries changing on what can seem like a weekly basis, the battle to keep content fresh can feel both overwhelming and draining. To get some idea of the scale of the problem, consider this: Whether it is creating new, updating existing, ...
01.02.2016
"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes." - Peter Drucker In today's throwaway society, content has developed a limited shelf-life. Not only does consumer appetite for information burn through it quicker than ever before, but with technologies, behaviors, and even entire industries changing on what can seem like a weekly basis, the battle to keep content fresh can feel both overwhelming and draining. To get some idea of the scale of the problem, consider this: Whether it is creating new, updating existing, ...
Three keys to building a successful community
01.02.2016
As someone whom is part of several communities, and now being asked by companies to help build their communities, this is a topic I see firsthand. Having been invited to join so many communities, I have had to ask what the value is. This leads to being more selective on which communities I ultimately participate in. It is important to note that there is a difference between the value to a community member and the community organizer. The value equation must factor both and be bi-directional. In sum, all parties to the community must see value in their ...
01.02.2016
As someone whom is part of several communities, and now being asked by companies to help build their communities, this is a topic I see firsthand. Having been invited to join so many communities, I have had to ask what the value is. This leads to being more selective on which communities I ultimately participate in. It is important to note that there is a difference between the value to a community member and the community organizer. The value equation must factor both and be bi-directional. In sum, all parties to the community must see value in their ...
How to Make Visiting Your Online Community a Habit for Customers or Members
01.02.2016
American politician, Frank A. Clark, once said, "A habit is something you can do without thinking, which is why most of us have so many of them." Nowhere is that more obvious than on the Internet. Most people visit the same sites, do the same things, almost without realizing it. When we can't follow our Internet habit, because of site maintenance or some other uncontrollable cause, we feel an almost pent up anxiety. Wouldn't it be great for your members to have that kind of dedication to logging in to your online community every day? Don't worry. You ...
01.02.2016
American politician, Frank A. Clark, once said, "A habit is something you can do without thinking, which is why most of us have so many of them." Nowhere is that more obvious than on the Internet. Most people visit the same sites, do the same things, almost without realizing it. When we can't follow our Internet habit, because of site maintenance or some other uncontrollable cause, we feel an almost pent up anxiety. Wouldn't it be great for your members to have that kind of dedication to logging in to your online community every day? Don't worry. You ...
Engaging the Creative Workforce
01.02.2016
by Harold Jarche - Collaboration happens around some kind of plan or structure, while cooperation presumes the freedom of individuals to join and participate. As a free-agent, much of my time is spent cooperating. When I cooperate, I give freely, but no one tells me what to do. On the other hand, collaboration is required to get things done. This is when we have milestones, deadlines, and deliverables. I collaborate on the projects and work I commit to do. The social contract for independent creative workers is relatively simple. For much of my day, ...
01.02.2016
by Harold Jarche - Collaboration happens around some kind of plan or structure, while cooperation presumes the freedom of individuals to join and participate. As a free-agent, much of my time is spent cooperating. When I cooperate, I give freely, but no one tells me what to do. On the other hand, collaboration is required to get things done. This is when we have milestones, deadlines, and deliverables. I collaborate on the projects and work I commit to do. The social contract for independent creative workers is relatively simple. For much of my day, ...
Social Task Management Software, Why You Should Use It
01.02.2016
Social task management software is a new way to organize work with your team. It combines some of the ideas you'd expect in a traditional project management system, like creating work items and prioritizing them, with real-time social elements that connect people, like sharing and commenting. It helps teams get on the same page about who is doing what and why, so that team collaboration is easier and less chaotic. Since this is something most of us need, it's not surprising that social task management has gain popularity over the last few years. Why ...
01.02.2016
Social task management software is a new way to organize work with your team. It combines some of the ideas you'd expect in a traditional project management system, like creating work items and prioritizing them, with real-time social elements that connect people, like sharing and commenting. It helps teams get on the same page about who is doing what and why, so that team collaboration is easier and less chaotic. Since this is something most of us need, it's not surprising that social task management has gain popularity over the last few years. Why ...
Revolutionising the productivity of the Knowledge Worker 4 - eliminating the waste
01.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Last week I blogged about the challenge of revolutionising the productivity of the knowledge worker, which Peter Drucker set for us. We looked at the division of knowledge labour, the automation/augmentation of knowledge work, and the knowledge supply chain. Now we look at the lean knowledge working environment. We have been looking at how the productivity of the manual workers has been revolutionised, and certainly lead production, lean working and the lean supply chain have all played their part. The Manufacturing Advisory Service ...
01.02.2016
by Nick Milton - Last week I blogged about the challenge of revolutionising the productivity of the knowledge worker, which Peter Drucker set for us. We looked at the division of knowledge labour, the automation/augmentation of knowledge work, and the knowledge supply chain. Now we look at the lean knowledge working environment. We have been looking at how the productivity of the manual workers has been revolutionised, and certainly lead production, lean working and the lean supply chain have all played their part. The Manufacturing Advisory Service ...
Resolving the Paradox of Group Creativity
01.02.2016
Researchers have been studying creativity for more than 150 years, yet it still remains elusive. We're not much closer to understanding what it is exactly that sparks unique ideas. One reason for this lack of insight may be that so much research has looked at the wrong things. Until quite recently, creativity has been studied from the assumption that it is a function of particular individuals and their characteristics. Researchers have asked, "What is it about certain people that causes unique ideas to emerge from their minds?" But some students of creativity ...
01.02.2016
Researchers have been studying creativity for more than 150 years, yet it still remains elusive. We're not much closer to understanding what it is exactly that sparks unique ideas. One reason for this lack of insight may be that so much research has looked at the wrong things. Until quite recently, creativity has been studied from the assumption that it is a function of particular individuals and their characteristics. Researchers have asked, "What is it about certain people that causes unique ideas to emerge from their minds?" But some students of creativity ...
Four Reasons Why You've Got A Rotten Job - Or No Job At All
01.02.2016
by Steve Denning - Let's face it. Your job is not what you hoped it would be. And you're not alone. Only one in five people is fully engaged in his or her work and even fewer are truly passionate. And come to think of it, you're one of the lucky ones: millions are now finding it hard to land jobs or gigs that cover their needs. So what's gone wrong? Last week, the Innovation for Jobs ECO Summit in the heart of Silicon Valley in Menlo Park, California (January 28-29, 2016), led by David Nordfors and Vint Cerf, explored an amazing array of issues and possible ...
01.02.2016
by Steve Denning - Let's face it. Your job is not what you hoped it would be. And you're not alone. Only one in five people is fully engaged in his or her work and even fewer are truly passionate. And come to think of it, you're one of the lucky ones: millions are now finding it hard to land jobs or gigs that cover their needs. So what's gone wrong? Last week, the Innovation for Jobs ECO Summit in the heart of Silicon Valley in Menlo Park, California (January 28-29, 2016), led by David Nordfors and Vint Cerf, explored an amazing array of issues and possible ...