It’s an inside job

I love Michael Idinopulos’ blog today on Socialtext Blog.  I have blogged on the “inside job” before and collaboration is just that– an inside job.  Michael says his mom always said “it’s what’s on the inside that counts”.  That is so true with collaboration.  If you are not a collaborative person on the inside all the blogs, wikis, communities and tweets will not make you one.  A company’s culture and people have to have that shift.  They need to want t0 move out of the silos.  Otherwise blogs, wikis and communities just become yet another silo of information that is hidden and out of plain view.   And Michael’s other point was great as well– external efforts are only another marketing channel and not truly collaborative unless that information finds its way inside to the corporation.  It is hard to open yourself up to transparency, negative comments and mistakes.  BUT as Michael Jordan has often said “failure is his secret.”  Mistakes and failures are the  way we learn.  When corporations rise above the fear, open themselves up (truly) and share the highs as well as the lows, collaboration starts to happen.  My ideas can only become better when you build on them.  BUT you can only build on them if I let you in…  what’s on the inside counts.  Michael and his mom are right!

SoCon09

Friday night and Saturday I had the great opportunity to attend SoCon09.  Sherry Heyl, of Concept Hub gives a great wrap up of the event on her blog.  One of my personal favorites yesterday was Jeff Haynie of  Appcelerator.  His wrap up and his slides can be found here. It was my first attending of a SoCon and I must say the networking and personal connection was incredible.  Such bright people doing such interesting things.  Check out Sherry and Jeff’s blogs.  They also link to other things and have some pictures so check it out!

Fun or Business?

Corporate implementations of Social Networking  in house seem to raise lots of questions through the planning and development.  As a business analyst I love the questions, I love trying to help figure out the answers with others on the team and love it when the answers and solutions begin to come together.  One question that always surprises me (but almost always gets raised) is “what if our employees don’t use this for just business, but use it for fun?”  These are usually the same people that create policy and recruitment statements like “We are a fun place to work” or “we want our employees to have fun here” but say the “f” word linked to social networking and people get flat upset and try to figure out strategies to keep that from happenning.  I contend that work and fun need to mix.  The places that retain employess and have great moral are fun.  I remember visiting AOL years ago and the place was like camp!  People at that time were loving life and their job.  Google is another example and you could go on and on.  It is funny that if I am laughing about something at dinner last night with a fellow worker and then another joins in the conversation and we take a few minutes out and laugh and someone else shares a story that is okay.  I think our daily lives are a mix of moments like that at work mixed in with alot of hours when we are completing tasks, working on projects, selling something, etc.  And the fun stuff along with the feeling of accomplishment and contribution are the things that will keep us from looking elsewhere or going home in a really bad mood!  Social networking is the same–it is just that we will use it much of the time to find a resource, information or someone that can fill that hole for us on something we are working on.  BUT guess what there will be those moments everyday when we will share on a movie, a funny (not inapporpriate) website or youtube or a laugh over something we saw on the game last night or in the news.  There is a difference in connecting, getting to know one another and acting inappropriately.  The “f” word is not inappropriate; in fact it is much needed just like kids need recess at school.  You have employees you say you respect and trust and you say you want it to be a fun place to work.  So, let’s trust our staff’s judgement to tell the difference between fun and not appropriate for the workplace.  Most will rise to the occasion and for those that don’t—well they were probably acting inappropriately before social networking; now you just know it so handle it as you would any other personel issue.  BUT let your responsible, adult staff have a little fun and really make your place “a fun place to work!”  Happy and FUN collaborating today!

Is your company using Social Networking?

The more that I meet with clients and network, the more I realize the vastness of the implementation efforts of Social Networking that are out there.  Some have never heard of this (or think they have never heard of it until you probe a little more), some want to but don’t know where to start, some have the tools at their company but no one uses them at all or correctly, some have implemented with a bang and then fizzled and some are in there, doing it and doing it well.  I learn more and more every day on this journey!  Today, I want to ask for your comments and I would love to hear on specific questions…

• Has your company implemented a Social Networking Solution?
• Are the employees using it, shying away from it, testing the waters or going crazy using it?
• What tools and pieces are you using?
• What works and doesn’t work?
• Who are the “evangelizers” of it at your office?
• Do you see any benefit?
• Did anyone ask you what you wanted in the solution or did it just “appear” one day and you were told to use it?
• Is your performance appraisal linked into it– for instance you must have so many posts in a forum, or have your own blog, etc?

Just give me some feedback today.  I know what my opinions are BUT I find it fascinating to hear yours and it always amazes me to hear about the good, the bad and the ugly. It helps me to help you and my clients.  Happy Collaborating!

Doggie Social Networking

So I am a sucker for social networking and doggies so when I read this article on CNN.com it made me smile.  Doggyspace.com allows dog owners to create profiles, share photos, videos, etc.  What I love about this (besides it being cute) is that it really does encompass what Social Networking is about—fun, community, connecting with like minded people AND it serves well in the seeking out of information.  There are stories around this site regarding dogs with cancer and owners seeking advice and support.  In Social Networking circles sometimes the talk is around “is it for business or is it for fun?”  Doggyspace.com shows us (AGAIN) that social networking is indeed for fun but also for business/information.  All of which causes happy collaboration!

Introducing Social Networking at Work Part II

Reread the first entry in this series to refresh your mind dated 7/11.

After doing a little ground work you have now begun to evaluate the need.  You have an understanding of some business processes and you have examined the holes in the process.  Understanding the holes in the process(es) are key.  Without a person with a need there is no business case.  If you have determined there are some people with needs you are ready for the next step on the journey. 

1. Document the “as is” processes that are the focus of this
2. Document the ones that work (everyone can learn from these)
3. Document the processes that don’t work; emphasize the holes in the process, the challenges and the barriers.
4. Review the outputs from the facilitated brainstorming sessions. 
5. Rewrite the “broken” processes in a new way using the ideas that were received in the brainstorming session.

You now have a “gap analysis” done – where we are, where we want to be and some ideas on how to get there.  You have some high level, possible solutions for the processes that need improved. 

Next time, I will give you a case study as to how this might look and we will see what we do next!  Until then Happy Collaborating.

Introducing Social Networking at work

Social Media in promoting product is something that company after company is starting to implement.  Yesterday at a TAG (Technology Across Georgia) event, the panelists talked on this subject- the why should you’s, the how to’s and the gotchas.  I was happy to see such a panel brought together for our session. I learned alot and it was all relevent in today’s market.

Implementing Social Media inhouse is a hot topic as well. How can you broach this subject and how can it succeed and not seen as frivilous, silly stuff?  Before IT is engaged, do a little ground work; start here:

1. Have a clear understanding of the current business process in team collaboration and dynamics.

2. Where are the holes in this?  Examples -Team is remote and disconnected, mulitple copies of documents all over the place, lots and lots of email back and forth, no place to search for knowledge experts, no one place to find information on a topic, etc.

3. Engage a professional facilitator to work with information workers, managers, etc on brainstorming ideas on a better way.  Grassroots buy in is important!

4. Engage remote workers in these sessions to gage their feelings on being connected to the company and team?  What would help?

5. Engage managment to see the win win in doing things in a new and better way.  Put the WHY’s before the HOW’s.

Start here and as you can see engaging the right people early on is important.  This will begin to lay out the business case.  See what ideas start bubbling up here!  More next time.  Happy Collaborating!

Remote Team Collaboration

Monday, in the Wall Street Journal, the CIO Interview was with Randall Spratt, CIO and Exec. VP of McKesson Corp.  McKesson has been a real leader in the remote workforce– I should know, my husband works remotely with McKesson and loves it.   But something that really jumped out to me in this interview was what he said about the remote worker– first he stated overall that they have great job satisfaction.  Yep working remote is fantastic on the stress level and satisfaction level.  Simply eliminating a commute in a city like Atlanta where we live, adds years to your life and adds quality to it!  BUT Spratt also talked about why these very satisfied workers leave and it has to do with social isolation.  Say what you will about office politics, but when removed from all the social aspects of work, people feel isolated and at times feel insecure about their own job security.  The answer to this seems to be the social networking collaboration solutions that are out there or that can be developed to meet the needs of individual companies.  Using IM solutions, chat rooms, online networking groups, teleconferencing, etc all helps to fill this void.  It is not the end all be all, BUT it is a very important piece of the puzzle.  Here are a few tips for keeping your remote team connected:

• Don’t forget the niceties! By this I mean the “good morning” the “how are you?” the “how was your weekend?”  This is not useless, time fill stuff.  This is the stuff that makes people feel a part of the team and loyal to each other.  Let’s face it, we as humans always reach out to those that reach out to us as well, right?
• Use pictures if you are on an IM tool.   Many of the chat and im tools allow for pictures.  I love to put a name with a face; that brings the personal touch to my conversation with you.
• Try out using a social networking tool at the office.  Yep, facebook, linkdin and others allow for work intermixed with some fun.  In the office, you get to know your team on a personal leve– why not see your team workers kids pictures on facebook if you can’t see them on their desk?
• Use video conferencing.  What is better?  Seeing someone’s face smiling while talking or seeing an emoticon?  Emoticons are cute and I use them, but I love to see the real, live person as well!
• At the beginning of remote meetings, don’t be afraid to use an ice breaker or an opener.  Ask Catchy about her vacation or Tom about his kid’s ball tournament.  Remember the folks in the office have done this already; bring the remote folks into the mix on this.
• Use tools like SharePoint, eRoom, Q-Task, Basecamp or SOMETHING so that everyone knows where to look fo the latest agenda, proposal, etc.  Use the calendar feature to keep everyone in the loop on schedules, locations and meetings.  A team member, especially a remote one, will feel better connected knowing that they have access to and knowledge of the same stuff as those in the office.

I know most of these tips hit  the humanistic side of the remote worker.  BUT going back to what Spratt said it is the social aspect that causes folks to leave– not the job satisfaction.  Others have seen this pattern as well.  Entrepreneurs have started groups to work outside their home and with other workers so they feel the “team” thing.  Just look at Jelly Groups for more on this.  I am grateful that technology has allowed us to make some choices about remote working,  BUT let’s not forget that we as humans are not machines and a human touch goes a long way towards getting your remote team to really feel like they are collaborating rather than living in a silo!  Happy TEAM collaborating!