How often do you hear ads or marketing campaigns refer to “in these economics times” or other such down type messaging? We all know that Wall Street and consumer confidence are emotionally driven, momentum based indices. Despite an overall bullish economy, we are acting bearishly. Anything that goes wrong – Toyota, BP, Greece/PIIGS etc. – sets us back weeks on the optimism scale. It is hard for folks to have faith when all we hear about, incessantly on cable, are the headlines touting gloom and doom.
It seems that we as a people have lost the ability to dream and believe, so it takes something really special, unique and original to move us as a society. Obama ‘08 clearly tapped into an emotional vein of optimism and potential – “Yes We Can” and the results are proof. Even those who did not vote for him admired him and were motivated, at least until the first 100 days of his presidency ended.
Leadership and vision are themes and topics I return to often, as I have always believed that one of the primary and most important roles of senior management is the responsibility to create an environment that inspires and lifts the staff to do great things. They also have to create an organization and structure that prepares, enables and allows staff the resources and opportunity to believe in their dreams and act on them. Of course there are other tasks and roles, but my emphasis here is on the inspiration aspect.
Below are some customs that can be enacted in any organization to help foster forward thinking…and actions to make it real.
See the Future – Businesses are too often more effective at responding or capitalizing upon unexpected challenges or problems. So, build in processes to plan changes by asking “what if” questions regularly and then act on the ideas. They key is asking BIG, complex and scary “what ifs” that push you into awkward and uncomfortable places.
Trail Blazers, NOT Trekkers - Look to attract and promote folks who lead by example, not managers of process. Reward those with courage, motivation and vision, who don’t seek the easy answers.
Reward Innovation – Expect new ideas, thinking and approaches from EVERY employee. Ensure that your talent acquisition, training and rewards systems adequately address it. Reinforce the need for innovation in communications and action. Of course this means that you must be expect and tolerate failures and mistakes, employees must have a safety net that allows them reasonable risk taking.
Take Time To... – read, think, meet customers, get out of your walls, look at other companies and industries. Do this regularly and intentionally. Technology and the pace of global business have diminished time to dream, evaluate and ponder. We are prone read, react and move on, as business is done in BlackBerry dimensions – instantaneously on a 3” X 3” screen. You know this is not a sustainable way of leading the business.
Bring Your Ecosystem With You – We all know it’s less scary to go out in the dark with a group. So bring your employees, channel partners, suppliers and customers with you. You are all mutually invested, so you should leap into the future together.
No doubt these are indeed challenging times, but they are getting better and momentum is gathering. Achieving the incredible business opportunities that await will not be done in the usual measured way.
Those willing to take bold, aggressive leaps will benefit most. But this will require some risk, faith and imagination that unleash the power of inspired human spirit.
As the old axiom goes...."What am I willing to let go of, to get what I want?"
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Before Your Business Jumps into Social Media ...Prepare for the Worst
The upside of using social networking tools for businesses far outweigh the risks, but they do pose potential damage to brand image and corporate data. An informed and considered process is needed before you move into this space.
The growth and momentum of Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter etc. is well known. The crossover from personal use, on personal time to business use and business time occurred some time ago. Many companies entered this period with little or no policy, plan or protection. That should scare the bejeezus out of any senior management or business owner!
Yes, these sites are valuable and effective tools to build and maintain relationships with friends, brand advocates, colleagues, customers and potential employees. But evil doers with bad intent are also out there, seeking to achieve gain or do damage to others. Are you prepared?
The crux of the issue is around user identity and user created content. Despite the frequent reports of identity theft and web hacking, most users feel fairly safe and protected while on-line. Most of the social networking sites provide a treasure trove of personal information, which creates a tempting and lucrative target for hackers. Developing malicious applications which are populated on Facebook and then push malware onto user’s computers is not a hard effort
In addition, there are few impediments to restrict or prevent a disgruntled customer or former employee from slamming a brand on Twitter. Or someone decides to post the photos from the office picnic (where things got out of control) onto their Facebook page. How about Tweets from someone in R&D about a new breakthrough that will shake up your industry, sending the stock price up $3 in an hour! Yikes, you have issues in all cases.
Many organizations often first look to the IT department for guidance, which results in an iron clad block of all sites. This cannot be the answer for a progressive organization that understands the valuable marketing and sales window they offer. But the answer is not a technology based one. An effective and appropriate approach involves a blending of the following areas:
POLICY – An intentional, clear and concise policy regarding the use of social networking must be established within the overall use of company assets, Internet or Information Technology policy. It should incorporate guidelines for customer engagement and any and all ethical, legal and professional restrictions. (e.g. HIPPA for any medical related business). It should designate who is permitted to use social networking to represent the company on-line, and should specifically exclude all others.
Personal use of social networks should fall in line with the overall Internet policy, where excessive use and significant upload/downloads are prohibited. The policy should restrict any installation of unauthorized applications, tools or widgets. ALL employees should be required to review and sign the policy annually.
TRAINING – All staff should be required to complete a training module that covers the benefits, policy, threats and uses of social networks. Special emphasis should be devoted to acceptable and risky uses of the sites and those persons or groups authorized for “official” company use.
IT SOLUTIONS – There are a variety of new tools on the market that are very specific to the threats of social networks, skilled IT professionals are required to guide you through this process. At the very least, every business must have an effective set of defenses that should include multiple layers of firewall, spam, and virus and malware protection.
Any organization can leverage the power of social networks. Before jumping in, however a bit of thoughtful preparation is necessary to minimize the risks and assisting employees by providing structure and guidelines.
Good luck.
The growth and momentum of Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter etc. is well known. The crossover from personal use, on personal time to business use and business time occurred some time ago. Many companies entered this period with little or no policy, plan or protection. That should scare the bejeezus out of any senior management or business owner!
Yes, these sites are valuable and effective tools to build and maintain relationships with friends, brand advocates, colleagues, customers and potential employees. But evil doers with bad intent are also out there, seeking to achieve gain or do damage to others. Are you prepared?
The crux of the issue is around user identity and user created content. Despite the frequent reports of identity theft and web hacking, most users feel fairly safe and protected while on-line. Most of the social networking sites provide a treasure trove of personal information, which creates a tempting and lucrative target for hackers. Developing malicious applications which are populated on Facebook and then push malware onto user’s computers is not a hard effort
In addition, there are few impediments to restrict or prevent a disgruntled customer or former employee from slamming a brand on Twitter. Or someone decides to post the photos from the office picnic (where things got out of control) onto their Facebook page. How about Tweets from someone in R&D about a new breakthrough that will shake up your industry, sending the stock price up $3 in an hour! Yikes, you have issues in all cases.
Many organizations often first look to the IT department for guidance, which results in an iron clad block of all sites. This cannot be the answer for a progressive organization that understands the valuable marketing and sales window they offer. But the answer is not a technology based one. An effective and appropriate approach involves a blending of the following areas:
POLICY – An intentional, clear and concise policy regarding the use of social networking must be established within the overall use of company assets, Internet or Information Technology policy. It should incorporate guidelines for customer engagement and any and all ethical, legal and professional restrictions. (e.g. HIPPA for any medical related business). It should designate who is permitted to use social networking to represent the company on-line, and should specifically exclude all others.
Personal use of social networks should fall in line with the overall Internet policy, where excessive use and significant upload/downloads are prohibited. The policy should restrict any installation of unauthorized applications, tools or widgets. ALL employees should be required to review and sign the policy annually.
TRAINING – All staff should be required to complete a training module that covers the benefits, policy, threats and uses of social networks. Special emphasis should be devoted to acceptable and risky uses of the sites and those persons or groups authorized for “official” company use.
IT SOLUTIONS – There are a variety of new tools on the market that are very specific to the threats of social networks, skilled IT professionals are required to guide you through this process. At the very least, every business must have an effective set of defenses that should include multiple layers of firewall, spam, and virus and malware protection.
Any organization can leverage the power of social networks. Before jumping in, however a bit of thoughtful preparation is necessary to minimize the risks and assisting employees by providing structure and guidelines.
Good luck.
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