Now Boarding...The Enterprise

I remember giving a seminar to HR Professionals in 2007 extolling the virtue of what I called "Social Networking Tools". At that time, Social Media (as it would come to be tagged) was still suffering from the Paris Hilton stigma. This was the perception that tools like Twitter were of the same ilk as Facebook and that they had no business relevance. The crowd of HR Pros embraced the story I told of recovering addicts who used Twitter to encourage one another throughout the day. But, they still left with eyebrows raised.

Times have changed! I was blown away when I heard Salesforce.com's CEO, Marc Benioff, advocate the virtue of what he called "The Social Enterprise" a few years back. The spirit of the keynote inspired business progress through collaboration not competition. This was a foreign message to the cut-throat sales professionals in the room....but Benioff had conviction in his cause and it caught fire!!!!

Last week, I attended another Cloudforce event, sponsored by the aforementioned cloud computing maverick organizational leader. The message again redirected: Social Networking Tools evolved into Social Media which has now become "The Social Enterprise". The social enterprise has adopted two primary functions:

• Internal Strategy Platform
• Customer Community

#Chatter
There is a problem with email, it is nontransparent! I can cc the team on project objectives but this traditionally leads to one off cyber-conversations that create silos. What if it was all out in the open? What if you couldn't hide information or misstep deadlines any more? Salesforce.com developed Chatter a few years back. Chatter is a social application: an internal platform to share best practices. But, Chatter's divine power lies in transparency. No longer are there side roads in the path to success...we all face it together. Collaborative, Transparent and All-Accountable!

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
People fear social media because the interpretation of intent is a very slippery slope. "give them an inch and they'll take a mile". In other words, if there is an application central to my organization that I can access any time, I might go to happy hour, log-on, and tell them what I really think. So, we turn a blind eye to that which is there to help us for fear that it may expose us. The kids will not learn to play fair in the sandbox if you keep them tied down in their swings.

#CustomerService
Today you can go to Twitter, hashtag a company name, voice an issue, and get a reply in real time. No more waiting on-hold. Your issue is out in the open for millions to see....frequently asked questions in real time. An unavoidable basis for pro-active problem solving. Faults can no longer be put off or avoided. The sooner your problem is fixed the sooner they get off the front page. Today everyone works for Consumer Reports!

Customer Community
Let's not mistake the issue, social access is not an invitation to complain. We all simply need to adjust our frame of thinking to collaborate not compete. Before we know it we will all be on the same side of the screen.

The world's best companies are developing communities for their advocates to communicate across the Globe. It's product development through consumer input. You are no longer on the side lines, you are in the game, and your voice matters. Reviews are no longer confined to professional news publications, the board of directors voice is dwarfed by unavoidable customer input, and leader interpretation is backed by metrics from a thousand sources. The only solution is to get better, quicker. That's a good thing!

Mending Fences
We are at the crest of a tidal wave. Companies locked in buildings are becoming communities of unique individuals free to share their vision. Companies are no longer hiding their mistakes, they are inviting others to help create their destiny. Giving up control is no longer a sign of weakness but an invitation to consistently evolve. We live in real-time and everyone has something to teach. The opportunity is massive, if you ignore it, the wave will swallow you.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave       

Observations from Enterprise 2.0

Every year people gather in various cities to discuss the next phase of the inter-webs....also know as Enterprise 2.0. This conference is a thought leadership explosion uniting the directives and intangibles that guide the next day of the ever-evolving world of social media and the like. The degree of collaborative thinking is encouraging to say the least. New platforms are introduced and strategies are discussed. We learn how to measure the ROI of social media, how to sell it our executives and what trends to adopt/ignore.

With my blogger pass proudly displayed around my neck (pictured). I braved the halls of the Santa Clara Convention Center. Here's what I learned on days 1 and 2:

Community Evangelism
We often think about social media as it applies to the organization that employs us: our employees and how they can use it to boost revenue, our executives and their degree of adoption. This year's focus has been firmly on product end-users, program administrators, and customers. It has become abundantly clear in 2011 that company reputations are rooted in social media. Product reviews, staff responsiveness and leadership accessibility are always on trial in the social media world. It's not just an awareness of poor Yelp reviews anymore. Great companies are embracing transparency and are showcasing their customer service practices on Twitter, Facebook and the like. Fan pages have become a community for those who love certain products to evangelize. The question at E 2.0 - how do we incent our community of customers?

Erica Kuhl of Salesforce.com lead a great break out session on Monday. She introduced the Salesforce MVP program. This program recognizes the world's best salesforce.com Administrators. This is not a passive customer loyalty program. MVP's are granted access to product managers, invited into exclusive community forums, and empowered to drive the success of their companies by improving product development at SFDC. The concept was fresh and inviting to me. Show us you love our products/services and we will give you not a gift card, but more work to do....the difference: the people who work as salesforce admins love their work. They are willing to do more to make product administration more streamlined to their companies.

Throughout the sessions presenters have differentiated customer satisfaction from Community Evangelism. Lessons learned that social media is no longer an option, it is a necessity that drives your organizational reputation. Ignore social media and your customers will ignore you.

Organizational Contortionists
At Dreamforce 2011, the great Gary Vee was asked by an audience member how she could evangelize social media to her reluctant organization. Gary commented that you don't need a title to sell the merits of social media internally. Along this line of thinking, Daniel Zucker offered the description of Social Media Leads at Autodesk as Organizational Contortionists. (he wanted me to be very clear that this phrase was coined by his manager, Maura Ginty)

Gary's advice and Autodesk's qualifications are the essence of the existence of social advocacy. Great organizations have the ability to find their catalyst. That person who represents well...sometimes its a Sales Professional to speak at a conference, sometimes its a programmer to share her vision with a client. At present, the social media realm is not completely defined - an opportunity for advocacy.

I find it a great luxury to work for a company that has empowered me to drive organizational social media strategy (albeit as a volunteer). I also see it as a massive opportunity for anyone who has the willingness to lead the charge.

Simplicity
The standout Keynote of the Enterprise 2.0 event was presented by Tim Young, VP of Social Enterprise at VMware. Tim introduced the concept of About.Me as the template for future of social media. In short, simplicity rules. No one can argue that adoption of social media will require executive approval. Bring a CMO a list of 28 sites you wish to integrate into a congruent strategy and she will slap you across the face. Tim's message was perfectly appropriate, if you are asking people to do something new make sure it is a simple transition. Words to live by.

As we move forward....
I love being in the presence of people who have something to share. The feeling that there is something new that will change the way we work is massively empowering.

A resounding message from Enterprise 2.0:
Social Media is no longer the Elephant in the room...it is a Fire Breathing Dragon!

It is no longer an option to ignore social media. Your customers, competitors and your girlfriend are in the community.....if you pretend it doesn't exist, neither will they!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave Kovacovich

Culture Shift

A few years back, I adopted the practice of waking up ridiculously early. I found I was unable to manage my busy life so I decided to do something about it. Where many start their day in traffic jams, I speed through empty streets. I spend the first 2 hours of my day alone in a coffee shop. By the time the others are arriving, I am gone, on to start my day ahead of everyone else. I put the headphones on, fire up the lap top and hyper-focus. One day, someone interrupted me....

If you understand the "calm before the storm" logic behind my morning mission, you can guess I cherish the time alone and wish not to be engaged in disruptions. But, one morning the Manager of the coffee shop asked me to remove my headphones. He told me he wanted to buy me a cup of coffee for my loyalty to his shop. I accepted. He then told me it would cost me one conversation a week - "I want to bounce a few ideas off you, I'll buy you a cup of coffee every time I do". He didn't know the nature of my degree or my profession, he just needed someone to listen (when no other customers were around). I accepted.

A week became a month and a month a year. We became friends. We connected really well. Like a good bartender, he knew how to ignite my trust. Like a good patron, I knew how to listen. He was hell bent on succeeding, so was I. We was full of ideas, so was I. Neither of us had any apprehension about sharing our thoughts with one another. There was no judgement or formality between us...it was 2 people drinking coffee while everyone else was asleep.

Over time, I came to discover that this guy was having conversations with a lot of his customers. He was also engaging his employees. He didn't seem to care about posting promotional materials, he didn't worry about his new hires industry experience, he wasn't hung up on quick fix rebates. He was creating a culture. I could have chosen 10 different coffee shops, his felt like home.

When he quit so did the staff of extraordinary people he had hired. The promotional material went up and the regulars kept to themselves - the culture was dead.

We talk a lot about culture in today's work world. It can be cultivated by one person. Some times one person makes a difference. That person who inspires others to work hard with positive intent, that person that is inviting of your input of how to make things better, that person that is willing to step away from their work to understand what it means to his/her customers.

We get so caught up in systematic efficiency, marketing strategy, and the right way to manage our employees; that we forget that we are people among people. Some times you have to use your I-phone to actually call someone. Some times you have to stop pretending you know everything and ask for input from others. Some times you have to buy someone a cup of coffee, step away from the lap top and share your experience.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

We Shall Overcome

No one can ignore that times are tough. The economy is struggling, the job market is dry, and many companies are in survival mode. I was recently asked by an undergrad what differentiates great professionals from general contributors....

My answer: The Ability to Overcome Adversity!

The morning news is full of doom and gloom and our bar stool buddies don't always speak with optimism. Those who have endured our economic decline have something in common: they have figured out how to take what is coming and make it work. There is no schooling or certification that will help you understand the best way to handle adversity. It comes down to challenging yourself to see the forest through the trees.

Here are 3 ways to endure troubled times:
Pick Your Battles
Find the Silver Lining
Don't Ignore The Elephant 

...the forest through the trees
We are a prideful herd. We want to win. We put a lot of effort into things and when our work is challenged, it offends us. I once spent 30 minutes on the phone with a person who took that time to explain to me that she did not have 30 minutes to complete her portion of a project. Our pride often overwhelms our ability to get things done. We often do not wish to participate if we feel there is not a gold star in it for us. We want our work and our ideas validated and rewarded. We want to follow an intent that matches our personal desire.

Simple fix: with everything you do, understand what it means to your personal purpose. Sometimes you just have to take action to cross an item off the list. Standing your ground is essential to your personal integrity but don't waste your personal stand on report processing. Choose your battles wisely.

To Nod without Agreeing
People will get upset and will wish to be herd. Sometimes if you listen and let them get it off their chest it helps them move on with their day. You don't have to agree with people to hear them out. Nor do you need to oppose people's viewpoint...they seek empathy to help overcome their personal strife.

It is much easier to be negative than positive. It is much easier to sit on the sidelines than to be in the game. This is why certain people complain at happy hour but dare not voice a concern in a team meeting. It's work, there are a lot of stupid tasks that confront us....complaining about the 'to do' list only makes it longer.

Cutting Corners Around in Circles
Integrity is a core value of every organization. We roll our eyes and say - "yea right"! But every person is faced with decision making. These decisions are critical to our lasting impression on this earth. Sometimes you have to acknowledge oversights and short comings. Sometimes you have to admit you are wrong.

Great leaders make hard decisions and deliver bad news. Challenges only get more difficult if you choose to ignore them.

I'm sure the aforementioned advice seems almost infantile. But, we cannot allow the mundane to distract our mission.

Frustration is a choice made in reaction to a challenge. Always seek a solution instead of finding a way to pass blame. We can meet each day with a smile or a furrowed brow. If you allow others to determine your goals you will always be miserable. Get out in front of it and determine your own destiny.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave       

3 Lessons from Kid To Work Day

Yesterday was national 'take your kid to work day'. One of my favorite days of the year. This day is typically an opportunity for in-office staff to bring their child into their office environment to show them what Mom/Dad do for a living. A quick office tour then it's off to the copy room for arts and crafts supplies.

Like every thing else in my life, my 'kid to work day' is far from typical. This year my five year old and I traveled into San Francisco and through the Silicon Valley to visit some of Michael C Fina's customers. Up early, dressed sharp, and on the move. Not typical for a kid who is used to spending the morning with cartoons and toast before a day of well facilitated learning.

If I were to give him a performance review (which will never happen) my son would definitely have received 5's across the board. We logged several miles, dodged in and out of parking garage's, ate lunch in the car and he even sat in on a few conference calls. He didn't complain once!

On our long drive home I reflected on how proud I was of my son. A simple question came to mind:
If He Can Do It Why Can't We?

Kid to Work Day is a blast because it helps the little people understand a few elements of the Big World of Business. On this particular day it also helped me reflect on how childish we can be in our professional behavior.

I have 3 tips learned from my 'ride-along' with the Great Sam Kovacovich:
1. Keep it Simple
2. Don't Throw a Fit
3. Have Fun!

Intricacies Revealed
As Consultants,we are called upon to be 'experts' on several different product lines. We tend to forget that product knowledge is far less important than the solution we can create for a genuine need. Far too often we drone on and on about product capabilities without discerning their applicable nature to our customer's organizational culture.

People hate Salespeople because we are notoriously self-centered. Ask a simple yes/no question and get a diatribe about the product itself that provides no insight to the original inquiry.

Ask a simple question, get an insignificant answer, and spend the rest of the meeting staring out the window....not gonna work with this guy, he has no interest in our needs.

Sales Advice to Live By:
Listen More than You Talk
Speak the Customer's Language
Keep it Simple (answer yes or no)

There is a Capital I in Insecurity
I receive endless communication from people expressing their discontent for being under-valued. No one wants to spend time contributing without being recognized for their effort. But, some times you have to consider the situation.

Consider the following:
~ Sometimes people get busy and forget to say thanks
~ Our ego sometimes emphasizes detail over the ultimate goal
~ You are not 5, don't document yourself in such a light

FUN!
I'm pretty hard core, I believe in winning, but my career didn't evolve until I learned to ignore certain things. Nothing within the detail of any given work day is so vitally important that you have to work yourself into a frenzy. In fact, most of our meltdowns are a result of fretting over the 'little things'.

We want to be validated and feel that we are contributing. We want to make a difference. When we bust our butt for 50 hours on a project, we don't want our work scrutinized. This is the part of the movie where we discover that life isn't fair! You are not in control of the reactions of others, you are in control of your own! You have to learn to ignore what you cannot control and set your own standards.

A bowl of ice cream for Sam and a beer for Dad was a great way to celebrate our productive day!

As we grow older we tend to complicate the process. We try harder when we should let things go. We assert ourselves when our point has already been made. We attempt to impress the unimpressible.

When I was a boy I thought my Dad walked on water for a living. I am so grateful to have an opportunity to show my son that I do not...and that is OK!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Collaborate

Welcome to the first installment of the Employee Purpose Perspective. This is a 7 part blog series that will challenge you to breath the winds of change into your organization.

Salesforce.com has become one of the most profitable companies in the world over the last five years. The interesting thing about Salesforce.com is that they have developed camaraderie in the cloud. First, they developed a world class CRM tool, then they invited potential competitors to create apps to compliment their service suite.

Imagine that...an industry leader focused on collaboration not competition...?

In the advent of social media we have seen a shift from company logos to personal brands. We have found ways to share ideas instead of locking them away. An individual (who may not have a leadership position within the walls of their company) has an opportunity to reach far more people through their blog, twitter or facebook page.

We drive ourselves nuts worrying about the competition. What if that didn't matter? What if we could work freely without paranoia of giving away secrets? What if we could look our competitors in the eye and say, "this is what we do, try to stop us". What if we could coexist in an industry space without having blood money circumstance? My contention is that the transparency of open business practices forces us to have better customer service, better relationships and tailored solutions. We are not fighting for the same customers, we are developing lifelong partnerships. There is no blood in the water because we are all sailing in our own direction.

Companies like LinkedIn and Zappos have created a space on Twitter to address customer issues. Completely out in the open. It would seem that you would have to have great confidence in your customer service to open a complaint file for millions to view. Either that, or you are willing to share the hiccups and your ability to cure them. Honesty driving business efficiency....another shocking development!

There are 3 Principles to Collaboration:
1. Shared Vision
2. Profitability
3. Rewarded Resource Allocation

Vision
Everyone wants to work with the Fortune 500. If you run a 5 employee start up, you may not have the bandwidth to service GE. 'Tis better to understand your limitations than to drain the bucket pretending it can contain a big fish.

Profits
Would you rather spend all day trying to please one customer or service 100 customers with organic efficiency?

Our most difficult customers are difficult because we bent over backward pretending we could please them...and have been performing back flips ever since.

Rewards
Thank You is a great thing to hear. Great expectations and their according challenges are any customer's right to business elevation. But, this has to be an empowered process. If you are always asking for more by the entitlement of a paid invoice, you are missing the point of partnership. Say Thank You after every challenge is over come....and learn to forgive if the effort is there and human error wins over once in a while.

The first step in making the career you want out of the job you have is finding the right customers. If you force partnerships you will....drain your resources, piss off your co-workers, spend your days checking your phone and spend your nights awake.

Define your target market and utilize your time accordingly!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Finding Peace

I find myself getting in my own way lately. I don't mean tripping over my own feet but creating hurdles that really don't need to be there. In essence, the time and effort I put into unnecessary frustration seems to be increasing. These things have a way of snow balling.


How about you?
* Do you find yourself sidetracked by mundane detail?
* Do you say to yourself "it's not a big deal, it's the principle of the matter"?
* Do you cast stupidity upon others without knowing their plight?

Our days are a series of events that formulate our motivation (or lack thereof). If you wake up, look at your email and delineate worst case scenario....odds are your commute will be filled with 'this week is gonna suck' thoughts of distraction.

I once asked a trusted advisor how he dealt with incompetence and he said: "I choose to ignore it". At the time it seemed like a cop out....how can we help people improve if we do not hold them accountable? Answer: it's not a competition, it's a collaboration & people would rather help than to be held accountable. Indeed frustration builds up like a tornado that never leaves our own state of being. We let our emotions get the best of us, act out of character and cast ourselves into no-fun-to-be-around-ville!

Some times the best thing to do is take a breath, assess all angles and find a solution (instead of passing blame). Here are a few tips:
1. Wait before you reply.
2. Propose a solution instead of pointing a finger and passing blame.
3. Ask yourself what the ultimate conclusion might be.
4. Put something good in front of each frustration.
5. Don't cast yourself into un-fun-ville!


Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

The 2nd Half

We are looking down the backside of the mountain that is 2010. We must plan well, execute and reap the rewards! I work as an organizational strategist. Together with my clients, we often discover that the more we entrench ourselves in detail, the more distant our goals appear. Sometimes we have to pull back and slow it down. As we will learn in my forthcoming book Awesomeness.....simplicity can be the pathway to success!

In setting goals for the second half of 2010, may I suggest a 3 step process:
1. Prepare and Predict
2. Give More Than You Take
3. Own the Results!

Prepare and Predict:
This social media craze has a million detractors. One thing twitter and the like does for us is create exposure. Use it to your advantage. To be sure, if you enter any conversation without having done your research, you are a dum dum! Along with the information you have gained on an individual and their organization you need to differentiate your product or service to their goals. Going in 'blind' is unacceptable. Find your target market, design a plan to differentiate yourself as the logical partner, and articulate a story that ties it all together. Spend your time wisely through research and put a bullet proof plan together that eliminates the guess work.

Observations:
1. If someone tells you they are too busy, they are usually wasting their time on needless tasks.
2. If you throw a blanket over any relationship do not expect respect in return.

Give More than You Take:
It seems simple enough. For better or for worse, the Internet has educated people very well. If there is the slightest bit of fraudulence in your relationship strategy you will be exposed, untrusted, and cast into insignificance. You may win on the premise of price or best widget but if that is all you have going for you get used to being treated as an abused commodity....we reap what we sew!

You have to put yourself in a position of generosity. To give more than you take. To be kind, generous and elegant; and to mean it. If you don't believe in the people you work for, those who support you or the product you represent - quit!

Observations:
1. They will always see you sweat.
2. When money comes second you will make more of it than you ever have.

Own the results:
You will lose a deal due to consequences beyond your control. If you tried your best and made the right moves, you lost the commodity battle, that is a battle no one wants to fight anyway...your competition just sold themselves into suckerhood!

You cannot blame others when you lose, you need not beat your chest when you win. Class is the greatest characteristic in the human psyche. It means carrying yourself with confidence....know that you have always done the right thing by being true to your genuine intent.

Observations:
1. Liars are always exposed.
2. Hard work and generosity are the only elements of success.

Put your plan in place, execute it well, learn from your mistakes, be generous and accountable!

The goal line is closer than you think: CLOSE HARD!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

The Ripple Effect - part 2

John assists Jennifer with an order and she sends him a friendly note along with a link to buy his favorite MP3. John's accomplishment is then broadcast to the company in a newsletter. He receives 22 emails from his colleagues extending further congratulations. He goes home happy for the weekend. So much so, that he asks his girlfriend to pick the movie tonight. She is so surprised and elated that she decides not to dump him.

Bill thinks the Sales guys get all the credit for his hard work; driving a truck picking up boxes of highly sensitive documents. After a long shift his boss asks him to come into the distribution office. He fires up his computer, asks him to read a heartfelt note from the guy with the tie and then tells him to select a piece of jewelry to give to his daughter to wear at the spring dance this weekend. Bill gives his daughter the necklace. She decides that her Dad is still the only guy for her and tells Travis that she will only be his dance partner that evening. Bill and his daughter spend a Sunday in the park like they used to. On Monday, Bill sees a full route on his itinerary and sprints to his truck to complete the orders on time.

Pauline has been passed over for a promotion for the 3rd time. Her job is effecting her marriage, she is always stressed and she really does not feel that all her hard work has had any impact. She walks into the office ready to quit and move to Nebraska with her husband. There, her whole team waits for her. Each tells her a brief story of how she has helped them. Pauline realizes that leadership is not about climbing the corporate ladder or making more money but the legacy you pass on to those who you touch every day.

Dear Reader,

This is the Ripple Effect! It is real. It makes companies better. It carries human interaction into the workplace and makes your office the best place to work in the world.

The Ripple Effect limits turnover, saves the company money, drives revenue, limits entitlement, and creates a community.

The Ripple Effect saves marriages, prevents teenage pregnancy and prohibits people from making wrong life decisions.

Your office is full of HUMAN BEINGS with Human Interest Stories. Celebrate Them!

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

How was work today?

The inevitable questions that is posed to us at day’s end when we are at the dinner table with our family, on the back porch with Grandpa, or in the gym with our friends is…how was work today?

The key to opening a positive dialogue in these ‘end of the day’ conversations is…The Ripple Effect.

The differentiating element in making any company great is our people…If we are celebrated we are inspired and if we are inspired we are engaged.

So if we spend most of our waking hours at work…and we love what we do…the world can be a better place!

BELIEVE!

Don't Forget to Remember,

Dave

references:

http://twitter.com/davidkovacovich