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       

CLOUDFORCE

Outside the San Jose Convention Center I am greeted by two young people in blue shirts. They hand me a hard stock card that states: Stop Cloud Computing...I guess I would compare such an act to Jose Canseco standing outside Oakland Coliseum handing out a flier that reads: Stop Drug Free Baseball. (the culprits later revealed to be Microsoft employees).

To the contrary, June 22nd, 2010 was a landmark day for Salesforce.com!

I walked in the Chatter Zone to receive a free flip phone (no questions asked), 10 random people won free I-pads, a nice Norwegian Gentleman gave me a free #chatter shirt, lunch was on the house & the cost of this extraordinary thought leadership think tank - $0.00.

At Cloudforce one distinct message range true:
A consumer market has created a business market!

With the introduction of Chatter...Salesforce has legitimized the social media skyscape as a business critical function.

Scenario:

• A driver is out on a route
• A sales rep needs to place an order to have a delivery made
• She calls a customer service representative
• He places an order
• A transportation supervisor receives the order
• He puts it on an itinerary
• It is printed out
• The next day the driver picks up a route list
• Goes to the same building he was at yesterday
• Delivers the requested materials
• Has the customer sign a document
• Hands him/her a carbon copy receipt of delivery

With Chatter:

• A Sales Rep Logs into a business collaborative
• Thus alerting the driver, transportation manger and customer service representative in real time that a pick up is necessary (for all to see)
• All are alerted as the order is processed by customer service
• The driver stops in to drop off materials
• Customer signs electronically on the spot and is emailed a receipt

What used to take a day, now takes 10 minutes.

This is an example of the collaborative function that Salesforce.com has created mirroring social media in their CRM.

It's Cheaper, Faster, Greener, More Customer Service Savvy, a Team Builder, a Source of Instant Gratification and the ROI is astronomical!

So, here is the next wave of computer geeks clawing tooth and nail for the next big idea, battling for talent and hiding behind their I-phones in arrogance....wrong!

Salesforce seem to have replicated Chatter from their business practices. Instead of badgering their competitors they are consistently open to finding a place a for them on cloud....as evidenced by the 50 or so business partners (vendors) in the Cloud Expo. In addition Marc Benioff has founded and will be a key contributor to a Children's Hospital on UCSF's Mission Bay Hospital campus. Keeping and extending his 1% mission to the Salesforce Foundation.

Underground in Area 51 - A whole bunch of servers are pondering their extinction and in a bowling alley somewhere Mark Zukerberg is laughing his ass off. A new day is dawning in business:

• Formality is a thing of the past
• Competition is a thing of the past
• Your information is everyone's information

The biggest takeaway from Cloudforce and the introduction of chatter: The number 1 element of collaboration is trust!

We can no longer hide behind old ideas or cower from competition! We have to get comfortable with putting ourselves out there.

If you don't believe in the relevance of social media, now would be a good time to hop on the train...it is coming in fast and it will not wait at the station for you!

As I crossed the street to my car with my new Chatter t-shirt in hand, I felt an awesome sense of pride! A sense of purpose among a welcoming community of technical thinkers. We are no longer huddling behind the dumpster to plot our next idea....we are sharing it, gaining everyone's perspective and allowing expansion through chatter.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave