Behind The Firewall – Rogue Agents
We’ve talked about this before. Employees taking steps on their own to induce change into an organization, to better serve the customers they interact with. We’ve talked about this before, though probably from a corporate perspective rather than a personal one. Let’s make it personal. Most agents of change have historically bent the rules. These people found new, simpler, or better ways of doing things. They didn’t hesitate to take on the leadership role (taking initiative) to make things happen, often without asking for permission or direction ahead of time. Taking risks and...
Read MoreBuilding Internal Community
Doesn’t it seem like we talk a lot about social media as a tool for sales or marketing? It certainly is a great channel for that in the right context, and the right usage. I’m curious how many folks who talk about building a community for their customers have thought about building community for their employees. Take that external viewpoint and turn around… apply it internally… what do you think could happen? The idea is nothing new, and actually pre-dates "social media" by a long time. We’ve all been part of special groups...
Read MoreIt depends…
Funny how many questions have answer that start with those two words. This tends to be exceptionally true of the coporatization of social media. What if I call my boss a jerk on Twitter? It depends… What if we find bloggers defacing our product images? It depends… What if my company finds me posting on Facebook when I’m home sick? It depends… How do we monitor the blogosphere for our multiple brands? It depends… The complexities of the requirements for big business and their employees is not as clear cut as it is for small, aggressive start-ups. In the...
Read MoreGaining Consensus – Why?
A challenging part of employing social media concepts within an organization or large company is getting everyone to agree. With so many parties with differing interests, one wonders how things ever get done. I’d like to posit the idea that consensus is not required to explore the opportunities that social media present. Sure, you may (or should) gain approval from the group you’re working with, getting the every executive, or department, or business unit’s buy in just won’t happen. At least not in the timeframe you’ll need to reap some of the rewards of...
Read MoreEnabling Trust in the Organization
We’ve all been there. You’ve got a great idea that you wish you could find a way to share with the appropriate team at your company. You’re not able to, because you’re not part of that team. Or that department. Heck, it’s not even a field you’ve specialized in or worked in much, but you’ve got that idea – a good one – and you’re sure that it’ll help in some way. How do you share that idea? How do you get a chance to talk to folks on that team or present that idea without someone saying “gee...
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About Me
Rick Mahn is the Founder of SMBMSP, Principal of Rick Mahn & Associates, and a Sr. Information Technologies Architect with Experis. With over two decades in Information Technologies Architecture and Social Media, Rick connects people & organizations by embracing new technologies and open standards.Learn more about Rick.
