Comments (6)

By Dan Pontefract, 06/16/2010 1:32 PM

As day 3 of the Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston comes to a close, I’m left with an empty feeling.

I don’t belong.

Not so much at the conference, per se, but in the spectrum of organizational ideologies.

When I attend conferences, meetings, etc. that are Human Resources, Learning or Organizational Behaviour in nature … I stick out as the individual pushing the ‘culture of collaboration’ tenet through a need for more connected, collaborative and continuously federated technologies.

I end up clashing with the ‘old way’ … in this case, the tried and true practices of how organizations were (or are) run.

When I attend conferences, meetings, etc. that are more technology-focused (Enterprise 2.0 being one of a few) … I stick out as the individual pushing the ‘culture of collaboration’ tenet through the lens of engagement, culture, business performance improvement, etc.

Bottom line is that I see a niche world developing; a bridge between the IT and HR worlds.

There are several bridge builders out there, including but not limited to recent conversations at the conference with Andrew McAfee, John Ambrose, Jon Ingham, Marcia Conner, Nick Howe, amongst others.

Like I’ve written about before, we need to keep an open mind about how technology can aid culture, and how the culture can help shape the utilization and benefit of the technology.

I wonder if that niche world deserves a brand, a title, a definition?

What would it be?

Comments (15)

By Dan Pontefract, 05/08/2010 10:10 AM

I find myself in the center of an intellectual tempest.

The traditional ‘learning’ folks are trying to sort out how to revolutionize the industry by augmenting their formal learning strategies to incorporate social media, social learning, social networking and the like. It’s a good thing to witness, but slow as molasses in some circles.

The Human Resources and Organizational Development folks are mulling over their competencies, values, leadership development programs, amongst other elements trying to embed flatter, more connected ways of working. Also good to see, but at times I see these folks in other companies plodding along without involvement of the Learning side of the house, or the technology outfits.

The technology groups (be it IT, Systems Analysts, ERP groups, etc.) are busy trying to synchronize existing investments with new instances of 2.0 collaboration technologies and platforms. They often do so without synchronizing their efforts with the Learning function(s) or the HR/OD groups.

And finally, corporate communications, marketing and even perhaps splinter social media teams are all either contemplating or incorporating social media, social networking and/or social learning concepts into their workflows.

Do you notice something here?

As I’ve written about previously, I believe that an organization needs not only an internal 2.0 Adoption Council, they need a cross-functional team (the Enterprise 2.0 Org Structure) to help ensure all the various pieces of a 2.0 world seamlessly come together, mitigating any confusion for the employee, partner, or customer.

But to get this going, I believe we need to introduce, recognize and accept the New Holy Culture Trinity for the Organization. That is, an updated leadership framework, coupled with the integration of Learning 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 concepts will help drive or augment a 2.0 connected ‘culture of collaboration’.

Together, united, in unison.

Actions:

• Update your existing “Leadership Framework”
  • Every organization has their mission statement, their values, their competencies, their leadership programs — each of these could potentially be ‘updated’ to incorporate a flatter, more connected way of operating as individuals, in teams, and as an organization. (think Tom Malone -–Future of Work)
• Implement “Learning 2.0”
  • Whether you have an internal corporate university, a decentralized learning structure, or a completely outsourced model, your model should be adapted to be formal, informal and social. Whether it’s old school or not, the ‘learning department’ plays a significant role for the organization, and if adapting to a 2.0 culture, it needs to grow up. (a little more info about Learning 2.0 here)
• Enlist “Enterprise 2.0″ Technologies
  • Not in isolation, but as part of the puzzle, Enterprise 2.0 technologies such as wikis, blogs, video system, rankings, ratings, comments, discussion forums, profiles, networks, micro-blogs, content sharing, site sharing, etc. can all become an integral part of the new culture, if mapped in accordance with the updated leadership framework and Learning 2.0 concepts.

I’ve written about Learnerprise in the past (the combination of Learning 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0) so think of the Holy Culture Trinity as a more thoughtful way of ensuring organizational success, keeping all three concepts in mind.

UPDATE: looks as though Ross Dawson is thinking similarly with “What Enterprise 2.0 means for the CIO and IT department“.

Comments (0)

By Dan Pontefract, 05/01/2010 8:40 AM

According to ‘us’ (that is, the collective intelligence of the planet via Wikipedia), we define Tabula Rasa as:

Tabula rasa (Latin: blank slate) is the epistemological thesis that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that their knowledge comes from experience and perception.

Let’s take that argument and apply it to the organization.

When we typically arrive onsite to start our new job, we’re devoid of specific organizational knowledge. (granted, we’re hired with some sort of specific acumen, bear with me on the argument)

Some of that organizational knowledge can be described in several ways, including but not limited to:

• Policies / Processes / Practices
• Org History / Current Vibe
• Cultural Stories / Urban Myths
• Past Wins / Losses
• Players / Networks
• Do’s / Don’ts
• Affiliations / Associations

The ‘old school’ way of handling Organizational Tabula Rasa was induction. Send your new employees to a 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. day formal training class, teach them (in a sage on the stage model) all the organizational knowledge you can, and hope for the best.

Sure, they may have a new physical network from those they met in class, but they aren’t exactly tapped into the organization; the CNS of the company.

With the advent of Enterprise 2.0 technologies, we now can utilize social networks, discussions forums, wikis, blogs, micro-blogs, video sites, and all sorts of user generated content to augment (or hopefully replace) the formal training induction class and create a richer, more connected experience.

The new employee, therefore, will be able to better fill their Organizational Tabula Rasa than simply the team they join, and the induction class they have taken.

By tapping into the collective intelligence of the organization through Enterprise 2.0 technologies, we now see how the learning function can help facilitate a much quicker, thorough and connected on-boarding approach.

It’s another great example, in my opinion, of how Enterprise 2.0 concepts, Learning 2.0 concepts (ie. Learnerprise) and a proper vision can lead to a more connected and collaborative culture.