If you're not innovating, you're dying. Death may be slow, and take a few years, but it will come.
Don't take my word for it, or the findings of the Intranet 2.0 Global study, take management guru Peter Drucker's word, or any of the leading business gurus of the last century. Those that don't take innovation seriously, are cast aside or merged into others. Most of the S&P 500 in 1970 don't exist anymore (they're assets & intellectual property gobbled up long ago by another, bigger, faster competitor).
Here are some social media numbers, not in the Intranet 2.0 Global study, to consider:
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About 90% of adults under the age of 40 are on Facebook (higher in Canada & Northern Europe, a little lower in the US)
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39% of employees under the age of 25 would consider leaving their job if their company banned tools such as Facebook
How can a company survive without attracting and keeping the next generation of employees? How can a company ignore the 2.0 revolution — a revolution that has permanently changed the Internet, which permanently changed business as we know it — while the competition embraces it? According to the Intranet 2.0 Global study about 50% of organizations have deployed social media (blogs, wikis, social networking) on the corporate intranet. Those that have not, are missing out on the party.
The biggest catalyst for innovation is the c-level suite. And the biggest barrier to innovation is the c-level suite. The Intranet 2.0 Global Study found that the biggest barrier blocking the adoption of social media for employees is the “lack of executive support.” The arms of executives are needed to fully embrace the 2.0 revolution.There's no better way to get an executive's attention by saying “the competition is doing it and if we don't we risk losing out.” Point to some of the case study examples I've documented on this site (e.g. Sabre, BT, Placemaking, Janssen-Cilag and others) as proof, and cross-reference those against the adoption rates and findings in the study.
I wrote that “an organization without a 2.0 strategy risks being left behind, or outright failure (though death may be slow).” Once consultant responded that I was using “scare tactics” when writing about the necessity of 2.0 and social media. Are Peter Drucker's words “scare tactics”? Warren Buffett has echoed these same sentiments; as do employees who want to work for progressive and innovative organizations, and expect 2.0 environments from employers of choice.
The question is not whether or not an intranet or 2.0 is important to companies, the question is your company part of the revolution or being left behind?
About the Intranet 2.0 Survey
The findings of the Intranet 2.0 Global Survey are highlighted in the report “Intranet 2.0: social media becomes mainstream on the corporate intranet.” 561 organizations took part in the survey.To download a free, summarized version of the Intranet 2.0 report and survey findings, please visit:
http://www.prescientdigital.com/articles/download-summary-report-of-intranet-2-0-global-survey
To purchase the full, 44-page Intranet 2.0 report and full survey findings, analysis and recommendations, please visit:
http://www.prescientdigital.com/articles/purchase-intranet-2-0-global-survey-report
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The latest update of the Worldwide Intranet Challenge (WIC) is now available from the WIC blog site. Since April 1st, over 5200 intranet users from 16 organisations have participated in the WIC.
Some of the findings include:
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The overall average perception of intranet value is: 2.77 out of 4 (69.0%)
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If we only look at those responses where people:
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Complete common work tasks such as applying for leave or booking travel more than once a day, the average valueincreases to 3.06 (76.5%)
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Spend less than 1 minute a day on the intranet: 1.54 (38.5%)
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Spend between 1-2 hours each day on the intranet: 3.13 (78.3%)
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Strongly agree with the statement 'I can find the information I need on the intranet' 3.24 (81.0%)
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Use the intranet to publish content more than once a day: 3.07 (76.8%)
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Disagree with the statement 'Pages on the intranet load quickly': 2.61 (65.3%)
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For more information about the WIC or to register for the WIC, check out the CIBA Solutions web site. Please let me know if you have any questions.
I would like to beleive what you say Toby but alas I think there will not have Revolution !
What Entreprise has adopted in 2.0 is just what doesn't change their organisation, HR or management. They love 2.0 for their customer but sill afraid for their employees.
It will need a threat of life for them and not in 20 years but right now to change.
Entreprise 2.0 like google or Cisco are just an illusion to sell 2.0 products.
We will have to change Top manager tinking about 2.0, it's not about technology, It's not about ROI, It's about Organisational change to survive. They will have to see employees, leadership in a new way before we could imagine to succeed. E 2.0 is a strategic change not an HR, Communication or worst IT project…
http://www.b-r-ent.com
Hi and bonjour to both Vincent and Toby – I agree with Vincent, but I love the way you're pushing 2.0, Toby! You're catching people's attention and that's the first step.
Jane
Your situation is not unlike a lot of others out there. Only 50% of organizations have intranet 2.0 tools, the other 50% don't. However, most of the rest are at least planning to or considering the deployment of these tools. Those that don't will be viewed by employees under the age of 30 as slow, stodgy, and perhaps ineffective.
The newest generation of employees want to be challenged, and they want to be part of something meaningful, and progressive — work for them is more than just collecting a pay cheque. Worse yet, there is a global employee shortage or what the Economist refers to as the “global talent crunch.” How will a company coming out of this recession compete for these new employees if it fails to adapt and innovate? If a 22-year-old employee has a choice between a progressive work environment that includes 2.0 type tools and collaboration versus one that doesn't, what do you think that employee will choose?
The 20-something workers of today, and those that are coming through school right now, don't just use 2.0 tools… they live and breathe them. Facebook is not just something that is 'done', it's a way of life for them. An organization that ignores this revolutionary shift is an organization that risks dying a slow and painful death. It's not certain of course as Amazon.com hasn't killed every book retailer, but what has happened to the most corner bookstores? What has the MP3 done for music sales? What has Travelocity and Priceline done for the smaller travel agents?
We know the necessity of 2.0, but some think that because it's still not a dominant technology inside the firewall that it shouldn't be a priority. But in fact now is the time to get a jump on the competition before the competition beats you to it.