Leaders In the Know

Frozen Peas: More than Good for You

If you're interested in how to score a wow in creating an overnight web sensation and a dedicated web community, you should know about Frozen Peas.

Susan Reynolds came up with the brilliant idea of using a bag of frozen peas to her breast instead of icepacks to reduce the pain following a biopsy and again, after a mastectomy.

We first learned How Frozen Peas Started a Movement when we came across it the story when it was reported online and decided to check it out Boobs On Ice.  Who can resist checking out a blog with a name like that?

I'll let you check it out on for yourself. After all, why take the fun out of it?

We always use this example in our Web 2.0 management seminars of brilliant viral marketing and the power of the web to mobilize a community of evangelists and fellow cancer patients, survivors and family members virtually over night.

Check out where it all started: Susan's Twitter site.

Check out the all the supportive photos and the growing number of  "peavatars" shared on Flickr.

And you haven't lived until you've seen Surrounded by Peas or the awesome Susan Reyonld's story on YouTube.

Visit  the Frozen Pea Fund site to make a contribution to cancer care or to find resources.

Today, I read a post at  Media Bullseye  talking about an event this week that raised $30,000 for the cause.  Very cleverly, the name badge of a fellow Twittr-er who couldn't make it to the event but kept in the loop  all evening  on Twittr by attendees was raffled off.  The winning bid raised another $500 for the cause.

This story, in a nutshell, encapsulates the power of building community on the web - whether the rewards are deeply personal or financial.

Bloggers@Zanzibar

Last evening Charlie and I enjoyed an evening meeting bloggers. It was a gathering at a NYC restaurant organized by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff to publicize Groundswell.  (Thanks for the advance copy!)

We are knee-deep researching the impact of Web 2.0 and social computing on the relationships between organizations and people, both internally and externally. So we are always really pleased to meet folks who want to share their experiences with us.

The evening reminded me a bit of speed-dating and it was great fun... once my eyes adjusted to the cave-like atmosphere. I worked clock-wise around the firepit and Charlie counter-clockwise.

Words of  Experience shared with us:

• Separate your professional from your personal blog-life.
• Even better, don't tell anyone at work (translation:  especially your boss) about your blog -- unless it's a blog designed to attract business and has a disclaimer that it represents your personal views. (A corollary to that would be to avoid talking about a blog intended to pump your own business.)
• Innocuous comments (for example, referring to the difficult state of the economy) can be viewed as bad for business by your employer.
• Companies (at least those in tech, PR and media) are getting quite comfortable with these technologies... not making them available would be like giving you a desk without a phone.
• A blog is a great place to share your ideas and get feedback from others. It's exciting, creative and thought-provoking.
• The trick is to keep the entries short.

On that note, I'll stop here.

If you have an experience you'd like to share about how your company uses blogs, wikis, virtual reality, podcasts, webcasts, forums - or any other form of social media - especially those aimed toward or for use by employees, please share your story by email anne@cognetics.com or comment here.

Social Media Profiling Tool

Kudos go out to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff from Forrester.  Their upcoming book Groundswell is bound to be a must-read if you're interested in social media.

On the book website is a social technology profiling tool that is very cool.

You can select an age group, country and gender you're interested in.  Based on your selection, you will see a profile of that demographic group's level of participation in social media based on data from Forrester Research Technographics® surveys, 2007. 

Using this tool you can begin to learn about consumer behavior on the web in different countries, which is important if you want to use social media to reach a particular demographic.  For example, 8 percent of women my age in the United States are "creators" of social media - blogs, web pages, posting videos, etc.

Social media participants are designated by where they are on the "rungs" of what Forrester calls The Social Technographics Ladder:

• Creators who generate and contribute content
• Critics who post comments to web content generated by others
• Collectors who organize web content produced by others for themselves
• Joiners who have a profile and connect with others on social networks like Facebook
• Spectators who consume content generated by others
• Inactives who do not participate at all

You can find further details on the Social Technographics profile at the Groundwell website. 

Charlie and are looking forward to meeting Charlene and Josh at the Blogger Dinner in New York next week.

Communication: A New Leadership Skill?

This week's Workspan Weekly e-newlsetter published by the Corporate Compensation professionals' association, World At Work  flashed the headline "Survey Reveals Need for New Leadership Skills". 

Wow, I thought, a new leadership skill. I wonder what it could be.

Turns out, a survey conducted by the highly-regarded Center for Creative Leadership found that 70% of the executive respondents indicated that communication, specifically skills required for virtual leadership, is the new leadership skill. Two factors, frequency and clarity of communication, were cited as of particular importance.

As anyone who has had the pleasure of working for someone who feels the need to follow up every hour (or the polar opposite, the boss with an open door but  is never in the office or available to talk), frequency of communication is a big deal in the physical world as well.

Similarly, we all know how difficult it is to achieve real clarity. How many times did you ask someone to do something "as soon as possible," (meaning this minute), which they interpret to mean "when I can get to it"?  (Do any of you have kids?)

Which, I guess, brings us to "active listening," a technique whereby the listener repeats, summarizes or paraphrases what the speaker has said to check for agreement of understanding. A great idea, but not always practical in every interaction. (Have you ever had the experience of explaining what you want a system to do and get pages and pages of uninterpretable "specs" come back to you for concurrence?) 

"The modern executive must learn an entirely new set of skills to direct and motivate people worldwide in the age of e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging, telecommuting, and computer conferencing," according to survey results.

Overlay the challenges of crossing the chasm introduced by globalization,
multiculturalism, complexity, distances of time and space - let alone the multi-media nature of communication - and this becomes no small feat for mere mortals.

Communication continues to be as challenging today as it  has since time eternal, not just for leaders but for all of us. The bigger challenge for leaders of the modern workplace is accepting that the web changes the very character of these communications: they are more casual in tone, more boldly put forth, more interactive. 

Leaders have long espoused "two way communication" - but you wouldn't always know it based on the reactions that come back down.

It can never hurt to become a better communicator, in any medium.

It may prove a lot harder on the ego to carve out a relevant and meaningful role for leaders when "direction and motivation" come from the group and not from the leader.

Please share your thoughts.

Virtual Reality: The Next Horizon for Talent Development

Sharon Begley's piece Our Imaginary, Hotter Selves   in Newsweek last week wasn't about the workplace -- how could it be with a title like that?

In case you missed it, the gist is that recent experiments show that the characteristics of the avatars people take on in virtual realities like Second Life  carry over into the real world.

In a research study done at Stanford, some players were assigned more attractive avatars than others.  Good looking avatars and plain ones perceived themselves and one another much as they would if they had been real. Attractive avatars, for example, were more self-confident and revealed more to strangers than did homely avatars, who kep a safe distance and were less friendly.

So it would seem that even in the virtual world, you can't be too thin, too tall or too beautiful.

A bit more surprising is that the researchers found a spillover affect into real reality.

After virtual play ended, players were asked to look at photos from an online dating site and pick out those who "would be interested in you".   Those freshly stepping out of attractive avatar status picked more attractive potential dates from the line up. In other scenarios, they negotiated better financial deals and stuck up for themselves more assertively than those who played their homely counterparts.

Universities have settled into Second Life in a big way and that's very exciting for education. It's a great venue for attending lectures, visiting a campus or learning a foreign language from native speakers.

Some companies are beginning to experiment with virtual reality to support virtul teams.  The idea is that using this technology is as close as it gets to replicating the experience of physically being together when distance makes that impractical.

Thinking about the Stanford research suggests that virtual reality may be a great opportunity for talent development.  In a team setting, introverted or less confident team members can take on the characteristics of the avatar they select.  They can be perceived differently - and play a stronger role - than they would in real life meetings.

Taken the next step, it seems to me that virtual reality might be a terrific venue not only for developing and practicing new skills. It opens all sorts of possibilities for coaching and mentoring, removing real or perceived barriers of rank, status, gender, race, culture or location.

If you have any examples of how your company is using virtual reality in the workplace - or if this spurs ideas - I hope you'll share your insights with us.

Should CEOs blog?

We've been doing a number of webinars on the Impact of Web 2.0 and Social Computing on Organizations over the past several weeks. One of the questions we are routinely asked is, "Should Our CEO Blog?"

Great question.

The simple answer might be sure, why not? If the CEO has a blog, wouldn't it send a signal to everyone else that blogging is now an acceptable way of communicating?

I can hear the nay-sayers now. The floodgates will open. Everyone will want to blog.  I remember the same argument when job sharing was first introduced over 20 years ago. I ask you, how many job sharers do you know?

Well ok, the naysayers concede, maybe everyone won't start a blog.  But how will we control what our employees say on blogs; what if they give out lousy or confidential information? What if they spread negative comments or post links to unflattering portrayals of the company on YouTube?  What if someone posts photos of the department when they're out for drinks after work? Won't this mean everyone will be spending way too much time on their own blog or commenting on others? 

Weren't (aren't) similar concerns raised against telecommuting? The troubling thing is that lo these many years, there are still many managers who aren't comfortable with folks working at home.

The trust factor raises its ugly head once again: How will we know they're really working and not doing laundry? How can you really judge performance or form a relationship if you can't see the person?

So maybe the decision as to whether or not your CEO should blog or not goes deeper than whether they are great communicators, or whether they won't resort to ghost bloggers.

The bigger question is about trust.

What do you think?

Have You Heard From Hillary Today?

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday.

Today I fielded no fewer than 11 calls from Volunteers for Hillary and one from the candidate herself (recorded, of course).  Three I would understand - after all we do have three phone lines -  but twelve?

Can you imagine getting 12 follow up calls in the same day from any other sales organization?

The night is young. I'm sure the campaign could call us another 3 or 4 times before bedtime.  To remind us that tomorrow is Super Tuesday.  As if it could have slipped our minds.

Lessons From the Webinar School of Hard Knocks

Every consulting company seems to be jumping on the webinar train.  Unfortunately, many turn out to be "salesinars".  I hope the scales tip in the right direction: where webinars truly offer deep content and the potential for communities of interest to gather.   

As a presenter and as a participant, I really like webinars. As a presenter, it's a great way for me to connect with a large audience of folks who are interested in the same thing I am and I learn a lot.  I learn a lot being on the receiving end as well, and it gives me time I seldom find otherwise to de-clutter my desk, files or email.

Webinars illustrate why social computing is so tough. two of the five webcasts I was involved with this week had technical problems (both audio and visual) that actually never did get resolved during the hour. 

If your're thinking about presenting a webcast, here are some personal observations:

• Have something meaningful to share. The web is all about rich content - whether text, video, podcast or webinar. Thumbs down on salesinars.
• A rehearsal walk-through is a must - especially if you're not hosting the webcast yourself - but it isn't a guarantee. 
• Webinars resemble radio or TV news more than they do live seminars. That translates to brief self-contained segments and lots of visuals that keep changing.
• Webinars may not be for you if you hate the feeling that you're talking to yourself. There's just no way to describe the sensation of talking into a black hole.
• Webinars test your ability to engage in entertaining banter and storytelling when you're the only one in the room. It helps if you're not the only presenter.
• Answer questions submitted through chat as you go along rather than wait until the end. If one person's thinking it, probably others are too.

This week, Charlie and I had a terrific experience. We gave a Web 2.0 webinar for The Marketing Executives Group (MENG) where we engaged in conversation working from the same presentation deck. It was a lot more fun for us and I hope for the audience as well.

Princeton Community Works

Last evening 400 of us followed the balloons that led the path up Washington Road in Princeton, NJ to gather at the Frist Student Center on the Princeton University campus for Princeton Community Works.  (For those who aren't familiar  with it, this is an annual event that provides training and networking opportunities for leaders of non-profit organizations in the area.)

I was invited to give two sessions on "Using The Internet to Advance Your Non-Profit Organization: The "why to" and "how to" blogs, social networks and Web 2.0 Websites". 

We were filled to the brim.  An amazing array of organizations were represented.  What a lively conversation we had.  I typically speak in front of business audiences, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

We had some super questions that illustrate what so many people are wondering about the web but feel silly asking. Here are just a few.

"What's the difference between a blog and a wiki?" (You'd be surprised how many times a week I"m asked that question.)

"How do organizations use sites like LinkedIn and Facebook?" (Did I ever mention that Haldemann Ford in East Windsor tried to friend me? Yech.)

"Do you have to pay when you sign up for an RSS feed the same way you do when you subscribe to a magazine?" (Another business model for monetizing the web?)

"How on earth does anyone find the time to keep up with email, Facebook, blogging and following blogs?" (A real-life example goes a long way. Joann, who works here at Cognetics, agreed to share with the stunned group that she follows 100-plus blogs; I won't tell you how they reacted when she mentioned Flickr-ing and Tweeting.")

and my personal favorite:

"How do you get Web 2.0? Do you have to pay extra for it, or does it come with the Internet?"

The Social Web is a terrific platform for the non-profit, mission-based world. They know how to work relationships. They understand the importance of evangelists to their cause. They're used to working from the ground-up, relying on the grass-roots to grow.  Because most don't have a lot of money, they're used to low-budget, do-it-yourself  or get a volunteer to help. 

Once they learn to translate these skills in the web environment, watch out!  I suspect it will be transformational in terms of reach and in leveling the playing field between the Davids and Goliaths.  Go Princeton Community Works!

It's Hard to Remain Presidential While Engaged in a Brawl

Watching Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton duke it out on last night's presidential debates reminded some spectators of watching a boxing match.  No TKO's but plenty of blood.

We heard audible "boos" and gasps of disbelief from the dignified Myrtle Beach audience.  John Edwards just stood there taking it all in, waiting for his opportunity to rise above the fray.

The irony is that the brawl was over who has more (or maybe less) integrity: Hillary (accused of being a former board member of Walmart and recipient of big company financing) or Barak (who apparently represented a slum lord and worked the Illinois legislative process by voting "present" rather than "no" on 100 bills)?

The content of the accusations didn't seem to matter nearly as much as the venom with which they were hurled.

The American public knows everyone has skeletons in the closet; no one is perfect - most especially, it seems, elected officials. (Although, personally, I think Hillary's got some explaining to do about her Walmart connection.)

Business leaders come under fire and personal attack all the time; it comes with the territory. They learn to develop a thick skin facing irate employees learning of cuts to their health care benefits one week and executive bonuses the next.  They hang tough when their email is jammed with links - from just about everyone they know - to YouTube videos re-enacting customer experiences with their company's customer service department.

We expect leaders to remain cool under pressure.  We want our presidents - of a country or a company - to look the part no matter what.  But what does integrity look like when the first punch is thrown?  Or when the gloves come off?