The redoubtable Dion Hinchliffe just published summary advice on Social Business Strategy, in a checklist for CIOs 'trapped between the CEO wanting innovation and the CFO needing compliance'.
It's all good stuff but what stood out for me is this little nugget of wisdom:
"Along the way, don’t lose sight of the fact that systems of engagement aren’t just the social applications, just like IT systems aren’t an entire business solution.."
Which seems on the money to me. I love chatting like anyone else. And work is a social activity, so we need space to be ourselves. But too little attention is being paid to the ROI on 'social business'. Why invest in Yammer or Chatter if it's just to enable people to chat for hours about their favorite bands on YouTube or swap football yarns? We can all do that via Facebook anyway.
What's need is a way to get conversation going - but to direct it towards useful outcomes for the business.
Cue the enterprise process management platform. What's everyone involved with - as owner or stakeholder or executor or consumer? The end-to-end processes of the organization. So integrate 'social systems of engagement' with business process management et voilá - the CEO is smiling. It's a complete social business solution that fosters collaborative innovation and continuous improvement.
The CFO grins as well because it's all within a robust governance framework where risks and business controls are embedded within the processes. It's inherently more sustainable too, so cost cuts and service improvements are far more likely to stick.
CIO as hero. Job done.
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Couldn't agree more. Social without any focus doesn't won't achieve business goals. It would be like adding more picnic tables on the back lawn...interesting, but not necessarily productive.
Posted by: Chris Taylor | 17 June 2011 at 07:07 PM