How can social media force an organizational change in business?

"I still think that there are millions of people specifically in middle and upper management that don't understand or even know of social networking let alone what to do with it."


Of course. I'm right on track with this statement. The winds of change in business are among us. The terrible economy only will magnify this as the internet will allow for business practices (especially in marketing) to become more streamlined.

Many managers may not be in the loop with the latest tools and techniques at communicating or marketing. That's fine. It's a fast paced business and it can be hard to keep up. However, the good ones are.

Many of today's business hierarchies are built on a model that doesn't allow for new ideas at the bottom to work its way to the top. It's usually the other way around.

Executives and managers at the top are responsible for making the decisions about the direction of the organization and THEN it works its way down to be filled. It worked well in the past, because years of professional experience gave you guidance in better decision making. It makes sense. It's logical. It DID work. Yet, organizations haven't changed.

However, in the future, organizations will demand that people at the bottom be innovative in their approach in coming up with new ideas. Why? Because everyone at the top may not totally have a grasp on these new concepts. It's the responsibility of younger employees to share their insights into changing technology. These younger employees may be the best bet in adopting new strategy in accordance with technology.

I'm very fortunate to work with an organization that allows for everyone to bring an idea to the table and feel like they are being supported from the top. Unfortunately,this isn't always the case.

The ones who understand social media and the internet will be forced to be heretical in everything they do. It will be uncomfortable at first, but you'll survive. According to the law of accelerating returns, the development of technology is exponential so the demand for adoption by business will only increase.

It's time for these people to become leaders. Are you up to the task?

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1 Reply to "Organizational Change"

  • Ken on January 14, 2009 at 11:19 PM

    This is very well stated. With today's wild economic conditions, our business world will probably return to a "darwinisic" approach. I am currently making my way through the latest issue of Fast Company and there is a great quote from Darwin stated; "It's not the srongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change". This describes perfectly what his happening today with the evolution of communications. Companies that are able to change with the conditions will be poised to accelerate once things stabilize and out pace the competition.

    What will be interesting to watch are the industries that are not directly connected to consumers to use social media the most. The question I pose is how quickly can b2b companies utilize the new media outlets to communicate their business? Much of what I read in business publications has to do with b2c modes of communication.

     
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