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More on Employee Engagement and the E2.0 Environment

by Jon Husband

January 5, 2010 at 12:05 pm · Filed under Event Announcements

Following up on my recent post about employee engagement being a core goal for the adoption of Enterprise 2.0 capabilities, here’s a snippet from an email I got this morning.

As an aside, one of the vexing issues of writing occasionally for an industry blog like FASTForward is that you get pitched (spammed) by email from every PR dog and her or his master on the off-chance you might decide to write a few words. This is the first time that bait has ever worked on me Should I be ashamed ?

The excerpt below is from an email promo about a new book titled The New How. It looks interesting, and from what’s written in the excerpt it sounds like pretty much the same core message as the concept and methods of Participative Work Design offer.

No ?

UPDATE: Speaking of engagement, here’s a brilliant post by one of the best-known practical champions of Enterprise 2.0 / collaboration practices, JP Rangaswami

The Facebookisation of the Enterprise

Many management gurus claim “people matter,” but still relegate strategy to an elite set of executives who focus on frameworks, long presentations, and hierarchical approaches. Business strategy typically has been planned by corporate chiefs and then dictated to managers to carry out. The New How turns that notion on its head.

“Too often business executives, managers and strategists talk down to or ignore the very people who can help achieve results and positively impact the bottom line,” Nilofer explains. “Yet, organizations collaborate best when rewards are based on organizational success and less on individual accomplishments.

And after many years of working with Apple, Adobe, HP, and many other companies, Nilofer discovered the secret sauce: the best way to create a winning strategy is to create connections among employees at all levels across the enterprise, enlisting their participation in creating strategy they not only believe in, but are also equipped to implement.

[Me .. D'oh. This is what the OD field has been saying for decades. Why do we not pay more attention ?]

In The New How, Nilofer provides a roadmap for today’s corporate directors, executives, and managers, showing how they can transform their traditional, top-down approach to strategy planning and execution into a collaborative process that has proven to be significantly more effective.

Enhance performance and outcomes by deflating the “air sandwich” between the execs in the boardroom and their employees

Acquire practical knowledge about how to encourage and enhance collaborative processes across your enterprise

Discover that successful strategy is founded in effective idea selection–a pile of good ideas doesn’t necessarily build good strategy

Create company strategy and link it to targeted execution, using the practical models and techniques provided

Work together with a shared understanding of the most effective ways to achieve true collaboration

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Nilofer MerchantJanuary 5th, 2010 at 1:40 pm

Hi, Jon-

I guess i should be happy you never “took the bait” but saw this one as worthy of exception. I believe you must be on the PR list that O’Reilly Media uses and the copy you are pointing to is the back jacket copy…and you are free to make fun of it!

In my opinion, most of what i’m writing about is not necessarily new — but it is synthesized and practical so that someone/team/company could actually do this kind of collaborative, flat work. If you do take a look at the book itself, let me know what you think?

Jon HusbandJanuary 5th, 2010 at 9:50 pm

Hi, Nilofer. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

I thought the premise in / of The New How was clear and strong enough to “take the bait”. hence, I doubt that I will “make fun” of the book

Synthesis and making things practical is always of high value, if done well. And extrapolating from the statement that you have worked with Apple, Adobe, HP and the like also suggests that you provide high value strategic advice and consulting.

With respect to your new book, I don’t doubt that your advice and examples will be of high strategic and practical value, though of course I will have a clearer and better-founded opinion once I read it.

Jeff WilfongJanuary 6th, 2010 at 8:09 pm

The problem with strategists is that they believe they only have the answers. The narcissism usually prevents them from making good systems-based decisions. The best of all worlds would be for leaders to become good facilitators and use the social network as a source of knowledge and decision making. Not to say that top managers do not have some profound knowledge and insight, however, they are only a part of the social network.

If strategy is not aligned with the people, we all know what happens. Sure, certain leaders push the envelope and are “forward” thinkers. Often times, leaders create grand visions and quickly leave the organizations. It seems that inspiration and action often do not go together. It is folly to assume that certain groups within a given organization have not already thought of the same thing that the guru is championing.

Engagement necessitates respect, and respect necessitates that people are given some authority to manage their own lives. If managers make all the decisions, then I doubt that employees are actually engaged. People hate imprisonment.

Jon HusbandJanuary 7th, 2010 at 2:08 pm

Jeff .. I agree with you. Thanks for your thoughtful and useful addition to the conversation(s) about social computing, networks and employee engagement.

Nilofer MerchantJanuary 7th, 2010 at 4:35 pm

I agree with Jeff! wow, well articulated. Can i send u the book New How as i think it’ll match your world view.

Nilofer

Jon HusbandJanuary 7th, 2010 at 4:39 pm

Do you want to send it to Jeff, or to me .. or both of us ?

Nilofer MerchantJanuary 7th, 2010 at 4:42 pm

email me privately Jon – we’ll exchange info.