I’ve been somewhat distracted the last few days, partially because I’m wrestling with Drupal and partly for what I’ve concluded are political reasons. The first is scary, the second, downright terrifying.
What sparked this thought came from Dave Snowden’s Oh Brave New World… post, the conversation between Dave and Euan Semple and finally Simon Collister’s observations about a DEFRA wiki that’s been ‘locked’ for what appears to be because of alleged abuse.
I’ve known for years that like it or not, we are all politically motivated. We have agendas that reflect our world view. Some are more extreme than others. I can be extreme. So whenever I visit a personal weblog, I’m always attuned to ‘what’s the angle here?’ This is incredibly important right now because business is just waking up to the implications of social software.
My personal take is that when assembled in an appropriate fashion, tools like, but not excluding blogs and wikis have the power to change perceptions and introduce efficiencies. The implications are enormous and potentially scary. I know for example that at least one major blog platform provider is having a terrible time making it across the corporate threshold. There is a genuine fear among some business leaders that blogs will ignite some sort of internal anarchy or socially inspired revolt.
So if I’m being honest, what can I say to practitioners whom I’ve been cajoling for months to get into this medium? Sure, it changes things. Sure, there are risks that things are going to be said that some find unpleasant or unpalatable. I’m the first to acknowledge I see this site as a medium for calling the likes of Sage, SAP, Microsoft and Oracle to account. They may not like it but I know they respect a well-reasoned, if different point of view.
Sure, the influence that you have as a business leader may diminish in favour of someone who is smarter than you previously knew. But isn’t that a price worth paying if it raises the perceptual quality of the service you deliver? I think it is. Because it is profitable.
If we want to discover where the real practice talent lays, this medium could help. What might happen for instance if you discovered a person with a talent for communicating with clients at a level those clients can understand? How much value would you place on that person and the contribution they make? Goodness knows we’re a profession that struggles with that one at the best of times. But would it be a threat? I don’t think so. Because it is profitable.
But let’s be clear about one thing. Being in business is not about being in a democracy. It is not about changing the world except where to do so brings a tangible reward. Any method of promoting this medium that forces that view upon you might be helpful in understanding its potential impact. But it is not the name of the game. Unless of course, the speaker has a clear socio-political bias into which your organisation buys.
As for my politics? At an abstract level nothing would please me more to see the inequalities that riddle society flattened. Especially as my family is multi-cultural and multi-faith. My partner Jude is a radical feminist so I get plenty of coaching on these topics. She was at one time an active Greenham Common campaigner. I have huge sympathy and empathy for a myriad of social issues. But in business?
No. Egalitarianism doesn’t enter my thinking. Instead I firmly believe in a meritocratic approach. And if the next person I meet looks like this but is super smart, then great. I really don’t care. Because in business, I believe we’re best served by surrounding ourselves with folk who are not necessarily like minded on social issues, but are aligned to the profitable business of serving clients.
None of this prevents me from admiring those who take what I perceive as a considered if radical position on these topics. It’s just that I don’t share those ideals. The question I have to answer is whether I fall foul of the stifling duality that Dave Snowden alludes to. I don’t think so but if I am, someone much smarter than I will point it out.
Hat tip to David Tebbutt for Skyping the first couple of references which sparked this train of thought.
Update: Chris Heaslip has an interesting take on how this medium is impacting the education sector. Maybe the next generation will see things differently.
Technorati Tags: blog influence, influence
