April 2008 - Christopher S. Rollyson and Associates

Creating Strategic and Tactical Value with Enterprise (Social) Networks

Leveraging B2C “Social” Networks for Real Enterprise Advantage—Flashbacks to Web 1.0—People in Bars

2007-wrap-ent2 Pan in, circa 1998, and enterprises were beginning to doubt the conventional wisdom that had prevailed during the past three years, namely that “the Internet” was a Silicon Valley fad that would blow over with nary a whimper. It was “for kids,” it didn’t merit adult attention—none of these “businesses” were making money anyway. You can’t be serious, how could a money-losing online bookstore affect GM? It looks silly to read these words today, but that’s only because we know what happened. Here I will suggest that we are on the cusp of a similar shift with Web 2.0 and social networks, I’ll outline an approach you can use to consider your adoption strategy, and I will recommend tactical things you can do right now to leverage LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Del.icio.us and others.

Since 2006, my consulting work has encompassed strategic and tactical sides of Web 2.0 and social networks and, in 2008, I launched a tactically-focused service, the Executive’s Guide to LinkedIn, which helps global enterprises to use LinkedIn for process innovation. This has provided the […]

Exploring Twitter: Ten Observations

As a Twitter member since October 2007, I am extremely excited about Twitter from several perspectives, so I’ll share in case they are useful to you. Thus far, my experience is that Twitter holds significant promise for B2B applications, but as of this post it is still emerging and preliminary. It will prove to be an extremely rich ground for innovation.

First, a word of caution. When you go to Twitter for the first time, you will undoubtedly wonder what in the world this is all about; it will look like meaningless gobbledegook, a hodgepodge of 140-character messages. If you want to explore, give yourself a month or two. You will also need to follow some people who really know how to tweet. In my experience, most Twitter “posts” (called “tweets” by the way) mix news tidbits, humorous or interesting or acerbic observations. Above all, they give useful, interesting or entertaining information. Read on to explore why Twitter might be worth exploring from an executive’s perspective.

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Just Released: New LinkedIn Tools for Executives

The Executive’s Guide to LinkedIn just put in beta several tools that will help executives to stay in touch with breaking news on LinkedIn. Two custom search engines enable executives to pinpoint articles that are particularly relevant to individual executives as well as corporate leaders. Also included in a real-time collection of our team’s ongoing “Best of LinkedIn” articles. Read on for details on the new tools and how to use them.

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Why Do I Use LinkedIn?

A recent question on LinkedIn Answers posed the fundamental question, “What is the value of using LinkedIn?” The author of the question, Gema Gomez, is doing some research on social networks and created a survey, which I have answered in this post.

Since I work with executives and companies to help them create and execute against strategies for LinkedIn and other Web 2.0 venues, I attempted to answer the questions from my own experience as well as from my clients’.

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Strategies for Managing LinkedIn's Network Updates

As you grow your linkedIn network, you will notice that LinkedIn “Network Updates” tend to grow geometrically. Moreover, there are many moving parts, so how do you manage this information to your satisfaction? Here I’ll outline a few strategies for channelling the information, so you receive it and keep it to maximize your effectiveness.

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If I Can't Find Anyone Like Me, Do I Still Belong on LinkedIn?

A recent Question in LinkedIn Answers concerned an executive who worked in a very specialized field. He didn’t feel like he fit in on LinkedIn because he couldn’t find anyone else in his field. There didn’t seem to be anything in LinkedIn for him.

This reminded me that “networking” was a concept that was still relatively new for many people. In the U.S., we had a social contract until the 80s: most people trained for something, worked hard, advanced and kept within their silos. The concept that you could meet strangers who might know something or someone that could lead to some kind of opportunity was a foreign concept for some people, especially Traditionalists or older Boomers. Here I’ll share some of my response to him in which I explained some of the fundamental values of LinkedIn.

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Noodle VI: New from the Unorthodox Exit Strategy Department—Acquisition by an Asian Firm

New Exit Strategy for Mature Manufacturers—Acquisition by Asian Firms shows how process excellence can inject new vitality into ailing manufacturers.

New Exit Strategy for Mature Manufacturers—Acquisition by Asian Firms Picture this: you are the CEO of a venerable manufacturer that has been besieged by price pressure, increased imports and high capital costs. Revenue has been barely edging up, and profits have been negative three of the last five years. You have had to lay off a significant portion of manufacturing personnel, many of whom had been with you more than a generation.Your ship is still taking on water despite best efforts, and you do not know where to turn.

This was precisely the situation of several U.S. firms that took the unusual route of selling themselves to Indian firms that turned the companies around very quickly by applying sophisticated process and management expertise. In many cases, local employment increased because the companies became much more competitive. Here are two examples:

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Save the Date: The Executive's Guide to LinkedIn Seminars Announced in Chicago, Wheaton

I am pleased to announce that I just confirmed two new dates for Chicago-area seminars, LinkedIn Core Value Realization: May 17, 2008 at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center and June 12, 2008 at the IIT Wheaton Campus. In addition, I’m happy to say that my partnership with Samurai on the March 11 launch went really well, so we are moving forward together with the series.

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Noodle V: Geography 3.0, What It Is and What It Means

Geography 3.0, What It Is and What It Means predicts a new synthesis in the Knowledge Economy—fast forward to the past—Plus, the fire

Geography 3.0, What It Is and What It Means Noodles are largely driven by intuition and holistic mental doodling, and this one has been simmering a long time*. I believe that there is profound meaning in virtual and literal “mobility,” and I’ll explore its significance in terms geography and human relationships. Geography has always had a profound impact on how humans have lived and the organizations in which we have lived, and when its meaning shifts, our lives are transformed. This is of paramount importance because human relationships are currently transitioning from geography-based to interest-based. Many governments and businesses harbor business rules that assume geography-based relationships, and, unless they appreciate the shift to interest-based relationships, they will experience disruption’s spin cycle. Lose a turn. Don’t pass go ,^)

Before exploring how these things will unfold in Part II, let’s review three geographies and four economies here in Part I…

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Christopher S. Rollyson and Associates