So I’m in the middle of a series of posts that started with my core beliefs about E2.0 and is working through each of them in turn to explore their implications for E2.0 strategy and practice.
In this post I’ll be looking at my second core belief: E2.0 is not a completely radical departure or a whole-cloth innovation, but a natural extension of E1.0.
Raining on the parade
The enthusiasm and energy around all things E2.0 is amazing, so much so that it’s hard to stand on the sidelines and watch it without wanting to jump in with both feet and be a part of something really important. And trust me, like anyone else, I want to revel in that energy and enthusiasm with the best of them. But I have some reservations that hold me back from just diving in.
When I think about the core values of E2.0—collaboration, communication, connection, transparency, engagement—it seems like the best companies have been acting on these values for years now with their customers and among their employees. The only real distinction I see is that they did so with different technologies, technologies that were once groundbreaking, although they now seem like the lowest sort of organizational plumbing (e.g., phones and mail).
But before AIIM reads this and moves me over to their E1.0 Community Blog, let me explain why I think a more sober perspective on E2.0, one that sees it as grounded in E1.0, is not only closer to the truth but also a more effective way to operationalize E2.0 in the contemporary organization.
Flying too close to the sun
The excitement and interest created by “the future is now”, Malcolm-Gladwell-type visionary calls to action are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they grab attention at the C-level, especially among those leaders who see themselves as transformational. There’s something powerfully intoxicating about being at the forefront of an important cultural movement, one that promises to change the face not only of your business, but of the business world.
On the other hand, however, they can set expectations and aspirations so high that it becomes nearly impossible to live up to them. This may be the case because they’re too lofty—i.e., we know what they mean, but we don’t have the resources or capacity to achieve them—or because they’re too vague—i.e., we have no idea what they really mean when we start trying to act on them.
In either case, the heady vision of a transformed enterprise gives way to everyday operational reality, and the difference between the two can lead to disappointment and apathy, even when what can actually be achieved is substantial…which is a real shame.
You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been
For my money, I’d gladly trade initial enthusiasm for long-term commitment from an organization. And I find that the best way to do this around E2.0 is to cool their visionary aspirations and get them to understand the ways that E2.0 represents a natural, organic extension of the E1.0 practices they're familiar with that have proven their value to the organization time and time again.
By doing so, you make it easier for folks at all levels of the organization to better understand what E2.0 is in the first place, because you relate it to things they are familiar with. You also enable them to more clearly see the benefits E2.0 can provide and have more realistic expectations about what can and can’t be achieved by adopting E2.0 practices.
The final word
Let me end by saying that I’m very excited by E2.0 and am a passionate advocate for E2.0 practices with my clients and in the wider world—don’t let my realist tendencies get you thinking that I’m anti-E2.0 or something, because I’m most definitely not.
But what I most definitely am is committed to making E2.0 comprehensible, actionable, and measurable, and I find the best way to do that is to stress its roots in E1.0 rather than how futuristic, disruptive, or groundbreaking it is. All those qualities are wonderful; however, the more mundane, pedestrian, backward-looking aspects of E2.0 are often the ones that I find the most helpful in getting organizations to evolve from E1.0 to E2.0.
In the next post we’ll dig a bit deeper into the E1.0 foundation of E2.0 practices by exploring my third core belief: E2.0 requires fundamentally the same core operating principles and business practices that ensured success for E1.0.
But in the meantime, jump in and let’s get a good conversation going about E2.0 as radical departure versus natural progression—I know folks have opinions, so step up and share them!
#E20