There is absolutely NO TIME for me to write this post – but I am going to anyway.
Within our company we have a Social Learning environment up and running and healthy – although in its infancy. There were bumps and bruises along the way which came from people within the org adopting new ideas and letting go of the old ways. It was very difficult for some, but once they saw the benefits, they have jumped on board.
After the success of the last, we are now in the process of creating one for our customers as well. This was the next big test. Up until this point the their thought (not mine) was to have all the information behind the login – to get to any of it you had to log in. This and the other project has been a real test of patience for me. Although I am many steps ahead of them, I have to let them discover it for themselves. I have to walk them through scenarios, let them test it out and come to the same conclusions I presented to them and let them do it on their own time. Sure, there are ways to speed it up, but the process is worked through every time.
I digress…
During this meeting I walk them through the pros and cons of opening up the information. Their first reaction was to hold back as much as possible: What if our competitors found out what we were doing? What if they laid hold of some valuable piece of information – we would be sunk! My major point is that unless it is really going to hurt us, we should have it out there. That is the major dividing line. It is not if they complain about our company or services; it is not if they find information we think might give them a leg up.
Then after they did the debating they were stuck. I then gave them my specific recommendations. Soon they split. The president of the company said, “Well, so what? What if we did?” When the others saw that attitude change, they started really thinking that way. And you know what? They came up with some really good points – on their own (even if I may had mentioned them in the past) – that I wanted to share:
- If we are worried that the basic information we give our customers will give our competitors an advantage – we need to rethink some things. That shouldn’t break the bank.
- Our strength comes out of our employees and our execution and future plans. There is no way for the competition to mimic that.
- Overall, we have bigger issues than if our competitors start wasting time pouring through some documentation.
- The more we put in front of the login, the more our customers will use it.
- The more open we are, the more we show that we have nothing to hide. We WANT to share with our customers.
But these were their thoughts they worked through. When this happened, they decided to open up more information to our customers than I was anticipating – which was great!
It was wonderful to see the transformational process work. It was like a hyper mind changer that I sat in the middle of. They went from one end of the spectrum to the other. The keys?
- Be prepared – Do your homework. I had questions and examples specifically related to our instance to challenge their thinking
- Allow them to go through the process – allow them their time to discover. I almost jumped in too soon with too much. Avoid that urge.
- Focus on core competencies – Many times executives and others feel a threat when their isn’t one. When you focus on core competencies you effectively eliminate the threats because they realize the competition can copy everything else, except for those.
- When they give you what you want, say thank you and walk out of the room. Don’t let them over analyze it. At first we went round and round. It is easy to get caught up in that. Once clear thought happens they will settle. Make sure they are left with that to remember.
