The story repeats itself, only the characters change. “We need a tool to share information/improve access to information/get people to collaborate. What should we use?”
At times the plot gets more complicated as the ones seeking advice bring on THE examples. “You know, something like a Wikipedia/Google Search/Facebook”.
And there stands the poor Enterprise 2.0 evangelist, an actor wearing a double-faced mask having to simultaneously play Miss/Mrs/Mr Happy go lucky (“Yes, opportunities are enormous. Yes, social tools are impacting the future of work. Yes, of course I will help you…”) and devil’s advocate (“This is not just about the tools. Adoption is hard. You need to add value to people’s work, solve business problems, fit tools in the workflow…”).
You eventually decide that it’s best to take on the role of play’s director on top of leading actor. You pick up all your ART, grab a pen and some paper, take a deep breath, and start looking for the fundamentals: the problem, the business needs, the people involved, the corporate culture… And you say: “So let’s start from the beginning…”
PS1 – on a very similar topic, be sure to check this post by Oscar Berg
PS2 – photo by Guy Haley: http://www.flickr.com/photos/guyhaley/1413173103/
