Enterprise 2.0 and organizational culture

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Four points in which we understand why introducing social technologies within an organization is very much a matter of the right culture. Many are coming to this conclusion. Rob Gray is among them.
I obviously agree with Rob as to the fact that no tool, no new process design, or organizational innovation of any kind, is going to successfully implemented if the right culture does not exist.

I believe that the cultural change is absolutely something we should think of, as a first step.

At the same time I see a few good news:

1. The best ways to introduce cultural evolutions within an organization is to “talk“. I am referring to “conversations” taking place across hierarchical levels and across functions. These conversations are about “how do we do things here” – they are about the organization and its processes. Any real life experience I have had, of successful change, has been about people coming from different worlds within, (and even outside), the organization, and asking themselves some good powerful questions. This has been true whether change involved new tools/technologies or a simple redesign of some organizational elements.
2. Enterprise 2.0 technologies inherently facilitate cross function and cross-level “conversations”. They allow the shaping of an emergent, dispersed knowledge, as an outcome of collective combination of diverse contributions.
3. Actually Enterprise 2.0 technologies, call for a different cultural paradigm within organizations. This paradigm is one that has proved itself effective regardless of technologies: it is about diverse people involved in the “organizational conversation”. Technologies and culture are intertwined.
4. The examples of collective intelligence developing through social media, (Diigo – Twine – Delicious, Wikis of different kinds) have really been creating some cases as to the opportunities that are opening in the business environment. The immediate consequence is that some very good conversations about how to facilitate change are taking place, and it is improving.

Finally, I have doubts that you can grow the utilization of social software within the organization with the hope it will just pick up as soon as users will see how cool it is, the same way Facebook users have been growing.

Unfortunately things go very differently within organizations.
Take social interactions in general: things are much easier when you are having conversations with friends, as compares to what happens, say, with a group of colleagues talking about sensitive, potentially conflictual issues.
Will people share their things with the same easy-going attitude?
No they won’t.
It is a matter of trust (at many different levels), organizational climate, communication, values, and, as we said, culture. These are important, wide topics.

And what do you think yourself?

Tagged as: collaborazione, Collective intelligence, Diigo, enterprise 2.0, Organization, social, Social Media