Social Business Learnings from HURRICANE Irene! #ls11 #getsocial11 #socialbiz #ibm #ibmpartner
As I was in Hurricane Irene this weekend, I thought of the similarities of a Hurricane and Social Media!
1. The EYE. A Hurricane makes motion around its Eye, the center of the storm. A Social Business should make motion around its value add.. It should focus on sharing expertise and ways to listen, more than just pushing its message into the blogosphere.
2. Hurricanes have no fronts. Social Businesses are the same. They are transparent. There are no fronts to them. They are open, and honest. They share information freely across all parties.
3. None are immune to Hurricanes. As we learned with Irene, all can be touched by one of the triple forces of the winds, rains, and waves. Just as none are immune to Social. You cannot "opt out" of being Social. Your company can choose to embrace it for deepening relationships with your clients, or ignore it at your own peril, not realizing what is being said about you.
4. You need to watch the direction and progress of a Hurricane. With Irene, we watched the signs of when it might hit, and where it might hit. Social Businesses need to listen to their clients, and influencers. Without seeing what the comments and feedback is, you cannot be prepared and grow as a company.
5. Be prepared. While seeing the Hurricane approach us in NY, we got prepared with flashlights, water, and food. As a Social Business, you need to be prepared to arm your employees with the right tools in the market. I loved this quote from a site in NC: . It is not if a hurricane will hit but when. With this in mind, knowledge and preparation are essential. I believe the same is true with Social. Social is the 5th transformational IT trend that is impacting the way we work.
