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Speed, Social Networks and Corporate Culture
12 August 2009:
Speed drives our lives. Whether it is how fast Daniel Bard can throw (over 100 mph), the fastest processor (Today, IBM’s 4.7 GHz, dual-core POWER6), or the length of time that GM’s Board of Directors expects new models, faster is better. And, in most cases, being faster is key to winning, be it on the field, in business or in war. When asked how he won battles, Southern General, Nathan Bedford Forrest is alleged to have said, “git there firstest with the mostest.” While noted Civil War writer Bruce Catton states that Forrest never said this, the concept is valid.
The rapid adoption of social networking tools, especially by the millennium generation, speaks to our need for speed. Twitter allows for almost immediate worldwide news and updates. By “following” prolific tweeters we can see what they are up to, including what they are having for lunch, or how long the line is. My Space and Facebook allow of the rapid dissemination of information about friends and fans, including pictures and/or videos from last night’s party. This rapid flow of information, aided by improving search engine technology is influencing decision-making.
For businesses and marketers, this rapid flow of information can be both a boon and a curse. If something good happens, and goes “viral,” sales can explode and drive significant revenue. If something bad happens, true or not, repairing or correcting the damage can be difficult if not impossible.
Corporate culture has been defined as, “The values, processes and encouraged behaviours in an organisation. “The way things are done around here“. In most organizations, the corporate culture is a mix of the “tone-at-the top” and institutional knowledge acquired and passed along by long-term employees.
In many companies today, the corporate culture calls for a measured, practical approach to decision-making and problem solving. Events in a year, be it annual or fiscal, have cycles defined by the market’s ebb and flow and the resulting planning processes that this drives. While there is a constant need to beat the competition to market with new products, features, etc, it is viewed within the defined cycles that are part of the culture. For large companies, 3 and even 5-year planning cycles are part of an annual process.
Unfortunately, the pattern of this culture is collapsing. Economic power has shifted to the buyer, be they consumer or industrial, who now has instantaneous access to both good and bad information. The buyer can, and is, using this information to make Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” economic decisions, thereby obtaining the most advantageous solution to his need. For example, standing in a store and using the pricecheckah application on my iPhone, I can input a UPC or ISDN number and immediately obtain prices both online and at nearby competing stores. If it is a commodity product, I can then seek out the lowest price. Another example is GM’s testing of eBay in California to sell new cars, with the dealer negotiation taking place on-line.
One of the main drivers behind this collapse is the social networking and informational tools in use today and on the horizon for tomorrow. Buyers are obtaining information in new and different ways and using that information to help in their purchase decision. The issue facing companies today is how to accommodate these tools into their culture in order to be responsive. Many of the corporate leaders today are 45-65 years old. These managers have grown up in a culture that they may have helped forge. They are not familiar with the tools that are being used by the millennium generation that give the user new economic power. Even worse, many of these managers operate under the assumption that, “speed kills.”
Changing a corporate culture is difficult, if not impossible. The leaders and survivors in the next decade (2011-2020) will be those companies who have embraced today’s and tomorrow’s tools and have used them to their benefit. Older companies like IBM, Dell, and EMC are examples of companies that have recognized this today, and who along with newer companies like Amazon, Google and eBay are preparing for tomorrow.
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Source: Fire Alarm Marketing
