The consumer is the enterprise

On the list of SMB-approved services is Box.  Box, at it's simplest is a cloud-based file storage service, (but has grown tremendously to become a serious player in the enterprise collaboration space), provides a flexible, simple, and eminently useful solution for storing, sharing, and collaborating on documents and files.

Box is led by CEO Aaron Levie who recently shared some interesting comments and observations about the changes in how enterprise software is being developed, purchased, and deployed at an event in London, (documented here on the Cytalk.com site), and are worth noting for both software providers and software customers as well.

I recommend reading the entire piece, but below I've pulled out below what I think is the most important, (and maybe seems like it's obvious but it really isn't), observation about how cloud deployed enterprise solutions differ from their legacy and traditional IT-dependent forebears, and what that means for both software solution providers and the modern HR organization using (or looking to begin using), cloud-based enterprise technologies:

The shift to cloud and mobile changes the way software is bought and deployed. “This shift means the onus more than ever is on the vendor. If we don’t stay competitive, if we don’t build whatever that that next thing is the user wants to do and build it in as simple a way as they expect from the consumer tools they are using, then we will get swapped out.”

By making it simple for users to deploy solutions, companies like Box need to be aware that they’re also making it easy for customers to replace them with something new. “You will either get swapped out because IT will swap you out or just because people will stop using you because they’re using a consumer solution, And because it’s SaaS, they’re only paying for what they use — and you stop getting paid”. Levie sees these forces as a Darwinian engine driving software evolution.

Any enterprise software vendor that doesn’t actually think they’re in the consumer business really doesn’t understand where the future is going.” It’s a future that he believes will carry on changing the industry. “That use-centric approach will see a very different set of vendors playing in the space. Existing vendors will have to change rapidly or become irrelevant to the world of the future.”

It seems like we've been talking about the idea of the consumerization of enterprise technology for quite some time now, but up until fairly recently the dialog and the emphasis has been around product design, user interfaces, and the shift towards mobile and tablet applications and solutions. There has been much less focus on the processes by which enterprise solutions are evaluated, acquired, implemented, and, as Levie is talking about, replaced by other solutions.

Levie's take is really interesting and hopefully a signal that in the near future enterprises (and the actual people in these enterprises), will wield more power, influence, and have more impact on how the solutions they use every day are built and leveraged. Slick interfaces and an iPhone app are great, but until enterprise solutions are forced to engage and delight the actual users in the enterprise or risk a quick replacement, then the tools we use are work will always seem less attractive than what we use in our personal lives.

Have a great week everyone!

If you want to understand work, you have to understand email

I don't care how much your enlightened company pushes cutting-edge social collaboration tools, uses an internal social network like Yammer or similar, or even has set up Facebook or LinkedIn Groups for internal company communication and collaboration - you are still sending and receiving ridiculous amounts of email every week.

Don't lie like you like to - you have a problem, a bad habit that manifests itself in endless email conversation threads, tapping out five word responses on your iPhone while waiting on line at Starbucks, and conversations that often include questions like 'Did you see my email?' 

Of course she saw your email. She 'sees' every email. She's just ignoring your email.

But that aside, for a technology, communications tool, and collaboration medium that we all use so much, we understand and attempt to analyze just how we use email. Sure, we might know how many unread messages are in our Inbox, and how often we need to delete stuff since we are always surpassing some nonsensical IT-imposed storage limit, but aside from that, we don't really think about email and how we use it to get work done all that often (if ever).

An aside before I get to the point. If you work someplace where you are always going over your email storage limit then you need to consider working someplace else, or if you have any influence over this kind of thing, finding some new IT people that will make that problem go away. No one should ever run out of space for storing work-related email. That's it. And I won't argue with anyone on that point because you are wrong.

Ok, back to the post.

If you are a user for Gmail for work or even for mainly personal reasons, a new project out the MIT Media Lab can help shed some light on how you actually use Gmail. The tool called Immersion, creates a really cool visualization of your email activity, and more importantly, it helps illuminate the sub-networks and collaborative teams within. An example of the network view that Immersion creates, from my Gmail activity, is below, (and some related stats are along the right side of the post).

Click image for an even larger view

Immersion uses color coding, network connection links, and size/distance of the nodes to help understand with whom you are most frequently emailing, who else is likely included in those conversations, how often they occur, and the topics or projects that are being worked on.

On my chart, I can see pretty clear delineation between messages about HRevolution, Fistful of Talent, HR Technology, as well as personal and fun stuff as well. But the key point is that the Immersion tool offers a little bit of a window into how I am actually using email - the one technology that I am still sad to say dominates many workdays.

You probably can't leverage the Immersion tool, (yet), if you are using a corporate, MS-based email backbone. But you can put some pressure on your IT pals to find some tools and methods to help you and your organization better understand how and when and in what manner the number one collaboration technology in your organization is being used.

They have time believe me. And make sure you tell them to quit with the 'Your mailbox is over the storage size limit emails.'

Everyone ignores them.

Email Chains and The Price is Right $1 Bid Strategy

I bid one dollar, Bob.

Email threads with more than three people Cc'ed remind me of the classic game show, The Price is Right.

No matter the subject, the email thread starts more or less in the same way. The writer poses a question, asks for feedback on the matter in question, and sits back and waits for responses. And the responses she gets are usually pretty predictable.

An Alpha dog type on the copy list chimes in immediately with their opinion. Sort of a strike first and strike quick kind of mentality that they hope frames the discussion. They want their opinion or position to be the default simply by virtue of being the first one that is revealed. This strategy can be successful - they have staked a claim to the high ground and need to be pushed off by anyone who responds after them.

Next, someone, let's call them Beta dog,  will either (gently) question Alpha dog or offer an alternative approach to try and take or re-take some territory and mindshare. 'What about this way?' they will ask. Alpha dog will immediately respond, (possibly with a 'Sent from iPhone' footer), re-stating their position and making sure that no one else gets a 'I agree with Beta dog' in the mix before they remind everyone they are running this conversation.

Then as the thread progresses, and depending on how many folks were included on the original message, you will get a few 'I agree with Alpha or Beta' messages. These add almost nothing to the conversation, save for reminding us that the senders are indeed still alive, and despite the fact they have nothing to say about the discussion, they want to be sure to be included on future, similar discussions that they will also contribute nothing useful towards.

Almost every time I get pulled in to one of these mass email threads I like to lay back and wait. I want to see what Alpha dog says. I wait to see if anyone wants to step up and challenge. I like to observe if any of the players on the edges want to get into the mix. 

I want the last word after everyone has had a chance to state their case, reveal their intentions and interests and show their cards. I like to jump in then.

It's like being the last bidder on The Price is Right. That spot, if you could get there and not run out of time, was the prime position to be in. You held the cards. You had the knowledge of everyone else's position.

If everyone bid too low, you'd drop in with the 'Highest bid on the board plus $1' bid.

If you thought everyone was too high, you'd drop a classic 'I bid one dollar, Bob', and wait for your shot at the Showcase.

Both strategies give you a great chance to win. But you have to be patient. You have to bide your time to let everyone else show what they are thinking. 

And once they do, you can drop the $1 bid on everyone, and more often than not, win the game.

WEBINAR: It's Time for Your Close-Up

Have you heard about the latest trend in cosmetic surgery?

Of course you have, you are on top of things, you even know that this past weekend the mighty South Carolina Gamecocks football team defeated arch-rival Clemson for the 4th consecutive year, (sorry, I just had to slip in a sports reference).

Back to cosmetic surgery.  With the growing accessibility and importance of video communication - Skype, Google Hangouts, Video Interviewing, FaceTime, etc., a new genre of surgery has emerged - the so-called 'FaceTime Facelift'.

The idea behind this clever marketing stunt by a couple of enterprising cosmetic surgeons - that increased use of video technologies will drive a subset of users to seek, ahem, enhancements, in their appearance and some kind of improvement in their confidence when using these new technologies.

Sounds crazy, right?

But the 'FaceTime Facelift', despite how ludicrous it sounds, does reveal an underlying truth - video technology for essential communication, collaboration, and simply 'getting things done' continues to emerge as one of the most dominant technology trends of the last few years. And this trend is bigger than Skyping your Aunt Betty for her birthday, it continues to drive important changes and present opportunities inside of organizations as well.

That is why your friends at Fistful of Talent, in collaboration with the folks at Blue Jeans Network, have decided to focus on video and it's role in driving results inside the organization for the latest installment of the FOT Webcast titled "Video Killed the Radio Star: How Collaboration Tools and the BYOD Movement Are Reshaping the Way HR & Recruiting Pros Get S#*T Done”, to be presented this Thursday, November 29th at 1:00PM ET.

Here are all the deets:

Join FOT for our November webinar (sponsored by the fine folks at Blue Jeans Network), “Video Killed the Radio Star: How Collaboration Tools and the BYOD Movement Are Reshaping the Way HR & Recruiting Pros Get S#*T Done”,  on Thursday, November 29th at 1:00PM ET, and we’ll hit you with the following:

1. A detailed dive into why video collaboration is quickly killing the use of traditional audio conferencing tools and the positive impact the shift is having in modern day organizations.

2. Five ways you can leverage video collaboration tools in your organization today. FOT is determined to make you a believer, so we’re offering up five scenarios in which video collaboration would be the most effective route to execute challenges in your daily role and ultimately drive business results.

3. A comprehensive roadmap for driving user adoption of video collaboration across your organization. You’ve got the goods now it’s time to put them to use. FOT will break down the three barriers to user adoption and offer up a resistance free roadmap to implementing video collaboration across any business.

4. A universal script guaranteed to eliminate pregnant pauses, crickets and speaking out of turn.

5. BYOD and the Mobile Era - the final definition.  We’ll bring in Jeremy Malandar from Blue Jeans Network to define BYOD and the Mobile Era, and break down why they are leading drivers in the shift to video collaboration.  

Bonus: We’ll wrap this webinar by stocking your toolbox full of free, cheap and accessible video tools and hardware to help you get started with video collaboration in your organization today.

Toss your outdated audio conferencing equipment like a pair of acid wash jeans and start collaborating like it’s 2012 – register now for “Video Killed the Radio Star”.

This webinar comes FOT guarantee – 60% of the time, it works every time.

Register today! 

When people know they're being watched...

... they behave differently.

This observation, really given as an aside, was probably the most intriguing one that was offered during the presentations at the Social Media Strategies for HR seminar at The Conference Board in New York that I attended and co-presented with Trish McFarlane this week.  

The take, that installing, deploying, and making central more 'social' and open or collaborative systems to support people's day-to-day work processes and workflows certainly might make the organization more collegial and efficient, but it also might come with some risk and downside as well.

I think there is certainly something to say for the notion that for many people participation in social networks and systems is part honest, and genuine information sharing and engagement, but it also is at least (partly) a kind of performance as well. Think if you can for a minute about your Facebook feed - I will bet it is filled with perfect photos of your friends' precocious and impossibly cute children, tales of friends jetting off on some exotic location, or even long-lost relatives that you know are (largely) losers painting a way-too-flattering portrait of their lives.

When people know they're being watched, they behave differently.

They might embellish, they might obfuscate, or, certainly, they might simply act better and more diligently and responsibly. But either way, whether it is the popular social networks that have invaded our lives, or it is an internal or enterprise social workplace type system that at its core is designed to give lots more people a window into what the average worker bee is up to all day, I think perhaps we haven't thought enough about how being watched impacts people's actions and behaviors.

Anyway, I'm off the soapbox.

Let me know what you think - is more openness, transparency, and visibility into our everyday and mundane actions at work going to change how we act and how we try to present our work selves? Do we run the risk of becoming the same kind of annoying broadcasters we have become on Facebook? 

As always, The Conference Board put on a great event, and I want to thank them for inviting me to attend and participate this week.