[i started writing this post as a comment on megan murray's blog post, actually, but it quickly grew into something more.]
i find email to be a burden to my work.
it’s the hammer in the tool box. the problem is, not every situation is a nail. sometimes you need a screwdriver, and other times you need a wrench. but we’re so dependent on email (i blame ms outlook for it) that we all try hammering in screws and bolts — even when we know it doesn’t work.
even though we have instant messaging, and even though we have enterprise 2.0 tools like wikis and blogs and more, we time and time again return to email.
i think part of the reason is because ms outlook isn’t a mail client anymore; it has become a platform. since people have it open all the time and communication is instant, we use it instead of IM. we send files using outlook instead of posting them to some other service (like sharepoint.. ugh). we schedule meetings through outlook. we look up phone numbers and office locations through outlook. we hold long conversations in outlook. we ask questions in outlook, and we distribute information in outlook.
how frustrating is it, knowing that the place where you keep answers to your questions about multivariate calculus modeling for enterprise decision support is the same place that you keep information about server downtime from the internal IT department and notes about leftover sandwiches from the breakfast meeting being in the kitchen on the 4th floor? how can anyone find anything in that mess? we waste more time cleaning, sorting, and deleting messages from our inboxes that have no business being there. cleaning, sorting, and deleting messages just so that we can find what it is we’re actually looking for.
enterprise 2.0 systems need to be more than a collection of blogs, wikis, and other web 2.0 tools. it seems to me the easiest way to push adoption is to provide not just the screwdriver, or the socket set (metric, please) — we need to provide the hammer.
we have to add messaging! instant communication needs to be part of our e2.0 solutions. we need to create an internal facebook, with messaging, chat, and status updates/content sharing (micro-blogging) all in the same platform. we have to make it so that people can do their work — all their work — from within one internal platform.
all of our tools, hammers included, need to be in the same box.
#1 by Gianpaolo Baglione on 15 February 2010 - 10:11 am
So if I follow your metaphor all the way through, you want to take my box full of tools and replace them with a Swiss army knife?
#2 by john on 15 February 2010 - 6:56 pm
not quite, gb.. but close.
we have two boxes currently. the toolbox we use to communicate with people (email), and the toolbox where we do all the true knowledge management and enterprise 2.0 work (blogs, wikis, etc. – in our case, hello.bah.com).
the one thing everyone keeps saying is “we won’t get adoption unless we email people about new content” and i think that’s self-defeating. there’s still this non-existent integration between the two. when we integrate our two toolboxes into one, and we put email and communication in the same place as our enterprise 2.0 solutions – only then will we have full adoption.
#3 by Megan Murray on 19 February 2010 - 1:35 am
I like where you are going John and I’ll veer off at one spot. Part of the shift I see is in the cultural norms of our workplaces. With each tool that’s introduced to the enterprise there is an equal, and often opposing, adoption effect. I believe only a small portion of the change we’re stewarding has to do with the tools themselves (though the tool(s) and the implementation of the chosen tool(s) have a huge impact). This is where change management, education, and general culture shift facilitation (as opposed to dictation) come into play. I firmly believe that a wiser implementation of the tools can speed or slow change, but that change is coming regardless. Generally, I think humans aren’t very far down the path when it comes to communications maturity. Ever have an emotionally driven argument with a loved one? Organizationally we are much more civil about things, but the emotion still drives the discussion. We suffer from what I call the Loudoun County Syndrome. In a nutshell it’s ‘Build the volume before the infrastructure to support such a volume.’ (if you’ve driven through Loudoun Co., VA you’d appreciate). If we were to spend a percentage or two more towards becoming self aware as organizations (generally heeding less of the rah rah and more of the authentic story) we’d stand a better chance of speeding up organizational evolution. Will that happen anytime soon for the sea of organizations facing this evolution? Doubtful. Best we can do is become conscious ourselves and teach kindly. I often get messages from frustrated email users requesting that the tool change since the users “won’t” when we’ve never actually asked the users to change. I think we have our work cut out for us, and that each of us will play a role in effecting real and lasting change. Soapbox, dismount
#4 by john on 20 February 2010 - 7:50 pm
i think — though — that what you said is exactly the reason why change in this arena is so hard to come by. you’re exactly right: we never really asked the users to change; we’re just bringing a new means of doing the same things (sending meeting minutes, collaborating on a document, etc.). so what’s the impetus for people to change when the mode of communication is still the same?
“why don’t you write a blog and email everyone the link instead of emailing a word document with notes from today?” is often times met with: “or i can just email people the word document.”
if we had the ability to communicate better from within our enterprise 2.0 systems, it would happen. the platform has to be sticky! if you’re asking someone to load up another application outside of your e2.0 solution to email or chat with someone, you’re only inviting them to leave the platform entirely.
if we can combine the two toolboxes together — the place where we do our work (e2.0 systems) and the place where we communicate (outlook, instant messenger) — i’m telling you with conviction, adoption will happen.