Is Your Business Collaboration Ready?

The Social Enterprise is not about flipping a switch on an application in the cloud.  In fact, that switch flipping is the most minor component in the launch process when it comes to any Social application.

In order to do Social Enterprise as a strategic and competitive advantage you must be collaboration ready. How can you  tell if you are collaboration ready? Well one way is to answer a few questions:

• Is your business siloed? 
  
• Does more work get done based on political power than true need? Are you focused on return for shareholders as the number one priority? 
  
• Have you engaged in multiple acquisitions and are still in that absorption and integration mode?  
  
• Are you primarily a build it, waterfall, or a we keep-it-in-house organization?
  
• Is Social view as an experiment to dabble in?
  
• Is Social viewed as a medium that you need marketing to own and use? 
  
• Do you have a political process that employees must follow to get the ear of any senior leader in the organization? Are missteps to that process frowned upon?
  

Yes to any of these and you need to address some internal issues along with launching that Social application. Social applications promise to extend your reach. They promise to give you unprecedented access and speed to impact. But if you are not collaboration ready you could have at the very least a failed effort or a very costly virtual billboard at the very most you could sink your company’s reputation. Are you ready for that gamble? You don't have to take that risk if you are willing to ensure you are collaboration ready.