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What I've learned from Harvard Business School
In the interest of full disclosure, Harvard Business School is a client of mine. Over the years, I've talked to numerous HBS students, faculty and administrators. And over that period, certain important themes have emerged. Let me illustrate one.
Many moons ago, I served as a section leader for a business writing course led by one of the old lions of the B School, the late Thomas J.C. Raymond. After setting up the conflicts exposed in a given case, he'd prowl around the room and challenge his students: "If you were in so-and-so's shoes, what would you do?"
The first student might reply, "I'd form a committee..."
"No!" he'd bark.
Then he'd turn to a second student, who, having seen the treatment of the first, would be understandably nervous. "I would, uh, I'd do some research..."
"No!" Then leaning into a third student, his face so close the student could feel his breath on her cheek, he'd say, "I'm not interested in committees, reports or research. I don't care about theories, ideas or practices. You're the boss. What. Would. You. DO!?!"
In business, it all comes down to that. Not visions and missions. Nor innovative ideas and theories. But things you DO. Real actions taken.
So....
If you're at all like me, you might be confused by much of the rhetoric swirling around the blog-Twittter-social media sphere.
Lots of gurus stress the importance of "conversation." But in practice, in real life, what does it mean to have "conversations" with customers? And are we really having conversations, or are we just imposing marketing messages in drag?
Lots of gurus talk about "authenticity" as the key. (The key to what, I'm not so sure.) But what does it mean to be authentic on the Web? And is it genuinely desirable? Believe me, there's much about this author that's authentic you really don't want to know about.
Then there's "building relationships," "thought leadership" or many other ideals we're encouraged to embrace. But again, what does it really take, in terms of DOING, to reach them?
You'll notice that there's much, much more talk about the ideal -- about the virtues of being a purple cow, thought-leading, customer-engaging, content-publishing change agent -- than there is about the real doing.
But doing is what business is really about.
Personally, I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand (or in the one mind), I feel frustrated -- what the hell am I supposed to DO with all this cutting-edge thinking?
On the other, I gain an important advantage: everyone "knows" they're supposed to create meaningful content -- I've heard more than one guru say that today, all marketers are publishers. But what should we publish? What kind of content should we create? How, and in what format? Fortunately, creating content is what I do for a living; I have the opportunity to help clients fill the gap between an ideal possibility and a real, practical execution. A thing done.
What about you? Are you frustrated by the loud roar of theory and the relative whisper of practical advice? Are you translating ideal plans into real action? And can you help your organization (or your clients) actually DO what it takes to create content, build relationships, become authentic, etc.? What lessons have you learned from real life?
Many moons ago, I served as a section leader for a business writing course led by one of the old lions of the B School, the late Thomas J.C. Raymond. After setting up the conflicts exposed in a given case, he'd prowl around the room and challenge his students: "If you were in so-and-so's shoes, what would you do?"
The first student might reply, "I'd form a committee..."
"No!" he'd bark.
Then he'd turn to a second student, who, having seen the treatment of the first, would be understandably nervous. "I would, uh, I'd do some research..."
"No!" Then leaning into a third student, his face so close the student could feel his breath on her cheek, he'd say, "I'm not interested in committees, reports or research. I don't care about theories, ideas or practices. You're the boss. What. Would. You. DO!?!"
In business, it all comes down to that. Not visions and missions. Nor innovative ideas and theories. But things you DO. Real actions taken.
So....
If you're at all like me, you might be confused by much of the rhetoric swirling around the blog-Twittter-social media sphere.
Lots of gurus stress the importance of "conversation." But in practice, in real life, what does it mean to have "conversations" with customers? And are we really having conversations, or are we just imposing marketing messages in drag?
Lots of gurus talk about "authenticity" as the key. (The key to what, I'm not so sure.) But what does it mean to be authentic on the Web? And is it genuinely desirable? Believe me, there's much about this author that's authentic you really don't want to know about.
Then there's "building relationships," "thought leadership" or many other ideals we're encouraged to embrace. But again, what does it really take, in terms of DOING, to reach them?
You'll notice that there's much, much more talk about the ideal -- about the virtues of being a purple cow, thought-leading, customer-engaging, content-publishing change agent -- than there is about the real doing.
But doing is what business is really about.
Personally, I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand (or in the one mind), I feel frustrated -- what the hell am I supposed to DO with all this cutting-edge thinking?
On the other, I gain an important advantage: everyone "knows" they're supposed to create meaningful content -- I've heard more than one guru say that today, all marketers are publishers. But what should we publish? What kind of content should we create? How, and in what format? Fortunately, creating content is what I do for a living; I have the opportunity to help clients fill the gap between an ideal possibility and a real, practical execution. A thing done.
What about you? Are you frustrated by the loud roar of theory and the relative whisper of practical advice? Are you translating ideal plans into real action? And can you help your organization (or your clients) actually DO what it takes to create content, build relationships, become authentic, etc.? What lessons have you learned from real life?
Comment
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Comment by John Varlaro on July 9, 2009 at 7:43pm -
@Jonathan
Yes, as the outside consultant as well as the internal change agent.
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Comment by Jonathan Kranz on July 6, 2009 at 2:50pm -
John: Well said.
Have you successfully navigated some of this terrain yourself? It sounds as if you speak from experience.
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Comment by John Varlaro on July 6, 2009 at 2:45pm
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Unfortunately, there will always be the 'gurus' selling snake oil... no matter what field, or discipline. The social media gurus become especially annoying, because it is like being in an echo chamber - everyone can say whatever they want, and everyone is saying the same thing.
That said, it is important for those of us residing in the real world of business; one with more accountability than just giving a couple of flashy seminars from a soap box; to understand the dynamics of how technological changes effect the business world.
Social media has changed business because there is no excuse now for companies to not engage people as people; however, it is also symptomatic of the socio-cultural changes occurring in the general populace. Basically, it is no more marketing to the masses with sales pitches. The consumer is more savvy.
The one lesson - it is possible for companies to be authentic, or, in my adopted lexicon, 'more human.' Just do not expect the change to occur overnight. It is one thing to say, it is another to 'do.'
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Comment by Jonathan Kranz on July 6, 2009 at 12:35pm
- The sad thing is, behind the hype, there IS substance to this changing world on the web. But like you, I think it's foolish to simply follow the gurus. I think there's more value to EXECUTING one idea well (and learning from the experience), than dabbling in a dozen ideas superficially.
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Comment by Dan Pickett on July 6, 2009 at 11:57am
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I think there's so much hype around social media and the "gurus" that are supposedly emerging. As a parallel, I'm web developer, and it's really frustrating to see people tout themselves as technology "experts" when they have no credibility whatsoever. Both social media and the web-based industry in general are so new and raw - it's really hard to distinguish between proven practices and witchcraft.
I also think you're on the right track as it relates to making things happen: like anything else, actions speak louder than words. So many people talk about engaging in conversations, listening to their users, blahdy blah blah.
Are you blogging? Are you helping people out on Twitter and LinkedIn? Are your thoughts insightful and original? Are you REALLY creating relationships or just talking about them?
Great post.
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