Luis Suarez @elsua 's November 3 Tweet:
"One of the things I *really* like(d) from the #e20s is that we still keep making sustained use of the hashtag after the event. W00t!"
captured the abundant spirit of Enterpise 2.0 Summit Fankfurt, (convened by Kongress Media in Frankfurt October 27-28). The conference was exceptional and congratulations to the organizing team, Bjoern Negelmann and Cathrin Gill for two days of rich presentations and active discussions. Jim Worth's wiki page captures the highlights, (see especially active Tweeters) and Lee Bryant's conference reflection, the scope.
1. Enterprise 2.0 is a Management Model
The "Enterprise 2.0" evolution (in just four years since Andrew McAfee's "Dawn of Emergent Collaboration") that the Frankfurt Summit represented, makes adding a reflection through this 21st Century Organization blog lens irresistible. #e20s was a management rather than technology conference, with organizational impact and change the elephant in the room. Implementing enterprise social software platforms is changing organizations but that's a topic not being discussed widely in adopting companies because people don't like change.
Emanuelle Quintarelli's Day 1 blog post highlights the attention getting keynotes by Richard Collin – Professor & Director of the “Institut de l’Entreprise 2.0 Grenoble Ecole de Management” France and Rolf Schmidt-Holtz CEO of Sony Music & BMG that set the conference focus.
Collin told us:
"Enterprise 2.0 is the new version, a new model. It's nothing to do with Web 2.0" but rather "management and leadership for the 21st century".
Identifying the 2008 global financial crisis as the tipping point from an industrial age to information based economy, Collin redefines leadership as the "ability to get others to be connected willingly". Leading, he argues, involves:
- Value bricolage
- Design tinkering
- Establishing systematic serendipidity, and
- Thriving on gradual breakthrough.
(Collin is @richardcollin on Twitter and his presentation is posted to Slideshare. Collin's video interview with Jean Yves is here.)
2. Enterprise 2.0 is about People
With blunt statements about dangerous CEO's & Boards who "Don’t know anything anymore" because they are so distant from colleagues and markets; the failures of caviar and champagne strategic off sites at 5 star hotels; and "lonely, very smart people who cannot modulate companies", Schmidt-Holtz focused attention on the importance of listening, communication and how "people don't want to be impressed. They have to be embraced."
3. Next Practice Cases, Companies and Innovators
Outstanding corporate presentations from:
- TMobile- Dr. Frank Schönefeld, Chief Technology Officer, T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, Germany
- Deutsche Bank- Jamil Ouaj, Communications Manager, Deutsche Bank AG, Germany
- Societe Generale-Franck La Pinta, Web Marketing Manager, Paris
- Bayer- Ellen Trude - Training Consultant, Social Media & Special Projects, Bayer AG
- BASF- Dr. CheeChin Liew, Project & Community Manager, BASF SE, Germany
- BMW- Stephan Oertelt, Innovation Manager, BMW Group, Germany
- Telecom Italia- Alessandra Pelagallo, Process Design/Optimization Manager, Rome
and others revealed next practices for opening communication and growing collaboration. Organizational cultures are changing, but as a by-product of social technology-enabled new patterns of interactions rather than intentional "change management" programs.
4. Research Reveals Enterprise 2.0 Work in Progress
Presentations from Dr.Thorsten Petry and Cecile Demailly (@ceciledemailly) provide context to the work and challenge that bringing more open collaboration and knowledge sharing to organizations represents.
Petry's study (with 281 participants) revealed the gap between use of collaboration software in participant enterprises (16%) lagging private use (25%) and between expected and realized impact on creating an innovative culture.
Demailly's findings identify the early stage challenge:
"..organizations face a paradox that often happens with adoption of disruptive change (whether it is technology, work methods or management patterns); they have to cope with it but cannot yet justify it nor master the transformation because it is too early, too little history and case studies to learn the lessons from from others. Except for some (high tech companies notably), we are still moving through the early stages of adoption."
Source: Toward Enterprise 2.0 Survey Report
5. No Room for "Wars"
Nowhere was the individual change challenge more present than in the "Knowledge Management versus Enterprise 2.0 Culture Wars" session, encapsulated by Elmi Bester via Twitter from South Africa as "Culture War or Turf War?"
While holding on to simple descriptions of our roles in complex 21st century organizations may be reassuring, I invite everyone to scan the bios of the thought leaders presenting in Frankfurt for the array of disciplines and open, curious minds each displays.
Think too about the diverse and talented teams leading innovative change in their companies, exemplified by BASF's computational scientist Dr. CheeChin Liew and communications aficionado Cordelia Krooß.
6. And, Both and Next
My 21st Century Organization blogging colleague Victoria Axelrod frequently reminds me today we operate in a complex "And Both" world. (Our 2008 article strives to capture the shifts.)
Returning from Enterprise 2.0 Summit Frankfurt to Victoria's maxim I'm adding "NEXT". The presentations and conversations (especially around KM and Enterpise 2.0 cultures) highlighted the importance for business success today of each employee being open, enquiring and paying attention to "NEXT", being prepared to adapt to a constantly shifting operating environment. If you have any doubt see Anja Wittenberger's Organizational Challenges to E2.0 Setup Mindmap.
7. New Organizational Models Emerging
I was fortunate to extend my Frankfurt trip to visit family and friends. The photos of remnant Heidelberg castle walls, reminders of what was, and the Saar River Loop constantly adapting to the changing, networked ecosystem in which it flows, to me symbolize the organizational model transitions 21st century enterprises confront.
What did I miss? Please challenge and enrich my thinking as did #e20s conversations live and on Twitter, especially during the Social Networking Culture Workshop. Special thanks to all workshop participants.
~ Jenny Ambrozek
Credit: Saar Loop photo courtesy of Marianne Hilpert.
