Relationship EconomySocial Strategist Aren’t Thinking Strategically!2010-11-23 04:11:09 Jay Deragon

Today’s social st rategies are notst rategies. The evidence of this isref lected in a recent Alt imeter Researchreport which indicates that the #1object ive for corporate social st rategistin 2011 is “website integrat ion.” Is website integration a strategy?

The dif ference between a st rategy anda tact ic is the dif f erence betweenthinking and doing. If what we do isn’tof st rategic importance or t ied to ast rategic aim then what we do becomesa waste of t ime, ef fort and money.Worse yet doing the wrongs things with“social” could cost you more than youknow.

Simply integrat ing “all things social into your web site” without thinking and def ining the businessand organizat ional st rategy for using “all things social” is an accident looking for a place to happen.

A Strategy Without Leadership Isn’t a Strategy

While the demand for social media talent cont inues to rise there is a huge disconnect between thedemand and the leaders behind the organizat ions hiring “social media gurus”. Corporate leadersneed to consider what the new social paradigm means for organizat ional and business st rategybefore delegat ing a social st rategy to people with no experience in thinking st rategically.

In an HBR art icle by Soumit ra Dut ta states: Take the world’s leading CEOs as a sample. According todata from Fisheye Analytics, the top 50 chief executives (as identified by Morten T. Hansen, HerminiaIbarra, and Urs Peyer in “The Best-Performing CEOs in the World,” HBR January–February 2010 ) areincreasingly discussed in online venues, but few are using social media to spread their own messages:Only 19 were on Facebook, only six had a LinkedIn page, and only two—Google CEO Eric Schmidt andformer Norilsk Nickel CEO Mikhail Prokhorov—were tweeting or blogging (although some used theircorporate pages for blogs). Anecdotal evidence suggests that the story is the same for leaders belowthe CEO level and that even those who have a social media presence aren’t using it strategically. Thatis a mistake.

Social media isn’t a secret but what seems to be a secret is why and how it is changingconsumer behavior and workplace expectat ions. If leaders understood why and how just maybethey would begin to think about the strategic implications of the why and how and plan forrelevant changes within the ent ire marketplace they aim to serve. Knowing and understandingchanges within the marketplace is crit ical to planning a st rategy to either adapt or lead thechanging market dynamics.

The Role of Leadership Is To Think

A st rategic approach to all things social varies in it s applicat ion but basically demands thatleaders become clear on what their organizat ion is to do in the context of current external andinternal implicat ions of “all things social” then establish systems to ensure the organizat ion doesthe right things. Coupled with an appreciat ion for good people in the organizat ion, carefulmanagement of processes, and the development of an int imate understanding of their marketsdynamics, focus on what and how to think is essent ial to organizat ional success.

St rategic thinking about the implicat ions of social technology revolves around the not ions ofvisioning, scenario building, and forecast ing. In this sense, st rategic thinking is about inferringfuture whats, why they may or may not occur, and then devising plans to handle such potent ialeventualit ies. Such an approach requires the creat ion of a vision based on legit imate assumpt ions,expert analysis, and what - if thinking that is communicated throughout the organizat ion andimplemented through good management and monitoring processes.

St rategic thinking about all things social is a unique competency of leadership based more onorganizat ional philosophy than organizat ional technicism. Today there is a void of understandinghow and why all things social is changing business philosophy relat ive to market relat ions andconsumer preferences.

Today’s leaders must embrace social media but f irst they must learn relevant implicat ions thatef fect st rategic thinking. Most are act ively part icipat ion in social media but few are thinkingst rategically about their part icipat ion and the relevant implicat ions.

Integrat ing social tools into your web site without thinking and planning a sound st rategy for theent ire organizat ion ref lects a lack of thinking which means you’ll end up doing the wrong things.

References:

Alt imeter: The Corporate Social Strategist Must Plan for 2011

Leadership & Organizat ional St rategy: Mat thew Fairholm

HBR: Managing Yourself : What ’s Your Personal Social Media St rategy?

5X6 Social Revenue Mat rix

About Jay:Jay Deragon’s professional career includes providing st rategic management consult ing servicesto Fortune 500 companies as well as local small businesses. He has consulted with numerousindust ries spanning over 25 years of professional experience globally. His current professionalendeavors are all cent ric to the disrupt ive nature of the social web. He writes at Relat ionshipEconomy and provides social media st rategic services to businesses large and small. JayDeragon is an avid student of the emerging landscape of all things social and the subsequentimpact on business dynamics. Since 2004 Mr. Deragon has been act ively studying, sharing andlearning how business as unusual is changing business methods, models and relat ionships. Life isa journey and the experiences along the way provides learning that furthers the experiences if weknow how and what to learn. for more info go here ht tp://www.relat ionship-economy.com/?page_id=2