Changing gears: change management in the digital age

Switching Gears

Adapting to technology change

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Who this presentation is for

• Those of you planning to implement social media in your organization

• Those of you trying to implement social media in your organization, but who are facing roadblocks

• Decision-makers who are trying to come to terms with the change social media will bring to their organizations

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What you’re going to learn

• The lessons I wish I knew years ago, going into all this

• How to implement social media in a hostile or challenging environment, i.e.. where you are now:– How organizations change

– Resistance to change: the psychology behind it

– Gatekeepers: what do if you’re facing one / what to do if you are one

– How to fight back: strategies that have worked for me

– Profiles in resistance

– Case studies

– Lessons learned

– Resources you can use

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A Brief History of Me

• 1995 – Started in communications

• 2001: Founded webness.biz, a web design & electronic communications firm

• 2003 - 2008: Webmaster / Creative Director at Earth Day Canada

• 2008 - Present: Communications Specialist at the Association of Canadian Advertisers

• 2009 - Present: Summerhill Group

• 2009: started webheresies.com

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More me

• Humber College

• Society for New Communications Research

• Social Media Club

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How to contact me

• Blog: webheresies.com

• Website: webness.biz

• Twitter: twitter.com/markus64

• E-mail: markfarmer@webness.biz

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I see two kinds of guru… ALL THE TIME.

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Gurus: a field guide

vs

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Not for you

vs

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The psychology of change

• What’s it all about?– Not about smooth sailing

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The psychology of change

• What’s it all about?– It’s about message / communication

1. Identify a strategic goal / tactical goal

2. Craft a message

3. Identify key influencers

4. Develop the action items necessary to influence them.

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The point

• Past a certain point, all business is communication

• Past a certain point, all communication is psychology

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Your change complexion

• Change models:– Consultative

– Consensual

– Authoritative

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Before you do this...

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Documentation?

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Resistance

• Many different kinds:– Fear

– Feeling threatened

– Uncertainty

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Gatekeeper

• Gatekeeper profile

• A message from the boys & girls in the trenches: you don’t need to understand

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You don’t actually need to know how it works

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Gatekeeper

• A message to the boys & girls in the trenches: it’s your responsibility to make the gatekeepers understand(as much as is reasonably possible)

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Demographics

• Pre-1945

• 1945-1965

• 1965-1985

• 1985-2005

• 2005-?

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Flavours of resistance, Part I: 2001

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Flavours of resistance, Part II: Privacy

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Case Studies

• Where to find them:– Society for New Communications Research: sncr.org

– ACA Blog: http://acaweb.ca/Publications/directions/articles

– Six Pixels of Separation: http://www.twistimage.com/blog

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Case Study I – Blogging at the ACA

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Case Study I – Blogging at the ACA

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Case Study I – Blogging at the ACA

• Lesson #1: shift the frame of reference

• Lesson #2: mind your language

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Case Study II: twitter

• Lesson #3: just do it

• Lesson #4: don’t over-think low-hanging fruit

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Anti-case Study: facebook

• Lesson #5: don’t believe the hype

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Damn you, Sockington

• Me: 52 followers

• Sockington: 557,667 followers

• Typical Mark Farmer tweet:

• “Google says it's good for journalism - Forbes's CEO calls its business model "parasitic." You decide: http://bit.ly/JG1ma”

• Typical Sockington tweet:

• “WHERE IS FATTY WHERE IS FATTY WHERE IS FATTY WHERE IS FATTY WHERE IS FATTY oh here you are ignoring you”

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Rapid-fire lesson round-up

• Don’t assume people aren’t interested just because they don’t get it– Ask what they need to get on board / what the gaps are

• Communicate, communicate, communicate internally. And don’t wait until it’s perfect to communicate. Did I mention to communicate?

• People have to be at least interested – and more likely excited – before they’ll care. People have to see the thing before they’ll get interested.People have to use the thing before they’ll get excited.

• Show, don’t tell– Almost no one will get sold on something simply by hearing it described

– Get people to use the thing you’re trying to sell

• Pounce on opportunities to advance your agenda, and get people to engage with the technology

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Rapid-fire lessons, continued

• Be prepared to accept that this might fail...

• ...but be prepared to measure your success– Commit to a metric; commit to a goal

– Be confident you can reach that goal / meet that metric, or at least something close to it

• Don’t avoid talking about the risks– If they’re in the open, they have to be addressed (by all involved, not just you)

– It’s not your job to assume the risks of new initiatives – it’s the business’s responsibility

– At the same time, what the business ultimately chooses to do is not your call to make

• Find a champion (and it may be you)

• Walk the walk

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Rapid-fire lessons, continued

• What does business love:– Case studies

– Statistics (but be intelligent about your intelligence)

– Avoiding risk

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The best lesson I can leave you with

• The key to social media success is to tap into people’s passion

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Further reading

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Websites

• sncr.org

• acaweb.ca

• webheresies.com

• cnet.org

• twistimage.com/blog

• twitter.com/acafeed

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Thank you

• Blog: webheresies.com

• Website: webness.biz

• Twitter: Markus64

• E-mail: markfarmer@webness.biz