Late last year, I coordinated a fun weekend project that went over pretty well called Social Media Predictions 2009. This year, reflecting a shift in where we see the space heading, Dachis Group launched Social Business Imperatives 2010.
As we wrap up 2009, I want to highlight some areas where our business will be focused in 2010. I could position these as predictions, but then I’d be stacking the deck because I know they’re already going to happen.
- A talent shortage. There are just not enough people out there who possess a deep understanding of social media combined with business strategy experience. In some cases, it’s not a lack of technical skills, but rather a lack of interpersonal acumen. On the flip side, this market void creates an opportunity for individuals who understand different functions, can navigate ambiguity in difficult political waters, and understand how to manage mission critical initiatives on a corporate level.
- Major social business strategy projects. You might not hear about any of these, because companies are putting infrastructure in place to support social business. There’s no need to tip off the competition by discussing what’s being built – these initiatives aren’t about creating short-term buzz; they’re about driving long-term profitability.
- Service provider consolidation. Lots of small companies out there “get it.” Fewer big companies don’t. As we roll into this maturing market for social business, scale is becoming the name of the game for clients and consultants alike.
- A shift in industry focus. The conversation about what’s next will come to rest on social business. We’ve been hearing about the same old proof of concept examples now for years – it’s time to figure out how to make social work for companies, not just individuals. A new wave of books will publish, but only a handful will be worth reading; many others will be sadly outdated and deliver DOA. Same goes for events – new gatherings and emergent outcomes, while others struggle to remain relevant.
All of these areas are related. If you are on the client-side, you may already be experiencing these issues; if not, then you may either have a window of opportunity or you may need to dig deeper into your competitive intelligence resources.
As for Dachis Group, we are actively hiring right now for the best professionals in social business. We’ve been working on strategy projects with major brands that will turn into the case studies of tomorrow. We are actively looking for companies that want to work with us closely to deliver social business design. And we’ll be convening our first annual Social Business Summit in Austin next March.
I guess if you don’t believe me, these might be predictions after all…but trust me on these.
Hi Peter,
All great predictions. Regarding talent shortage, I really appreciate the DGC effort to raise the overall competency in our industry and provoke deeper thinking. I’m looking forward to your summit in March. Great idea to bring together such a stellar line up! Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you guys out at all.
Steve
I think cross-disciplinary teams are a worst-case solution (perhaps the only potentially viable solution when you don’t have the sort of broad thinkers in house that would be optimal).
But there are significant issues and weaknesses with this approach that make it worst-case.
First – social media / social business activities are inherently a series of constant very small decisions (communication, etc). It’s simply not realistic for each decision to be handled collectively. As a result, you will inevitably see drift and spread and an accrual of small failures over time.
Second – cross-disciplinary teams are financially feasible for large businesses, but are problematic for the SMB world – and are likely fatal for consultancies and service vendors. If every significant decision and action must involve 3 to 5 people collaborating – you will be non-competitive when faced with a vendor who has hired broad-thinking talent.
Third (and most importantly) – humans are not naturally collectivists. It would be great if we were. But fundamentally, we look for leadership based structures. In any group (such as one of these teams) a structure of dominance and relationships will be established. If everyone in this team is a deep narrow thinker (a specialist) then the person who ends up being the leader will bring their own discipline’s perspective to bear and that discipline will dominate and skew the decisions. Worse than that, in many cases if the group is large enough there will also be one discipline that will be established as “the opponent” or “the outsider” and will be deliberately depreciated.
We are finding a few things echoing your post.
- SoMed Requires Special Skills – Successfully engaging in somed demands a unique set of understandings, motivations and cognitive abilities. Often these are very different from those required in a typical enterprise position.
- Enterprise Folks are Frustrated and Confused While Feeling Acute Need to Do Something Now – We focus on just B2B somed consulting, and our clients are caught between the senior leaders saying get this under control and the field, often global, who are proliferating somed activitity ad hoc. Trouble!
- There are No “Answers” – Like any new technology the rush to handle uncomfortable emotions precludes learning. Answers will come. But probably exactly in the opposite place we want to expect them to be.
We are also sensitive that core business processes changes threaten people’s livelihoods so are mainly fear-inducing. That’s just human.
Ultimately, new tools are tremendous luck and an opportunity. If you use old tools you have to always be better than everyone else because everyone is using the same tool (Our experience with something like SalesForce). But with a new tool your have your competitor’s fear holding them back and a whole lot of running room.
Regards
Addressing the issue of Talent Shortage – In consulting there is a gap between saying you are a social media “expert” and being able to provide tangible value to a client and their end customer.
One of the main reasons for this gap is the distinction between knowing what the mechanics of social media are and harnessing them to effect change in the bottom line of an organization.
For an “expert” to manifest this ability they must have more than the “mechanics” of social media in their tool belt. It requires a broader set of skills that include deep or broad knowledge across marketing, operations, finance, sales and or the industry vertical in which you are working. ie The Dachis Group at the top has someone how has deep experience running and operating a business – therefore allowing social media to be effective within an organization.
Educating both clients and industry professionals on the mechanics and how to apply them tangibly to business is a start. Therefore the explosion of social media events such as Church of Twitter bit.ly/7TYmpB and others over the last 12 months.
This will continue, and hopefully the gap in talent will begin to close as we progress into 2010.
One more prediction, which is probably in synch with yours. There will be a growing new category called “social business integration.” It will comprise IT and business process consultants who plan, select and implement the tools for companies. A la ERP integrators of years past.
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To the “talent shortage” item I’d add organizational understanding as a competency; that is, understanding the structure and dynamics of most organizations, and the ability to hone in on the obstacles and opportunities to enlarge the area (s) covered by social business principles and practices.