What a company knows is inside the heads of its people, and distributing this knowledge has always been a challenge. Yet, now more than ever, being able to leverage a company’s collective knowledge and experience through virtual and face-to-face networks and communities is critical to innovation. So why do such efforts fail so frequently? Here are some of the reasons I’ve identified as I’ve worked with companies on this issue:
1. Time and skills
Many of us simply do not have the time or skills to network and build relationships. Leaders, you need to give your people time to acquire networking skills and the time to invest in and maintain relationships.
2. Focus
A community will only work if it connects people who share a common experience, passion, interest, affiliation or goal. Create and/or find a group that’s right for you. You should also keep in mind only to network or build relationships if you have a reason to do so. Random networking rarely results in anything but wasted time.
3. We are too old…
Most people above 30 years old just don’t see the value of tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn. We have a real generation gap here. We, the older and wiser ones, are still in charge, but this will begin to change in five years time as we get the first leaders from the Facebook generation. Ten years on, they will define the rules. Why not try to figure out how it works now instead of waiting?
4. Lack of commitment, structure and culture
As companies embrace open innovation, internal and external networks will explode. This includes peer-to-peer, value or supply chain networks and networks that feed ideas and/or technology. Company leaders must commit to a networked organization and create the structure and culture needed for this to work.
5. Lack of a dedicated facilitator
Almost any network can benefit from having a dedicated facilitator who really cares about the topic and the participants. Although this might add to the costs of networking, the return on the investment will be higher.
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November 24, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Chris Flanagan
Agreed on your summary. And I’ll throw a few more onto the pile too. I see 3 problems that generally both stifle innovation and hinder network maintenance: No communication (holistic approaches to idea generation and vetting are what’s necessary); Insularity (formal lines of contact is critical among partners); and Bad Gatekeepers (it’s not a good idea to have a handful of experts dominate your company’s information and decision-making networks).
When you’re trying to clear barriers to build networks, it’s important to think twice about leadership, make collaboration easy and, probably most important, consider the energy. Emotion plays a substantial role in networks and if you feel positively about a co-worker, you’re more likely to turn to him or her for help, advice, ideation, execution, etc.
Companies – particularly large ones – don’t like to deal with psychological issues. Relationship problems tend to be relegated to human resources. But the fact is, a particular cultural climate fosters innovation. It’s important to hire people who maintain a broad interest in open-mindedly moving between worlds because at the end of the day, diversity of experience leads to understanding of the practices involved in sustainably organizing for innovation.