degrees of social capital - the responsive organisation

Degrees of Social CapitalCreating a more responsive and productive organisation through digital social technologies

Sharon RichardsonJoining Dots

@joiningdotswww.joiningdots.com

© 2014 Joining Dots Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://twitter.com/joiningdots

http://www.joiningdots.com/

What is Social Capital?

The benefits from cooperation between people

Digital technology can enable cooperation to scale and perform beyond physical constraints


Productivity is not just about efficiency

The world is a lot more unpredictable and ambiguous than standard routines suggest

When facing uncertainty, the value is in discovery


Degrees of Social Capital

1. Messaging

2. Social Network

3. Collaborative Sites

4. Knowledge Management


Messaging

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1.

3.

2.

Participation optional

Response expected

1.

2.

3.

Broadcast news

1:1 conversation

Group discussion


Messaging

Great for

Terrible for

Email benefits personal productivity more than social capital

Broadcast news Receive to a single repository (usually email inbox) regardless of source, consume when convenient. Individuals can choose how to filter and manage

1:1 conversations Easy to manage and personal choice in response time – instant if available, delay until later if busy

Group discussions

Somebody has to try and coordinate the responses. Can waste time for everyone trying to keep track of multiple emails and determine if a response is still needed

Knowledge capture/re-use

Lacks transparency: Information disappears into personal stores – email, voicemail, private chats


Social Network

2.

3.

1.

1.

2.

3.

Group-based discussion (Community of Practice)

Seeking knowledge beyond peer group

Network conversation / ‘Jam’

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Response expected


Social Network

Great for

Weak for

Community of Practice

Enable peer groups to connect and converse across time and geographical boundaries: ‘strong ties’

Network of Practice

Bridge peer groups when asking for help, to broaden reach of knowledge: strength in ‘weak ties’

‘Jams’ (Prediction markets)

Network conversations / Open votes. Discover new ideas and preferences through wider audience participation. Best suited to occasional uses

StructuredCollaboration

Lack the supporting tools to formally coordinate completion of required activities within deadlines

Frequent Communications

Important news can get lost within personalised streams of updates, risk of more noise than signal


Collaborative Sites

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Response expected

1.

2.

Group-based collaboration

Network assistance with activity

3. Additional help, often unacknowledged

2.

3.

1.


Group CollaborationGreat for

Weak for

Better with: A social network to connect and expand groups

Structured group activities

Team and project-based outcomes that require managing/accountability, usually to a deadline and with specific deliverables and expectations from participation

Team admin Coordinating standard group-based responsibilities, with templates, processes, reports and checklists

Unpredictable requirements

Sites are designed around expected content and processes. If the process or content needs change, the site may no longer be effective

Rewarding contributions

Sites rarely accommodate or acknowledge external participants or voluntary contributions


Knowledge Management

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Knowledge capture for potential re-use value


Knowledge ManagementGreat for

Weak for

Social networks can add reach and speed to discovery

Intelligence Provides a central validated source of prior experience captured for its future reuse value. Can reduce effort to acquire beneficial insights to improve future outcomes

De-duplication Curating content sources to identify and promote useful content, demote and eliminate noise, spot patterns and help avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’ – BUT – takes effort!

Rapid response times

Whilst quick capture is recommended before value degrades (events can eliminate relevance), the process is slower than conversational networks

Long-term records

Difficult to capture the context independent of the people involved making long-term re-use unreliable


Technology is just a tool

“What’s best for something is usually worse for something else…”

- Bill Buxton, Microsoft Research

The best solutions leverage multiple channels…

Social Capital Range of Responses

Speed ofResponse

Quality ofResponse

Social Network High High Variable

Knowledge Store Medium Low High

Collaborative Site Low Medium Medium

Messaging Low Variable Variable


The Social Fitness Test

The benefits that can be achieved from social technologies depend on the organisation:

Requires:

• An appetite for honest feedback

• A willingness to set aside time for play

• A tolerance for making visible mistakes

…How well do you treat your whistle-blowers?


Degrees of Social CapitalCreating a more responsive and productive organisation through digital social technologies

Sharon RichardsonJoining Dots

Linkedin: /in/[email protected]

Thanks for watching!


For additional notes: http://joiningdots.com/2014/08/06/degrees-of-social-capital/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonr

mailto:[email protected]

http://joiningdots.com/2014/08/06/degrees-of-social-capital/

degrees of social capital - the responsive organisation

Leadership & Management