the dark arts of content leadership
TRANSCRIPT
Joe Gollner@joegollner
Houston, We have a Problem!
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Commentary: Fundamental Information Problems
Homer Simpson is quite happy withthe information he is accessing onhis tablet but whatever he is accessing is disconnected fromthe problems that are happeningbehind him. When the contentprocesses in an organization break down, these types of mismatches become common.
Fragmented Content becomes more Fragmented
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Course Materials
Documentation
Specifications
Collateral
Requirements
Un
coo
rdin
ated
C
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t Si
los
Un
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C
ust
om
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Exp
eri
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Knowledge Base
Proposals
Training
TechComm
Engineering
Marketing
Product Mgt
Support
Sales
Magneto – Control
Control hasbecomea primaryconcern
…the effects of which areambiguous
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Control is a Double-Edged Sword – Cuts Both Ways
Old adage with more than a little truth behind it
You get what you measure
Measurement is a vital management tool
But the danger with measurement is the potentialto become an end in itself & dissociated from reality including from ongoing changes
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Mystique - Misinformation
The truthcan become an early victim
Spin becomesthe norm
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The Truth about Information
Information The meaningful organization of data
that is communicated in a specific contextand for a specific purpose
It can be mis-information Framed with the intent of deceiving an audience
It is not always an asset It can be a liability (e.g., evidence of deception)
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CONTENT
INFORMATION
The Truth about Content
ContentIs what we plan, design, create, reuse & manage so that we can deliver effective information transactions
Content is potential information (an asset)
Information is a transaction(an action) that contains & delivers Content
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Trask – Technophilia
Organizations exhibit a strangelove / haterelationship withtechnology
The silver bullettypically wins! @joegollner Gnostyx.com 10
Technology as an Addiction
Technology Acquisition Is generally a weak point in organizations
Implementing requirements that are not understood
Generally hijacked by the most aggressive vendors
Silver bullets appear to offload responsibility
Failure has a strong fan club Information Technology groups find expanded work
Vendors get to sell replacements
Consultants get to perform more studies
People can stick to what they already know
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What is to be done? Learn from the Past
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Integrated Content
Commentary: Integrated Content
For us, the most important thing about the early examples of double-entry book-keeping isthe fact that the balancing entriesare matched with textual explanations that provide the fullcontext of the transaction.
Enron would not have survived thisunder this accounting approach.
Case Study: Content on Top (Lavacon 2013)
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Example of a largeorganization thatneeded to re-integrate theirfinancial data withexplanatory contentso that it would be:a) validb) understandablec) authoritatived) legal
Professor X – Strategic Vision
It’s the Content…
Content is a core asset
Like money,it connectsall businessactivities@joegollner Gnostyx.com 15
Approach Content as Content
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Content
Channels Data
Expertise
Goals
Messaging
Audiences
Content is created by leveragingmultiple inputs
This is the daily challengefor professionalcommunicators
Content istherefore a
complexcomposite
Artifact
The whole isgreater than
the sum ofits parts
There is a Bi-directional Relationship
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Channels Data
Expertise
Goals
Messaging
Audiences
Content
Content provides thecontext that is typicallymissing insources
Poor contentpoints topoor sources
Contentcan changeits sources
for thebetter
Poor contentmeans that
there is no wayfor sources to improve
Content tells you a lot about an Organization
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CONTENT STRATEGY
Analyzing the Unconscious Organization
Commentary: Presentation from Confab 2012
This presentation, Content Strategy:A Dangerous Method, delved intowhat happens when you reallystart to peel back the informationlayers to see where the contentreally comes from and what businessdrivers it is related to.
As with psychoanalysis, you can runinto more than you bargained for.
Content Solutions as a Strategic Response
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ContentSolution
Technology
ResourcesControlMetrics
Knowledge
Domains
BusinessStrategy
ProductBranding
Market
SegmentsLack ofintegrationis the centralchallengeof the modern enterprise
ContentSolutions
offer anattractive
way tosolve many
integration problems
Content Solutions as an Agent of Change
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Technology
ResourcesControlMetrics
Knowledge
Domains
BusinessStrategy
ProductBranding
Market
Segments
ContentSolution
ContentSolutionsput thepiecesbacktogether
Adds avital tool
back into theenterprise
integrationtool box
Storm – Mobilization
Assemblecontent specialistsfor the hard job of integratingdata & expertiseinto persistent& reusable assets- Content@joegollner Gnostyx.com 22
A Content Lifecycle Model
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ContentAcquisition
ContentManagement
ContentDelivery
ContentEngagement
How content is created, converted or licensed
How content is selected, assembled & published
How content is changed, controlled & protected
How content is improved by user feedback
Content Strategy: A Plan of Action for Improvement
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ContentAcquisition
ContentManagement
ContentDelivery
ContentEngagement
ContentStrategy
The Content / Information Feedback Loop
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ContentAcquisition
ContentManagement
ContentEngagement
ContentDelivery
ContentStrategy
InformationProduct
UserTask
Guidance
Feedback
A managed store of content assets can be used to publish a variety ofhighly specific information events that specific users will apply in specific contexts
Rogue – Integration
Integration is hard
Very hard
It calls for makingconnections acrossthe enterprise
It is also essential@joegollner Gnostyx.com 26
Reaching Out to Stakeholders
Some Interesting Angles
The personal dimension Relationship building
The tool dimension Working at the same level
The exchange dimension Making win-win deals
The Customer dimension Making a difference to the
product end users
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ContentTeam
Information
TechnologyBusiness
Intelligence
Engineering
Sales &Marketing
Support
Training
Content is special
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Iron Man - Content Technology
Content
Channels Data
Expertise
Goals
Messaging
Audiences
ComplexCompositeArtifact
Building Scalable & Sustainable Content Solutions
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Business Requirements
Budget Realities
Political Factors
User Needs
Demonstration Capability
Model Implementation
Production Deployment
Continuous Improvement
ContentTechnologies
Content Standards Best Practices
Open Source Tools Commercial Products
ContentStrategy
LeanPrinciples
Discover Design Develop Demonstrate Deploy
Lean Content Processes
ProcessStep
ProcessStep
ContentRules
Validation & Analysis
Content Assets
ProcessRules
Anatomy of aContent Solution
Integrated Content Management
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ContentAcquisition
ContentManagement
ContentDelivery
ContentEngagement
ContentStrategy
InformationResources
Web Content
Management
Enterprise Content
Management
Learning Content
ManagementIntegated Content Management
Would the real Content Managementplease stand up?
Commentary: Content Technologies
While Content Technologies are onlypart of the overall story, they are animportant part.
There are many good content technologies and most organizationsmassively under utilize them.
This means they are working too hard.
Wolverine - Implementation
Touching content meanschanging manyfundamental things
It’s a bigger changethan we ever expect@joegollner Gnostyx.com 32
Change Management calls for Genuine Leadership
The Fundamental Challenge Changing the way an organization creates, manages &
leverages its content hits many organizational nerves
The responsibility for making these changes falls to the content team who have never had to deal with organizational pressures on this scale
The content team needs to change dramaticallyin order to effect the needed organizational changes
This is your challenge
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Wolverine – Resilience
Key is the ability to recover from set-backs
…and there will be set-backs
Persistence pays off
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Content Leadership
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Commentary: Content Leadership
The story about the hard-nosedUS Army Sargent who came toaccept the fresh new Lieutenanttells us something about the true nature of leadership.
It tells us that leadership is aboutaccepting absolute responsibility and putting both the mission and the team before yourself.
Commentary: Content Leadership
Content Leadership is thereforeabout tapping into the unique &special nature of content to helporganizations do better at what theydo and to serve their customers inbetter ways than they have.
Focusing on the content helps organizations get back in touchwith their real purpose.
Making Connections
Joe GollnerManaging DirectorGnostyx Research [email protected]
Twitter: @joegollner
Blog:The Content Philosopher
www.gollner.ca
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