I enjoyed a conversation with Deb LaVoy and Scott Bowen from OpenText at the Enterprise 2.0 conference. I like their concept of "purpose-driven teams" in the context of social and Enterprise 2.0 technologies.
As a community I am glad to see we are finally moving beyond the first wave of social technologies as something "cool" and somehow bolted on to the business independent of existing processes. We are starting to view these technologies as enablers of the business; something to be embedded in every process rather than something that stands independent of business processes.
This concept of integrating social into the context of the business is at the heart of the AIIM Task Force headed by Andrew McAfee, focusing on marshalling the talents of twenty leading social and Enterprise 2.0 companies to create guidelines for the effective implementation of social business systems.
The product announced by OpenText at the event was OpenText Social Workplace, a fully integrated social collaboration environment designed to help purpose-driven teams assemble, stay connected, and achieve results.
OpenText also announced an interesting speaker series, to be kicked off this coming Monday (July 11) in New York City by Simon Sinek. Simon is the author of the best-selling "Start With Why." If you haven't read the book, Sinek's point is that we make decisions based on our emotional response more than our rational response. The core theme of the book centers around understanding the "golden circle" of any organization - the "what," "how," and especially the "why."
WHAT: Every single company and organization on the planet knows WHAT they do.
HOW: Some companies and people know HOW they do WHAT they do. Whether you call them a “differentiating value proposition,” “proprietary process” or “unique selling proposition,” HOWs are often given to explain how something is different or better.
WHY: Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money—that’s a result. By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?
His TED Talk has over 1.7 million views!
This concept of embedding and encouraging passion in our business social interactions is one I think we've underestimated along the way to simply deploy "technology." It centers around the "why" of social and enterprise 2.0 technologies. Of course, passion and emotion are a bit more complicated in a corporate setting than among your friends on Facebook, but that doesn't diminish its importance.
Integrated into the speaker series is a contest tied to the Purpose-Driven Business theme. The Prize for Purpose-Driven Business will showcase those teams and individuals who embody what it means to be a purpose driven organization and have in-turn used social collaboration tools to help achieve their missions. The Prize for Purpose-Driven Business is open to all organizations, whether they are current OpenText customers or not.