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IBM CEO - “The Social Network Will Drive Value” - But There’s More
I saw this a couple of weeks ago - but as you might have observed - not too much time to be posting just recently !!
The cool thing is how absolutely spectacular it was to to read the headline - “The Social Network Will Drive Value”. Of course it will, we all believe that - right? Some of us can even prove it. But, no, why I am excited is to read the complete article and tucked away in here second of three points is …. well let me explain.
Forever and a month ago I met a great guy - Nick Coutts. Ex IBM, Ex Ogilvy (WPP) and now part of our team at Expert Alumni.
When Nick and I first met he spoke of - now focus for a minute …
“The global shift from the producer efficient supply chain to customer effective demand network is accelerating.”
It’s a bit of a mouthful - but it breaks down nicely. The point that is very much of Nick’s message that he has been drumming home for years (goodness - I was working with him on it 7 years ago at least), is one that describes why I do what I do. The efficiencies of supply chains are getting tighter and tighter every day - because that is where the focus of business effort has been.
Sure - we have had software focussed on ‘the customer’ - but the fact is that the thinking in that space is still around applying manufacturing processes to customer relationships. #FAIL
Nick’s work (and remember - his thinking predates even ‘The’ Facebook, LinkedIN and Twitter - by years ), centred on the idea that the new world was about networks, empowerment of the individual, and that this is where we should be looking for efficacy in business. And I know lots of people mouth those words - but their actions just do not support them.
So - to read point number two from Ginny Rometty’s talk at the Council of Foreign Relations … well - music to my ears ::
“The social network will be the new production line in a company,” Rometty predicted. The primary benefit of new social platforms, she said, is that today’s knowledge workers have access to each other. In the near future, she believes “your value will not be what you know, but what you share.”
This social sharing shift will change the way businesses hire, who they hire and how they compensate workers, said Rometty. Employees will be rated by bosses, colleagues and even customers on the value of the information they create, she said, which could impact compensation. A one-star rating would result in a one-star compensation range, just as a five-star rating would ensure five-star compensation. Like data analytics, more and varied input on each employee’s performance may create more objective pay models.
The article at Forbes can be found here : IBM CEO Predicts Three Ways Technology Will Transform The Future Of Business