Social business : digital smuggler, does it make sense ?

Yesterday I was at a conference about HR2.0 as a speaker, where I was discussing notably with Claude Super, Franck La Pinta, Didier Baichere about evangelism and social business, HR2.0.

Being speaker at seminars, conferences, or through our blogs and more broadly by our writings, we have a role of digital smuggler, about the impact that can have the use of these social tools in organizations.

As we have written much, these collaborative tools are not much for this kind of project. This is especially new forms of management, organization, and the evolution of the corporate culture that is at stake.

Put a wiki or an enterprise social network in an organization, it does not turn into collaborative organization or network one. It is the transition from one culture to another which is essential. When we assist organizations in the implementation of these tools, we especially have a role in change management, not a geek role. You can’t transform your organization with the same state of mind, vision, process…

But our written and oral production allows this culture to spread and be recognized. This role further upstream, paves the way for those that will occur later in these organizations. We are conducting a role of smuggler from one culture to another, and this work is no less important than that the one related to the change management. This role whether in or outside the organization is important because it is what will enable this transformation. The intellectual and cultural evolution always precedes the transformation.

But sometimes, I wonder if it’s not vain. In this kind of conference, most of the time, you have people who are already convinced (may be they need to feel others think like them, cause they feel alone in their organization, looking for energy), or others who just say : « nothing new we already do that for the last 30 years ». Really ? Why I don’t work with this organization, they seem so numerous. May be because there is a gap between the facts and the theory…

But, when I come back and discuss with some of my clients, most of the time I step back to at least to the previous stage. I have the feeling that those who need more to be convinced/help don’t go to that kind of conferences, or don’t read our blogs, articles, books or white paper. Is evangelism a mistake and a loss of time, does it make sense ?

I don’t know, for the moment like Sisyphus we make it again, and again (this month I am a speaker for four conferences)… Claude Super was quoting Albert Camus about that, I hope he is right :

Verily the path matters little, just the desire to reach is enough for everything