I love meeting great speakers that have a vision and passion. Who doesn’t? Meeting Geoffrey Moore was no exception. As a Product Manager, well I guess it would work for any General Manager as well, Geoffrey Moore is a legend. We are all still quoting “Crossing the Chasm” as a bible for entrepreneurs and established marketers alike.
What is captivating about the man is his passion, the charisma with which he describes trends and lays out his theory. Being at the Enterprise 2.0 show, the main topic of the discussion was obviously the Social phenomenon.
In Summary
Geoffrey Moore’s vision is that the Enterprise is going through a transformation from systems of records to systems of engagement.
- How did we get there? Outsourcing created desegregated ecosystems of companies that need to collaborate though.
- What is motivating the shift? At very well-defined moments of engagement, finding the right person with the right information is critical for businesses.
- How does it affect Businesses? The technology shift is not central; it is more about the cultural shift from Command & Control to a culture of empowerment and accountability.
Funny Anecdotes
Geoffrey Moore has a great sense of humor too. I wonder if his jokes would still work in blog format…
About the shift to Moments of Engagement: “For any given industry, there are a few very well-defined moments of engagement. For a surgeon, it is in the OR, does the heart go? Boom Boom, Boom Boom…”
About cultural changes: “In third grade, kids are now working in groups. Now it is called collaboration. Back then it was called cheating!”
About competition versus collaboration culture: “Microsoft wants to play nice with partners — I keep killing people, I can’t help it: I am a Reptile, not a Mammal!”
About the benefits of Enterprise 2.0: “The Serendipity of the guy with the Peanut Butter who runs into the guy with the Chocolate“
Final Recommendations
The Social Enterprise is really about increasing the worker’s productivity by finding the right piece of information at the eleventh hour or the right person with the right skills when those are not documented anywhere in the Enterprise. The Engagement model requires a Cultural shift towards more empowerment and accountability — that shift is happening today in successful companies. The transparency of open-cultures are self policing. It will not be, and should not be, a 180-degree turn though. Embracing Social does not remove the need for traditional Command & Control operations at some key moments. The successful Enterprise will recognize when to leverage each mode.
The key recommendation given by Geoffrey Moore is to start with something very consequential.
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