How to Sell Enterprise 2.0 to the Boss
Last time, we talked in general terms about the ideas behind Enterprise 2.0. Next up, how to get buy-in for e2.0 initiative from two critical groups, the C-suite who has to green light and support the project and the employees who actually have to use the tool(s) in their day-to-day job.
Let’s start with the C-suite. As we talked about last time, chances are the CEO doesn’t have much interest in supporting anything “social” as this conjures up ideas of idle workers wasting time on Twitter or Facebook.
To make the case to the CEO or executive team you have to link interest in e2.0 to overall business goals and objectives. The true promise of effective e2.0 use is similar to that of social media: better and deeper connections leading to collaboration, innovation and ultimately transformation of the organization. This is not just pie in the sky thinking. McKinsey & Company just released their fourth annual report on how businesses are using and benefitting from the use of Web 2.0 technologies (the foundation of Enterprise 2.0). In addition to continued substantiation of operational gains such as increased speed of access to experts, better information sharing and more effective communication (as noted in last year’s report), this year’s study details evidence of increased market share, operational margins and market leadership. All of these measures should be of interest to company leadership.
So, how do you design the executive pitch? Start by thinking about the following:
1. What is a realistic business value proposition? What is expected to happen (at a high level) once the initiative has been successfully implemented and used? Growth? Cost Reduction? Operational Gain?
2. What are the benefits to senior management? What’s in it for them?
3. How will this initiative affect corporate politics and culture? We have talked about this before. If the culture is not supportive of openness or cross-departmental collaboration and is not apt to change, then chances are the initiative will fail.
4. GRC: Governance, Risk Management and Compliance. How will the initiative be managed and by whom; how will risks be identified and mitigated; and how will you drive participation and prepare for abuse?
5. What are the business requirements of the project (mapped to core objectives and KPIs)?
6. What are costs (including switching costs) and timing?
When all of this information is put together, synthesize everything down into a few slides. You certainly need all of the specifics and details in back-up documentation to support your case but that is for another meeting.
Once you have buy-in and are ready to roll, you need to sell the benefits to another group – the people that will actually be using the tool every day. That will be the focus of our next post.
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