Warning: Social Engineering Ahead

As we progress along in this journey, one step forward lets you see what the next step might be.

Putting up the behind-the-firewall platform was an important step.  And we've been out and around socializing our new capability to many internal groups here.

And we're finding that perhaps the most daunting thing we face is culture.

I've started to use the term "social engineering" to describe a methodical approach to changing people's attitudes, perceptions and behaviors.

And that's what we're gonna have to do here.

What We're Learning

My partner in crime (Jocelyn in HR) is more perceptive than I am regarding cultural issues.  Working in HR probably helps as well.  She's picking up things that I had probably heard, but had dismissed and moved on.

She's forcing me to consider these issues seriously, which is good.  Now, I don't know what the perfect answer might be here, but at least recognizing the problem and trying a few things is better than hoping something will just fix itself.

My Boss Doesn't Support Me Doing This

This one was totally foreign to me.  I've always done what my boss wanted, plus a bunch of other stuff that I thought was either fun, useful, or both.  I've never been one to limit my work activities to the short list of "to do's" from my management team.

I guess I might be in the minority.

We're finding out that people who want to work on the platform might be thought of as "just fooling around" or wasting time if their boss learned they were doing stuff on the platform, some of might be not strictly task-at-hand focused.

To make matters worse, there are some, well, less-progressive management styles floating around portions of EMC.  And, given the lack of clarity of expectations (at both the individual contributor level as well as the management level), this could be a major inhibitor.

We got into brainstorming pretty quickly.  Having execs on the platform contributing might help.  Maybe a memo from a senior exec encouraging people to interact, etc.  Perhaps an article in the internal pub or on the intranet.  Etc. etc.

We Need A Message

What I quickly realized is that we needed a message: a tight, focused communication that clearly set expectations for everyone.

Something like this:

• EMC is investing in social media.  Not only is it an exciting area of technology for our product organizations, we think it has the potential to transform EMC's overall effectiveness and competitive position.
• To be successful with social media at EMC, we'll need to learn some new behaviors: new ways of communicating, new ways of collaborating, and new ways of creating value.
• We've created a safe and secure environment where all of us can learn how to use these new tools: http://one.emc.com
• We encourage all EMC employees -- both individual contributors and managers -- to take the time to discover how these new capabilities can improve your working environment, and your contribution to EMC.
• We're interested in your feedback as we learn how to use these new tools.  Simply let us know your thoughts by leaving your comments in the "feedback" forum.

That's about it.  I'm sure I could tune it up some more, but it's pretty clear and pretty concise.

People Can't See (Or Participate) What I'm Working On

Again, this is one that is totally bizarre to me.

Characteristically, I'm very open and communicative around what I'm working on, where I see the challenges, etc.  Sure, there are few topics that shouldn't be widely discussed, but that's part of corporate life.  My general bias is towards openness.

I also try and welcome participation if possible.  If someone wants to be helpful, I try to get them involved.  Even thoughtful criticism is (usually) welcomed.

I guess I'm in the minority again.

We're finding that there are a LOT of people who want to control who sees what and when.  Or who joins in.

Now, I work on a very broad range of stuff at EMC, and their specific topic areas are probably more at risk of causing death by boredom rather than presenting a confidentiality problem.

I mentioned a while back that I had ordained a policy on our platform of "no private spaces".  The thinking was that we already had lots of tools that excluded participation, I wanted one that encouraged it as a default.

I get all sorts of pushback on this policy, including a few people trying to go over my head, which is absolutely futile in this case.  The more they push, the more I think this was a brilliant decision.

So, we've fallen back to patiently asking people why they think having an open problem.  Is there anyone at EMC you don't trust?  Tell us who, and why, please.  You say you have super-confidential stuff?  Really?  I work on super-confidential stuff all the time, give me a sense of why you're so concerned ...

The discussion (usually) doesn't last very long.

I Want To Keep A Low Profile

I think there are a lot of people who -- at some point in their career -- have been the victim of a career assualt.  Someone came after them, hard.  And they had to defend themselves.

During the attack, the attacker probably collected all sorts of evidence (email, conversations, etc.) prior to launching the attack.  Things were taken out of context, twisted, etc.

I have had this happen to me occasionally, but I reacted differently.  I learned how to spot the potential troublemakers and put them in a box early on.  And, you don't know me, but I don't easily back down if we're going to have a knife fight.  I usually start by bringing a gun.

These people do NOT want to participate on the platform.  They want to keep a very low surface area to limit exposure.  The idea of being open, trusting and communicative in a shared environment is not something they can really do.

Their behavior, in context, is not surprising at all.  It is a tragic shame that human beings interact in such destructive ways, destroying trust and confidence, but it's out there, just like other forms of assaultive behavior.

Having HR on our side will probably help people feel a bit better, but regaining trust will be a long, painful journey.

What Will People Think Of Me?

There are some painfully shy people out there.  As they look at the platform, they're asking that their true identity be masked in some way, so they can say what they really feel.

Another policy decision I made early on was we wanted to know who we were talking to, no made-up names please.

Better these people should learn how to express their feelings and thoughts without having to hide behind a bush and throw rocks.

Not much I can do about that, though.

And There's Other Stuff Too

Some managers appear to run their groups like secure facilities -- they want to know what comes in, and what goes out.  That's gotta go.

Some people are just plain paranoid -- that some EMC employee will grab some piece of information, and end up using appropriately, and all hell will break loose.  Well, that periodically happens today, so I'd argue it's more about individual behaviors, rather than tools.

But There's A Theme Here

People have to learn to trust each other, even if they've never met.  At the core of all this, that's really what it's all about.

They need to trust that their words won't be twisted, that they won't be bullied, or flamed, or singled out in a negative way.

Building trust takes time.  I don't think there's any shortcut.

So, despite all the things I'm thinking of doing, I have to remember that these things take time.

Comments

[John Tropea]

Hi Chuck,

There's that big element of trust, and "knowledge is power, so I'm not giving it away". These people don't know about network effects and one day when they are empowered by information others have shared, then they will share back...benefits of take before giving.
Plus you are instilling a social enterprise, and that worker will have lots more power when everyone shares content, only it's shared power.

In saying this I believe informal networks exists for a few reasons:
- trust
- high abstraction
See my post on this:
http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2007/11/12/cops-and-informal-networks/

One thing, just say you want to have a temporary forum and document room for a task that doesn't pertain to a community, what do your people use, is this what eRooms are..see my post:
http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2008/02/13/communities-of-practice-and-discussions-with-non-members/

[Chuck Hollis]

Hi John

Two thoughts. First the "knowledge hoarders" exist at my company as well. But we're seeing a more powerful counterbalancing effect than the one you describe, and that's social status.

On our EMC|ONE platform, you're perceived solely by what you bring to the party. Bring nothing, and you have very low status. Share what you know, and the community acknowledges you as someone important.

Once people realize that this is the new "status game" (not your title, nor your office, etc.) they are starting to show off a bit. More time is needed, but the initial behavior changes are promising.

Hope this helps!