Article: Crowdsourcing:Social Strategy

1. PUNDIT MONDAY
CROWDSOURCING: SOCIAL STRATEGY 21.5.12
How many organizations today have developed strategic plans, only to have them sit collecting
dust? They never truly take off to change the dynamics of the business operations. The major
reason forthis being that, the strategic intent never fully permeates through the various
organization levels. Top management sat behind closed doors or went on retreat to define a
new direction or build on an old one; then they surfaced witha document that was to be handed
down through the organization. The only issue being the this new strategic plan most times just
like it predecessor does not fully convey the changes that need to happen within the
organization in a manner whichcan be easily be digested by the organization as a whole.
Crowdsourcing a term first penned by Jeff How - The Rise of Crowdsourcing in a WIRED
magazine article in 2006, is defined as the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a
designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large
group of people in the formof an open call. Jeff in both the WIREDmagazine article and video
presentation on crowdsourcingillustrated how crowdsourcingrose from the advent of the
internet that allowed communities to form out of a ‘shared interest’ and was based on the
theory that within an organization and at times without the person who we think is best
qualified to do a job is not necessarily the best person to do it.
Wikipedia which is written collaboratively by largely anonymous internet volunteers provided
an evolutionally base forcrowdsourcing when in 2009 they launched a special wiki whichwas
devoted to their ownstrategic development , whichessentially was an open call that would
determine the company’s future direction. So essentially crowdsourcingprovides today’s
businesses with an opportunity to revolutionize the strategic development process by opening
up the board room to all its stakeholders giving them the opportunity to also become partners,
through meaningful participation.
The May 2012 issue of the McKinsey Quarterly - the Social Side of Strategy illustrates the
benefits of crowdsourcingto organizations who have been willing to take a different approach
to strategy development.
The benefits stated include:
One is improving the quality of strategy by pulling diverse and detailed frontline
perspectives that are typically overlookedbut can make the resulting plans more
insightful and actionable. The second building enthusiasm and alignment behind a
company’s strategic direction – a criticalcomponent of long term organizational health,
effectiveexecution, and strong financial performance
The article also speaks to the transparency whichis created within the organization, whichalso
leads to an improved quality of workfrom management and across the organization as a whole.
This was evident by the increased levels of creativity,accountability and commitment that
crowdsourcingseemed to inspire.
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2. Do youthink crowdsourcingwouldbe a valuable strategic tool to yourorganization?
Dennis Strong, CMC • Thanks Leah. It's an interesting article and it's true that boardroom
incubation of strategic plans most often lead to failure. Our experience and studies find that when all
affected parties are given a legitimate opportunity for formative input, there is an increased sense of
ownership and a higher likelihood of success.
Crowdsourcing on the other hand, send a message of not caring about incumbents and causes them to
see the organization and its goals through adversarial eyes.
There are more creative ways of addressing the issues of "job fit". There is a tool called "Job Profiler"
that fosters the formative, enrolling approach. Checkhttp://www.savilleconsulting.com/index.aspx
God bless.
Dennis
Thank you Dennis for your kind input. I have reviewed the recommended link and I must say in light
of the topic being discussed in PUNDIT MONDAY:Crowdsourcing which references theMcKinsey
Quarterly - the Social Side of Strategy, I am not of the opinion that “jobfit” is the issue at hand. I
think that it more relates to an evolution of strategic development, that allows the use of
technology,capitalizes on the social revolution that provides accessibility to greater minds and
is based in a collaborativeframework.Crowdsourcing being used as a strategic toolprovides
the organization with an arena to have the employee provide his input on organizational
direction. Giving the employee a voice also facilities a better understanding of the direction that
the organization is taking and why. This also makes change management within the
organization much easier to facilitate.
The illustrated organizations in the articles express, that the employees were actively involved
and there was increased motivation across the organization. As with all things there is the bad
that comes withthe good and it has been illustrated, that a pitfall couldbe that a participant or a
group, may not be of the same opinion that is driving the process and may be hesitant to voice
their opinion or observation, which is of course relevant input and may also very well be
impactful to the decision making process.
Overall whilethis is a new approach to strategy development, it opens up the organization to
use it’s talent across job roles all towards a unifying goal – How can we improve our
organizations performance?
Jennifer Bowerman • That has certainly been my experience - lots of work and money for
consultants, lots of dust, and very little change in the organization. Changing paradigms, dislodging
egos, understanding change other than as a reactive force to external events, are very difficult
concepts to introduce to organizations. That does not mean it is not possible, but the annual two day
strategic retreat to come up with a plan does not usually do it.
Thank you Jennifer;It has been my experience in the hospitality industry that while
organizations are very good at conveying goals towards meeting industry service standards,
there has not been any clear direction given in relation to organizational goals and objectives.
The strategic mandate is conveyedutilizing a top downphilosophy; there is an even wider
disconnect, when in the case of conglomerates, where the organizational strategy is handed
down fromhead office.This becomes a major strain on the organization when the implemented
strategy includes restructuring and or downsizing.

3. Crowdsourcing and or a social strategy model may not the best business model forthe
hospitality industry on its own but an integrated business model whichwouldinclude strategic
development and organizational design, encapsulated by change management, must be a better
approach. This approach should affordthe organization enhanced performance as changes and
development in these areas, facilitated by a proper change management process, can provide
the employees with a clear picture of the intended operations and how they factorinto the
overall goals and objectives of the organization.