Bigwatercooler

The Water Cooler writ largeCatherine.Shovlin@synthetron.comBIG Conference 2009
Harnessing social brainstorms for better business decisions
01/05/2009
1

Harnessing social brainstorming
Why it is relevant
Some thoughts
How it works
3 real life examples
01/05/2009
2
Improving the water cooler conversation

Why the water cooler works so nicely
Easy to talk, informal
Less pressure than a meeting
Free flowing, no agenda
Fairly inclusive
Human scale group
01/05/2009
3
An easy way to chat

Limitations of the water cooler
Geographic (single point)
Group dynamics (leader, shy etc)
No objective (can be irrelevant, inconclusive)
Peer pressure, some risk
Very difficult to collect and analyse
01/05/2009
4
Small, random social brainstorms

Extending the water cooler - technology
With web 2.0 it becomes possible to connect many more people into “conversations”
Build on what works and overcome what doesn’t
Blogs, tweets, chatrooms, unconferences, online brainstorms...
01/05/2009
5
Move with the times

Extending the water cooler - inclusion
Online social brainstorming avoids
Prejudice (nobody knows who is speaking)
Dominance (no waiting for your turn to speak)
Shyness (easier to speak up, time to think what to say, never look stupid)
Taboos, political correctness, masks
01/05/2009
6
Say what you like, we won’t laugh at you

Individual logs on at their own pc
How social brainstorming works

Moderator with agreed discussion guide

Several individuals each at their own pc

01/05/2009
Many individuals each at their own pc
01/05/2009
10

Helpful features of the process
Safe:a safe place to talk – anonymous, confidential
Scalable: 10-1000 participants
Fast: brief to report in 1-2 weeks
Testing: research probers can float extreme views to test hypotheses
confidential,
conversational
01/05/2009
11

Helpful features of the output
Qualitative: 100 people will generate 1000s of comments.
Conclusive: data is ranked by participants so we can quantifiably identify the top feelings and ideas.
Comparative: benchmark activity, buzz words, motivational profile
01/05/2009
12
All comments are heard, strongest ones float up, others fade away

Some thoughts
01/05/2009
13
... any two cells or systems of cells that are repeatedly active at the same time will tend to become 'associated', so that activity in one facilitates activity in the other." (Hebb, 1949)
 motivating, empowering
.. the smartest groups then, are made up of people with diverse perspectives who are able to stay independent of each other. (Surowiecki, 2004)
 useful, constructive
connections and ripples

Case 1: wake up call
CHALLENGEMajor change program in bank, management want to know how to accelerate process
APPROACHStaff social brainstorm
OUTCOMEStaff have a rather different view of the problem
01/05/2009
14
We need to learn from what went wrong
Quantity of complaints from customer is increasing
Why going on claiming that everything is ok when everyone knows we are experiencing problems?
Not for the faint hearted

Case 2: listening to customer knowledge
CHALLENGEPharm company needs to prioritise R&D on main painkiller brand
APPROACHSales-force social brainstorm
OUTCOMEUsing staff to summarise customer need changes priorities radically
01/05/2009
15
We just need the packaging to be...
Why didn’t they just ask us?
The product is fine, that’s not the issue
Listening saves time and money

Case 3: motivating all kinds of staff
CHALLENGEMuch lower job satisfaction among women
APPROACHSeparate male and female social brainstorms around motivation and leaving the business
OUTCOMEClear understanding of differences and restructuring of “the deal” to suit more staff
01/05/2009
16
Difficult to make priorities without feeling guilty
Never heard of anybody chastised for NOT working weekends
Do not agree that I work in a company where I have never had to make any compromise to my moral values
Find pressure points
I’m proud of working for a better future

Case 3 (contd): Measuring motivation
All statements are logged with their support level
Language analysis tags statements as eg away from / towards
Weighted averages determine the Grid for that group
 objective insight + comms advice
01/05/2009
17
Male staff motivational grid
Historic focus, fix problems
Big picture, flexibility
Reflective, passive
Change ready, variety
Female staff motivational grid
Balance, clear route
Balance,
fix and strive
Active, empowered
Progress not revolution

Find the buzz
Summary
Listening to genuine points of view informs decision makers
Ranking makes it possible to identify the big themes
Online and global increases inclusivity and honesty
Quantified qual supports benchmarking and comparisons
Reach and speed can be an advantage in large organisations
01/05/2009
18