I made this presentation for a team meetup last year and forgot all about. Cleaning up some files I found it again and remembered how I promised my Yammer team colleagues that I would share it in a blogpost. The inspiration came from a youth golf talent camp where I was the councilor and sitting through the classes, it struck me how much of what the instructor told the young aspiring talents also applied to my daily work around adoption, change management and enterprise social.

1. How to improve your Enterprise Social handicap
........or why #ESN is a lot like learning how to play golf........

2. So... you bought yourself a set of clubs – Great!
Let’s go whack some balls!

3. Sure, but hold on a sec! It may look simple, but
you still need to learn the basics – Get a grip!

4. ”Driver, 7-iron, Sand wedge – who cares! It’s all
about hitting the ball, right?”
Well, why didn’t you just bring a bag of mallets?
Much cheaper...

5. When you start hitting the ball properly (almost)
every time, you realise that the right question to
ask is this one: Which Tool When?

6. Strike the ball right – That’s the ”Wow” moment!
Once you have tried, you want to feel that again,
and again and....

7. Some will tell you that it matters hugely which
ball you are using – not true.

8. All that matters is the end goal and what you
are trying to achieve....

9. ....and that you (or your friends) have brought
enough balls...

10. ....because some times the end goal is not THAT
easy to approach!

11. Driving is funny, but putting is money. Focus your
efforts on following through – alhough it is much
un just to hit it out of the park.

12. Theories are good – but not everything. In golf
this drawing makes sense for many but only the
best can work actively with it. Doing beats
reading.

13. Practice makes perfect. Spend enough time on
trial and error AND reflection on ”why” and you
will be able to get out of any situation.

14. Some times we are the ones who wear the goofy
clothes and speak a language that people
doesn’t understand....

15. .....but who cares when we are drawing bigger
and bigger crowds who also want to hit it out of
the park!

16. 5 truths - for both ESN and Golfing
1. Get a good, firm grip!!
2. Know your tools and when to use them
3. Keep your eyes on the ball but focus on the target
4. Aim, Fire, Adjust, Repeat: Practise makes perfect.
5. Bring lots of balls(!)
“Golf (and ESN?) is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated”
-Arnold Palmer