Groundswellgroundswell
Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, Harvard Business Press. 2008

A groundswell is normally thought of as a movement of the populace in a certain direction. We talk of ‘groundswells of opinion’, don’t we? The groundswell that Li and Bernoff write about conforms to the common concept. They define groundswell as ‘a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from institutions like corporations‘.

That definition ought to be sending quivers up and down your corporate spine – no matter what the size of your business. Is there a possibility that people may be going to bypass the traditional outlets at which which are selling things? If so, what about my/our business?

What indeed!

The authors are not crackpot theorists, but vice presidents and principal analysts at Forrester Research. Never heard of it? I hadn’t either, but it seems that Forrester Research is an extremely prestigious American research organization with a mission to create business advantages for members of their community – their paying customers. Reading the reference section at the back of the book – which I do , but I am sure you don’t – indicates that they have recently conducted vast amounts of research into trends in buying and technology, which provide fascinating and scary information that most companies – especially large ones – need to know. Not just know, but perhaps amend their selling strategies as a result of knowing.

In this book, you will find the answers to such fascinating questions as:
Will Facebook have any effect on my sales and my company?
Rather than forbid my staff members to blog – especially during work hours – should I actually encourage them to do so?
Should we start an internal wiki?
How can I stop people saying nasty things about my company products/services on blogs? (The short answer is that you can’t. It’s what you do after they have said the nasty things that matters)
How can I know what sort of people are in the groundswell? (Many, many sorts. In the book, the authors offer a Social Technologies Profile to help you calculate this. Knowing where your staff are in the Social Technology Profile will also be valuable information for you)

Most important chapters in the book for you will probably be:
Chapter 5    Listening to the Groundswell
Chapter 6    Talking with the Groundswell
Chapter 7    Energizing the Groundswell
Chapter 9    Embracing the Groundswell

One thing is for sure, based on this research. There is a groundswell which you can’t stop, so you had better find about it so you can turn it to your benefit rather than simply have it engulf you later on.

If you would like a short summary of the contents of each chapter to better help you understand why it is important for you to know that this is an important book for you, simply email bob@newbizideas4u and one will be sent to you quite free of charge.

Have a good Christmas and New Year – both western and Chinese! There will be another stimulating Book of the Month coming up in January

Bob