There are many ways to destroy a perfectly designed strategy. Here are two.
One of the things Web teams constantly struggle with is the ying and yang between centralized governance and the wants, needs, and demands of stakeholders and line of business (LOB) managers who operate different parts of the site.
Over the past few years, I’ve seen these dynamics play out many companies – and in different ways. The most memorable are:
The inmates run the asylum
Here, I’m reminded of a huge software company who belatedly realized that competitors were selling their low cost software online – and they needed to get with the program.
To achieve this, the dotcom team spent weeks confabing with line of business marketing managers and stakeholders to get their buy in and identify requirements. Then they consolidated the feedback and developed a working project plan.
Three months later, the dotcom team was ready to launch the company’s first foray into ecommerce. The platform was built. LOB marketing managers were trained. Then everything went off the rails.
Why? Because the most influential LOB pulled its support for ecommerce at the last minute. I was in the room when the project manager got the call – and then watched her bang her head on the conference room table as the ecommerce strategy (and all of the hard work) went down the tubes.
And what’s the lesson? Websites don’t do well in a matrix management organization where one “no” vote can stop the presses. If you have one, make sure that LOB executives are driving the strategy down through the troops. They won’t salute you – but they sure will salute their bosses.
The vision hits the “what’s in it for me?” brick wall
Here, I’m reminded of a huge computer company that has decided to embrace social media whole hog and use it as a competitive game changer. New, smart executives were hired to develop and evangelize a strategy based on the future of the Web. Minions were added to execute the vision and gain buy in from the troops working in every line of business.
The problem? The strategy requires two things. A cult like belief in a fuzzy future and a fundamental change in the company’s culture – including increasing the load on beleaguered marketing managers who are already up to their eyeballs in management fire drills — and are measured based on revenue generation.
Thus, the grand strategy devised in one corner of the corporation collides with the beliefs & business realities everywhere else. The net result is plenty of “do you get it? I don’t” whispers around the water cooler, and push back from LOB executives who can’t see how this foray into the great unknown will improve their bottom line.
And what’s the lesson? Grand visions – especially those that can’t be linked to revenue — don’t translate well in large, complex organizations. As important, if the vision requires a fundamental culture change, you are probably throwing yourself against a brick wall.
The Bottom Line
After working with major corporations for 15 years, I know the following things about the Web:
- Visions and strategies that can’t generate revenue are doomed to fail. As important, if it can’t be measured, it doesn’t exist. After a grace period, expect executives to pull the plug.
- Web strategies that rely on a culture change will end up on the cutting room floor. This is especially true in today’s business climate where layoffs mean people have to do two or more jobs. If your strategy relies on culture change, put it on the back burner for at least 3 years.
- Bold promises aside, the jury’s still out on whether social media is a passing (and very expensive) fad — or a new era on the Web. Lots of companies (like the example above) think it’s a game changer. The rest can’t quite figure out what all of this lurking and listening means for the bottom line. My POV? Tread carefully and spend wisely. Bet that the future of social media is captured in item #1 above.
Tags: Social Media, social networks, Strategy
