Conversational engagement versus static accessibility: sharing knowledge in the 21st century

•Old mindsets must be set aside in favor of a more progressive view that is commensurate with the growing awareness that an organization’s purchasing team is not merely a functional extension of another department, but plays a critical strategic role in the emerging global enterprise.

•This is not just limited to purchasing, as both CIOs and CFOs are going through a transformation that is based on a collaborative versus a siloed view of organizational duties and complacent relationships.

•A key enabler for this change in outlook is the various social networks and mediums. But it is painfully apparent that the recognition of how social networks can and ultimately will influence both conversational insight and the purchasing function itself is lost on the majority of procurement professionals.

In August2008, I wrote an article titled “The Web 2.0 Association: a dynamic engagement between stakeholders sharing the same interests and goals”. The basis for the article was tied to the fact that, by and large, the majority of associations and the models under which they operate have become somewhat stagnant as a facilitator of dynamic (and meaningful) interaction among their membership.

This is a sentiment that was reflected in the numerous comments I received, such as the following from a global logistics specialist in Panama. (Note: the fact that the article was able to solicit responses from Panama and other parts of the world gives testimony to the reach and therefore expanded perspective provided through a dynamic Web 2.0 engagement capability.)

“Where it once did, the value gained from the traditional association model can no longer compete for my attention. I need to collaborate bigger, faster, stronger — and at my convenience.”

This is a telling statement, especially given that the Rodney Dangerfield mantra “I get no respect” has dominated the collective psyche of a profession that has traditionally been viewed as an adjunct of finance.

The fact is that the increasing recognition that an organization’s purchasing team is not merely a functional extension of another department, but in reality plays a critical strategic role in the emerging global enterprise, means that old mindsets must be set aside in favor of a more progressive view that is commensurate with this growing awareness.

Part of this revised outlook — which is not just limited to purchasing, as both CIOs and CFOs are themselves going through a transformation that is based on a collaborative versus siloed view of organizational duties — is to break out of the manacles of complacent relationships. In short, we have to stop going to the familiar wells of knowledge and long-held bastions of outdated expertise, and begin to expand our horizons of understanding. And a key enabler for this expanded insight is the various social networks and mediums.

Unfortunately, and as demonstrated by a recent question posed on LinkedIn regarding Twitter, it is painfully apparent that the recognition of how social networks can and ultimately will influence both conversational insight and the purchasing function itself is lost on the majority of procurement professionals.

While some associations, such as the Institute for Supply Management,have established at least a presence within the realms of various social networks, rather than leveraging the conversational dynamic of the new medium to broaden engagement, they have simply resorted to the same kind of broadcasting practice that is indigenous to a static website. In short, they are going to where the new people are but are failing to engage them and therefore capitalize on what Ecademy’s Thomas Power referred to as “the law of random connections”. (Note: according to Power’s law, it is “the people you don’t know who are the most important”.)

This is tantamount to a nomadic strategy whereby associations simply pick up the entire outdated infrastructure (website), and move it to a social media platform. Or worse, maintain the same static website (which, of course, does have a purpose in terms of serving as a transformational bridge) and dutifully establish return links in the hope of generating traffic. Traffic activity means very little, of course, if it is not reflective of either a practical utilization or an expansion of the existing knowledge base but is instead a repository of the same people saying the same things.

It is therefore not unreasonable to think of most association websites (or, for that matter, websites in general) as a stationary library with endless “shelves” of information. While you can search through the site to pull a topic of interest, the hushed atmosphere (isolated experience) of a library provides little opportunity to actively engage others — especially those who may not be members of that particular branch (or association).

Alternatively, if you bring your book into a nearby coffee shop, the opportunity for open discussion in a welcoming atmosphere enables you to expand your understanding of a particular topic through the conversational engagement of other patrons, be they known or not. The value of the social network platform is that it removes what for many are the uncomfortable barriers of approaching a stranger face-to-face.

I do not want you to mistake my reference to a static website as a denouncement of websites in general, because it is possible to have a site that is truly interactive and in the process complements the various social media platforms with which it is connected. In fact, in certain instances a website structured around a proactive inclusionary framework might even be preferable, as it serves as a filtering mechanism for the infinitely expanding sea of information that is available through the internet. However, and as research clearly demonstrates, the majority of websites lack the capacity to both engage and maintain the conversational give and take that is necessary for the meaningful, ongoing interaction of an expanding network of contacts.

And even though statisticsclearly indicate that venues suchas Twitter can experience a 60%drop off in terms of new user activity, the retention rate is still considerable. Therefore, it is an important facilitating platform that continues to engage people who otherwise would not have even ventured at this stage into the world of social media. How many websites can say that? And, at the end of the day, it is the frequency of interaction with ever-widening perspectives that ultimately stimulates both the level of knowledge being shared and its sustaining veracity.