Its very apparent. It stares you in the face, you cannot miss it. If there was one thing that made an impact in 2012, that was technology - both the device and the software. The mobile devices with social networking apps on them were the kings and queens of 2012. I went into a research mode to see if there was an equivalent ubiquitous thing in the past that made a huge impact. Not surprisingly, what came up was a weapon. The AK-47 assault rifle.This was one rifle that is so light and efficient that sadly it can be used by children with minimal learning. This is the most abundantly mass produced rifle and has changed the way wars are fought!
The same can be said of mobile device+social networking apps in 2012. This weapon has given huge strength to the common man across cultures and geographies to raise voice over what they feel is undesirable, unethical and wrong. Mature democracies to dictatorship regimes have belted down under the force of these voices fueled by the mobile device+social networking app weapon. Occupy wall street to Arab Spring and now in our own backyard in India. Governments are seeing the absolute non-tolerant citizen who might not be voting but is definetly out there to tear down structures that don't find relevance in today's times. Not very sure if the mobile devices are feeding on the need to be socially connected on the move or the apps are feeding on the device proliferation. Computerization of technology is happening at an amazing unprecedented phase, that most CIOs could only wish for their projects in the the enterprise.
One needs to take cognizance of the fact that the attitudes are changing. Absolute intolerance to mediocricity, blatant abuse of power and flouting of authority to crub voice of dissent will only grow in strength. I foresee 2013 to be a year where people in public service will come under scrutiny and will suffer lack of credibility and respect. The government and hence the police will find themselves completely lacking in credibility. Socilally connected mobile individuals armed with the power of convergence of video audio and data over the internet will be putting extreme pressure on every social structure - government, police, tradition, religion and family to align to their way of life and find relevance in a positive manner as they live their lives. You will see people in position and power react rather clumsily at first as you have seen in the last two weeks and hopefully, they will adapt and align to serve rather than dictate.
Sooner or later the citizen is going to bring the same attitude to work on monday morning and the affect of this will be felt on the office floors all thru till friday. Enterprises who dont engage on a connected platform with their employees, will find employees engaging outside of the cortporate structure on corporate issues, thru their 3G connected cellphones armed with facebook, twitter and google+. Many corporates today are still heirarchical structures of power when it comes to most things that significantly impact organizational fabric. This is where employees might draw parallels with what ius happening in our society outside the corporate world. Mediocricity and inefficiencies might come under fire within corporates.
Connected employees are much more potent than unions. Most organizations who engage employees effectively, will find a greater appreciation coming their way. The better life inside the security of the corporate building as compared to the life on the street, will only go improve and increase employee engagement scores and drive higher employee loyalty. meaningful engagement within the connected corporate that not just contributes to the employee but acknowledges employees contribution by keeping them in the decision making process, will go a long way. This is not only the right thing to do, this also keeps the spill over of the anger and frustration from entering the office environment. One such organization I know that dos this effectively is Indigo.
Connected employees are much more potent than unions. Most organizations who engage employees effectively, will find a greater appreciation coming their way. The better life inside the security of the corporate building as compared to the life on the street, will only go improve and increase employee engagement scores and drive higher employee loyalty. meaningful engagement within the connected corporate that not just contributes to the employee but acknowledges employees contribution by keeping them in the decision making process, will go a long way. This is not only the right thing to do, this also keeps the spill over of the anger and frustration from entering the office environment. One such organization I know that dos this effectively is Indigo.
CIOs have a huge role to play here. They can be the people who can drive the ground rules of connected enterprise, not as an order taker but as a direction setter. Can a CIO stand up and hold their own when some of the ground rules come under pressure from HR, Finance, Legal and Brand ? many a CIOs will be told that its not their business to set the ground rules of engagement on the platform. How the CIOs react in those situations and conduct themselves, will differentiate the direction setters from the order takers. Direction setting is about painting a strategy and executing on the same with the intent of building long lasting structures on solid foundations. Each CIO knows what the best foundation for their organization is. Jan 2nd 2013 , Wednesday - most people will come into office with a mixed feeling of having mourned the brave-heart, wondering what beholds as future for our girls and women back home, and definetly some excitement around the fact that the old year has gone by and maybe the new year will bring in some hope and cheer. Are the enterprises ready to take on the challenges that will start walking their way starting this Wednesday?
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