If you are designing software for the social web, then this is one presentation that you absolutely must go through. The presentation looks at ways to tackle the 3 big problems of social software:

1. The Sign-up Problem i.e. People don’t seem to be signing up for our service despite an interest in it.
2. The First-time Use Problem i.e. First-timers on your site don’t know what to do or how to get started.
3. The Ongoing Engagement Problem i.e. What comes first – users or the value?

The presentation prompted me to re-look the ways I have been building out Workosaur and there’s something in it for everyone.

If you like the presentation, then do follow Joshua Porter’s blog for some great insights on interface design / social web design.

This post is in continuation of a series that is categorized as Drucker Weekly.

Feedback: Key to Continuous Learning

To know one’s strength, to know how to improve them, and to know what one cannot do – are the keys to continuous learning.

Scribble:
This is one habit I’m slowly trying to inculcate. Application development and maintenance + infrastructure management are not my key strengths and I’ve wasted far too much time on them. Slowly but surely I’m setting myself free of these activities and am letting someone else handle these functions. Another aspect where I’ve been lagging is media relations and I need to devote more time to it. Also, I need to get more metric-oriented than being instinctive.

Reinvent Yourself

Knowledge people must take responsibility for their own development and placement.

Scribble:
I believe I am doing just fine on this front. I’ve done a fairly decent job of transforming myself based on the task ahead of me – be it a chemical engineering stint at RCF, a new channel development project at Cadbury, sales manager and factory supervisor at Pepsi, creatives and client relations at ReZonant to being an Internet professional and entrepreneur. The joy of learning new things and stimulating my mind keeps me ticking.

The Discipline of Management

If you can’t replicate something because you don’t understand it, then it really hasn’t been invented; it’s only been done.

Scribble:
While companies did have managers earlier, it became a discipline only after thought leaders such as Drucker understood it and told the world why they were needed. The point being made is that it’s important to understand some things fundamentally before dubbing it as a discipline. For example, Search Engine Optimization is one practice which has only been done and doesn’t yet deserve to be called a discipline.

Controlled Experiment in Mismanagement

The story of Henry Ford, his rise and decline, and of the revival of his company is what one might call a controlled experiment in mismanagement.

Scribble:
Ford believed that all it took to run a company was an owner-entrepreneur and helpers. He never believed in having manageers / decision-makers. Employees must be empowered and allowed to assume responsibility for progress to be made. Don’t try and do everything yourself. Back your employees to take decisions.

Performance: The Test of Management

Achievement rather than knowledge remains both the proof and aim of management.

Scribble:
Management is a practice more than a science or profession. There is no set formula or technique that can build great managers. Management should not be restrictive. It is about doing things which can enable knowledge workers to succeed. If it means trying out something irrational, so be it. Try everything and see what works well than adhering to scientific methods.

Crossing the Divide & Face Reality

Every few hundred years there occurs a sharp transformation. We cross a “divide.” Exploit the new realities.

Scribble:
I keep a list of ideas and business opportunities based on changes that are now becoming realities in society and some day I hope to put all of these in action. I’d like to look at Workosaur.com as one such initiative.

The Educated Person

The educated person needs to bring knowledge to bear on the present, not to mention molding the future.

Scribble:
All of us would like to live in a world that’s isolated from all the problems it confronts. But as educated people, we need to take responsibility of the problems than escape them. We must be the change. We need more Nandan Nilekanis.

Balance Continuity and Change

Precisely because change is a constant, the foundations have to be extra strong.

Scribble:
Every time there is a change, an organization must ask itself: “Who needs to be informed of this?” With newer communication and collaboration technologies, this becomes all the more critical. Most importantly, there’s a need for continuity in the organization’s mission, values, definition of performance and results must. There is also a case for treating those delivering continuous improvement like those involved with genuine innovation.

Organizations Destabilize Communities

In its culture, the organization always transcends the community.

Scribble:
We have seen this with Tata Motors trying to set up shop in West Bengal. Tata did not submerge itself or subordinate itself to that community. They preferred to move out. It was the right decision. When your culture clashes with the community, the organization’s culture must prevail – or it can’t make a contribution to that society.

Modern Organization Must be a Destabilizer

Only a society in dynamic disequilibrium has stability and cohesion.

Scribble:
Innovation and entrepreneurship must be the central piece of the organization’s strategy than an accident – only then is continuity possible.