Tantalizingly simple… and so far away
Somedays, Seth Godin’s posts exceed even the expectations of his fans. You get the feeling the man can see the future… or at least the inner workings of my organization. Today was one of those days. In Is it too late to catch up?, he suggests a very practical list of things an organization could do if they’re way behind in understanding and responding to the rules of the new economy.
Seth kindly pretends like most organizations aren’t in this position. For the business leaders that are reading his blog, he’s got it right. For the majority of dwindling institutions out on the landscape, he’s being kind. I think it’s fair to say most organizations have figured out they need a web presence, but the large majority have a Web 1.0 presence in a 2.0 environment. They’re handing out business cards when everyone else is beaming contact info.
I know my organization is one of those sleepers that is just waking up to the ramifications of a new economic order. It’s slow. It’s painful. Every realization of irrelevance is countered with a defense mechanism and rationale.
The point of Seth’s list isn’t really to give my organization tools, though. I think we all know it’s not going to move to Web 2.0 so smoothly. He’s pointing out that the practice of becoming relevant is simple and super cheap. A plan to save the company can be found by typing “Seth” into Google. It could also be had by asking employees, honestly, how to be more relevant.
As Seth concludes,
The problem is no longer budget. The problem is no longer access to tools.
The problem is the will to get good at it.
Can that will be found in a sleeper? I’m not sure. Here’s where I’m at. If I’m going to be in a sleeper, playing the role of alarm clock is the only reasonable way to go.
