Progressive Organizational Movements

The “New” Crisis of Meaning?

October 4, 2011

What’s up with the word “new” in the phrase “meaning is the new motivator”? From all corners of the interwebz conversation about ‘business’, I see mention of this idea that meaning at work is something new, something that we have just begun to desire. Seriously. It seems to come as a surprise, or as a [...]

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5 Ways That Systems of Engagement Bring Out Our Full Social Selves

June 22, 2011

Technology has a way of sucking the humanity right out of us. Consider how we describe, design and deploy ‘enterprise 2.0′ and work system technologies in our organizations: – When we talk about technology systems, we talk about machines, platforms, inputs and outputs.  We forget about values, emotion, flourishing, meaning and purpose. – When we [...]

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Make Distinctiveness Matter by Linking It To Organizational Purpose

June 14, 2011

Does it really matter if an organization is “distinctive”? When an organization’s distinctiveness (identity) is linked with the organization’s purpose (greater social goal), the organization’s unique qualities provide the unique resources needed to achieve that purpose. Organizational Distinctiveness is more than Positioning Managers often dismiss the concept of organizational “distinctiveness”, thinking that distinctiveness is only [...]

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Does Your Social Media Policy Create a Platform for Racism?

May 17, 2011

I bet you don’t think it does. I bet you think that your social media policy, and your ‘create a blog for our business using other people’s user-generated content’- approach, is impervious to racism masked as business advice, as research findings, or as interesting content. I bet that’s exactly what PsychologyToday.com thought, too. They’ve got [...]

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Are Your Social Business Systems Designed for Extraction or Contribution?

May 12, 2011

The move of social business systems into work organizations exacerbates a tension that’s built into every idea-intensive workplace. Idea-intensive workplaces ask employees to contribute not just the work of their bodies, but also the work of their minds and their hearts. These workplaces set up a tension between asking people to give of themselves as [...]

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Systems of Engagement: Technology for Social Organizations

April 13, 2011

“Systems of engagement.” Isn’t that an evocative term? The minute I read it, I knew that the term “systems of engagement” captured something important–but what? I searched the web, I even consulted Quora, but I found no definition of “systems of engagement” that incorporates all that the term evokes for me. So at the end [...]

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Why should I wait until 2057 for a ‘man-sized’ paycheck? Would you?

April 12, 2011

[I wrote this post for the 2009 Equal Pay Day... and I'm reposting it in 2011 because not much has changed. A few links have been updated. Be sure to check the links to some great research, too.] It’s possible that I won’t be around in 2057. If I am around, I probably won’t be [...]

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Recognizing Women On The Far Side of Complexity

April 6, 2011

I’m getting a bit weary of talking about “women” and having some people assume that I’m only talking about “women”. Recognize that when I use the term “women”, I am consciously talking about “women” on the far side of complexity. The Far Side of Complexity The “far side of complexity” is one of my favorite [...]

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Why Women DON’T Rule the Internet

March 24, 2011

TechCruch’s recent post Why Women Rule The Internet by Aileen Lee, and the interwebz response to it, is an exercise in wish fulfillment and diversion. With all due respect to Ms. Lee and her advocacy for women, social networking and shopping are not displays of power. I hate to break it to you, girlfriends, but we women [...]

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Use Extreme Leverage 2.0 to Change The Social World

March 11, 2011

Traditionally, extreme leverage is something organizations worked hard to avoid.   Now, in the social media landscape,  ”Extreme Leverage 2.0″ is something that evey organization should embrace. Why? Because Extreme Leverage 2.0 allows a few people, in relatively small businesses, to change the world for their stakeholders. Understanding Extreme Leverage 2.0 In the world of corporate finance, [...]

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