This is the first of a series of
session notes from Webcom 09 where I am also presenting. Here is the session
description for Tactical Transparency: The Value of
Access to Information. “The degree to which people
trust organizations directly affects their willingness to do business with
those organizations. Transparency is a foundation of trust, yet most
organizations continue to operate by designating all information confidential,
then deciding what information it must disclose. In today's world, with
organizations under a microsocope to an extent they have never before
experienced, that approach needs to be reversed: Company information is
sharable, except for those items that must remain confidential. Using new media
can provide organizations with a simple yet effective way to be transparent and
reap the benefits.”
Shel started with the US open
government effort. It started with a lot of flash but has not really taken off.
Transparency is counter culture to
government agencies, at least in the US. One agency director told Shel his employees will not use social
media. He speaks for the agency alone. He just wanted Shel to let his employees understand the
impact of social media so they can react to it.
He then conveyed an example
of TSA countering a bogus claim with the actual videos of the event. He moved on to Eron’s operations in
secrecy that led to the SOX legislation to force more transparency on financial
activity. Next he covered AT&T request to ask employees to write against
net neutrality and pretend they were not employees. As you can imagine this
blew up in the blogs and even mainstream media. Almost nothing is hidden. I have seen this myself when I just
wanted to find my cousin’s phone number. For 95 cents I could find out much
more.
Shel said that organizations
need to be proactively transparent to avoid these disasters. I remember that my former employer required
me to have a PR person present whenever I talked with the press. Now everyone
is the press. Microsoft allows over 3,000 employees blog without company
editing. The rules have changed. We need to be accurate but we need to talk
like people and not institutions. I interviewed some Microsoft bloggers in 2004. One said that
they were trying to put a human face on Microsoft.
However, transparency is not
full disclosure. You cannot provide medical information about patients or
employees. Much financial information cannot be shared for publically traded
companies. However, you should start with the full disclosure premise and then
pull out want should not be shared.
Shel referred to Paul Levy
as the most transparent CEO. He
explained his salary and how it is determined on his blog. Then he asked if he
is paid too much and responded to comments on the blog. He also said that if things did not change
he would have to lay off hundreds of employees. He held town hall with employees
to get ideas on how to save jobs and invited the Boston Globe for transparency.
He got standing ovations for this move. The hospital was able to save the jobs. The provision of transparency of clinical
outcomes on his blog also led to better performance. I have seen this effect in
other industries. Great session. I
am a big fan of transparency.
One closing comment. "If you are going to naked you had better be buff." You need to plan for better transparency.
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