Grass roots change in the enterprise

This post is from from my other blog here

I love the whole web 2.0 philosophy and the idea that we can break down organisational barriers and make workplaces better places for people to create and innovate. But an earlier series of comments by Nick Gonios got me thinking how this kind of grass roots change can occur in organisations.Having spent the better part of my adult life in large corporations and working on large projects I can see why the web 2.0 philosophical approach to things is a good idea. But what I am still trying to understand is how organisations can be open to adopting this kind of approach, and how we as individuals can help this to occur.Think about the characteristics of larger organisational structures. They are generally hierarchical and often there is high power-distance between staff and management. It is interesting to think about the *social networks at play within in an organisation since this is what really determines which memes get traction.

• Which way does information flow?
• Who does information flow through?
• Who talks to and with who?
• What forms do the formal & informal communications take?
• How do new ideas enter? Who's allowed to bring them in?
• Who has permission to do new things? Is that permission formal or informal?
• What kind of people (roles, gender, departments, etc) are allowed to push boundaries?

These types of questions are critical to work out the organisational boundaries for change. Why? Because memes are catching and you catch them from the people you hang out with. If your meme is to become ascendant then people who influence the power structures of the organisation need to catch your meme. Thus for guerrilla change agents enterprise social network mapping is a critical tool.It is clear to me that change within an organisation must be Aide-mémoire