Polly Pearson's Blog

Coolness and the Cash Register: New Way to Engage Employees in Strategy Execution

Yesterday I visited EMC's internal social network (EMC|ONE), and I noticed a lot of activity around a new group known as VCE -- standing for the VmWare, Cisco and EMC strategic vision involving Cloud Computing.

The VCE vision is new, and compelling, and interest in it is spreading like wild fire throughout the community of information technology buyers and beyond.  Let me stress the word "new," from the vantage point of sales reps that would be engaged in this discussion -- and the word,"compelling" from the vantage point of IT customers. 

That is the Wonderful Problem.

Customers are eager to hear more. Sales reps are being asked to discuss the strategy so customers can start planning for this new paradigm in their shops. Time is money to everyone involved ... but how do you ready your field organization and beyond to lead such new strategic discussions ... NOW!?

ENTER: The Internal Social Network.

Within this platform the experts on the strategy, in the field and in HQ, are sharing real-time updates. They're sharing tips for how a rep can engage in the discussion. Reps are offering play-by-plays for how discussions went during recent Executive Briefings between customers, VMware, Cisco, and EMC. Everyone is acknowledging concerns a rep might have to a degree you wouldn't see in a "normal" piece of communication from HQ to the field forces. (Example: no one wants to mess up.) It is all very personal feeling, very real-time, very two-way, and very helpful. It is serving to build knowledge, confidence, and lessons learned. It is genuine and honest. It is motivating!

Reality TV and Warp Speed

It is also oddly exciting (even to me, as a person who has lived in this world for years). Like watching Reality TV right before your eyes on how a company of our size and scale (3 companies, actually) charts new territory -- only now, it is at 2.0 warp speed and everyone at EMC gets a voice and a seat at the table!

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If you're inside of EMC, check it out and share your impressions on this new model. 

Outside of EMC, has your company experienced this shift?

To me, I've seen great value and benefits from the happenings inside of EMC|ONE -- but this one is special. It feels really big. It represents mega engagement from the field forces to a new degree with obvious $$$$ value.

Kudos to the EMC folks who moved to leverage this platform and share your real-time info. Wild-fire away!!

Polly Pearson 
http://www.pollypearson.com;
http://twitter.com/pollypearson

"How to do Social Media for Business" Case Study in Action

How EMC is leveraging Social Media at its conference, EMC World, is a great case study to observe. It must be far from perfect -- and at the same time I'll say I've never seen anything as comprehensive and engaging on this scale. There are global followers of the thousands of tweets, blogs, news clips, and videos coming from the attendees originating from 96 countries  -- interacting with the attendees as if they were there, too. And that is from the "target audience!"  The "official" content from EMC  and mainstream journalists is on top of that.  

What's been happening?

- ENGAGING COVERAGE: Our customers and other attendees have been doing the reporting on what they find noteworthy in real-time on Twitter, with a hashtag (#EMCWorld) for everyone to keep track of one another's "coverage," and in their blogs and news reports.  (One  remote observer compared it to the relative silence that comes from Live Webcasts.  Twitter engages; it is 2-way communication.  Webcasts inform, but don't engage.)

- ENGAGING COVERAGE CONTENT: Our customers, bloggers,  employees and traditional journalists are sharing the photos and video clips -- you're seeing the event in the eye of the attendee.  See this cool composite of photos they're taking over on my colleague's Len's blog. He did a search on Flickr, embedded it in his blog, and it shows up as a living photostream. In another example, an attendee turned on his flip cam during a Q&Awith CEO Joe Tucci and had it loaded into his Tweetstream moments later for everyone to see.

- ENGAGING RELATIONSHIPS:  See the blogs by my colleagues Stu, Dave and Chuck. They all remark on the sea change they're feeling and experiencing in the quality of relationships with the attendees -- due to the fact that we've been engaging all year long via our blogs and Tweets  (on top the more typical "remembering people from last year's event.")

- ENGAGED AUDIENCES:  See what this "cynical" journalist had to say about EMC's use of social media and how EMC actually listened and responded in real time to what attendees needed and wanted during the conference, thanks to microblogging over Twitter and EMC's attentiveness to it. She also mentions how following the conference on Twitter made it that much easier for her to know what was going on where. In short, it added clear value and service to her.

- COOL and ENGAGING OFFICIAL COMPANY CONTENT:  Frankly, seeing this site is what put me over the edge to write this blog.  Check out EMC's social media site for this event containing video, blogs, presentations, event news updates via @EMCWorld on Twitter and more  -- most having  a 2.0 feel -- from the official company channels. See the 1min, in-the-hallway video of Frank Hauck, EVP of most of EMC, giving you the take aways from the conference. That's cool. See also the EMCWorld 2009 site on YouTube -- filled with customer videos, EMC brand videos, and an even an EMC employee/exec rock band, RunEMC playing a tribute song to our 30th anniversary as a company (look for my cameo!).

- Infotainment!  Attendees and observers alike seem to love it! This buzz is rounding the globe.

So with my marketing and branding leverage hat on, what this engagement communication model has done is to multiply (100x?) the value of the event itself.  This is one tree that didn't fall in the forest where no one could hear it.

So what about the substance?!

Is this just a pretty bowl of marketing whipped cream?

 

[photo: @ferne Arfin]

I'll point you to my colleague's Chuck's blog on that one.  There Chuck reminds us that this is no marketing event. Aside from the keynotes, this conference is all about engineers presenting technology to audiences of engineers. There are over 500 EMC Engineer presenters. I don't make a habit of going to this event because frankly it isn't meant for me. It would make my head explode. They're talking in techie speak that hurts even the minds of advanced Phd's. Its like a Mensa-convention-meets-MIT on steroids.

 -- The audience for this event spans 96 countries and numbers about 7,000. After JUST 1.5 days of the show, it was reported that over 1500 tweets were sent by attendees with the hashtag #EMCWorld. As over 200 attendees joined Twitter just today at the conference, I imagine this is growing exponentially as well. --

Kudos to everyone at EMC who put together what is clearly such a fine, well-received, and valued event.

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What else did you notice in this case study?

This is one where new examples and value statements will continue to occur to me and everyone else who watched this study evolve for months to come.

And heck, the show isn't even half over yet.

What's Working For You?

 

(Me, in my then-office, about the time I started this blog.)

Would you mind giving me a little perspective and feedback?

This blog is now one year old and I'd like to get a feel for what's working and what isn't.

This is my first blog, and I pretty much just jumped in with the hope to personally connect with others regarding employment brands, careers, culture and cool. 

I saw this blog as helping to add value and connect with:

•  Job seekers. I imagine seekers to be evaluating careers and companies similar to how you would go to "TripAdvisor.com" before booking your travel plans for a more genuine and testimonial-based review. This blog, in that context, provides a view on what it is like to work at a global, high-tech, innovation-oriented company which is EMC. 

• Current EMC employees. EMC has grown massively, inclusive of over 50 acquisitions, multiple divisions, and operations in over 60 countries. I've long been in the business of communicating about EMC's culture, strategy, offerings, financials, and vision -- it seemed only right to find a way to share these stories with the people of EMC as well as the typical external audiences -- media, customers, investors, analysts -- companies spend so much effort on.

• People interested in the field of employment branding and forms of engagement, or relationship, marketing. I'm passionate about this subject and its value to people, and to running a successful business in the knowledge economy. In this blog, I offer a look to EMC's journey in this regard.  I share a bit of the strategy, approach, reception, and case studies on how we're doing in our evolution toward becoming the ultimate place to work, while providing some updates on how we're delivering business results for our customers and shareholders.

• The unknown. The reach of the Internet brings unexpected connections.  My commitment here is to be open, genuine, and unedited to the point that you get to know me, and EMC, at a deeper level. If you like what you see, maybe we can work together one day.

The topics I've tended to focus on include:

Culture, Employment Branding, Employee Engagement, Career Development & Advice, Cool developments, Social Media for the Enterprise, Management Models, and my personal life & career.

My stats tell me that this blog has been viewed this past year about 25,000 times with up to several hundred views per day. Roughly half of my visitors in April came directly to this site (subscribers primarily).  About 40% of my visitors come from referring sites -- such as Twitter, EMC.com, and other blogs.  The balance comes from search engines sending folks here. (I have not deployed any SEO strategies.)

Over the past year, I've written just shy of 90 blog posts and have had about 150 comments.

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What, if anything, has connected with you?

What would you like to see less of?  More of?

What do you think would improve this blog?

Avoiding Social Media Overload: A KISS, 3 Step Guide to Getting Started

Question #2:

 

The second most common response I get from business people to the concept of social media is one of “overload.”  Terms and sites are swirling in their heads. It is hard to know where to start – and why you would really want to.

 

The following is a “Keep It Simple 3-Step Guide to Getting Started.”

 

You can do this in less than 5 minutes.

 

Step 1:

Consider a business objective. Pick one that you like from the list below, or come up with one of your own.

 

Examples:

 

“I want to leverage the expertise I have to establish more interactions with prospects and customers and help my company accelerate time-to-revenue.”

 

“I want to be even better at what I do.”

 

“I want to have a Plan B, just in case I get laid off.”

 

“I want to change careers.”

Step 2:

Match the most popular social media tools to your business objective.  

Do a Google search or ask around what the top social network tools are for your business objective.

 

To make it easy, pick from one of the following options:

 

If your objective relates to expanding your network – providing yourself a cushion of contacts in case you lose your job, join LinkedIn.

 

If your objective relates to your current, or desired professional area of expertise, and you’d like to start getting to know industry thought leaders and prospects/customers in this space, join Twitter. 

Step 3:

Find a 20-something, or someone else who you know that talks about social media and ask them for a couple of minutes of their time to show you a few tips on the network you just joined (keep them focused; they might get excited and scare you away!). 

OR

 

Do a Google search on “How to Use Twitter,” “How to Use Twitter Search,” and/or “How to Use LinkedIn.”  The search results might be a bit dated given the pace of change and discovery here – but they’re likely good enough for now.

That should get you going!  Now all you have to do is spend just a bit of time on one of the networks and see what it can do for you. The more you give, the more you’ll get. Ask along the way – people like to be very helpful in “social media world.”  If you don’t like it, quit!

 

Recap: 

Step 1: Pick an objective.

Step 2: Pick a social network that fits your objective.

Step 3: Ask a human or ask Google how to use that tool.

 

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Was this KISS-enough?

Did it pass the overwhelm screen?

Question #1: Isn't Personal Branding Vain?

"The thought of Googling myself makes my skin crawl."

My prior post covered what I see as the top questions/reservations coming from business people on the subject of social media. The number one concern I hear has to do with taking the big jump into a pool that strikes many as overly self promotional, vain, unprofessional, or simply too revealing for comfort.

All understandable points.

Consider the flip side.

Would you go to an important meeting or an interview without first looking in the mirror?  You would want to know you look okay, and fix anything that might be out of place, right?

Today, "Google is the New Mirror."

What do you look like?  Not knowing could be like walking into an Interview with your fly down and spinach in your teeth.

When someone Googles your name (it could be a customer who wants to know what your track record is before they meet you; it could be an entity that wants to partner with you; it could be a company who is considering hiring or featuring you), what do they see? 

• Do you even show up on the first page of Google search? 

• How hard do they have to work to find you? 

• The longer it takes them to find you, the more of a non-entity you might seem to be. 

• What if the first listing under YOUR name is a photo of a Tequila swilling 40-something? A convict? A person who is the antithesis of you ... or of someone whose resume is close enough to yours to be confusing?

Is it professionally courteous, expedient, or responsible not to know what you look like to others?

 

Last year I had as radio guests on EMC's Visual Talk Radio Show Barbara Massa, EMC's head of North America Recruiting operation and Dan Schawbel, both author of the new Personal Branding book, Me 2.0and EMC's resident social media specialist.

A take away from this program is that matching talent to opportunity today is a branding two-way street. 

Opportunity needs to be able to know about You and what You stand for. 

You need to know about Opportunity and what it could mean to You/Your business. 

Today, you expect every entity to have a presence on the web.  You want to research every hotel room, baseball bat, pair of jeans, house and technology gadget before you decide. If something is not on the web, it must not be significant enough to be worthy of your consideration, right? 

Guess what? That's what the world expects when it comes to talent/people/partners.  They want to research you on-line before making the next step.  If you're not on-line, you likely are not significant enough to be considered.  Ouch.

Barbara noted the funny twist that exists today.  No one expects a young person to have a presence on the web. They're just starting out and their careers are likely far from remarkable.  Everyone expects senior people to have a presence on the web.  They have, their resume says, launched products, turned around companies, and done other amazing things.

Only the reality is exactly the opposite. 

The young people are easily found and their credentials and claims are validated on line. The senior people are not easily found or validated.

There is no such thing as "Job Security" any longer.  What got you to where you are won't keep you where you are. 

What can you do about it?

Be relevant. Be found. Be vain if that what it takes. 

The pay off?

The larger "your brand," the larger your company's brand and the larger the opportunities that can find their way to you and to your company.

If you want to know more on this subject, Dan's book is available as of March 30, 2009. It is a super read for anyone getting started with the concept of personal branding, or anyone in the job search game.  If you can't wait for the book in the mail, check out his blog. He lives this space.

 

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"If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound?"

Do you exist if the Internet doesn't know you?

Do you have spinach in your teeth if you don't own your personal brand, a.k.a. your digital identity?

Back Up!

PICTURED: iJustine of  http://tastyblogsnack.com/

 

Back up has got some new attitude thanks to our Mozy offerings. Check out the cool new ads they're running, http://www.youtube.com/getmozy, starting this week on some pretty mainstream media.  (I like the microwave one best, myself.)

Fox News
MSNBC
CNN Headline News
Bloomberg
Discovery Home
DIY
Travel Channel
Golf Channel
Science Channel
Military Channel
Versus
DirecTV Sports

 

 

... and the T-shirt

 

 

Dave Robinson, the head of Marketing over at Mozy adds, "All of the videos can be easily added to your Facebook or MySpace profile, blog etc. with one simple click."

 

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Who knew back up could be so ........? I think our Harley Davidson account reps might be calling Dave soon for a few shirts.

 

 

Everyone’s My Customer: The New EMC

I worked with an author recently who is finishing up a mainstream business book on employee engagement. She is including EMC as a best practice company.  After spending some time researching what the company does and its reach in the market she declared, only half joking, “I know what EMC stands for now – ‘Everyone’s My Customer!’”

It made me smile as it is a great way to summarize the tremendous expansion of the role and the reach EMC has successfully accomplished during the past several years.

 Today, our customer base continues to be the largest and most valuable companies on the planet – 97% of the Global S&P 100, for example. Our customers are also medium sized companies and branch offices; computer resellers and retail stores; professional services companies and IT heavy weights;  small companies; and consumers like you and me.  (My husband loves his “free and awesome” EMC Mozy backup!)

When I saw this image in our soon-to-be-published 2008 Annual Overview and read the description of EMC next to it (see below in bold), the “Everyone’s My Customer” quote appeared front-of-mind again.

Take a moment to read the some of the words in that EMC world image: ATM Operations -  Airline Reservations - Currency Exchange - Credit Card Approvals - Insurance Claims Processing - Online Loan Applications - Wikis - Home Backup of Personal Data - Video Surveillance - Research - Drug Discovery and Development - Blogs - Content Publishing - Customer Buying Pattern Analysis - Enabling eGovernment - Securing Prescriptions - Medical Records - Preservation of Digital Publications - State Agency Web Sites - Digitization of Paper Records - Portals - Regulatory Compliance - Film - Documents - Archival Collections - Genealogical Resources -  Case Law - Development of Digital Repositories - Development of Metadata Standards - Development of Models - Training - Broadcast Content - Museum/Gallery Exhibitions - Digitization of Books, Journals and Newspapers - Video - Email - Websites - Online Games - Chat Rooms - Photographs - Broadcast content - Genomic Research - Telemetry - and more.

As I tell my mother, "You can't go an hour in your day without EMC somehow having a role in your life."

No wonder EMC has been growing about 30% (CAGR) since today's new college freshmen were born!

EMC’s Role in the World:  Information has the power to illuminate our world. But for this to happen, information must be intelligently and efficiently stored, protected, and managed – so that it can be made accessible, searchable, shareable, and ultimately, actionable. Wherever individuals and organizations are using information to imagine, discover, create, and build relationships, you’re very likely to find EMC – its people, technology, products, services, and partners – working behind the scenes to make this possible by making information fit and ready for use. The result is information that reveals its true potential, illuminating what’s possible and moving the world forward.