Social Technologies: The Glue Holding Your Company Together

How do you keep a virtualized, Exponential Organization connected and on the same page?

The answer is Social Technologies, the final attribute in the ExO model.  

You can think of Social Technologies as the nervous system of an ExO: collecting and sharing data between all parts of your ExO and with a vibrant Community—while at the same time disseminating new ideas and innovations and building greater cohesiveness among all the players in the organization.  

Ultimately, Social Technologies enable “real-time enterprise” by creating free-flowing and interactive communication and accelerating conversations and learning cycles. 

In today’s blog, I’ll share the key elements of Social Technologies and offer guidance on how you can put them to work in your business. 

I’ll start by sharing a story of how my dear friend Tony Robbins uses these tools.

Let’s dive in…

NOTE: Understanding how to turn your business into an ExO and increase your growth and impact is a key component of my year-round Abundance360 leadership program.

Tony Robbins & the “Zoom Wall”

Amidst the chaos of the global pandemic, large events and conferences suffered a near-complete shutdown. One individual who managed to rapidly and very successfully adapt to those trying times was my friend Tony Robbins.

Tony is renowned for his energetic, large-scale events that often draw tens of thousands of participants from all over the globe. The onset of COVID-19 completely shut down the possibility of such gatherings. In typical fashion, undeterred by the circumstances, he sought to translate the unique energy of his live events into a digital space, thereby redefining the concept of peer-to-peer communication in the era of virtual interactions.

Tony and his team designed a custom-built studio featuring a wall of screens known as the “Zoom Wall.” This allowed Tony to see and interact with thousands of participants in real-time during his events. This innovative setup not only maintained the visual element of communication but also facilitated peer-to-peer interaction among participants, a crucial feature of his pre-pandemic live events.

Tony’s approach transformed conventional, webinar-style presentations into engaging, dynamic experiences. This innovative platform facilitated real-time feedback, lively discussions, and open sharing of experiences, replicating the vibrant energy of a live audience. It allowed attendees to be more than just passive viewers, encouraging them to actively participate in discussions, share insights, and connect with others, thus fostering a sense of community.

Virtual breakout rooms were utilized for smaller group discussions and one-on-one interactions, thereby ensuring personal connections were not lost in the virtual setting. Attendees could still network, support each other, and develop relationships, much like they would have at a physical event.

Tony’s digital revolution did not stop at communication. He recognized the value of physical movement in maintaining energy levels and engagement. Therefore, he regularly integrated activities to keep the virtual audience moving and engaged.

The success of Tony’s approach during the pandemic highlights the power of innovation in overcoming adversity. He not only adapted to the situation but also significantly evolved the concept of peer-to-peer communication in the virtual space, setting a precedent. In essence, Tony managed to transform a difficult pandemic into an opportunity for reinvention and growth, preserving the sense of community and connection that lies at the heart of his events.

Key Elements of Social Technologies

JP Rangaswami, who served as Chief Data Officer of Deutsche Bank and Chief Scientist at Salesforce, says that there are three key objectives for any advancing business:

1. Reduce the distance between obtaining (and processing) information and decision-making;
2. Migrate from having to look up information to have it flow through your perception; and
3. Leverage the community to build out ideas.

When Social Technologies are implemented properly, they can help a company achieve all three of these goals. They create transparency and connectedness. Most importantly, Social Technologies move a company toward zero latency—a state in which the time between idea, acceptance, and implementation all but disappears, providing a significant return on investment.

Social Technologies enable a company to operate with “low latency” and promote peer-to-peer communication, break down hierarchical barriers, and enhance collaboration, thereby fostering a sense of community and shared purpose within the organization.

Here are some examples of what this looks like in practice:

• Social Networking Platforms.
  • Platforms like Yammer and Slack offer dedicated spaces for project coordination, resource sharing, and real-time interaction, facilitating more efficient teamwork and problem-solving.
  • Tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter/X allow employees to connect, share ideas, and collaborate, providing a platform for a more inclusive and participatory form of communication.
• Collaboration and project management tools. Applications like Trello, Asana, and Jira provide platforms for team coordination, project management, and task tracking. They encourage transparency, foster responsibility, and enable better project execution through shared timelines, goals, and feedback.
• File sharing and document collaboration. Applications such as Google Docs and Dropbox facilitate real-time collaboration on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. They allow multiple users to edit and comment simultaneously, promoting an exchange of ideas, facilitating knowledge sharing, and reducing duplication of effort.
• Video Conferencing tools. With the rise of remote work, platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet have become indispensable for maintaining communication. They enable face-to-face interaction, making team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and presentations more personal and interactive.
• Enterprise social networks (ESNs). ESNs like Chatter (Salesforce) or Connections (IBM) provide an internal platform for employees to engage in social interaction, knowledge sharing, and collaborative problem-solving. They enhance connectivity, foster a sense of community, and can boost innovation and productivity.
• Wikis and intranets. These tools are great for accumulating, preserving, and distributing institutional knowledge. They promote a culture of learning and information-sharing, helping to onboard new staff and keeping everyone on the same page.
• Social learning platforms. Tools like Degreed, Coursera for Business, or LinkedIn Learning offer opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, skill sharing, and professional development, thereby boosting employee engagement and productivity.

Getting Started, What I Use & Why This Matters

Here’s my advice on how to implement Social Technologies in your company:

Employee input. Let your employees vote on what aspects of their interactions and collaborations they want to automate. This approach not only creates a sense of ownership and buy-in but also ensures that the technologies you implement are solving real problems that your team faces.

Tool selection. (BTW, here are the principal tools my team and I use at PHD Ventures.)

• Collaborative graphics tools Canva and Slack.
• All-in-one-productivity platform Notion.
• WhatsApp for non-real-time group conversation with my communities.
• Asana which provides a platform for team coordination, project management, and task tracking.
• Zoom as a primary group video conference tool and community meeting space.

Pick two and get started. It’s better to start with a few tools that your team can get comfortable with rather than overwhelming them with too many at once. Starting with a few tools also allows for easier troubleshooting and adjustments as your team adapts.

Think of Social Technologies as the ultimate gravitational force holding together the Exponential Organization.

They serve as connective tissue, keeping the many diverse parts of the enterprise tightly bound to its MTP and ensuring cohesion even during the most challenging times. Social Technologies enable management to keep watch on the health of the organization and its employees, keeping problems from emerging into the open when they are too late to remedy.

And they will only become faster, more intelligent, more immersive, and supercharged with AR/VR, metaverse, and AI technologies.

Using Social Technologies won’t make your company an ExO—but not using them will keep you from becoming one.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog series covering all ten attributes in the ExO model which Salim Ismail and I discussed in our latest book Exponential Organizations 2.0.

Later this week, for our final ExO blog, I’ll zoom out and look at the broader implications of ExOs and offer several more tips on how you can build your own ExO.