Forward Looking
I can't get enough of the concepts behind 'Jam.' I think it's remarkable what IBM was able to accomplish and the "forward looking" nature of the values that were adopted through their online brainstorming sessions... Corporate social responsibility is especially important today, and in my opinion, clearly adds value to the firm's bottom line.
Being proactive in your corporate policy/governance, which includes being employee focused AND understanding stakeholder relationships (as opposed to shareholder) can mean the difference between the Enrons and Arthur Andersons, and the Apples and the IBMs.
IBM got it right with their three values:
- Dedication to every client's success
- Innovation that matters, for our company and for the world
- Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships
Evolution rocks
With that being said – check out this post on how Jam organically evolved over 72 hours from an entirely negative social media experience, to something entirely different:
IBM’s values. This really has two parts to it. One of our core values is trust in the employee. This is imperative as we try and encourage every employee to engage in social media. But the experiences in how we created our values is every bit as important as the outcome themselves. Back in 2003, IBM set out to define what we stand for as a company. Rather than having it be created by a few folks at CHQ, we decided to put the task to every IBMer. So we launched ValuesJam in 2003, a massive three-day online brainstorm for all employees. Fine right?
Well, not at first. As soon as the Jam it went live, many employees found a place where they could vent their frustrations. And for the next eight hours, it was overwhelmingly negative. To the point where we were getting calls to pull the plug. We decided to see what happened if we let it run it’s course. And what happened? The conversation organically shifted from being overwhelmingly negative to being overwhelmingly positive. All without any moderation or prodding from the top. It was an eye opener that if we let employees do their thing, in the end, we’ll all gain from it. That experience gave us as a company more confidence that we could give open, free access to employees both internally and externally, which has informed everything we do in the social media context. And perhaps the most important benefit is that employees view the company’s progressive stance on social media as a public example of the values in action. A reinforcing circle, of sorts.
[via Adam Christensen]
Is anyone familiar with any more of this type of goodness on the web today? I imagine that this is able to be communicated because of the values of the company, and more specifically the "trust in the employee" piece.
I can't say it enough... I think Big Blue is just incredible the more I read about their corporate vision and learn about their ethics and values as a firm.
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