Are you stranded

I’m sometimes stranded; I wrote a policy about blogging and social media 2 years ago, checked it with legal etc, took it to business heads and published it – all in a couple of weeks.  Because back then no-one really thought this “web 2.0” would come to anything. My discussions met with blank looks. It was disheartening but I figured I would just go forward and do what I could – sooner or later they’d wake up – or I’d be proven wrong!

So what can you do when the world isn’t “getting it” and you’re stranded?

A blog post from Harvard suggests 5 tips to re-energise yourself

1. Look ahead of the curve.
   Read/follow bloggers etc who are on the edge – waiting for print will guarantee that you’ll be out of date.Yes obviously, plus you should be living what you’re preaching.
2. Don’t tell people what they want to hear.
   But real innovators aren’t afraid to stick their necks out and say or tweet what they really think.Yes! Often the message is diluted or compromised by absorbing other’s needs or business demands. It’s good to keep the high level message simple, strong and repeated.
3. Follow your heart.
   The volume of ideas and information online makes it virtually impossible to sift and analyze your way to the very best of the best. There always will be a new new thing, and in my experience, searching for the bleeding edge is just a recipe for blood loss.Yes! Plus stop following the crowd, start from what’s right for your business and where your passion is, not from some reported “best practice”.
4. Get un-stranded.
   Look for the people in your industry or field who are blogging or twittering about the kinds of innovation you’re advocating.Yes, I think of this as building a horizontal network – and I would suggest looking beyond your own industry to other industries which may share some characteristic of your own industry. For example, my company is a financial services company, this is a highly regulated industry. Looking at another highly regulated industry – the pharmaceutical industry – can be helpful.
5. Hire a buddy.
   You wouldn’t swim alone; you don’t need to evangelize alone, either. Dig into that network for an employee, consultant or colleague who can back you up when it’s time to make your case.Yes, and sometimes an external person (sadly) has more credibility than an internal person.

It’s a good list; I’d also say that practical results are more convincing that the best presentation or a dozen meetings. So if you can identify a simple business question that your innovation can answer you might get more followers than holding a dozen meetings.

image Stranded / CC BY 2.0