Hi – Did you catch "The Social Network this weekend?" Hmmm, let's see, Hollywood blockbuster, 26yo billionaires, 500m users…

Are you getting the signals? - http://networksingularity.com/2010/10/04/faint-signals.aspx

This is the theme of the Future of Networks leadership retreat this week on "The Social Enterprise."

Social media are fundamentally altering the business and civil society landscape.  

All are welcome. Here's your link...

https://www.regonline.com/DFW101

Advanced check-in rqr'd. Registration includes breakfast, materials, luncheon and post-event networking reception.

Here is a good blog from two colleagues and a sponsor ---

http://blogs.hbr.org/bigshift/2010/09/social-software.html

-j

Estimates members:

I´m new in that group and I´d try to made a test on Onasurveys.com, but  I didn´t introduce question about each relationship when I design the survey, but in each questionnaire form (which receive each participant), appear a step to choose the others members of the list one by one, and just after that, every one can define a relationship.

I wish to…each respondent, have a just one relationship question, whit the entire list of participants, and just fill the box (or dot) with the peoples that have that relationship…It´s possible?

 Somebody can explain me why can I do that?... or somebody tell me what can I do to erase this election? (to choose one by one each participant or not, and just after that define the relationship)

Thanks, and sorry for my English….If somebody can write in Spanish I aprettiate so much.

Lic. Luis Rocco

(15) 6418-6027

Hello, Luis,

There is a user forum for questions about ONAsurveys. It is: http://groups.google.com/group/onasurveys/

I am copying Cai on this question.

Best,

/patti anklam

Thank you, Sérgio!

My Google alerts just caught this nice ONA case study. I especially like the nice, clean matrix of results based on central/peripheral and feelings of safety.

Anyone else found any good cases lately?

Best to all for the holidays and a safe and happy new year.

/patti

Patti Anklam

Net Work: Leveraging Content, Knowledge and Networks

Harvard, MA 01451

+1(978)456-4175

Whoops --- http://execseries.mgt.ncsu.edu/tag/organizational-network-analysis/

Hi –

Happy New Year to ONA-Prac!

From Marc Smith.

http://networksingularity.com/2010/12/28/social-media-research-foundation-2.aspx

-j

John Maloney

The Future of Networks

Mail: http://1id.com/=jheuristic

Web: http://www.futureofnetworks.com

Blog: http://networksingularity.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jheuristic  

Tel:  415.902.9676

Fax: 415.276.6074

Skype: jheuristic

I am pleased to announce the Leadership Learning Community is among the sponsors of the Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) leadership retreat with Valdis Krebs event at Presentation Park located in Oakland, California on 11 Mar 11.

Preservation Park, Oakland:               http://preservationpark.com/home/

Leadership Learning Community:        http://leadershiplearning.org/

ONA Event Registration Page:              http://regonline.com/SNA2010

Preservation Park is a short (five minute) walk from downtown Oakland BART. The park has sixteen historic buildings resembling a late 19th Century Oakland neighborhood. Your venue is the stunning Ginn House.

The focus of this retreat is achieving fundamental advancements in organizations and leadership with network diagnosis, analysis and optimization. Valdis Krebs is among the top worldwide practice authority in ONA. See:

http://www.orgnet.com/cases.html

Also attached is a flyer to share in your networks and professional orbit. Secure, on-line, advance check-in rqr’d. All are welcome.

ONA Event Registration Page:              http://regonline.com/SNA2010

Cheers,

-j

Hi, all,

I invite you to read Laurie Lock Lee’s recent blog post: “Can SNA be the new Six Sigma?” http://governanceandnetworks.blogspot.com/2011/03/can-sna-be-new-six-sigma.html as it asks an important question for ONA practitioners:

·         Do we need to separate our practice from the science of SNA in order for it to become an established management discipline?

You may want to post your responses to the blog itself, as well as in this forum.

/patti

Patti Anklam

Net Work: Leveraging Content, Knowledge and Networks

Harvard, MA 01451

+1(978)456-4175

Hi Patti and LLL –

Thanks for the post. Few points –

After conducting a number of very popular ‘practical’ SNA events early in ‘00, we got angry push back from the SNA establishment. At Xerox PARC one evening I asked my friend and colleague Mark Granovetter,  “What is wrong with those SNA academics?” He said, “John, they have been discovered and they don’t like it.” (Mark and a handful of other scholars are a major exception to this rule.)

Gartner sees SNA coming… in “5 to 10 years.”

In 2006 we set out to scale VNA and value networks massively as a quick, low-cost disruptive innovation to grow DCF. As a broad management discipline, value networks/VNA are a complete, abject failure. Like SNA, value networks/VNA inhabit a highly insular and arrogant milieu. In SNA this is called scholarship, research or the ivory tower. For VNA it is ambitiously called ‘thought leadership.’ Unfortunately, VNA (and SNA) suffer the deadly boutique consulting mindset.

Specious thought leadership in VNA and in general network analysis creates an enormous barrier to widespread adoption. IMO, this is deliberate and intentional. With few exceptions, practitioners are parochial and narcissistic. Simultaneously, management is utterly fed up dealing with lofty, ego-based O/S/VNA consultants.

Sadly, it’s the consultants that perpetuate this vicious cycle. Demented consultants feel if they unbundle to scale and syndicate massively it somehow will hurt their ego. Ironically, precisely the opposite is true…   

Practitioner insularity, arrogance and narcissism is a VERY hard nut to crack. There is no chance of learning from failure either. Soaring indifference to feedback and practice problems, like these well-known issues, is pervasive and, well, mostly impossible to change.

Engagements with dubious surveys, boring mapping sessions, dopey board games and the unbearable ennui of theory lectures, all serve to prohibit management adoption of network analysis.

To advance, it makes sense to engage students, new graduates and new hires in O/S/V network analysis. Remember, sports fans, the last guy to exploit the social graph became a billionaire at 25…

Cheers,

-j

BTW, if SNA ever becomes ANYTHING like 6-Stigma (sic) then our cycle of comprehensive failure is complete. If this happens we should all take up needlepoint or bonsai.  

Hi Patti

Thank you for sending this.  I posted a comment on Dr. Lee´s blog:

Dear Dr. Lee
Let me start by briefly introducing myself and Innovisor. We are a Danish based consultancy practice working with multi-national companies in Europe. Indeed, we have engaged in several SNA projects, both in Europe and elsewhere.
In your blog post you raise some very interesting points. First of all, indeed, I think it is true that some consultants approach SNA as research projects. This, in some instances anyway, is due to the fact that their origin is within research, and consulting is a sideline only. Hence, the approach to SNA is bound to be somewhat academic.
Second, it is also true that business consultants practicing SNA are few and far between, certainly in Europe. However, I do not believe the issue of diffusion to the management consulting industry lies in the lack of standardized tools. On the contrary, plenty of customer dialogues on SNA are likely to focus on the basic principles of SNA and technical stuff, rather than the pain the unique approach will cure with the client.
So our challenge as business consultants is to provide senior management with fact based insight into the informal organisation to improve top and bottom line performance. And that we can identify the top influencers in the organisation methodically, rather than randomly. On top of this, we need to back our statements with real-time cases to demonstrate where this has been done previously, e.g. http://www.innovisor.com/successful-post-merger-integration-in-global-pharma-2
So one could ask whether the management consulting practice should be separated from the science of SNA in order for it to become an established management discipline? I think not. Why? Because the management consulting industry need research to pioneer new grounds. Developing a new market from scratch is a deadlock for most consultancy practices. And research needs management consulting to provide the real-time cases that will take research even further, and to write scientific articles and books.
Business consultants should generally avoid making conclusions from SNA alone. Showing SNA diagrams to senior management is a very good way to faciltate a dialogue, but in order to provide real business value, consultants must have profound business acumen and always make sure that result from the analysis are validated, both diagrams and the raw data. Putting all these bits together will provide the customer with the unique business insight he needs for the company to excel.
Best regards
Morten C. Arendrup, Senior Manager, Innovisor

Best regards

Morten

Hi, all,

I invite you to read Laurie Lock Lee’s recent blog post: “Can SNA be the new Six Sigma?” http://governanceandnetworks.blogspot.com/2011/03/can-sna-be-new-six-sigma.html as it asks an important question for ONA practitioners:

·         Do we need to separate our practice from the science of SNA in order for it to become an established management discipline?

You may want to post your responses to the blog itself, as well as in this forum.

/patti

Patti Anklam

Net Work: Leveraging Content, Knowledge and Networks

Harvard, MA 01451

+1(978)456-4175

Hi Laurie –

Yeah, the 6-Sigma people have done a nice job of (over) institutionalizing their technique.

BTW, 6-Sigma is easily Number One – The Stupidest Management Fad of ALL Time – The Mother of All Stupid Management Fads – Have a look:

http://networksingularity.com/2010/11/19/the-8-stupidesthellip-2.aspx

Couple more comments.

Ego-fueled consultants are not necessarily bad. I’ve hired and used plenty from BCG, McKinsey, Vanguard, Charles River, etc. For these highly paid people there is an expectation of a certain degree of arrogance and narcissism. It is not pejorative. Rather, it is necessary, an expectation of the interaction.

Sometimes, organizations need ‘insultants.’ Often, we just want/need incisive opinion. That’s why we pay a lot. The last thing we want is mealy-mouthed milquetoasts. Everybody’s happy since the ego-consultant will do their job and then, mercifully, just go away…   

The problem with S/V/O network analysis isn’t necessarily science. Rather, it is the overbearing focus on technique at the expense of impact and outcome.

Methods like 6-Sigma scale because they deal with deterministic order systems. They outcome and goal is always known, e.g., lower defects. The 6-Sigma problem space is well bounded and operational, not strategic.

The network analysis opportunity is always complex, strategic and unknown. What must drive it is NOT technique but impact and outcome. This is the nub of the issue.

In SNA and VNA there are a lot of technique bullies. They do not have the business acumen, consulting ability or leadership chops to divine likely business outcomes in advance. Thus, they devolve into eye-watering technique, turgid pontifications and mind-numbing hubris. It repels users, stunts adoption and is just plain ridiculous. Game over.

If a prospect says, “Gee, you are a recognized authority, could you run a SNA on my outfit?” Politely conclude the meeting and excuse yourself. It is what the authentic network analysis pros do. Unless you can engage at a higher level, chances of success are slim. It is key to scope the business impact. Unless you are working on a business outcome, then you are just an everyday SNA instructor.

VNA and SNA are techniques. The only ‘management discipline’ rqr’d is a sanguine network mindset. Leading with technique, science-based or otherwise, will always fail. Sometimes, ‘insultants’ are rqr’d to correct fundamental thinking defects.

To scale S/V/O/NA correct mgmt’s bias to process mental pathology. Trust me, unlearning a century of Taylorism and Fordism is not easy. Today’s crushing legacy of Fordism is the principle barrier to SNA scale, not science.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordism   

BTW, note the stunning disasters when 6-Sigma was applied to complex systems like customer service and support. Ha! What a delicious, sublime farce.

Cheers,

-j

Hi – Process mapping is futile, counterproductive and harmful in knowledge-based organizations and activities. Organizations are social systems. They are emergent. The ridiculous analytic reductionism of process engineering and mapping hurts performance, people and organizations. Beware. Remember, ladies and gentlemen, it’s the 21^st not the 19^th Century. See:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/opinion/29brooks.html?pagewanted=print

C’mon, BPM? Really? Good grief.  

“…pen and the back of an envelope…�

Matt’s right, a ‘SHA’ (short-hand abstraction) is very powerful. A simple social graph is a potent SHA.

BTW, if BPM is so great, why isn’t it a SHA? See:

http://www.edge.org/q2011/q11_index.html#greenej

-j

Hi Laurie --

"Maybe this is back to John Maloney's comment about getting to the students and MBA programmes.....let's hope its no that hard!"

This was my suggestion, but not really what was meant. For MBA programs is too late, kids are already way gone by then. Look, universities are corporations. Many traditions are monastic and draw from canon law. They mostly furnish continuity, stability and automata like any good bureaucracy.

In addition, sadly many universities are preoccupied with producing gladiators for ‘March Madness’ and the ‘Pac 10.’ Coaches earn millions, professors not so much. Curricula are rigid and dogmatic, so forth and so on. Many universities are simply failing civil society.

Rather, the network transformation must be more like Peter Thiel’s 20 Under 20 – use investment capital to encourage kids to drop out of school to develop ideas, solutions and products. See: http://bit.ly/ct3zLq 

Recall, many of the great the leaders today, Gates, Ellison, Dell, Jobs, etc., are dropouts. Create an environment for iconoclasts not conformists.

The other thing is STOP innovating. That is a path to oblivion. Creating modest, incremental process productivity growth, also known as innovation, is a total waste. It’s one definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Or put another way --

"The righter you do the wrong thing, the wronger you become.

It is better to do the right thing wrong than the wrong thing right." – Ackoff

Process thinking is a suffocating framework that repels people, networks, variation, complexity. It is the classic ‘race to the bottom.’ Sorry folks, there is really NO way to get from a process mindset to networks. Also, the network mindset is NOT a process innovation!

Network thinking is a mutation: an entirely new frame of reference. Network mutations require a SUDDEN departure from the parent organization in one or more heritable characteristics. This will never be accomplished with a dopey MBA curriculum adjustment.

Network mutation is caused by a fundamental change in an organizational gene or a chromosome. ONA is instrumental in seeing and understanding the genetic structure, including its defects and advantages. ONA and the network mindset aid continuous mutation, thus altering the evolutionary nature of the organization. This, in turn, achieves new levels of growth and prosperity.

Meanwhile, mutation of the ossified MBA/university establishment should not be expected.

-j

Hi –

For ONA-prac –

http://networksingularity.com/2011/05/05/end-of-value-networks.aspx

-j

John,

I don’t think it’s appropriate to use a modest business financial restructuring to declare an “end” to a conceptual model with a solid methodology.

See the clarification, at http://valuenetworks.com/public/item/266971, including “the changes will not affect delivery of services or software support for the Value Network Insights application.”

Business in VNA and ONA may not be booming (for any number of reasons that practitioners are always interested in addressing), but the methods will always be useful tools for making sense of, and leading to insights into, core business problems.

/patti