The Power of Social Media… Myth?

Is the power of social media overrated? I keep hearing mainstream media talking about "the power of social media". It is my contention that social media has no power in itself, it just facilitates the power of ideas… good or bad, at a much faster rate than in the past. Social media has no power itself. The "Arab Spring" (as an example), was a powerful idea, not a powerful social media event.

When desperate senior executives of confused corporations hear about this social media power I am sure in many cases they race out of their offices and demand an instant social media policy, or better still the instant hiring of a social media 'guru'.  The thinking of course must be… 'we need professional and effective access to this fundamental new source of power'.

Sure social media is a great communication channel, or perhaps more correctly a series of communication channels however the power comes from the power of their brand or the message their brand delivers when it is well matched to their ability to communicate… not as many seem to think… the channel access itself.

In two instances recently organisations have discussed with me the need to set up or get involved with social media. "We need 'to improve the market penetration" and 'customer touch points' is the common catch cry. 

The problem both these organisations have is I suspect similar to that of many others … they don't know what to set up let alone how to operate what they set up. The social media power problem is two fold. The second problem is most don't understand that the power comes from the passion created by their fundamental message rather than the level of activity undertaken on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or any other social media platform. 

The first issue in many cases is badly handled as the need to carry on a sensible conversation on an organisation's social media channels seems difficult, if not impossible for many. Social media operations are time consuming, expensive, labour intensive and potentially dangerous. The second problem is if you have a boring product or a boring message social media will not help you, in fact it may just make the world more aware of how boring your organisation and its product's or services really are.

So remember if you are wanting 'the power' get your message right as well as how it is delivered and be prepared for a long ongoing conversation with your customers. It's all about form and substance and you need to handle both extremely well to be successful in the social media world.

Richard Townsend - orglearn - 'planning is everything, plans are nothing'

When Two Men Meet - Imagine

History shows when two men meet often as not they will come into conflict and one will die.

When men grow families and they meet other families often the two will feud and one will be obliterated or else the next generation will seek revenge.

When extended families form clans these greater groups will clash over females, livestock and land. Just take a look at Syria and Afghanistan to name but two.

When clans grow to groups that form villages, towns or cities, plunder and pillage will follow… again proven by history and strongly reinforced by current events.

When states or countries are formed national boundaries and integrity must be protected, so nations will attack each other and often neighbouring countries or even the rest of world can be drawn into the conflict. Now men and of course women and children die in vast numbers.

When men create religious divisions within societies… so called civilisations clash. Today’s rash of crazy religions based of irrational thought and fear of reality is creating a great deal of disastrous behaviour for individuals the world over. Religion is often at the centre of culture and I was taught, ‘no culture is bad just different’. I have grown to believe that that is rubbish, some cultures need to be stomped on as they are based on past realities and despicable practices and traditions.

An unfortunate fact: All conflict is limited by reach and today reach from a global perspective and through the wonders of modern technology is almost unlimited.

So how do we at least begin to stop the ever growing madness fuelled by those with immense power needs who are given succour and ‘legitimacy’ by large numbers of ignorant followers that demonstrate extremely low levels of emotional intelligence.

A possible start:

When men and women form a world conflict theoretically could only occur, given what I have said above, with other worlds. As, at least for the foreseeable future, other worlds are so far are out of reach that no conflict could occur.

Conclusion: Best for humanity to think about how to form a world and forget self, family, clan, city, country, religion and parochial cultures.

Yes I know it’s almost impossible, however…. IMAGINE

Power: Grab It or Live in Mediocrity

I know it can for some be a difficult topic however, without power you really will live a small life.

The best place to start with thinking about power is to at least understand where your power can come from. A number of well-known management “gurus” have written about power and I can remember many years ago having to do a paper on it for a management course I was on. Well the world may have changed, however the basic rules of being powerful have not. It is generally agreed there are five sources of personal power and they, under various guises are listed below. with a brief explanation of what they entail.

One: Formal, legitimate, delegated, authority or position power

This form of power comes from an individual’s designated role and the role's relative status within the organization. Commonly this power entails the right to organise people and resources. As this form power is conferred by the organization if the position or role is lost so is the power. At its worst this can manifest itself as negative power as the holder has the capacity to stop, delay or disrupt the actions of others.  This negative power usually used by those that feel they have no other source of control and is an often expression of anger, frustration, low morale or poor self esteem. A similar form or formal power is sometimes known a sanction power or reward - coercion power. This covers an individual's capability to use incentives or issue threats to control people’s behaviour. Rewards are offered to those who comply and punishment or deprivation threatened for non-compliance. This power can be demonstrated as naked aggression or more indirectly as pressure exerted through the threat of or actual removal of status, privileges or even financial rewards.

Two: Expert power:

Expert power is based on the specialised knowledge or skills that an individual has which can be contributed or withheld. Generally, individuals are positive about being lead, or at least influenced, by those whom they regard as ‘an expert’. This form of power is "comparative" and the holder of this type of power is always under threat from other "experts". Expert power is often based around a very narrow bank of knowledge, skills or competence and can be short lived as time passes and technology or techniques evolve. It is a reality that someone will always come along who knows more than you do in a particular area.

Three: Information or communication power

This power is derived from being able to control the flow of information, or to be able to edit and be selective about what is passed on, e.g. from senior management to team members, or even a secretary to a boss or other managers/staff. "The information may be horizontal, to be shared with colleagues, or vertical, to be passed up or down through a formal organisational structure". This type of power is often linked with position power, however those with little formal authority, clerks, secretaries and receptionists, can exert information power. I have seen customer and supplier files withheld or even destroyed by individuals that were under operational pressure in an attempt to stave off the control of a situation which was threatening to staff that were acting in an unethical manner.

Four: Connection or as I was taught it "referent" power:

Referent power comes about as a result of an individual’s ability to control or use access to influential people through formal networks or associations. Additionally as people/employees increasingly extend their circle of influence or information sources through involvement in informal networks their power can increase. Networks and hierarchies that operate independently of more formal organisational structures can often compete with, or even be more influential than the official company structure.

Five: Personal power or personal attractiveness

This type of power results from an individual’s own personal qualities or ‘charisma’.  People will often undertake a particular action or behave in particulars ways because they admire and like the individual holding the power. Some believe that this type o power is built up through "being reliable, trustworthy, honest and likeable". This view is obviously limited in its explanation as charisma and what it is is not something that automatically comes with behavior alone. The personal attractiveness part of this equation can also obviously be lost as we age or as our ability to attract others through 'positive' personality may be diminished. Suffice to say if you want to develop this type of power in yourself you will need to do the best you can with how you look, present yourself, personal confidence levels, how well you communicate and your natural personal traits.

What is power about and what are the benefits and pitfalls

According to Richard Petty, professor of psychology at Ohio State University and co-author of a study on power:  “Powerful people have confidence in what they are thinking. Whether their thoughts are positive or negative toward an idea, that position is going to be hard to change,” This of course can be both a benefit and a shortcoming and you, if you hold power, can risk missing opportunities to grow and develop through the arrogance of total self-belief.

Abraham Lincoln said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." So if you seek power, beware of the almost inevitable personal consequences to your thought processes and even your very existence.

Amy Tan "You see what power is - holding someone else's fear in your hand and showing it to them!" Reality succinctly put perhaps!

I was once told that: 'for power to exist you must have control over something that is limited in supply and that considered valuable by those over whom you want hold power'. This as we have seen above can be technical skills, information or even a willingness to have an ongoing relationship.

So if you are seeking power be advised you must develop all five areas otherwise your time in control will be but a fleeting moment and the process of losing power can be a terminal event.

All too hard you think, so much time, so much to learn, so much politics. Can I suggest if your ignore the five points of power you can have, or even rely on just one or two your life will not be your own and you will end up as puppet of those around you.

By the way, power is rarely given… you must stand up and take it.