Reverse mentoring

There’s a nice piece in the Chicago Tribune this week about a new business trend emerging: reverse mentoring, where social media savvy young employees induct their older superiors into the landscape and language of the connected world. It’s an example of using conversation as an internal change agent, something I touched on last week, and it’s really resonates with the brand consultancy I’ve been involved with over the past few days.

A common complaint execs make is ‘I just don’t have the time. Playing around in these platforms and communities is a massive drain on our resources’. The only real response here is: tough. As Gordon Brown’s foray onto Mumsnet showed, there’s no shortcut to understanding why and how online word of mouth works. In fact, it’s that investment in time and effort – not money and advertising – that consumers will repay with their attention in social media.

Nearly every company will have staff members who are active in these spaces every day, and whose enthusiasm could be used to drive buy-in throughout the business. In fact, the best person to run your Twitter feed or blog might not be the CEO, but the bright kid who joined a few months ago, but who is bursting with passion for what he does, and who knows how to offer a personal and colloquial entry point for others interested in the brand. Yes, he’ll need some mentoring around what is appropriate, but don’t dismiss the energy and skills he can bring.

So ow do you find him (or her)? If you’re a small organisation, try talking to your employees (gasp). If you’re big, take advice from The Wall Street Journal and try social computing and social search within the company…

If you’re looking to trade in new terrain, you need a native to be your guide.

Brought into the world on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 and filed under Uncategorized.