Social Media and Change
Management at IBM
October 6th, 2010
Ben Edwards
Vice President, Digital Strategy &
Development

What change do you want?
Management
Employees
Shareholders/owners
Markets
Perceptions
The board
Government/regulators
Competitors
Analog to digital
Business performance
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“Change comes through consistent communication”
Sir Nick Scheele
Former President and COO, Ford Motor Company
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“Controlling information is like trying to control a conversation:
it can’t be done and still be genuine ”
The Cluetrain Manifesto
Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger, Rick Levine
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A rich culture of collaboration
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IBM Social Computing tools
Source: IBMer Christian Carlsson
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The rise of the employee-generated intranet
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“If you unleash all this energy, opinions, and hope, you
better be prepared to do something in response.”
Sam Palmisano, Chairman & CEO, IBM, Harvard Business Review Interview
Digital is…
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InnovationJam
 More than 150,000 people from 104 countries
 4.6 million page views
 46,000+ ideas
 67 clients, business partners and academic
institutions worldwide
 12,690 family members
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Jam Outcomes
Real-time Simplified Intelligent
Translation Business Utility
Services Engines Networks 3D Internet “Digital Me”
Smart Electronic
Branchless Healthcare Intelligent Health
Big Green Banking for Payment Transportation Record
Innovations the Masses Systems Systems System
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IBMers on…
75,000+
17,000 internal blogs
1,000,000 daily page views
60,000
200 IBM channels
30,000+ as IBM
200,000+, 500 groups
40,000+
200,000+
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Social Computing Guidelines
“It is very much in IBM's interest—and, we believe, in
each IBMer's own—to be aware of and participate in
this sphere of information, interaction and idea
exchange:
To learn…
To contribute…”
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The IBM digital strategy
1. Lead how forward thinkers engage with experts and expertise
to make the world work better.
2. Design a digital system that engenders trust and accelerates
forward thinking and action
3. Iterate
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Overall findings: Connecting with Experts
 Experts area was a huge winner with
Design A:
participants, even if some reported
they weren’t sure if they would use it.
 Instilled feelings of confidence, trust,
empowerment, and partnership with
IBM.
 Competitive advantage! Differentiator
for IBM.
 Up to date content is critical. Out
dated blogs, twitter entries, etc., from
Design B: • Key user quotes experts will impact the usefulness and
perceptions of confidence and trust.
– “I like seeing human faces, people, positive images.”
– “…I feel empowered.”
– “If it came down to IBM and a competitor for a solution- neck to
neck tie- this would push me to IBM.”
– “This is new, different from other sites. Puts a face to people
behind the scenes. Makes me confident about the product and
the enterprise.”
– “Shows IBM is serious about helping the customer and not just
selling the product.”
– “Brilliant!”
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Jams open possibilities for change — new ways of working across
industries, disciplines, and national borders
 First industry-wide virtual  Over 150 companies with  Results: Redefined the Supplier
collaboration event to address the participants ranging from CEOs OEM relationship
challenges facing the North to middle managers and (background on auto supplier jam)
American supplier industry engineers
 CEO sponsored to identify ideas  Over 1/3rd of Nokia participated  Results: Nokia-wide restructuring
to realize the company’s new from 40 countries including to focus revenue growth in
strategy with it’s new values as factory workers, sales teams, expanding AP consumer markets
the framework R&D and manufacturing (background on nokia.com)
 The World Urban Forum (WUF)  HabitatJam was the largest  Results: 8k+ ideas netted down
was established by the United brainstorming ever on urban to 70 – all presented and
Nations to examine rapid sustainability bringing together not adopted at the WUF3
urbanization and its impact on only NGOs, politicians and conference as it official platform
cities, economies and policies academia – but the slum dwellers (background on habitat jam)
whose lives were directly
impacted by this body
 CEO sponsored to generate  Over 1/2 of Lilly participated from  Results: Greater adoption of new
practical ideas to help drive and 40 countries including factory values program, and hundreds of
realise the new values into the workers, sales teams, R&D and ideas, one example in SCM
company. manufacturing packaging saved $14M
(background on lilly.com)
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2010 - Cross-industry guidelines needed
Work in concert with C-Level officers of like-
minded, influential companies. Leverage their
influence and standing. Work across industries and
corporate functions to create “how to” manual:
 Prove business value for social media and
recommend how to make employees experts
 Provide guidance for:
 Governance
 Risk management
 Enabling employee base to “speak”
externally for the company
 Dealing with regulation
 Results measurement
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Digital is…
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