It's a Saturday morning after a super trip to the HR Technology Conference (#HRTechConf) in Chicago this week. As you can imagine, it was a whirlwind of a week - a constant state of learning wrapped in a package of meeting new people, strengthening weak links, spending more quality time with (already) strong links that live in different areas of the world, dinners and follow-up parties with Vendors, etc. Translation: Anyone that attended and really engaged for the whole 60 hours is likely planning to take it easy today and drink about a gallon of water :)
Over the next week, I plan to post on some of my reflections and things I've learned. Since we all have our own unique way of looking at the world (and consequently, technology within HR), I hope that perhaps my angle is a little different from the others that you'll read. Why? Because my view of HR and HR Technology is more from a Social Network Analysis lens (#SNA).
My initial reflection is what Marc Effron (author of "One Page Talent Management"; OPTM) spoke to as a shift toward more simplicity. He suggested that HR Buyers tend to lean toward more complexity because with more and more bells and whistles comes an increased perception of quality. According to Marc, this is a flawed frame of reference. It's a fundamental error in buying psychology that occurs everywhere in society, not just HR. Kris Dunn of the HR Capitalist speaks to some of this in his blog review of OPTM - we (Consumers) are allured to more and more features, but after a half-hour or so of practical use, we predictably decide we would have rather preferred a "good enough" solution. Translation: Less is often more, but we stand in our own way.
If I may, I'd also suggest that perhaps HR is inclined toward more and more complexity because of a simmering undercurrent of Executive inferiority. (Please HR World, don't take this comment personally - it's not meant to be.) If only we can show just how "complex" HR can be (through interfaces with tables and charts and graphs and 3-d renderings of simultaneous layers of "business analytics"), perhaps we'll be more respected (or at least taken seriously). Unfortunately, this all too often doesn't work out - we seem as if we're working through our own Napoleon Complex, and as a result, are inclined toward resisting simplicity (in my humble opinion). If Marc is successful in communicating his message of our industry's pressing need to resist complexity from Tech Vendors, I personally believe the path toward progress will have less obstacles. We need to execute on our core objectives better, not add additional ones. Think the Pareto Principle, 80/20. As Marc explained during his closing session at #HRTechConf, "Too many goals reduces effort on all goals."
So what does this mean for us Social Network Analysis peeps? It means that we need to lean away from the 'Science' in how we market and present our solutions. Let me shoot straight with you - Buyers don't give a crap about all the science and centrality measures. And this frustrates me because I know better, yet still fell into the trap. Ultimately, Buyers care about how we can create value for them. Period. Simplicity is key. And to anyone that thinks I should keep this to myself, trust me I get it - it's easy to sell "simple" in an SNA world that embraces "just how smart we are; hey, look at our complexity!" . . . but here's the deal -- a rising tide lifts all boats. A move toward simplicity in our value propositions will help all of us (it's a positive form of pressure to step up our game collectively).
I'll tell you all this: I have personally been in Sales situations where questions about the Science have led me further and further down a rabbit hole that is farther away from closing than it is more questions. It's not that we have a Napoleon Complex, it's that we have a textbook case of the Curse of Knowledge. And trust me - it's no better than the former. In fact, when it comes to being successful as an industry, it very well might be worse.
So what does this mean for me and my blog? It means that you're going to see more and more discussions of practical use of Social Network Analysis (#SNA) and less conjecture on the Science and how-to. Why? Again, because Buyers don't give a crap. They want us to tell them how we can create value and/or solve their challenge in 20 seconds or less. Period. I also plan to return to my roots of comical satire and (hopefully) entertainment in how I discuss SNA. It's because "Stories" stick with Buyers . . . not Science.
And if I may, I want to send a huge shout-out to Brett Starr, "King Bee" of Starr Tincup out of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The dude is brilliant, and gave me a couple ideas (over a beer and a steak at Harry Cary's dinner sponsored by Sonar6) that will completely transform my business (Knight and Bishop) from the ground up. If you're looking for a Marketing genius that will shake your entire foundation of how you look at your market (so you can actually "live the dream" you had when you first opened your business), you need to call this guy. Seriously.
P.S. Did I mention that Sonar6's Performance Management solution is hot? That's an understatement. And their marketing? Even hotter (a little birdie told me it might be that Brett dude in the above paragraph who really helped out). So if you're in the market for a solution and buy into Marc Effron's notion that we need more simplicity than complexity, look Sonar6 up today. And just to toss this out there, it was pretty damn cool to hang out with a CEO (John Holt) who rocked jeans and a wayfarer jacket and not a 3-piece suit!) Oh, and before I run (as a pre-carrot to my next post, props to Sonar6 on using cool, engaging data visualization to take complex data and present it in a way that is sweet-looking and instantly actionable. Data visualization is the nirvana of complexity simplification! [no pun intended, of course.])
I very much enjoyed our conversation, Josh. It was a real pleasure. I hope we're all living the dream - because if we're not, why do we work so hard? You've got some amazing stuff going on. I'm going to sit back and watch you take over the world. Please remember me when you're famous. I was the drunk guy wearing the hat made from a 12-pack box.
Posted by: Bret Starr | 10/03/2010 at 10:48 PM