investiledysfunction

David Hasselhoff has started a social network.  I will let those words sink in for a bit before I move on….

Okay here goes.

He talks about it on his website.  In Brilliont’s Top 10 Un-Commandments of Innovation, we talk about things corporations should not do as they go after innovation.  Without the authority to do so, I’m adding an 11th.

11th Un-Commandment of Innovation - If David Hasselhoff is doing it, it’s time to think of something else.

When growing up, I was a fan of Knight Rider, but is this is a sign that this whole social networking thing is going just a bit too far?  On his website, Hasselhoff (herein referred to as The Hoff) writes about Hoffspace as follows.  I’m unable to detect irony in any of the below so I assume he is serious.

In my travels round the world I have always been surprised that no matter where I go people recognize and know me, from Europe, Australia and India to the Philippines and the Zulu Nation in South Africa. This got me thinking… I realized that while two people from two entirely different countries and backgrounds may seem to have nothing in common, the only thing they might have in common is me… So I decided to start a network where people from across the world might come together and get a conversation started over me. Where it will lead, I don’t know but the world would be a better place if everyone talked a little more to each other…

So here is HoffSpace. There are videos and photos of the adventures of my life (THAT NO ONE ELSE GETS TO SEE) and also from the lives of other members. Read the discussions or start a forum on a topic that interests you. Check out Hoff TV, where I go live often. Chat with other members from around the world and make friends. Design your own home page. Add music and share your lives with others. Send me the weird, wonderful and wacky things that are happening in your life. Tell me the stories of how you are making a difference in your life and, if you need my help, ask… One man or woman CAN make a difference…

That not crazy enough for you?  Well, as of today, there are 14,217 members of Hoffspace.  Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn needn’t worry.  That is 14,216 more than I would have expected, but who knew?

In all seriousness, perhaps the craziest part of all this is that The Hoff’s social network will likely do better than many of the new half-brained ones being launched today dubbing themselves the next Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace.  (Read my colleague’s post on one such perpetrator, TalkBizNow by clicking here).  That said, the verdict is out on whether even these big boys of social networking really have a business.

While it won’t be valued at billions of dollars, HoffSpace will allow rabid fans of The Hoff to follow him in his exploits and let him sell more t-shirts, shot glasses, autographed pics and other assorted items to his fanbase.  The Hoff has this base and has actually figured out a way to tap into it.  Other social networks which are emerging don’t have this base and because of the network effects required for a social network, they will likely crash and burn quicker than you can say Baywatch.

For corporations, what does The Hoff’s emergence on the social networking scene really mean?  The one thing I’d take away from this is that before some innovation consultant tells you to start a social network for your customers or employees, ensure your customers or employees are engaged and care enough about you to join your social network.   In essence, does your company pass The Hoff test which is “Could you realistically get 14,217 people to your company’s social network interacting on a regular basis and doing something meaningful which strengthens your relationship with them?”  If you’re not sure or the answer is no, move on to another, better idea and leave the social networking to Facebook, LinkedIn and The Hoff.

So everyone knows that Al Gore invented the Internet, right?  Well, if you didn’t know that, now you know.

But not to be outdone, AOL wants you to know they’re the trailblazing pioneers in another technology movement.  With their recent acquisition of Bebo, a social networking site, AOL is stepping into the latest web2.0, paradigm shifting, synergistic space.  But don’t think they are new to the space.  AOL chief Randy Falco states, “Social networking was really invented here at AOL.  We let it get away from us.”  So now you know who to thank for the countless hours you’ve spent on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace or Friendster (for those who remember this has been).

It just got away from them.  I like that.  Thanks for social networking AOL.  We owe you.

Given the vast amounts of unproductive complexity (UC) that resides within organizations, it is amazing how prone we are to believing silver-bullet strategies will transform the company and miraculously grow revenues, shareholder returns, profits, customer and employee satisfaction. 

When I talk about unproductive complexity, I’m talking about the absurd matrixed organization structures, transfer pricing issues, overly-detailed budget processes, steering committees, infighting due to silos, bizarre short-term oriented incentive structures and other ridiculous processes and practices organizations adopt.  Managers would have you believe that this complexity is an unfortunate consequence of being big and global or multinational, and to some extent, that is true.  But unproductive complexity is often a result of territorial and suboptimal behavior.  It’s end result is slow and often poor decision-making.  Unproductive complexity is the enemy of innovation.  It is good, however, at creating job security for a host of mediocre and incompetent people who can sneak by while they shuffle papers from left to right and churn out PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets.  And given their accomplices in the leadership ranks, this activity over accomplishment method becomes acceptable.  If you want to change organizational performance, focus on stamping out unproductive complexity.  This should be the focus on reengineering efforts - not knee jerk cost cutting and layoffs.

So with that rant about unproductive complexity out of the way, let me get back to the subject I wanted cover.  Given this UC, it perhaps makes sense that leaders are drawn to consultant, software, academic elixirs that are simple.  With all the day to day b.s. they have to put up with, it’s probably comforting to think that if they just do “this one great thing”, they’ll have changed company performance and arrived.  There is probably some psychological basis so I’ll just assume that there is some school of psychology that says “when people are overwhelmed, they take comfort in something that doesn’t overwhelm them.”

And as a result, consultants, academics and many software vendors who’ve realized this bring elixirs and other alchemy-in-a-box solutions to management and with great success, they sell them and make lots of money.  In fact, entire industries emerge around some of these practices.  This enables the leaders to not think too hard for a bit because the solution is just right in front of them.  It also often serves the dual purpose of making the leader seem bold, visionary, strategic, etc.  These are all nice appelations that we like.

Here are some of my favorite elixirs that appear to be hot these days.  Some actually have value but given everyone is hanging out their shingle and professing expertise in many of these areas, I worry that organizations will end up with a whole lot of nothing after investing in these efforts with these dubious experts.  

Here is my list which I hope to revisit over time and get input on.  The top elixirs, hot topics, etc are: business intelligence, IT portfolio management, innovation (always hot), corporate social responsibility, anything green, web2.0, social networking.