Over the next few weeks, SamSari will host two young trainees from Grade 8 as they participate in a work experience program. Today they set out to capture how the spring has arrived in Stockholm, see their lovely images here.

At SamSari we often work with creating innovative and inspiring change programs relating to corporate values, and how they can be put into action in day-to-day operations. Over the past months we have used our ideas on ourselves, working in 2 teams to create a change program for the other SamSari team, the purpose being to create energy, empowerment and good (and necessary) discussions. Yesterday, one team’s idea became clear…

Our values are professional, personal and innovative. But what do they really mean to us? One of the teams was interviewed by a journalist about how we work, how our customers perceive us and about one of our latest customer projects involving many exciting initiatives. What we didn’t know was that the interview was planned by our colleagues to find out what we really think about our values. Click on the document below to read some of what we told the journalist!

living_the_samsari_values.pptx (230.57 kb)

Ludwig just sent this link to me, http://thewildernessdowntown.com - probably one of the coolest and most innovative ways of working with the web and the integration between different technologies and medias I've seen in a long time. Have a look! It’s also a great way of interacting with the viewer and it really ads to the experience, on the other hand the song almost ends up in the background even if it’s a great tune. Thinking of what’s going to be possible within the next few years really puts the spotlight on the need for innovative thinking and entrepreneurship.

I often reflect upon how it’s the things you’ve never done before that really drives development and keeps your energy levels up. This is definitely the case at SamSari; problem solving creates such a dynamic environment and positive spinoffs. Although I must admit that it can be a bit scary sometimes to dive into the cold water not knowing where you’ll end up.

I have a friend that constantly plows and tries to develop new stuff. I can see it’s sometimes a really painful experience, but equally rewarding when he succeeds… and I guess we would all stand still if it wasn’t for all the developers and creative people out there, so thank you all for that. I try to do my ‘plowing’ at SamSari, the place where I spend most of my work life. At SamSari we are devoted to drive the change part in any kind of corporate change project. My experience is that it’s pretty easy to define what to do - but the “how and why” is much harder. Sometimes early on in the concept development of a project things go from good to great and that’s often when we meet someone brave, a person that is prepared to try out new ways and is prepared to risk some to gain a lot. They challenge us and push our development and the need for innovation. The development we go through as a company during these projects is amazing and that’s often the foundation for the next step in our evolution. Braveness, instinct, gut feeling - call it what you want but it is so incredibly important to follow what you believe in. I think Simon Sinek has a pretty good view on why courage and belief in what you do is essential, have a look at this video if you have the time!

The social media landscape today is huge, and growing. It seems a new application or tool is appearing every week, making it hard for a regular person to keep up. But the fact remains that social media is a part of the communicative landscape today, and is changing the way we communicate. So how is social media connected to change projects and internal communication?

When talking about social media today people often think about B2C campaigns or tools for private use, but more and more people are looking into how social media can be used to enhance an organization’s internal communication. Traditionally, organizations have been afraid of opening up their communication channels internally, perhaps out of fear of letting negative comments and the like out in the open. But if organizations were to embrace that possibility instead (having people express their opinion is the only way for an organization to be able to comment on them, start up a dialogue and improve) they have a lot to gain.

From my perspective social media, in whatever form it may take, is an excellent tool to use in a change project. Whereas internal communication traditionally is all about 1-way communication from the top down (worst case), social media is all about 2-way communication – dialogue – feedback. In other words, all the things that internal communication should be characterized by. By using social media internally, you can for example:
• create a collaborative dialogue rather than a monologue, and thereby empower employees to action
• have an ongoing, alive communication rather than a static bank of information (compare to many traditional intranets)
• increase involvement and buy-in on the subject of your choice throughout the organization
• ensure knowledge-sharing takes place (make sure your organization is making use of all the talent you have internally!)
• create short-term wins by broadcasting internal heroes or ambassadors.

The possibilities are endless! Making use of social media such as wikis, podcasts, videos etc. internally is a huge change in itself for many organizations today, but I hope we see more of it in the future. At the end of the day, communication is a key success factor for making strategy happen.

Want to read more? Check out the links below for further inspiration:

Slideshow from Abi Signorelli: "Using social networks to engage employees"
Video from Melcrum featuring Abi Signorelli: "Using social media for internal communication"
Examples of groups on LinkedIn related to use of social media in internal communications: Social Media for Internal Communicators, Internal Communications: Getting Started With Social Media, and SMCC - Social Media in a Corporate Context.

Seeing as we’re only a few weeks into the new year I thought I‘d share some thoughts for 2010 before the afterglow of our new year’s celebrations fades completely.

This time of year many of us compensate for holiday indulgences by vowing to make some fundamental changes in the way we live our lives. Some may be relatively simple - eating better or hitting the gym - while others may aim for higher ideals - a new career or going after that elusive promotion. In short, we all want change for the better.

The problem of course, as some witty person once noted, is that “95% of new year’s resolutions fail or end in divorce.” While this might get you to smile it should also get you thinking about the nature of change. Change is hard for people. In my personal experience, I think this is due in large part to the fact that humans tend to be pretty conservative creatures. But that’s understandable when you consider the world each of us must get up and face every morning - a world that is increasingly complicated both socially and technologically. To manage this each of us has a set of routines and habits that help us navigate our way through it all. While these habits and routines are intended to help us manage complexity, they can also become obstacles when we become inflexible and unwilling to adapt.

Here at SamSari, I’ve noticed this affect on a bigger scale, when we work with clients from widely dispersed international organizations. Innovation these days proceeds at such a rate that staying relevant in the market means being able to mobilize a flexible workforce that is easily able to adapt to sudden changes. This can wreak havoc on carefully established routines and processes, on entire business models. So what’s the solution?

For many organizations, success comes with following the same kind of resolutions that work for those rare individuals that succeed in making personal changes ‘stick’. Whether it’s the friend who manages to quit smoking, or the multinational company that finally adopts a more efficient sales process, the results tend to be achieved in similar ways. Usually these include setting specific goals that can be reasonably achieved, clearly defining new behavior and providing a support system to reinforce that behavior. 

So, what's it going to be this year? Change? Or more of the same?