Berger Blog

It is kind of amazing, now that the blog is less of a phenomenon and more of a staple of the leading edge.  An article in like homedepotsucks.com) have been around for a while, but it may be that companies are taking this phenomenon and doing something useful with the incredibly rich content – other than hiding from it, that is.

One of the hardest things to get from people inside of organizations is honest perspective.  Their truth, for all of its glory and pain, its insight and cutting acuity, is one of the things that I need to really work at to get – and I’m really good at it!  In many controlled settings, people are afraid to say what they think to the people who really need to hear them.  Fear is a real factor for businesses and organizations.  People think that if they say what they think, their boss will get pissed off at them and either (more overtly) fire them or (more covertly) use passive aggressive techniques to let them know not to speak out again.

But the blog is not a controlled environment.  It is, for the most part, free.  You can post, opine, orate, and flame with a fair degree of anonymity and a potential for HUGE reach.  What’s great about this Wired article, is that the powers in question are facing the music, and looking for the messages they can use for positive change.

I have found that while lots of leaders say they want to get the feedback and want to change (“I have an open door policy”), they really don’t want to hear it, don’t want to change, and don’t want to be made to look stupid or suspect in their judgment.

With this newer medium, it seems as though a few people are getting the message that they can choose to continue running from the critiques – to absolutely no avail, mind you --  or they can face it and do something. 

I’ll be paying real close attention to see where this moves, especially as the phenomenon part of the blog continues to make its way further and further into mainstream and starts showing up on more execs’ computers.  Are we moving to a place where flames become  feedback and public criticism becomes one of the CEO’s best friends and competitive advantages?