Is a person’s basic nature “angelic”
or “devilish”? In other words, when faced with the opportunity to do the right
thing, do we indulge our best instincts or succumb to our worst?
Sorry to get so deep here, but
much of what Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff observe in “Groundswell” is
predicated on the notion that people are, for lack of a better word, good. As Exhibit A I give you Jeff Stenski (Groundswell, 159), an avid Dell
computer user who spends his free time helping folks solve their computer
problems on a community support forum. Why? “I actually enjoy helping people,” Stenski told the
authors. And thanks to his efforts, he also saved Dell an estimated $1 million
in service calls (as of the book’s writing).
Tapping the power of the
groundswell requires a leap of faith -- the conviction that the human race will come through for
you. Li and Bernoff call this "psychic income" (Groundswell, 160), which they define as rewards
in the form of “good feelings from altruism, validation and belonging to a
community.”
Well, what do you know! Aren’t these the same reasons why people go to church?
Companies that rely on the best
natures of their customers to do the work for them are the corporate equivalent
of Tom Sawyer convincing his friends to whitewash his fence. Again, returning to Dell. The
company was faced with an unpleasant reality— horrible publicity from technical failures and a history of poor service — and instead of heading underground, the
chief executive, Michael Dell, played Tom Sawyer and recruited the public to paint Dell’s fence
through blogs and the Idea Storm initiative (Groundswell, 211). Rather than alienating the public
(which they had been doing masterfully), they recruited the public to be part
of their team, instilling in them a sense of ownership at no cost.
Brilliant.
(I'd rather see a Dell computer explode than
watch these kids act, but you'll get the point.)
That’s not to say the groundswell
doesn’t bring out the worst in some people. As Joseph noted in his recent blog, there have
been clear abuses on some review sites like Yelp. Imagine the temptation for a restaurant
owner to trash his competitor’s place.
Anyone who spends time online knows anonymity is a mixed blessing. It gives some writers the
confidence to be honest, and others the courage to be complete jerks. But the
fact is, if you’re going to expose yourself to public scrutiny ...
... or if
you choose to improve yourself through crowdsourcing (Groundswell, 187) you have to learn to take
your blows. Fortunately, the groundswell also has an amazing ability to police
itself from some of the most heinous trolls.
Li and Bernoff advise business
owners to embrace the groundswell with this caveat: “When it comes to
collaborating with your customers — really bringing them into your development
and innovation processes — the one real truth is this: it’s challenging.”
(Groundswell, 182).
Here's another. Do it poorly and you're left wrestling with the devil. But do it the right way, and you've got an angel on your shoulder.
