When one of the biggest global management consulting firms decides to build a social business consulting practice, you know that big business is taking notice and asking for help. In a recent blog post Mark Fidelman profiles how CapGemini is making the move to help its customers figure out their social business strategy, very interesting I think.
Social business is far more than social media. Even using the term "social" in this context seems to trivialize what is a radical transformation in the midst where corporations and businesses of all sizes, in all industries, are finding innovative ways to leverage social technologies to foster innovation, deepen relationships with customers and connect employees in new, more meaningful and efficient ways.
As we enter 2012 and beyond it will be fascinating to watch which brands get it and which ones do not. Those that fail to evolve and adopt a real social business strategy will likely not survive in the long-run as customers will defect to brands that truly listen AND act. And employees also gravitate towards careers with businesses that empower them through the social technologies they have in place; allowing for accelerated career and idea advancement without the more traditional structures of power and control that still exist today.
You can read more about this in the full report from MIT and CapGemi, Digital Transformation: A Roadmap for Billion-Dollar Organizations.
