frank turned six this month, so McKinsey's new report on social technology within the enterprise was a great gift! It quantifies the benefits (and frustrations) of developing a social business – as the authors put it, "extending the organization" inside and out. Plus it had a strong personal resonance with me because it confirmed so many of the reasons we created frank. (Hah! Check out the original frank manifesto we posted Jan. '06.)
Over birthday cake & franktinis, here are the Top 5 McKinsey findings that sent shivers down my spine (I swear it wasn't the franktinis):
1. experimentation: social technologies as a group have reached critical scale at the organizations represented in the survey ... 72% of the respondents report that their companies are deploying at least one technology
2. business benefits: when adopted at scale across a networked enterprise and integrated into the work processes of employees, social technologies can boost a company’s financial performance and market share
3. key performance indicators: market share leadership and operating margin improvements correlated positively with the integration of social tools in employees’ day-to-day work
4. red flags: about 50% of the internally and externally networked enterprises backslid, that is, they did not maintain the benefits of using social technologies they had achieved a year earlier
5. opportunities: many executives believe significant changes will occur as (or if) constraints on social tools and technologies are lifted, such as cultural obstacles, for example. (Check out the chart below to see their vision of likeliest org changes!)
Study the full report for yourself. (Creating a quick McKinsey member-profile is required, but it's worth it.) The nuances to my top-line summary are explained and the report is statistically representative, highly credible and packed with great numbers, charts & graphics to motivate any decision-maker to invest more in social business strategies and technologies that improve processes and drive results.
People passionately performing in organizations with the above characteristics was the vision that inspired us to create frank six years ago. (Besides a few beers at McSorely's as we sketched out our model on the napkin to the right.) 
Since then, frank has had the opportunity to work with and generate exciting results with many courageous clients who took the social business plunge with us.
In 2012, we'll launch ERP change-communications solutions to spike the ROI of tech transformation by empowering human transformation. We'll continue working with brands committed to leveraging their people, cultures and transparency as untouchable market differentiators. And we'll kick up our own organizational excellence as frank goes for its WorldBlu certification as a full-fledged democratic company!
The McKinsey report closes with this perspective: "Companies that can create change themselves – instead of reacting to it – are likely to benefit the most." Those are the real rewards of authentic business transformation ... within our organizations, our teams and ourselves.
Orbit, collect & transmit the wisdom of your brand's crowds: Check out our new frankfile now!
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