A Global Candy Store

When my friend Suzanne Minassian-Livingston described IBM as "like a candy store" at last year's Web 2.0 Expo conference in Berlin it immediately struck a chord with me; and I've reused her slide (based on a Creative Commons-licensed image from a Flickr contributor) many times over the last year.

One of the things I've learned about the company I work for (particularly as a result of getting involved with social software, networks and communities both internally and externally) is the massive diversity the organisation has and the enormous strength that it delivers. It's a diversity that is constantly being refreshed as new acquisitions are made and new thinking and innovation joins the existing talent pool. It's a diversity that's reflected not only in the global nature of the business, but also in the different areas in which the company is engaged - from hardware, software, services, methodologies, research, all kinds of cool thinking. It seems lately that almost every day I meet someone new who has something different to share with me.

Yesterday I was presenting to a customer about what IBM has been doing internally with social networks, and how we collaborate both internally and externally. That brought me back to the diversity slide - the sweet shop, the candy store. What was really cool about that was that it enabled me to tell the story of how I'd widened my network internally, and began to reach out to people across the organisation - making friends in Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Delhi, all over the world as well as around the UK, and from all different areas of the business. One of the things that I learned as part of the briefing the IBM team delivered yesterday was about IBM's green strategy and Project Big Green - I'd heard about it before and been excited, but I learned a lot from one of our VPs about a number of different client stories where value and environmental improvements have been delivered.

It's just incredibly exciting. That, and that the fact that there's always something new to learn, coupled with the rich cultural diversity and the enormous amount of trust that I feel that the organisation places in its employees, is really what makes it such an enjoyable place to work, and that I believe makes it a really strong organisation.

Andy Piper, social bridgebuilder, IBM Hursley

Home: http://andypiper.co.uk | Twitter: @andypiper

Comments

[debbe kennedy]

Dear Andy,

I'm soooo moved by your post! I share the experience you describe both in my years at IBM, where I lived it too, even though it was a different time. Also since I left--- My years now exploring, writing my books on this subject, and working with social media have created the "global candy store" where I am so blessed to work.

Yes, it is DIVERSITY that refreshes and sparks INNOVATION --- the studies prove it, but it happened long before there were studies. It's been there all along waiting for our DISCOVERY. Nature its best role model.

Your JOY in your experience leaps out of your writing (and speaking). I too remain captivated with every by-chance meeting that brings us together across the world. IBM with all its initiatives for good makes me appreciate the gift I had to grow up there. The ready-access we all now have to our world full of DIVERSITY through social media is truly created a grand "global sweet shop".

Thanks for sharing this beautifully written story.

Debbe