World Traveling Sailors: The Most Bizarre Social Media Example?

The other day I was invited to take part in a brainstorming session as the "social media expert" (notice the quotes). I was introduced by my friend as a past colleague who had just finished a 6 year, around the world, sailing adventure and no one laughed.. but I'm sure more than one team member was wondering how the two were related. If you take a newbie with a full inbox, an already overloaded schedule and stick them in front of the social media firehose I guarantee you will create a skeptic. I used social media throughout my trip to make life easier and free up valuable time and resources, not just because somebody told me I should.

A little background.. I'm an electrical engineer who switched to software after I realized the incredible leverage I could gain by developing it. I could create a library of components for CAE tools, typing them in by hand, or I could write an awk script with some csh pipes to accomplish the same result adding re-usability, creating flexibility, and increasing efficiency. I was hooked and I never turned back. My experience ranges from customer support to developer to VP of engineering services all within start-up or advanced development organizations where customer interaction is critical. As part of my reintegration I've spent a lot of time evaluating the tools and data flows used with social media, then it hit me.. it's really NOT new to me!

The Social Organization: Achieving Swing

The management lessons are particularly applicable for the networked world. Yes, skill is critical - you can't win without it. Strategy is also critical so that you all know what the goal is and how you're all going to get there. But ego, in-fighting, and people that want to win at all costs? That kills swing.
It is better to agree and execute a sup-optimal decision collectively than to have a team of rockstars that all want to convince people to do it their way - even if each one of them is a genius.  That reality has huge implications on hiring, performance management, and leadership. It changes our ideas about what it means to be competitive. However, swing is so powerful that it can overcome strength and natural advantages.

via thesocialorganization.com

Swing is an amazing feeling that really can't be described to someone who hasn't experienced it. Everything just clicks and effort/energy seems to be transferred without friction. Crew is an amazingly competitive sport. You push yourself to the limit, compete against each other for seats in the boat, and then get together as a seamless team to do battle. I still remember those cold early morning workouts and all the powerful lessons they taught me.