Flash Mobs Infiltrate Business (Schools)

Not long after I wrote about why businesses should use flash mobs internally, I received an e-newsletter from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (my alma mater) with a link to this video: Flash Mob Marks Opening of Knight Management Center 

A flash mob at a venerable business school!  And a posted comment that read:


"These guys are business students?  Really?  I would never have guessed...."

Exactly the point.

Businesses need to change because future employees and customers are changing how they act and how they interact.  Business cultures need to change to reflect the changing behaviors and perspectives of employees.  Those organizations that embrace being a social business will out-compete the others.  They will relate to employees and customers by paying attention to everyone, by being one among many in the ecosystem.  They will attract and retain better employees; they will open up, worry less about appearances, and actively engage.  You can’t participate in a flash mob and worry too much about perfection.  Make a mistake?  Catch on and catch up.

The Stanford students celebrated their new building through a demonstration of community.   Their flash mob exemplified why companies need to break the rules and evolve their cultures.  Remember the changes?

• Don't reward results - reward new behavior
• Don't optimize current operating processes and procedures - revolutionize!
• Don't hire for cultural fit - hire the future, not the status quo

These students ARE the future of business.  They are already making clear the social business values they embrace.

Related posts:
Flash Mobs! Corporate Culture Change?   http://bit.ly/rcJtf0
Mature Companies Need to Break the Rules:  http://bit.ly/KGxlxz   

 

Flash Mobs! Corporate Culture Change?

Big brands are behind many flash mob events.  They are good for image; they create a personality for the brand; they drive engagement.  They have become a marketing tool, but don't companies need those things internally too?

As I work with organizations to develop social media strategies, one of the biggest stumbling blocks is the internal culture.  If you are not open and transparent and, well, social, inside, you can't fake it long on the outside.  A couple of months ago, I talked about how breaking the rules helps organizations to evolve their cultures.  The 3 big takeaways:

• Don't reward results - reward new behavior
• Don't optimize current operating processes and procedures - revolutionize! 
• Don't hire for cultural fit - hire the future, not the status quo

 (for more, see the post at http://bit.ly/kGxlxz)

I think we also need to add something more.  We need to shake things up; we need to wake up!  And that is what a flash mob does.  It makes us sit up and take notice.  It says we're not tweaking or tip-toeing around the edges; we're moving and shaking and having fun doing it!  And we're doing it together, as a team.  Isn't that what a social culture is all about?

Flash mobs seem to offer opportunity in two ways inside corporate walls.

1. Stage a flash mob in the lobby; get employees out of their cubicles; get them talking to one another
2. Use the creation of a flash mob as a team building exercise

Confident that others have had this idea as well, I searched on-line for examples of organizations staging flash mobs internally to help change culture.  I found only one, from TedxSamsung.  

Flash mobs as a team building exercise incorporate many of the aspects of successful social cultures.

• Each person's contribution is important
• The overall dynamic exceeds what anyone can do alone
• Trusting that everyone will participate honestly is key to the interaction
• It's about skill and enthusiasm, not hierarchy
• There are a lot of small steps.  If you make a mistake, it's not critical; fix it; catch up, and keep going 

...and it's much more fun than hoping the person behind you will catch you when you fall backward, and less dependent on your athletic ability than a ropes course.

Have any of you experienced flash mobs inside an organization?