I remember writing this in my blog in 2009: “The biggest mistakes companies make, he says, are implementing a tool-based, as opposed to people-based, strategy and simply choosing the best-known communities." Anyone else get a familiar feeling reading this quote from Matt Rhodes? Seems that some companies just don´t want to get it. Replicating without remixing is adding more shit in more places. It´s so wrong in so many ways. Yes, you can work out a strategy and launch fast. You should do it fast. Speed wins. But you need to have a strategy in place. You need an ideal! Way too much focus on tactics these days. Will Social Tools lead to a new Enlightenment? Will social tools like YouTube,Twitter, Facebook, Wikis and Blogging lead to the questioning of the authority of Corporations and lead to a new enlightenment? What will the impact be? How will this transform businesses? How will a company be able to lead the way? What will be the role of marketing? There´s way to much focus on conversations without taking into consideration that it is not the self-interested individuals but networks of trust you need to add value to in today´s socialized marketplace. It´s not about tactics, which will never be the key for success, but about leading the way by activating and creating remarkable actions. How do you succeed by simply open up for conversation? You need a big ideal, and then use the appropriate preferred tools used by your target group available at the time your operating - be it 2009, 2012 or 2050. As long as a corporation do not possess a big ideal that leads the way both internal and external, opening up solely for conversations is way too frightening and uncontrollable for those involved and not at least a waste of resources with probably devastating consequences. Another issue is the personality to the existing corporations. How is it possible to embrace the socialization of the marketplace without a fundamental change in corporation personality? Unless your´re still talking about how to lure customers all over again... Hell, I´m all for using social technology to change corporations instead of only trying to reach out to customers. But that my friends, is some challenge where I don´t see any viable and concrete model yet. For any positive disruption coming we need to see a realistic model. I´d say start at the right end. What´s your ideal? Do you have a pulse to do it? ///// I´ve stressed this fact for a long time now. So will not post an 2011 update on the topic. You´re probably fed up hearing more from me about it anyway. But maybe you would be interested in how COKE, a brand with a clear Ideal, is thinking today. Here you go: