Strategic Planning & Encouraging Change

my raw notes from the AM session:

Strategic Planning & Encouraging Change

Michael Edson, Director of Web & New Media Strategy, Office of the CIO, Smithsonian Institution

(See many of the resources referred to here at their wiki on wikispaces - e.g.,

http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Commons+Prototype+-+workspace+-+home+page+content )

Showed walk-through of paper-based prototype use

Last year, talked about concept of a Smithsonian Commons

Have been planning & prototyping

The concept is to offer up the amazing resources of the Smithsonian in ways that others can freely and easily reuse and deploy in their own blogs, mashups, websites, wikis, whatever... giving the information consumer freedom in how they consume what the Smithsonian offers & to build on it, to build community, etc.

the preso at Slideshare - http://www.slideshare.net/edsonm

Strategic plan

Larger new 5-year strategic plan in Smithsonian

"earning new relevance" for Smithsonian - "work that matters"

concept of "thermocline" used as a way of understanding the issues

deep conflicts in workplace about the changes that are needed & the need for constant change

also, the concept of "free"
older generation (largely) thinks that giving things away is ridiculous,

younger generation (on the whole) thinks free is an obvious business model

issues:

- complacency

v.

- urgency

John Kotter, A Sense of Urgency (more on the Kotter books at http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5938.html) is required - the 30% of new initiatives that succeed are driven by a sense of urgency

museums now feel that they must accomplish real work in society

accelerated knowledge creation & social change

in old days, used to have to be the best you could be as the given organization

nowadays, MOST innovation occurs outside the walls of a Smithsonian

think big, start small, move fast

Mobile users are changing everything

Myth about the relevance, reach, and impact of orgs like museums & libraries

Smithsonian 2.0 Conference

Workshops to Wiki - Web & New Media process

open up process to as many people as possible

overcome orgs' innate tendency to slow things down

smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com - public wiki
people felt their words were heard because appeared on wiki

wiki became the strategy

one of the reasons strategies fail is that cononical version held statically in one location, rather than on tool like a wiki

Gov2.0 conference - driving change with transparency

- update Smithsonian Digital Experience

- update Learning Model

- balance of autonomy & control (help edge innovators in indiv. Smithsonian museums to innovate)

pain points & opportunities

Smithsonian Commons

more valuable if freely shared than if restricted

wrote experience brief w/4 users - flow of story, what problems are encountered, what they are trying to do - up on Scribd

looked at Flickr stream to see how Smithsonian is used/views by people - used in the experience briefs

let Smithsonian info be mashed up outside of institution

"amateur curators" allowed on Smithsonian commons - reusable data for others' sites, API for others to use Smithsonian assets as desired.

Biggest challenge = overcoming inertia