E-commerce Resources

Membership in the Council

Scrupski will tell you the success of the Council depends on her conversations with the membership itself. 

In a sector that’s growing very quickly—the market was moving too fast even for its experts—I knew from the beginning that customers needed more interaction to judge the success of its pilot implementations. It may be a great idea, but where you have a passionate, engaged membership, you have success—I give a lot of credit to them.”

Membership in the Council is earned because its members work hard to maintain good relations with their corporate colleagues. Ms. Scrupski states that the best members of a corporate implementation team include Legal and Risk Management, “because you want to know their early objections. They’re not the best corporate sponsors for Enterprise 2.0, however. The team will need Marketing, Human Resources, Research & Development, Finance and definitely Information Technology.”

A member of the Council calls upon multiple skills sets.  Ms. Scrupski is impressed with project management in particular, which partners nicely with E2.0 implementations.

Yes, in fact, our Internal Evangelist of the Year, Claire Flanagan, has strong PM skills. She put together an amazing slide presentation to plan for our upcoming workshop at E2.0 Boston; everyone knows what they’re to do and when. My role on the Council is like a concierge; folks who are good at this have a command of detail that is impressive. In short, it’s a great segue from project manager to E2.0 evangelist.”

Internal Evangelist of the Year

To recognize that spirit of corporate evangelism, the 2.0 Adoption Council awards an, “Internal Evangelist of the Year” designation. Two questions I was curious about: was the original vision of the award slightly different? Will there be changes this year? Ms. Scrupski responded,

Not at all. The award was born in the spirit of market awareness, education, and evangelism.  Almost like Miss America, this role model embodies perfection. This job is one of the most difficult and one of the most rewarding. I think folks on the Council are brilliant. This year, there were so many choices. We decided to place the onus of choice ultimately on the winning member’s colleagues in their respective company.

Our first place winner was Claire Flanagan at CSC. The testimonial references from her colleagues—literally spreadsheets of raving reviews, passion & intelligence—were compelling. This year will be tougher; we have SO many candidates this year. They all typify what it means to do this job.”

The Social Spring and the Dachis Group

The Council is less than a year old, but Enterprise 2.0 has grown in previously unimagined proportions. Ms. Scrupski recently blogged about “the social Spring”. This post is almost quietly euphoric—as if the Enterprise 2.0 space has turned a corner.

When asked about what events and observations led up to that post, what does she predict for the next year, and how does The Dachis Group fit in to the space’s maturity, Ms. Scrupski replied,

not a lot of people know Mr. Dachis from Razorfish. I tracked the company very closely in the late 90s. In a recent Q&A with Dachis, I love the term he used to describe the post dot-coms bust. He called it “the internet winter”. The best way to explain it is just…the world went quiet for a while. Remember this was the time I was a stay-at-home mom.

Then, just as suddenly, the world changed. Web 2.0 reignited interest in the web. The visionary possibilities outlined in the late 90s are coming true today. The notion of “a Social Spring” was brought forward by a modest Council member who declines to be identified as the author, so I asked permission if I could use it.

The term is meant to convey the re-birth in enthusiasm and passion that previously had just combusted. This time, it’s REAL growth, whereas in the past it was merely visionary speak. Meanwhile, The Dachis Group is still evangelizing on its earlier predictions. Let me say that the Headshift acquisition thrilled me…Jeff Dachis is creating the team that will move this market to the next level.”

The best is yet to come. Looking back on her time spent in the Enterprise 2.0 space, Ms. Scrupski says, “it’s corny, but we all work for a living and we all want to create shareholder value. There’s a bigger story here that explains why I targeted the enterprise (versus the consumer market). It’s time for sensible, rational good people to take over the world.

That’s what driving me. All the bad things in the world happened because voices were suppressed, people didn’t have access or the ability to effect social change. The message is, think more about not just your job, but being effective in changing things for the better. Try to keep this bigger picture in mind.”

Honest speak like this is why Ms. Scrupski was recently named by Fast Company, one of “The Most Influential Women in Technology 2010.”

Agreed.

Author’s Note: after this interview was conducted, the 2.0 Adoption Council was acquired by The Dachis Group.

About the Author

Mimi Dionne is a Certified Records Manager (CRM), a Certified Document Imaging Architect (CDIA+), a Certified Archivist (CA), and a Project Management Professional (PMP). She currently resides in Denver.