Blog 101

Radical Transparency is a management method where nearly all decision making is carried out publicly. A form of this has existed in national parliaments for decades. It is now taking hold of the imaginations of CEO’s as a way to deal with the open information sharing taking place on the Internet. I briefly discuss the idea in my book, but I recommend familiarizing yourself with this concept. Whether it is the right move for you or not, the information is still vital to consider when managing a company blog. Below is the excerpt from Blog 101 about Radical Transparency with links and resources for more on this topic.

Radical Transparency

Social media sites are pushing the envelope and redefining what we consider taboo or confidential information. In a world where company secrets are posted on the blogs of disgruntled employees and dissatisfied customers are telling all, businesses are being forced to take a different approach to dealing with negative publicity. One emerging idea is “Transparency” where the strategy is in revealing all - almost. Many CEO’s are beginning to embrace “Radical Transparency,” the notion that exposing one’s weakness, strategies, internal memos, and other laundry can have surprisingly positive results with customers.

Clive Thompson wrote The See-Through CEO, for Wired Magazine in March 2007 and interviewed Glenn Kelman, CEO of Online Real Estate brokerage, Redfin. The article addresses many of the issues that come with opening your doors to the public. Common questions deal with how much you reveal, how you deal with the not so favorable news or comments from your customers.

Redfin was struggling with a fierce real estate industry. His company was suffering as a result of nasty attacks by agents. He chose to publicize their ordeal on the company blog. “Instead of discouraging customers, being open about our problems radicalized them,” Kelman says. “They rallied and started pulling for us.”

For more on the subject “The Naked Corporation” by Don Tapscott and David Ticoll thoroughly examine the benefits and risks involved with transparency.