My next post on The BrainYard was posted today – A Collaboration Strategy for the Change-Averse:

“I’ve been in a couple of meetings recently with IT leaders who are trying to get their companies’ employees to work in new ways using collaboration tools. Rather than address their companies’ various groups directly about the benefits of working in new collaborative ways using new technology, the IT leaders are taking the approach of selling the benefits to their companies’ customers, and seeking a “pull-through” way of adoption.

For example, the IT leader at a law firm we’re working with wants the firm’s lawyers to use the SharePoint extranet sites the IT team created for sharing documents, tasks, and meeting times. Facing resistance, the IT leader started working with marketing to make use of the extranet sites a standard part of how the firm works with new clients. The hope is that as new clients come on board, they would demand that their lawyers use the sites, because that’s what they had been promised during the selling process as standard practice.

As with any user adoption strategy, this one has its pros and cons. Let’s consider both.“

My Comments
1. You need to read my book, User Adoption Strategies, to understand the wider context.

2. In reading the blog post on The BrainYard, keep in mind that I’m discussing the nature of the strategy and its pros and cons. I’m not recommending it for universal application.