Bonk
- A slang term used to describe basic mental and physical shut down
when your body can no longer propel you forward. Also known as "hitting
the wall."
On a scorching
Montreal morning in July, I was sitting out in my balcony listening to
coverage of the grueling 23-day Tour de France bicycle race on a live
Internet audiocast. It was during one of the almost inhumane mountain
stages when Lance Armstrong, flanked by his USPS teammates, dropped his
closest rivals and grabbed the coveted yellow jersey. His performance
was classic Tour de France.
Why is it
that two seemingly similar cyclists can perform so differently? Looking
out over the the riders in the peloton flash before your eyes like a blur
of colours at 80 km/h, you can't distinguish one from another. In order
to answer this question, you need to go deeper than that.
So, how does
one intranet thrive and ingrain itself into the daily business culture
of one company while another is tossed aside like an old shoe? How do
you ensure YOU don't suffer a project-ending crash? Well, you can start
by avoiding:
The Top
10 Tour d'Intranet Bonks
Lack of sponsorship
Poor user interface
Lack of a dedicated team
Emphasis on tool rather than process
Masking flawed processes behind a new system
Single-vision design
Stale and/or irrelevant data
Lack of ownership
No intranet coordinator
Lack of user acceptance
BONUS TIP
Lack
of sponsorship
No sponsorship
= No team = No race. Every professional cycling team is sponsored
by a corporation, agency, or organization. They range from E-commerce
and telecom companies to banks and clothing and gear manufacturers.
They provide the necessary equipment, and most importantly, the funds
to get their team off the ground and into contention.
In order
for your intranet to make it through the course and onto the podium,
you need the support and backing of someone who holds a senior level
management position in the company. Your sponsors will play a large
role in providing official mandates to team members, funding for equipment
and manpower, and most importantly, someone to lend weight and credibility
to your efforts. Any project that affects the corporation as a whole
will need the support of someone high up in the food chain. It requires
their support, not only financially but to champion the project as a
whole. Regardless of how talented the team is, they won't do any
good if they never make it to the starting line.
Poor
user interface
Have you
ever tried to ride a long distance on a bike that doesn't fit properly?
A professional rider's bicycle is the tool that gets him from point
A to point B. If the bike's geometry is not configured properly, it's
going to be a very painful ride to the finish line... if they get there
at all.
How easy
is it to find something in your intranet? If it takes more than three
mouse clicks, it's time to rethink your design. Your intranet, like
a bike, should be streamlined, easy to use, and comfortable to maneuver
around in. Although cosmetic "paint jobs" make it more
interesting to look at, in the end, it's still got to get you to where
you need to go.
Unfortunately,
design is too frequently dismissed as being exclusive property of Internet
sites. This couldn't be further from the truth. If your users can't
get at the information they're looking for, what good is it? Site
navigation, functionality, and ease of use play a large role in determining
whether your intranet will be accepted by the user community.
Lack
of a dedicated team
Team USPS
worked brilliantly together, like a well-oiled machine, in order to
get Lance Armstrong in a position to win the overall Tour. The team
manager, riders, mechanics, and physical therapists worked as a cohesive
unit in order to get one man in the team into the yellow jersey. That's
what we call team work.
When putting
your intranet team together never draft someone against their will.
Grabbing someone and telling them, "This is what you're going to
work on for the next 6-months whether you like it or not" will
cause resentment. If your team is comprised of "feet draggers,"
the end product will reflect this lack of enthusiasm.
An intranet
requires a team of multi-disciplinary personnel (Web developers/designers/architects,
project managers, and content editors) in order to fulfill a single
goal. And this team must be given an official mandate by the sponsors
to participate in the project. Otherwise, they will be pulled into other
tasks by those who have little-to-no involvement in the intranet.
A good
bike alone doesn't win races. It's the rider that counts. Poor riders
with expensive, hi-tech bikes are what are know as "posers."
Don't
mistake the tool for the solution. An intranet is a solution developed
to facilitate the reaching of a goal. You shouldn't have to invent a
goal to justify the solution. Avoid the "they have one so why shouldn't
we" mentality, keeping in mind that your motives for building
or upgrading an intranet should be grounded on a need to improve business
processes. It may be tempting to try out the new toys but make sure
you need them.
Events
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