Attributes of the Social Unit

As we continue to explore The Social Ecosystem it is time we discuss The Social Unit. The Social Unit is the smallest part and represents both people as well as teams. The Social Unit is never the strategic visionary but is responsible for executing the strategies defined by The Social Organization.

The two primary attributes of The Social Unit are:

• A clear understanding of the goals of The Social Organization and how their actions impact the ability of the organization to meet these goals.

In the majority of organizations teams and people often have no clear understanding about how their efforts impact The Social Organizations efforts to meet their goals. The Social Unit:

1. 1. Has a clear understanding of the organizations goals.
   2. Understands the metrics that they are impacting by their efforts and how these metrics impact meeting the defined goals.
   3. Has visibility into the metrics they impact and leeway to change their tactics to meet their goals.

• Explicit contracts with other Social Units

To achieve organizational goals teams must work together. Obviously, this happens in organizations of all types and sizes. However, the majority of the time working relationships occur reactively or without a clear understanding of how they are impacting goals of the organization. Social Contracts make the relationship explicit.

We will dig deeply into Social Contracts as we move forward. However, before we get there, understand that Social Units are the core building blocks of The Social Ecosystem and that we will also explore topics like:

• How should goals be communicated?
• The importance of collaboration between Social Units.
• Level of freedom given to Social Units to use approved channels.
• Reward systems and the need to focus on individual and company goals.
• Flexibility to adapt tactics to meet goals.
• The importance of developing great communication skills (verbal and written).

In the next post we will round things out by discussing the high-level attributes of The Social Customer and then we will begin digging into the details of The Social Ecosystem.

John