A couple months ago after Snow Leopard was released, I was speaking with a friend about base 2, base 10, and base n numbers in general. Over the past month, I've been thinking about the definition of Social Business Design and considering the range of reactions from supporters and detractors.
All business discussions can be reduced to a single binary argument focusing on the bottom line. Does it improve profitability, yes or no? In practice, the range of decisions a manager must make consists of a multitude of choices better described by real options theory and system dynamics.
To make a difference in social business, activity must be measured and managed, whether loosely or tightly. There's value in focusing on the 0's and 1's while understanding how they roll up to create bigger, more elegant numbers. Let's start simple, because we're still only at the beginnings of social business.
