I'm a free agent

Four years ago, I saw a market opportunity and left Forrester Research to start Dachis Group. We outlined that opportunity for the world and gave it a name: social business. Dion Hinchcliffe and I co-authored a book that endcaps what we've seen so far.

Today, the social business market has matured. Companies are devoting budget and staff to social business efforts and their partners are becoming increasingly specialized. For example, Dachis Group has been building up its SaaS product offering and now offers six data products under the banner of "Engagement @ Scale": Campaign Performance Monitor, Employee Insight, Advocate Insight, Social Performance Monitor, Social Portfolio Insight, and the Social Business Index.

Sounds pretty good, right?

I think now's a perfect time to switch to a new s-curve.

The season of value creation in the social business market is over; it's time for value capture. We've been seeing this primarily in the technology segment of the market, with acquisitions including Buddy Media, Involver, and Yammer and initial public offerings of Jive, Bazaarvoice, and others. Internally, companies are organizing for social business and focusing on operationalizing programs for tens and hundreds of thousands of employees. Service providers have also seen movement here - Big Fuel was acquired last summer and more social shops will follow.

To prepare for this next industry shift, I've separated from Dachis Group leaving the firm in great shape and focused on executing the same strategy announced over four years ago. I have some thoughts on what's coming next, for example needing to own the experience to own the future.

For now, I'll be writing here and available as an independent analyst for speaking and advisory work. As for what's next...

 

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Comments

[twitter.com/adamcohen]

Wishing you nothing but the best, Peter. Looking forward to following where you land next as you continue to push the envelope of how businesses approach this space. Keep in touch.

[Derekpeplau]

Good luck, Peter. Looking forward to the "what's next".

[Ike]

Good luck, Peter. We'll be watching.

[Warrenss]

Peter, best of luck. Looking forward to the next phase.

[Kenburbary]

Congratulations on your success @ Dachis and Good luck with the next phase Peter!

[SMoRTy71]

Good luck Peter! Eager to see what's next.

[Nickhuhn]

You've most certainly left an indelible mark on the industry and with many top brands. Best wishes for continued success, Peter!

[Sameder]

Congrats, Peter! Look forward to seeing you around town a bit more.

[Robertcollins86]

Congratulations good sir -

Your presence in helping better understand, shape and establish new digital and social trends have always been of value to business, the social movement & change management community. For that - we thank you.

Looking forward to the details on the next endeavor.

All the best.

~Bob C.

[Joseph Jaffe]

Good luck Peter! I remember trying to recruit you to crayon during the early years :)

[Aaron Strout]

Peter - great post. And congratulations for all that you and the team have accomplished during your time at Dachis Group. I look forward to lots more conversations about the future of social business and enterprise collaboration over coffee.

[BradMays]

Congrats, Pete. Been great going through the transition with you. Looking forward to what's next.

[Sonnygill]

Best of luck Peter and been great to see the evolution of the work you/Dachis have/continue to do the past few years.

[jackvinson]

You are one of the many reasons, I have followed Dachis over the years. Good luck with your next adventure!

[Bradkenney]

Best of luck Pete. Am guessing paths will cross again. To my mind, hopefully sooner than later.

[Jimmyrey]

Congrats Pete!

I look forward to crossing paths again soon.

[RichardRashty]

Good Luck Peter. I always found value in our conversations and thought-sharing within the SBC.

Cheers

[TWalk]

All the best, Peter!

[Natanyap]

Congratulations Peter. I enjoyed the time we spent together at Dachis Group and every day I see how my thinking is influenced by your thinking. I look forward to seeing what's next.

[Doug Wick]

Congrats Peter on what you've helped to build. Best of luck on the next step.

[Parkerlee1743]

Many good wishes to you, Peter. All the best.

[David Armano]

Best of luck Peter. You'll kill it whatever you do.

[Scott Gulbransen]

Good luck Peter...can't wait to see what's next!

[Sm63]

My best wishes, Peter! Will look forward to your next moves.. :)

[Mike]

Good luck Peter. If you are ever back up here in Boston, let me know.

[Cision]

Congrats, Peter! Did you happen to read Whitney Johnson's article in the Harvard Business Review (http://bit.ly/NkqML0)? It's titled Disrupt Yourself and discusses how it's important for people, as well as companies, to "disrupt" themselves to achieve greater rewards. It looks like you are zigzaging at just the right time! Best of luck in your next move, we know it will be the right one :)

Best,
Lisa Larranaga
Social Media Manager, Cision US

[Dhinchcliffe]

Congratulations Peter! Best of luck to you on your new endeavors. It was great to work with you in the last few years. And on Social Business By Design too!

[Kamichat]

Congratulations on this new adventure. Pretty sure we will be amazed by whatever you choose to do next, Peter.

[Peter Kim]

Interesting article - thanks for the link!

[JimLundy]

Peter: best of luck with the shift. Three years after starting the Social/Collaboration practice, I left Gartner.
After a stint running a Collaboration Business, I started Aragon Research http://aragonresearch.com.

All markets evolve and that is certainly happening with the multiple ways that Social is evolving.

I'm sure you'll be missed at Dachis and I'm equally sure you'll do well on your own.

[Jakemckee08]

Congrats, my friend! Looking forward to catching up soon!

[BethGwazdosky]

Best wishes on whatever you have up your sleeve for your next adventure. I'm sure it'll be watch-worthy! Change is good - shakes things up.

[Cluedtweet]

Looking forward to your new thoughts, from everyone at Clued.

[Spoppe]

Hey Peter. You know I'm a big fan of Social Business Design and your work. My crystal ball foresaw Dachis Group's move into software and process management but misread all the companies you purchased. I'm eager to read where you are going and to have more fun predicting the futures once again. Fascinating. Good luck.

[Chonuff]

Best of luck Peter.

[Andy Jankowski]

Congratulations Peter. Maybe you should crowdsource your next move? No, really - a series of online discussions - one set with practitioners, one set with visionaries, and one set with a smaller group of people who have proven ability to operationalize solutions. The practitioner discussions could focus on enterprise "point points" from their perspective. The visionary sessions would focus on big picture potential solutions and the "operationalizers" could help you determine the best way to package and bring a set of solutions to market. It could be powerful - worst case, you make a few more friends and land your next advisory gig. Just a thought...