Part 2 on Your Boss’s Objections to Social Media - Be Gentle
Jan 11th, 2010 by David Svet
Bosses hate being confronted. It’s not surprising. They live in a top down world where they busily make decisions and command control. Confrontation, especially from below, is a bad thing. That’s why I am amazed by the number of social media advocates who are willing to confront their boss to push for the use of social media within their organization.
If you’re not permitted to use social media channels in your work, chances are your boss considers it foreign. Foreign = risk. Risk = bad. When you confront your boss about your organization’s lack of progressive marketing practices you are at a minimum promoting taking risks and possibly making a personal attack. Your boss just ain’t there yet. Wee Willey Keeler’s baseball advice to, “hit ‘em where they ain’t,” isn’t the way to go. You need to hit ‘em where they are — but, be gentle.
- Talk to your boss about how amazing it is to watch communication technology change from faxing to the Internet in such a short time. Then walk away.
- Talk about successes such as Zappos, just as a conversation about a business success story.
- Introduce your boss to a real human being that you met through social media who is now helping your organization.
The idea is to meet those who are reluctant where they are. Gently hold their hand and move them forward one small step at a time. Be a catalyst for change, not a problem child. Pretty soon your boss will be taking credit for bringing social media into the organization. 
The Don’t Panic Button comes from a Creative Commons photo from Jim Linwood. http://www.flickr.com/photos/brighton/ / CC BY 2.0
