Posted on April 25, 2005
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Interesting conversation around Microsoft’s stance on Gay Rights. Scoble’s first take on it here and another on Steve Ballmer’s email here. As you may guessed, even after several linking it is still a hot topic for blogging. Here is Vic Gundotra response to Scoble, and these are all Microsoft employees.
I am not going to opine on the gay rights issue, it is a choice people make. But I do believe that leaders are supposed to make some tough choices, that’s what differentiates them from the crowd. I have seen leaders shy away from hardline issues, or go into hiding on the pretext of discussing with others. While it is important that leaders discuss issues with others (for clarity, views or whatever), ultimately it is the leaders decision and his/her voice behind that decision. A company the size of Microsoft, will have people on both sides of the issue and it is tough to appease one side without alienating the other. But, in my opinion, Microsoft has missed an opportunity to make a statement as being the Leader and instead has become a follower.
Opinions aside, do you see the power of blogging? This is what the blogosphere was meant to be. Millions of people commenting on an issue as important as this. And then again, does transparency have any limits? Just like some things need to stay private in personal relationships, is there an equivalent thing for corporations?
Posted on March 30, 2005
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USA Today carried this article on an employee (of Eli Lilly) being fired for his book. Surprisingly the book was about his tenure as a Pfizer Sales representative. He has been with Lilly for the past 4 1/2 years, so this book is almost 5 years old. Pfizer spokesperson said that the employee was fired because the book advocated actions that violated Lilly’s policies. 
Earlier I had blogged about the need for a corporate blogging policy here. Blogging is probably (depends on who you ask) around 3 years old, so this book must have been published in the pre-blogging days. It made me think what’s different now and then? Nothing!
The rules of employment are the same, respect your employers guidelines. It does not matter what the medium of communication is – books, speeches, emails, blogs; the rules are clear. Be smart about what you do. Just remember the job interview you had, your employer hired you for whatever strengths you were brining in. Make no mistake, smartness is an implied strength you were supposed to bring. And you should prove it day-in day-out.
Posted on March 26, 2005
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A Month ago, Google had to fire Mark Jen for blogging his experiences working there. Lucky for him, his career did not seem to be in any danger. He has joined Plaxo, and according to him was interviewed/chatted with companies like Microsoft, Yahoo et al.
A few weeks ago, Niall Kennedy blogged on empowering employees with the web equivalent of ‘Pen & Ink’. His post created a whole lot controversy, and his employer Technorati took offense and eventually pulled down the post. Niall later apologized for his post, and still works as a community manager for Technorati.
In my opinion, these employees underestimated the impact blogging could have on organizations and in some cases individuals. However, lack of a clear corporate message on blogging is clearly the cause for such accidents waiting to happen. No matter what the rank of an employee is, the voice and actions become associated with the companies and organizations of their employ. Companies establish relationships with other companies through employees, and without a corporate policy on blogging such posts can be construed as the voice of the company.
Following technorati’s dust-up, Feedster immediately published its own blogging policy. Major corporations with a diverse workforce need to have one in place, and the rest of us should be thinking about it. In fact it isn’t a bad idea to include a paragraph on blogging policy in the employee handbooks. The simplest policy could be one that says “it’s okay to blog, but be smart about it“. the risks are substantially higher when employees start blogging about these
- Internals of the company - like upcoming M&A, or management changes. Think of the impact it can have on traded companies.
- Posting customer interactions or systems, after having signed an NDA.
- Blogging on prospects and sales pipeline.
Another opinionated advice for big companies (read Google) - “Make it crystal clear what the rules are. Never go by the undocumented rule or tradition/culture.” Remember the saying “The Pen is mightier than the sword” - have an instruction manual on safe usage.
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