Social might is now moving toward your community, state, nation as well as global corporations.
We have entered the age of empowered individuals, who use potent new technologies and harness social media to organize themselves. Most are ordinary people with new tools to force you to listen to what they care about and to demand respect.
The institutions of modern developed societies, whether governments or companies, are not prepared for this social power. People are changing faster than companies and governmental agencies. "I don't think it's crazy to ask if your CEO is the next Mubarak," says Gary Hamel, one of business' most eminent theoreticians of management.
In this new world, leaders will have to show authenticity, fairness, transparency and good faith. If they don't, people may come to distrust them, to potentially disastrous effect. But overall these changes suggest a bright future for business and society globally. The world is becoming more democratic and reflective of the will of the people. And pragmatically, social power can help keep your company and community vital.
Newly armed activists can become the source of creativity, innovation and new ideas to take your company or governmental representatives forward. "Trust is built by sharing vulnerability," says John Hagel, a longtime author and consultant who cochairs Deloitte's Center for the Edge. "The more you expose and share your problems, the more successful you become. It's not about the top executive dictating what needs to be done and when, it's about providing individuals with the power to connect."
A Brewing Situation for Grassroots Leadership through Social Power
A brewing example of the opportunity for grassroots leadership through social power is the proposed building of a publicly-owned bridge between the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing. One-quarter of the truck freight between the U.S. and Canada and more than 7 million vehicles a year traverse the Ambassador bridge, according to the Public Border Operators Assn. Trucks clocked a cumulative 5.2 million hours in delays at the crossing in 2010, concludes an upcoming report by the Center for Automotive Research.
Few would deny the traffic jams on the 81-year-old Ambassador Bridge that was purchased three decades ago by Manuel "Matty" Moroun. Moroun has spent more than $1 million on television ads calling the new proposed International Trade Crossing a boondoggle, saying taxpayers would end up footing part of the bill. Moroun is doing his best to undercut Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's efforts to build this new bridge; by hiring a contractor build and run another Detroit River bridge just two miles south of the Ambassador Bridge. The project would generate 10,000 construction jobs, the Michigan Transportation Dept. forecasts. Canada has offered to lend Michigan up to $550 million to build connecting roads. "This is Canada's No. 1 national infrastructure priority," says Roy Norton, the nation's consul general in Detroit.
The Moroun family certainly has an influential voice in the State of Michigan, given it contributed $565,000 to state candidates for the 2010 election, according to campaign finance records. "Those people respond to money," says Rich Robinson, director of Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a private group that tracks donations. "It's got to be the money-in-politics issue in Michigan this year."
The only question now is who will lead a grassroots leadership action to identify the state lawmakers who have accepted these Moroun family political contributions and share with others the knowledge as to where these elected representative stand on this new bridge opportunity.
Sources: Bloomberg BusinessWeek, September 19, 2011 and Forbes, September 26, 2011