Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
I’ve been thinking about the term “effective adopter” over the past few months. Many of us have experimented with new technologies like ChatGPT, Bluesky Social, and now Threads. It reminded me of a presentation I heard years ago. The speaker talked about technology and change using the term “burning platform”.
Quick history lesson: The term “burning platform” originated in 1988 by Daryl Conner, an organizational change consultant. It’s based on a story about Andy Mochan, an oil rig crew member, working in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. The oil rig had an explosion. Mochan was faced with the decision of dying in the fire or jumping fifteen stories into the freezing seas, where his chances of survival were slim at best. Mochan was quoted as saying, “It was either jump or fry.” He jumped. And he survived.
Back to technology and change. Right now, organizations (and individuals) are making decisions because the cost of staying where they are (i.e., the status quo) is greater than the cost of adopting something new. And I can see this concept applying not only to technology but other things as well. How many organizations or individuals are getting dragged into the modern business world?
While being faced with a dire situation might help create much needed change, this is certainly not ideal decision-making. Ultimately, individuals and organizations need to figure out how to become “effective adopters”. Not everyone has to be an early adopter, but you certainly don’t want to be so late to the party that you can’t catch up. To become an effective adopter, consider these five steps:
- Recognize the trend. One way to see the next big thing is to notice what people are talking about. Even if they’re talking about what a ridiculous idea something might be. That could be a conversation worth investigating.
- Research the trend. Once you have identified a potentially viable trend or idea, do your homework. It’s perfectly okay to decide for yourself whether something is good for you or your organization. Find out what others are doing and what they claim are the benefits and challenges.
- Make a commitment to try something new. If the research indicates the possibility of a gain, find a way to conduct your own experiment. Define what you’re planning to do and the resources you’re prepared to commit. Also identify what result or outcome you are hoping to achieve.
- Participate at a high level. It might be tempting at the first sign of difficulty to give up on the experiment. “I knew this was a waste of time!” Please, resist the urge. Give the experiment your full attention. It’s possible the benefits will be realized (but not immediately) or an unanticipated benefit emerges.
- Evaluate results. Even if you decide not to move forward, my guess is you will learn a lot from the experiment. For one thing, you’ll be knowledgeable about the topic and aware of trend changes.
For example, let’s go back to one of the technologies I mentioned at the beginning of the article – Threads. On the surface, it looks like Twitter Lite. And you say to yourself, “I don’t need another social media platform in my life.” Or “I’m tired of all the retargeting ads”. But as time goes on, you hear more friends and colleagues talking about Threads. So, you decide to investigate. You learn that over 30 million people have downloaded the app, it’s easy to set up if you have an Instagram account, and there’s currently no advertising. Based on that, you decide to give it a try and see what happens.
It’s possible that after a month or so, you’ll decided that you still don’t understand how people have time for Threads and you deactivate your account. Or maybe, you’ll reconnect with friends and colleagues, discover distribution tools like Buffer, and now, you’re getting the hang of it and seeing the results you were looking for.
New technologies are not going away. Change isn’t going away. The key to success is figuring out how to be an effective adopter.
P.S. Speaking of Bluesky Social and Threads, you can find HR Bartender on both networks. I hope you’ll connect with us there! We can figure them out together.
HR Bartender on Bluesky Social – https://bsky.app/profile/hrbartender.bsky.social
HR Bartender on Threads – https://www.threads.net/@hrbartender
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Las Vegas, NV
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