Interview with Penny Power, founder of Ecademy

Citation

(2011), "Interview with Penny Power, founder of Ecademy", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 25 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2011.08125baf.001

Interview with Penny Power, founder of Ecademy

Article Type: Leading edge From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 25, Issue 2

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an interview with Penny Power, founder of Ecadmeny, the UK’s first social network for business. Ecademy is now a global operation with members in over 200 countries. Underpinning the network’s success is the powerful feeling of being part of a community and the strong intention that each member has towards supporting one another.Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent interviewer.Findings – Penny discusses the inspiration behind Ecademy and offers advice to companies who are trying to implement business networking into their overall company strategy.Practical implications – Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.Social implications – Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that can have a broader social impact.Originality/value – Social networking is vital to companies and their organizations, and it impacts every aspect of business: jobs, processes, research, buying, selling, recruitment and resourcing. This is the tough transition that companies have to shift through.

Keywords: Networking, Business strategy

Penny Power is a published author, a highly engaging speaker and one of the UK’s most inspirational and successful female entrepreneurs.

In 1998 Penny founded Ecademy, the UK’s first social network for business, with her husband Thomas. Ecademy is now a global operation with members in over 200 countries. Underpinning the network’s success is the powerful feeling of being part of a community and the strong intention that each member has towards supporting one another.

Penny is a strategic advisor to Government’s strategic group on the future of business support delivery in England and also to the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE). Earlier this year, Penny was invited to join James Caan’s EBA Millionaire Mentor team.

Penny is also no stranger to the media spotlight. She is a regular contributor and commentator on social networking and business, is a columnist for the Daily Express, and regularly speaks at conferences and events across the globe.

Her latest book, Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me (August 2009) is an exceptional help to anyone wanting to learn how to future-proof themselves and their businesses.

You’re the founder of Ecademy, the UK’s first social network for business. What’s the inspiration behind the site?

In 1998 I saw the frenzy taking place regarding e-commerce and the adoption of the internet into people’s daily lives. However, I could see a longer-term advantage for people beyond buying and selling. I saw the opportunity that existed for people to be “connected” and the opportunity for those who connect to openly support one another and become friends. The critical aspect for me of the internet is that it is about “people,” not technology, and not selling. Both these things happen as a result of people being motivated to “connect,” but it does not happen if you just get hung up on the tools or hung up on creating a transaction.

How do you differ from other business networking sites such as LinkedIn?

LinkedIn serves the business market from a traditional standpoint. Its origins were in the corporate market and the great thing is that it encouraged the business market (those not born in the digital age) to network online. We differ from them, as we are a similarly a business site, but we believe in an ethos of being open, random and supportive, and we have created a central community where members blogs about things that matter to them. This makes it social and creates new contacts and new opportunities. We also predominately support and serve sole traders and small businesses.

To what extent would you say that social networking is now a vital part of organizational strategy?

Social networking is vital to companies and their organizations. This is the tough transition that companies have to shift through. There are two issues. One is how do they truly leverage the online world that has “gone social”? The second is how do they leverage and recruit people who have built “social capital” into their lives and networks? Currently social networking is seen as a marketing function, this is a huge error in any business. It is far more than marketing, it impacts every aspect of business – jobs, processes, research, buying, selling, recruitment and resourcing. While organizations and business leaders “delegate” the understanding of this world to department heads they will never “get it.”.

What advice would you give to organizations who are trying to implement business networking into their overall company strategy?

When I teach this to businesses we teach them to understand the culture of the online world. The online culture has a different mindset to the offline business world. We call this a “digital mindset”. Once you have a digital mindset you are open, random and supportive (ORS). Traditional businesses are closed, selective and controlling (CSC). Traditional businesses think in terms of sales and transactions and work through a process of “suspects, prospects and customers.” Digital mindsets think of “strangers, friends and followers.” To gain followers you have to gain trust, engage and be social. This impacts the entire organization but it starts with the “leader”, the SEO. To have “followers” you need to lead and not control!

How can entrepreneurs successfully use social networking to develop their professional networks?

By being a friend! This is a social world and a social word is about friendship. If they go into the networks to purely transact, they lose the essence of the resource available to them. Critically, the entrepreneur has to consider what knowledge they have, what they want to inspire others to think about and consider. From that basis they can share more online in a supportive way and when you support people, they come to know, like and follow you. Building “social capital” into your business provides a momentum and a level of support around your business that gets you though growth issues and helps you to continue to learn, grow and develop.

As business becomes more mobile, do you think that organizations will need to consider utilizing a dispersed workforce to ensure they recruit the top talent?

Great question. Yes! We live in a 24/7 world. Fully connected and understanding and leveraging the wealth of technology allows us to find balance and have your network and resources with you all the time. Family, wellbeing, health and financial stability are part of a whole person and they now have to consider this 24/7 to exist and thrive in this new demanding world.

How do you see communication methods in the workplace changing over the next five to ten years?

Mobile and social will be two critical transitions. Those running a “workplace” will have to respect the needs of the individuals who provide value to them and value the “followers” they have. Valued assets of businesses have been all about the shareholders and shareholder value; the shift we will all see is that shareholder value will only be achieved if others are valued. Creating a strategy around their “followers” will be an essential part of this transition, and their “followers” are all their stakeholders … staff, contractors, suppliers, customers, and even those who just like their company and the values they have but do not fit into any of these traditional categories.

Penny Power