5. “Expectation gaps” are the 2010 winner
Social software relies on relationship and collaboration among “trading partners.” Successful relationships between an organization and its customers, or between two individuals, depend on the parties coming to tacit or explicit agreement around basic expectations for both process and results.
Disappointment with either process or results drives failure of all kinds. These alignment dynamics are rooted in human nature and therefore form the basis for failure of all types.
Collaboration and expectation mismatches underlie every kind of failure, from traditional IT problems to the new cloud-based variants. Therefore, expectation gaps are the big failure kahuna for 2010.
One man’s failures are the opportunities of another – lots of work to do in 2010 I say. Expectation mismatches aren’t there forever, nor are they natural, inevitable or “just one of those phases the (social business design) industry has to go through” – yes, closing the gaps of understanding is an immense task, yet it can and should be done.