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February 06, 2012
Playbooks and visual explanations
By the time the New York Giants and the New England Patriots took the field Sunday for their Super Bowl matchup, the players on both teams had read, re-read and rehearsed their respective game playbooks dozens, if not hundreds of times. They'd studied each play via multiple diagrams and photographs, stats and descriptions of assignments for every player on the field.
A playbook is an apt metaphor for any business team that needs concise, how-to plans to deal with the complexity of systems, processes and moving variables, especially with social business. Whether it's for one of the world's largest companies or one a fraction of its size, a playbook quickly becomes a go-to reference for learning, planning and doing.
I've discovered this by quietly leading a playbook practice for the past year at Ant's Eye View, and it's been some of the best fun i've ever had. I've been building a team that works with clients to gather as much data, knowledge and practices about social business inside a company, then we distill all of that data into a visually rich, how-to playbook. Many of the playbooks we're producing are stunning in the breadth of their scope and design approach.
Today, too, we're announcing that David J. Neff is joining our playbook team as a senior consultant. He's a well-regarded figure in social media, especially in Austin. He wrote a must-read book for non-profits on preparing for the social age. Combine that with experience in documentary filmmaking and helping non-profits like the American Cancer Society enter the social era, Dave will make a great addition to our burgeoning team.
Bonus: Bill Belichik's playbook from Super Bowl XXV when he was the Giants' defensive coordinator.
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Congrats David.
Fantastic hire, we're watching for big things to come! :)
Thanks all!
Thanks for the thoughts guys.
Congrats, David!
Congrats David! I also find it very productive to have a playbook, and going further, I think a playbook works best when it combines knowledge from the past to create foresight for the future. Seems obvious, but its surprising how many companies dont keep a backlog of their successes, an perhaps more importantly, their failures.
Good job, David! I'm looking forward to hear more about the progress. Playbooks have been proven to be helpful to many.
Great catch with David! We've been very pleased to have him guest blog on Convio's Connection Cafe and are excited to see the great work he produces for Ant's Eye. (Read David's post here: http://www.connectioncafe.com/posts/2011/05-may/innovate-thrive-or-stagnate.html)
