Building collaborative communities & transitioning to social business

On May 26, 2011 Mark Bonchek contributed the following interview to QuestionsForLiving.

QuestionsForLiving: Are there any core questions that led to your current profession of building collaborative communities and helping businesses make the transition to social business? If so, what are they?

Bonchek:

• What’s fundamentally different about the Internet compared to other media?  

• What’s fundamentally the same about human behavior that transcends technological change?

• How can you transform your audience into a community, and create value for that community?

QFL: What are some questions that you ask yourself when helping Sears, and other companies, improve their customer experience through community and network-based initiatives?

Bonchek:

• What are the key moments and touchpoints in the customer experience?

• What social interactions exist, or could exist, at each of these touchpoints?

• What is the social life of your product or service in the lives of your customers?

QFL: What are the core questions that you ask for leading positive change?

Bonchek:

• What is wanting to happen?

• Where is there a lack of trust, vision or communication?

• How can individual motive be aligned to collective purpose?

QFL: What are the primary questions that you ask yourself to increase Sears' associate and customer engagement through the use of social, mobile, and local media?

Bonchek:

• How can we use technology to solve a problem or create a distinctive experience?
• How can we make their lives easier, more interesting, or more fulfilling?
• How can we connect them with people and ideas they would appreciate?

QFL: What are some primary questions would you advise others to ask themselves that if asked regularly would contribute to making the world a happier and healthier place?

Bonchek:

• What is my unique gift to the world?
• How can I best share that gift?
• How can I play a bigger game?