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Vanessa DiMauro and Don Bulmer of Leader Networks are in the middle of conducting a 2 year study on The New Symbiosis of Professional Networks. Not surprisingly, they are finding that the adoption of online communities has changed the way we do business.

To quote Vanessa: “Online communities are becoming new ecosystems for business that facilitate vast interactions, connections and networks of people by enabling collaboration anywhere and at any time. We now work in an environment where companies have diminished control over the reputation of their brands, products and services as the wisdom of crowds increasingly dictate the rules of reputation management and selling.  Through the use of online communities, customers and prospects now have an almost instantaneous platform for discussion of their ideas, experiences and knowledge. Increasingly, use of online communities and social media is playing an important role in the professional lives of decision-makers as they utilize the tools and mediums before them to engage their decision-making processes. The social nature of decision making has increased with impressive strength connecting generations of professionals to each other – changing the dynamics of customer relationship management, marketing and communications, forever.”

Warned you didn’t I? Change is coming. It always does! How is the proliferation of online communities impacting your business model? How will managers and leaders leverage them to increase profitability and foster sustainable growth in the coming year? Will this help or hinder their ability to understand the current marketplace, gather and disseminate important ideas, to form the relationships that matter most to a business, and continue to be relevant in this new economy?

People are beginning to see great wisdom in embracing online communities and social media as a means of gathering the best intel for competitive business strategy. As we share what’s on our minds, as we engage each other and combine strengths we are able to reach tremendous new insights that we could never get to in isolation. If you’re not already chatting it up with colleagues, peers in the industry and even people in whole other realms on occasion, you are missing out; you are limiting your potential for greatness. Join the conversation. Let’s connect!