My good friend Matt Ridings is really good at thinking about what’s over…there. At seeing possibilities and mapping out potential. But he’s got a self-imposed “rule”, if you will, about the limits of his futurism. He’s all about talking about what’s next, so long as the bridge from here to there is within reach. In other words, wild speculation isn’t his style, but rather seeing a few clicks down the road and most importantly, the path to get from here to the next step.

I like this approach. And it’s also got me a bit stuck.

You see, I’ve spent the last year rolling around in these here Brass Tacks, heavy on the “how” of the social media world and change in business because a) that’s what I knew and was immersed in, and b) that’s what seemed to be the thing that needed talking about most. I was really happy with that for a while, hopefully helped some folks, challenged a few ideas, and put a few concrete concepts into motion. I know writing has certainly helped me gain some clarity. As one of my favorite writing quotes from Joan Didion explains, “I write to find out what I think.”

But the nature of those Brass Tacks are changing for me – as they should, I hope – mostly because the conversations I think are emerging as really important to me are a lot less nuts and bolts, and a bit full circle into some of the “why” around all that’s happening around us.

The themes that keep coming up as critical in my head:

Culture and its pivotal role as a bedrock of not just a strong social business, but a business that will be sustainable and competitive in the future. It’s a fluffy topic that gets talked about in vagaries, but I believe there’s some science to this, and I want to explore it more. I think it’s critical, and if the social media movement is to mature into business as many of us would like it to, this piece cannot be ignored.

Anthropology as a business value, and as an individual skill. We talk around the idea of “being human” or “humanizing” business, but I think there’s so much more depth with which we can dig into what makes our relationships work and why. It’s the essence of all of this, stripped down to its most fundamental elements: the people and the dynamics between them. It’s another one of these topics that’s really difficult to frame in business terms, but I think we have to try.

Values and Intent and how the alignment or misalignment of same is the root of so much conflict. Intent is the pivot point for nearly everything related to success in business, and more so in the dynamic communication networks that comprise the social media space. These comprise everything from motivations to personal style and personality, and all of them weave together to form a very key piece of how and why we do business. Notice a theme here?

Methodology and it’s close cousin, process. All of the subjective and fluffy bits need an engine to put them into systematic play. That’s not to say automated or mindless, but replicable and scalable. And I do believe that some of the core elements of social business can and should be put into methods and models that are as simple and clear as possible so that they’re also adaptable and not just something that the whiz kids can figure out. It’s not just the “how to” of the superficial social media tactics (though those totally have their place), but the systems that drive and support the business that incorporates a social mindset. The organizational alignment.

I’d love to hear if other themes are rolling around in your head.

I have a lot of thinking to do, and this year is going to be a big shift for me in terms of the ideas that I’m exploring. I need to keep writing to find out what I think, and to keep understanding what you think. Because that’s part of how I learn.

I’m getting braver about talking about the things that I don’t necessarily fully understand, about asking questions I don’t have the answers to, about kicking around concepts that even overwhelm me a little bit. In Matt’s terms, it’s about visualizing my bridge from here to where I think we need to go. And it’s bound to be an adventure indeed.

Given that stagnation is the enemy of progress, I’m hoping to find some exploratory footing back here at Brass Tack Thinking in 2011. I’m going to be figuring out just what those Brass Tacks are, why they’re important, and how they fit together. Or, that’s the idea anyway. Some might be new ideas. Some might be revisiting very old ones. I’m not sure, but I think we need both.

This social business stuff has grand implications for me, as does the underlying change management it requires. But I’m increasingly fascinated by both the science and philosophy of what makes those things tick. So, here goes nothing. Looking forward to more conversation and exploration with you this year. Thanks for all of the insights you’ve brought here over the last three years, and the ones I know you’ve got left to give.

Cheers, and Happy New Year.

image credit: byrion