1. Bruce Elgort

   Posted May 23, 2008 at 5:21 am | Permalink

   I know Norman! In fact I know many Normans! Love it Sam.

   
   
2. Lynn Crymbe

   Posted May 23, 2008 at 5:43 am | Permalink

   Perfect visual for all the Normans out there!! Never thought I’d say this but I would love to aid and abet in the killing of all such creatures.

   
   
3. Stacey Monk

   Posted May 23, 2008 at 5:55 am | Permalink

   I once read a Chinese proverb: “Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it.”

   You can’t imagine how many times I’ve met Norman, both in my former for-profit career in change management and now in my role as a social innovator. I think he’s somehow attracted to beautiful new ideas like the Enterprise Octopus, and thinks that by sharing her stage he can garner some of her attention, or perhaps steal it all for himself. He’s a lonely guy, that Mr. Naysayer.

   Knowing the Enterprise Octopus, she’s the friendly sort, and her first move is to try to include Norman, engage him in conversation, probe him for specific constructive feedback and incorporate any valuable insights he may offer. It’s a smart choice by Ms. Octopus, because if Norman becomes her friend, he can turn out to be the greatest fan club she’ll ever have.

   Of course, some sad Normans will only ever be naysayers. To those, I can offer only these words: I’m so sorry you feel that way, Norman. Now please, swim the ^%?# out of my way.

   
   
4. Dan Keldsen

   Posted May 23, 2008 at 5:59 am | Permalink

   But selling Fear Uncertainty and Doubt is such a great selling point! (or roadblock)

   Not that wikis are the be all and end all, but the first wiki was created 13 years ago. How long do people need to wait before it’s not “too early” to participate? The market doesn’t move all at once to adopt something new/improved, but at some point, it’s time to act rather than refuse to act.

   And things like Lean Thinking/Manufacturing are over 50 years old, and (well, to me) clearly a pre-cursor to the transparency and agility that Enterprise 2.0 are all about. There’s a movement older than most of the people throwing up arguments like Norman. Perhaps THEIR time has not yet come?

   
   
5. Jeremiah Owyang

   Posted May 23, 2008 at 6:01 am | Permalink

   I’m not sure if we need to kill him, but we need to address his objectives with business answers.

   I’ve found similar objections in conversations with COOs and CFOs

   http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/05/01/coo-and-cfo-questions/

   
   
6. Chris Brogan...

   Posted May 23, 2008 at 6:46 am | Permalink

   I just have to say that the graphics are awesome.

   Thanks for this. Though I haven’t a thoughtful add-on, the conversation is important to me.

   
   
7. Ric

   Posted May 23, 2008 at 7:32 am | Permalink

   Yeah, I know this guy … worked with him at a few places. He’s no prettier the next time either.

   Nice meme, Sam – this octopus idea has legs ;’)

   
   
8. Marshall Kirkpatrick

   Posted May 23, 2008 at 8:34 am | Permalink

   Kill him? That seems a bit much to me, Sam! Also, I don’t think “show me the business case for this” is entirely unreasonable. I presume that’s part of your pitch for Jive? It is a part of the learning process that we all probably went through before we became such zealots

   
   
9. Aaron Strout

   Posted May 23, 2008 at 12:58 pm | Permalink

   Man, if I had a nickel for every Norman I met. In fact I was sitting on a panel last night and one guy in the audience said, “how am I supposed to find time to do all this social media stuff.” Plus, 90% of all blogs are garbage… ‘nuf said!

   @astrouit

   
   
10. Andrew Holt

    Posted May 24, 2008 at 3:13 pm | Permalink

    In addition to Normal Naysayer, there’s also Larry Legal, your friendly neighborhood corporate attorney. You know, the one that thinks giving people the ability to share anything is too much freedom, and wants to require legal disclaimers and controls everywhere. Have you run into him much?

    
    
11. Aaron Fulkerson

    Posted May 24, 2008 at 8:26 pm | Permalink

    Oh c’mon man. If you’re still pitching this “wiki is not enough” line you’ve not looked at MindTouch. Moreover, if you’re deploying point applications in the business units, circumventing IT, you’re damn skippy there probably is security issues.

    
    
12. Michael

    Posted May 25, 2008 at 6:40 pm | Permalink

    Sam, Norman looks more like Zoidberg in Futurama. Great art work !!!!

    On a serious note, Norman is the real deal in the enterprise. I have encountered many while preaching Enterprise 2.0 . However, it is always fun to have a few Normans in the company to reassert your position, thus making it even stronger !!!!

    
    
13. Anurag

    Posted June 6, 2008 at 2:36 pm | Permalink

    I must say I agree with Jeremiah – Norman pulls the pursestrings, and there’s a darn good reason why. His questions are not to be quashed, but to be addressed.

    
    

11 Trackbacks

1. By Norman Naysayer can be a good person on May 24, 2008 at 6:43 am

   [...] previously wrote about the Enterprise Octopus and now he has introduced Norman Naysayer. To understand my post you would have to read both the above links – if you [...]

2. By I’ll be at Enterprise 2.0 in Boston Jun 10 -12. « Connected on June 5, 2008 at 10:06 pm

   [...] in Social Software. trackback If you’ve ever wondered how tall I really am, or want some Enterprise Octopus or Norman Naysayer stickers, or would like to learn about what Jive Clearspace has that nothing else does, or you want [...]

3. By Go Big Always - Anatomy of the Enterprise Octopus on June 19, 2008 at 2:30 am

   [...] I rekon you could call this my version of Dion Hinchcliffe’s SLATES, by that I mean a framework where future people-centric innovation needs to occur. You could call it “Enterprise 2.0″ but then you’d be using a buzzword. You could think in terms of existing tools but then you’d be looking backwards. The industry needs to evolve to value COLORS more than they do today, to think bigger, to solve the people-centric problems of the Enterprise. Doing so means better/faster/more agile companies who produce better products, services and revenue. Yes, I understand that there are cultural ramifications to all this “co” stuff. But it’s happening bit by bit, as much as we think it may never get there. And the key is to make all this so friction-free-usable that people actually want to participate. That said, it’s pretty easy to be a Norman on this stuff. [...]

4. By How to get people excited about Enterprise 2.0 on June 19, 2008 at 3:44 pm

   [...] been speaking to many “Normans” lately and its extremely eye opening to hear some in depth comments on what people really [...]

5. By The Pareto Principle - Does it apply to Enterprise 2.0? on July 12, 2008 at 4:10 am

   [...] to newbies about Enterprise 2.0, alot of questions arises. Some are genuine concerns and some are Norman-ish questions. However, when a real life example is provided and I illustrate how Enterprise 2.0 can [...]

6. By For your own sake, make sure you’re not a Norman Naysayer | Social-Information-Technology on July 13, 2008 at 4:54 am

   [...] couple of months ago Sam has published a blog post titled: “Norman Naysayer,” the Enterprise Octopus arch nemesis which I somehow managed to miss.  The post portrays the image of the  enterprise octopus [...]

7. By CIO bypass | Jon Mell - Web 2.0 ideas and strategy on July 17, 2008 at 1:53 am

   [...] I can’t wait to try the crack down on face to face conversation line with the next Norman Naysayer I [...]

8. By Go Big Always - Our Real Competition on July 30, 2008 at 6:36 am

   [...] Buyer: There’s a reason you’re actively checking out the market. You have finally convinced your Norman to at least kick the tires. There could be several things that has you shopping. Something could be [...]

9. By Go Big Always - Introducing Ricky Revenue on September 15, 2008 at 4:30 am

   [...] only thing he cares about is measurable value. He’s hypnotized by it. Even Norman Naysayers have to debate Ricky based on measurable business value. The best thing about Ricky is that he’s your best friend [...]

10. By Go Big Always - What it takes to Go Big on September 30, 2008 at 9:01 am

    [...] for fear that our instinct may be wrong. We don’t trust ourselves, in large part thanks to the Naysayers, who have used fear to bash down people’s gut. Gut is a powerful guide in our individual lives but for some reason we abandon it at work. Your gut [...]

11. By I’ll be at Enterprise 2.0 in Boston Jun 10 -12. » Connected on August 22, 2009 at 11:01 am

    [...] you’ve ever wondered how tall I really am, or want some Enterprise Octopus or Norman Naysayer stickers, or would like to learn about what Jive Clearspace has that nothing else does, or you want [...]