Implementing Connections in the real world of Gore: Successes and Pitfalls
1. Implementing Connections in the real world of Gore:
Successes and Pitfalls
Social Connections IV
November 30th, 2012
W. L. Gore &
Associates
2. About Me
Brian P O’Neill
Social Business & Collaboration Specialist
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
Elkton, Maryland U.S.A.
Fe e l fre e to conta ct me :
bone ill@wlgore .com
twitte r.com/one illbp311
linke din.com/in/one illbp311
W. L. Gore &
Associates
Been at Gore 13 years Working with Connections since 2010 Came from the Lotus Notes/Domino world. I’m considered IT, but exploring new type of role Technical liaison and IT Champion for Gore’s Connections Project Team Deep understanding of how the Connections tools work Only a high level understanding of technical implementation (i.e WebSphere) Large part of role involves “Vendor Management”
Today, we have more than 9,000 associates worldwide (we refer to our employees as associates, which emphasizes that they are all part owners of the company). Our annual sales are more than $2. 6 Billion, and we remain privately-held (which we very much prefer).
We operate in more than 30 countries globally and have manufacturing locations in the U.S., Germany, Scotland, Japan and China. We try to build as much local infrastructure as possible to enable our associates to have a certain level of autonomy and to enable us to better respond to the local market needs.
Power of small teams Always emphasized collaboration No hierarchy One-to-one communication Teams organized around opportunities
Asynchronous Collaboration Reduced travel Reduced off hours work Supports our Enterprise strategy - “Power of small teams”