There are a lot of burgeoning E2.0 implementations out there. Some may not remain in the months and years to come. Without the right amount of horse power (read: leadership support) any E20 idea, regardless of its merit or 'legitimacy', can be easily struck down with a tiny amount of misunderstanding and fear. This is where the evolution vs. revolution argument meets the road in many E20 environments. In each environment there exists a spectrum of adoption perspective. This spectrum ranges from the egalitarian enthusiast with gas can and matches in hand, to the go-slow negotiators who'll wait, and wait, and wait, to the fiercest resistor ready to protect their fiefdom to the bitter end. There's continued debate about whose perspective is right. IMHO they all are. These polarized perspectives are precisely what we need to get the right answer for the organization. We're interdependent. We need each other. We need to go through the hard work of this process together to be sure we have what we need. As the steward of an E20 implementation you must reach out to the core services of your organization to build their adoption and to engage them as stakeholders. If they aren't aware that they are stakeholders, it's your job  to make them aware. Not only aware, but engaged and participating. Who are these people? HR, IT, Legal, Existing KM, Learning/Training , the existing social network of off-line communities, Information Security, Marketing and Communications, and Corporate (I'm sure others are popping into your head right now). You need their guidance, their wisdom, and their support.

In more traditional hierarchical environments this can be a tough sell. In many cases you will be dealing with an audience who have never commented on a blog much less posted to one. You'll be facing months of discussions where you'll need to define the difference between a wiki and a forum, and in some cases, you'll need to debate it, or simply let a group take their own course of strategic action despite your best council. You can take some solace in the fact that it's getting easier as the months go by and E2.0 awareness is raised across the globe. While it's still tough, there are some best bet approaches:

• Honor the culture and represent your expertise. Most importantly, be a human being at the same time. Don't dive into lingo they don't understand. Listen more than you talk. Speak their language. More importantly, know their language and why they have it. Don't know?

• Research their work and their history. What are their challenges in communicating, engaging, discovering information with enough context to do something with it? Find and help with a goal they have using your project's solutions.

• Interview. Speak to each stakeholder and honestly hear their fears and hopes. Don't worry about answering their questions right there on the spot, just hear them and let them know they are being heard. Think about what they've told you and formulate a plan. Bring it back to them when you can give them a win. Even a little one. Trust takes time. Professional trust can take even longer.

• Be ready to hear no. It may not happen the first time. You have to do your homework and feel confident that the solution you're offering is solid. With that confidence comes the trust that it will happen in time. It's your job to make sure that you are offering the best solution for the broader culture. In many cases that will mean a culture shift will have to coincide with a roll out of tools. Have the widest picture in mind.

• Never in a million years think that the tool will do the adoption work. You'd think by now that we'd get this cliched concept. I see the idea crop up frequently enough that I find it too important not to mention. You are asking humans to change their daily habits for you. Don't underestimate their ability to deny that request.

• Conversely, never assume that your solution couldn't benefit from their suggestions. Be sure to offer solutions that will live and breathe with your needs.

I'll expand on many of these these ideas in posts to come. In the interim, thanks for reading and let me know what you think. Your comments and ideas will help me point my posts in the right direction. Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clagnut/252185030/– Meeting Room Stencil Grafitti - Clagnut