Chelsi Nakano of CMSWire has identified four best practices for putting the "business" in "social business."

While we can't go into all of them (read her great article!), we'll cover the first issue, which doesn't often get addressed: time management of the transition from a traditional enterprise to a social business.

Forrester, Nakano reports, has observed three time-management-related challenges that get in the way of businesses going social:

• Getting people on the same page. Not everyone works at the same comfort level with social technology and tactics. On average, it can take three or four cycles of testing and trials to standardize not only social methodology but terminology. Keep your goals and messages clear.
• Turf wars. Power struggles over process management distract teams from their social goals and can trap them in time-consuming political squabbles. Break down silos.
• Lack of ownership. The first two setbacks can create an environment in which no one wants to take charge of social outreach. Strive to keep all eyes on the same goal. Keep duties, workflows and positions of authority clear.

It's easy to lose track of time when there are so many social tools to try, the space is constantly changing and it isn't clear to management whether all that "communicating" is truly productive or simply a form of goofing off.

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