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11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era
The era of social technologies provides seemingly endless opportunity, both for individuals and organizations. But it's also the subject of seemingly endless hype. Yes, social tools allow us to do things entirely differently--but how do you really capitalize on that?
In "11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era," the newest in Harvard Business Review's line of digital books (HBR Singles), social strategist and insightful blogger Nilofer Merchant argues that "social" is much more than "media." Smart companies are letting social become the backbone of their business models, increasing their speed and flexibility by pursuing openness and fluidity. These organizations don't operate like the powerful "800-pound gorillas" of yesteryear--but instead act more like a herd of 800 gazelles, moving together across a savannah, outrunning the competition.
This ebook offers new rules for creating value, leading, and innovating in our rapidly changing world. These social era rules are both provocative and grounded in reality--they cover thorny challenges like forsaking hierarchy and control for collaboration; getting the most out of all talent; allowing your customers to become co-creators in your organization; inspiring employees through purpose in a world where money alone no longer wields that power; and soliciting community investment in an idea so that it can take hold and grow.
The strategies of the Industrial Era--or even the Information Age--will not be enough for the Social Era. Read "11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era" to get ready to meet the challenges of this new age and thrive.
In "11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era," the newest in Harvard Business Review's line of digital books (HBR Singles), social strategist and insightful blogger Nilofer Merchant argues that "social" is much more than "media." Smart companies are letting social become the backbone of their business models, increasing their speed and flexibility by pursuing openness and fluidity. These organizations don't operate like the powerful "800-pound gorillas" of yesteryear--but instead act more like a herd of 800 gazelles, moving together across a savannah, outrunning the competition.
This ebook offers new rules for creating value, leading, and innovating in our rapidly changing world. These social era rules are both provocative and grounded in reality--they cover thorny challenges like forsaking hierarchy and control for collaboration; getting the most out of all talent; allowing your customers to become co-creators in your organization; inspiring employees through purpose in a world where money alone no longer wields that power; and soliciting community investment in an idea so that it can take hold and grow.
The strategies of the Industrial Era--or even the Information Age--will not be enough for the Social Era. Read "11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era" to get ready to meet the challenges of this new age and thrive.
88 pages, ebook
First published September 12, 2012
24 people are currently reading
518 people want to read
About the author
Nilofer Merchant
11 books109 followersNilofer Merchant is a master at turning seemingly “wild” ideas into new realities and showing the rest of us how we can too.
A recovering business executive from Apple and other tech companies, she has personally launched more than 100 products, netting $18B in sales. (That's billions, not millions.)
The Power of Onlyness is her third book. Her prior ideas have earned her quite a few recognitions. CNBC has called Nilofer a visionary. Her 2nd book, 11 Rules for Creating Value in the #SocialEra, was released in the Fall of 2012, by Harvard Business Press. It was chosen by Fast Company as one of the Best Business Books of 2012. In 2013, she was awarded the prestigious "Future Thinker" award, from Thinkers50 which ranks the the world's leading business thinkers. This particular award is chosen to recognize someone who will most likely shape the future of management in both theory and practice.
You might also know of Nilofer from her TEDtalk, which changed the dialogue of activity with the meme, "Sitting Is The Smoking Of Our Generation" where she talks of the profound and yet easy value in adopting walkntalk meetings. It's ranked in the top 10% of all TEDtalks.
A recovering business executive from Apple and other tech companies, she has personally launched more than 100 products, netting $18B in sales. (That's billions, not millions.)
The Power of Onlyness is her third book. Her prior ideas have earned her quite a few recognitions. CNBC has called Nilofer a visionary. Her 2nd book, 11 Rules for Creating Value in the #SocialEra, was released in the Fall of 2012, by Harvard Business Press. It was chosen by Fast Company as one of the Best Business Books of 2012. In 2013, she was awarded the prestigious "Future Thinker" award, from Thinkers50 which ranks the the world's leading business thinkers. This particular award is chosen to recognize someone who will most likely shape the future of management in both theory and practice.
You might also know of Nilofer from her TEDtalk, which changed the dialogue of activity with the meme, "Sitting Is The Smoking Of Our Generation" where she talks of the profound and yet easy value in adopting walkntalk meetings. It's ranked in the top 10% of all TEDtalks.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 8, 2012
Go ahead. Dig in your heels. Shove your head in the sand. Keep telling yourself that the good old days are still here. It's your call. But when the unstoppable force hits what you think is an immovable object, perception will be upended by reality in a completely unflattering way. While you were busy managing your workforce the pendulum swung and business will never be the same. Sure, there'll be Mastodons around for a while, but the ice age is over. They can move to higher ground, or migrate towards the poles, but those are temporary moves.
A handful of firms are starting to figure out how to succeed in the new paradigm. They know that using social media to communicate and take won't get you very far; that the new path forward features connecting, engaging and co-creating. Success breeds imitation and today's vanguards are garnering plenty of it, so it won't be long before the herd follows. Fair warning, predators are waiting in the bushes to pick off the laggards.
Nilofer Merchant's new book should be read yesterday. It's a short, crisp read on the what, why and some of the how, of the Social Era. She may not have all the answers, but I believe Nilofer will help you begin the transition from today's road to ruin to tomorrow's path of sustainable prosperity. What more could you want for $3.50? Give it a read. You'll be glad you did.
A handful of firms are starting to figure out how to succeed in the new paradigm. They know that using social media to communicate and take won't get you very far; that the new path forward features connecting, engaging and co-creating. Success breeds imitation and today's vanguards are garnering plenty of it, so it won't be long before the herd follows. Fair warning, predators are waiting in the bushes to pick off the laggards.
Nilofer Merchant's new book should be read yesterday. It's a short, crisp read on the what, why and some of the how, of the Social Era. She may not have all the answers, but I believe Nilofer will help you begin the transition from today's road to ruin to tomorrow's path of sustainable prosperity. What more could you want for $3.50? Give it a read. You'll be glad you did.
October 18, 2012
This is the why behind the why should you be concerned about social media. Social media is a piece of the social era, and whether or not you (and your business) are able to deliver value in the social era will determine your success. Delivering value isn't about slapping up a Facebook page. It is about engaging the herd of employees and non-employees to create and build something.
August 18, 2017
Are you leveraging the interconnectivity in our society to contribute to the social era? Nilofer Merchant's 11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era provides a roadmap for nearly every dimension of how we do business and shows how your organization can thrive with the new rules of the Social Era.
11 Rules. addresses how the social era of business changes HR, service, finance, products, distribution, supply chain management, sales, marketing and innovation. 'Social' is not just 'media' and Merchant helps to distinguish the concepts for navigating social interactions. Smart companies are letting social become the backbone of their business models, increasing their speed and flexibility by pursuing openness and fluidity. These organizations don't operate like the powerful "800-pound gorillas" of yesteryear--but instead act more like a herd of 800 gazelles, moving together across a savannah, outrunning the competition.
Merchant's 11 Rules offers new parameters for creating value, leading, and innovating in our rapidly changing world. These social era rules are both provocative and grounded in reality--they cover thorny challenges like forsaking hierarchy and control for collaboration; getting the most out of all talent; allowing your customers to become co-creators in your organization; inspiring employees through purpose in a world where money alone no longer wields that power; and soliciting community investment in an idea so that it can take hold and grow.
Without question, everything today is social. Merchant integrates the social aspects of individuals - as humans, employees, consumers - with institutions and their various traditional silos and segments. She stresses the "and/both" and disrupts the false choice of "either/or."
11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era is a must read to prepare for the challenges and thrive in this new age.
11 Rules. addresses how the social era of business changes HR, service, finance, products, distribution, supply chain management, sales, marketing and innovation. 'Social' is not just 'media' and Merchant helps to distinguish the concepts for navigating social interactions. Smart companies are letting social become the backbone of their business models, increasing their speed and flexibility by pursuing openness and fluidity. These organizations don't operate like the powerful "800-pound gorillas" of yesteryear--but instead act more like a herd of 800 gazelles, moving together across a savannah, outrunning the competition.
Merchant's 11 Rules offers new parameters for creating value, leading, and innovating in our rapidly changing world. These social era rules are both provocative and grounded in reality--they cover thorny challenges like forsaking hierarchy and control for collaboration; getting the most out of all talent; allowing your customers to become co-creators in your organization; inspiring employees through purpose in a world where money alone no longer wields that power; and soliciting community investment in an idea so that it can take hold and grow.
Without question, everything today is social. Merchant integrates the social aspects of individuals - as humans, employees, consumers - with institutions and their various traditional silos and segments. She stresses the "and/both" and disrupts the false choice of "either/or."
11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era is a must read to prepare for the challenges and thrive in this new age.
April 19, 2025
Although it was published years ago, its importance still exists today. Many organizations and businesses, regardless of their type and form, need to deeply activate social concepts, not only using the technical tools available today but also in human communication and interaction in work environments, enabling and using individual talents, collaborating with customers, and producing value to society.
The rules mentioned in the book emphasize moving beyond top-down structures to value every individual. It means seeing people as unique assets and engaging customers as partners, not just purchasers. Driving it all is the need for a shared purpose and to adapt and iterate constantly. Essentially, the core message is to build connected, adaptable, purpose-driven organizations and businesses that value individual uniqueness and co-create with their communities.
As we live in an increasingly AI-integrated world and with evolving consumer expectations, the rules mentioned in the book can be applied in our place. They prioritize adaptability and community collaboration in delivering valuable products to them. The book is recommended for anyone who wants to lead, innovate, or contribute in a world where value is co-created with the customer.
The rules mentioned in the book emphasize moving beyond top-down structures to value every individual. It means seeing people as unique assets and engaging customers as partners, not just purchasers. Driving it all is the need for a shared purpose and to adapt and iterate constantly. Essentially, the core message is to build connected, adaptable, purpose-driven organizations and businesses that value individual uniqueness and co-create with their communities.
As we live in an increasingly AI-integrated world and with evolving consumer expectations, the rules mentioned in the book can be applied in our place. They prioritize adaptability and community collaboration in delivering valuable products to them. The book is recommended for anyone who wants to lead, innovate, or contribute in a world where value is co-created with the customer.
January 3, 2018
Helpful list and illustrations for those working to make a large enterprise more social.
September 16, 2012
Nilofer Merchant offers 11 rules that may be unrules given their focus on fast, flexible, and fluid forces around modern work and organization.
We've moved into the social era, and I don't think we'll be switching back to more walled-in modes. Transaction costs used to make formality valuable in organizations but many of our transaction costs have been dramatically reduced by social era technologies and practices like smart phones, social network sites, electronic job boards, and crowd sourcing. Our expectations have also shifted given that greater transparency in some organizations is letting us see the possible across all organizations. People, technology, and organizational processes are shifting.
Have you already come to understand how these changes will affect your own work and organization? Have you begun to make adjustments? Whether or not you have, you need to read 11 Rules for Creating Value in the #SocialEra.
The book itself is of the social era. Nilofer looked broadly for her sources and feedback. Harvard Business School Press published it as an ebook with an option for an expanded print version. This is the new world of publishing and is just the beginning of how our learning, creating, and organizing will change in the #socialera. (See chapter 4 for examples ranging from Stanford to Singularity U.)
Key to this work are the ideas that :
1. Scale an be achieved through communities.
2. Consumers can be sources of value creation.
3. Purpose can become an alignment system.
Important to my own research and advising is that "work is freed from jobs." Nilofer notes that:
"the social era rewards those that can bring together a herd of gazelles, by which they can be fast, fluid, and flexible. What we reward in the social era is being connected to customer insights and acting with relevance in what we produce and deliver."
Our organizations and how we function within and across them is shifting. There is value in being open with your ideas and an understanding your "onlyness" and the "onlyness" of those around you. Onlyness includes the skills, passions, and purpose that only you bring to the situation. There is still benefit to being individually unique, skilled, and motivated... But it is also important that others understand what you bring to the table. Saving an idea until you can reap individual credit may actually mean your idea has less value. Nilofer offers:
"Instead if holding an idea in a closed fist, hold it out in your open hand. Someone can see or understand ideas held in a fist only in the little parts visible between your clenched fingers. An open hand gives your idea space to get bigger. Held in an open hand, treated like a living thing, it can grow, it can spread, and it can be picked up by others and made into something that will touch many lives."
Use this book to stetch your fingers and to help others relax their grip.
We've moved into the social era, and I don't think we'll be switching back to more walled-in modes. Transaction costs used to make formality valuable in organizations but many of our transaction costs have been dramatically reduced by social era technologies and practices like smart phones, social network sites, electronic job boards, and crowd sourcing. Our expectations have also shifted given that greater transparency in some organizations is letting us see the possible across all organizations. People, technology, and organizational processes are shifting.
Have you already come to understand how these changes will affect your own work and organization? Have you begun to make adjustments? Whether or not you have, you need to read 11 Rules for Creating Value in the #SocialEra.
The book itself is of the social era. Nilofer looked broadly for her sources and feedback. Harvard Business School Press published it as an ebook with an option for an expanded print version. This is the new world of publishing and is just the beginning of how our learning, creating, and organizing will change in the #socialera. (See chapter 4 for examples ranging from Stanford to Singularity U.)
Key to this work are the ideas that :
1. Scale an be achieved through communities.
2. Consumers can be sources of value creation.
3. Purpose can become an alignment system.
Important to my own research and advising is that "work is freed from jobs." Nilofer notes that:
"the social era rewards those that can bring together a herd of gazelles, by which they can be fast, fluid, and flexible. What we reward in the social era is being connected to customer insights and acting with relevance in what we produce and deliver."
Our organizations and how we function within and across them is shifting. There is value in being open with your ideas and an understanding your "onlyness" and the "onlyness" of those around you. Onlyness includes the skills, passions, and purpose that only you bring to the situation. There is still benefit to being individually unique, skilled, and motivated... But it is also important that others understand what you bring to the table. Saving an idea until you can reap individual credit may actually mean your idea has less value. Nilofer offers:
"Instead if holding an idea in a closed fist, hold it out in your open hand. Someone can see or understand ideas held in a fist only in the little parts visible between your clenched fingers. An open hand gives your idea space to get bigger. Held in an open hand, treated like a living thing, it can grow, it can spread, and it can be picked up by others and made into something that will touch many lives."
Use this book to stetch your fingers and to help others relax their grip.
October 3, 2012
Yeah, we all know the world is changing. Yet, too many C-levels and business heads make strategic decisions as if the future looks the same as the past, only faster. They misunderstand social as a downstream marketing channel and employer branding tool. They still think of customers as "people we sell to" and employees as "people who do their tasks so we have stuff to sell." When asked how they're engaging differently, they say "Oh, I don't have time to post on Twitter, but we're funding some people who do that," as if we're talking about PR, instead of the wholesale fracturing and re-imagining of their business model.
This book is a powerful kick in the tush. I now have a fast read to zing over to my clients' Kindle apps when I hear them talking like frogs shvitzing. "What's our goal for Facebook likes?" Dead, dead, dead.
Nilofer breaks it down. Everything pivots on this: "a person or team anywhere in the world can create scale without being big." Those experience curves I drew as a junior Bainie 25 years ago? Let's put the final stake in those, shall we, along with every other legacy idea connected with size, location, or special sauce in your products. "Too big to fail" is politician-speak for "you employ lots of voters"; it has nothing to do with winning in the emerging economy.
To win, you stand for something that matters. You invite people to co-create, dissolving in your mind any us/them distinctions that stand in the way of you (but not savvy others) thinking freshly about how to give the world more of what matters, Nilofer shows us - in pithy prose and examples - that value now derives from endlessly fresh insight into what matters, flexibility-while-executing, and the capacity to create and sustain mutually beneficial relationships.
I challenge any business leader to read and discuss this book together with 3-5 colleagues/friends and ask, "What happens if my business stays the course while our competitors/vendors/a-clever-teen-somewhere leap to these new Rules?" Soon, you'll be asking what Nilofer asks, "What could it be for us?", "What could we do together?", and "What's one way to try it out?"
This book is a powerful kick in the tush. I now have a fast read to zing over to my clients' Kindle apps when I hear them talking like frogs shvitzing. "What's our goal for Facebook likes?" Dead, dead, dead.
Nilofer breaks it down. Everything pivots on this: "a person or team anywhere in the world can create scale without being big." Those experience curves I drew as a junior Bainie 25 years ago? Let's put the final stake in those, shall we, along with every other legacy idea connected with size, location, or special sauce in your products. "Too big to fail" is politician-speak for "you employ lots of voters"; it has nothing to do with winning in the emerging economy.
To win, you stand for something that matters. You invite people to co-create, dissolving in your mind any us/them distinctions that stand in the way of you (but not savvy others) thinking freshly about how to give the world more of what matters, Nilofer shows us - in pithy prose and examples - that value now derives from endlessly fresh insight into what matters, flexibility-while-executing, and the capacity to create and sustain mutually beneficial relationships.
I challenge any business leader to read and discuss this book together with 3-5 colleagues/friends and ask, "What happens if my business stays the course while our competitors/vendors/a-clever-teen-somewhere leap to these new Rules?" Soon, you'll be asking what Nilofer asks, "What could it be for us?", "What could we do together?", and "What's one way to try it out?"
October 17, 2012
Bravo to Nilofer Merchant for writing such an honest book that looks reality right in the eye, while extending her hand and inviting it in.
We are all experiencing what it is like to be at an inflection point in business and as a society as a whole. We are straddling two worlds while making moves that will ultimately determine which direction our own curve(s) will go.
In 11 Rules for Creating Value in the #SocialEra, Nilofer Merchant tackles this dynamic topic with conviction, clarity and grace, while giving the "#SocialEra" a face.
In Chapter 3 she writes,
1. At the organizational level, we will shift from hierarchies to networks and thus free "work" from "jobs"
2. At the human level, power will be distributed instead of centralized in the hands of a few, which will allow groups to self-organize through shared purpose
3. At a philosophical level, this will mean a shift from closed and separate approaches to open and connected ones
4. At a symbolic level, the shift is from being the 800-pound gorilla to a herd of 800 gazelles, where communities-made up of regularly unique individuals-create value
Of everything that we have been experiencing, discussing, reading or writing about over the past couple of years, Nilofer Merchant has pushed beyond, offering up new rules for creating value as we work to reformulate our future strategies.
She provides ideas as we navigate through uncertainty while motivating us to break out of any paralysis that might be holding us back and encourages us to take action - as organizations, as individuals and as a community...A wake up call, so to speak, so rich with depth.
This is the first book that I have read from her, and I can tell that she will be one of authors and leaders who I will reference as a key influencer in business history twenty or so years from now.
We are all experiencing what it is like to be at an inflection point in business and as a society as a whole. We are straddling two worlds while making moves that will ultimately determine which direction our own curve(s) will go.
In 11 Rules for Creating Value in the #SocialEra, Nilofer Merchant tackles this dynamic topic with conviction, clarity and grace, while giving the "#SocialEra" a face.
In Chapter 3 she writes,
1. At the organizational level, we will shift from hierarchies to networks and thus free "work" from "jobs"
2. At the human level, power will be distributed instead of centralized in the hands of a few, which will allow groups to self-organize through shared purpose
3. At a philosophical level, this will mean a shift from closed and separate approaches to open and connected ones
4. At a symbolic level, the shift is from being the 800-pound gorilla to a herd of 800 gazelles, where communities-made up of regularly unique individuals-create value
Of everything that we have been experiencing, discussing, reading or writing about over the past couple of years, Nilofer Merchant has pushed beyond, offering up new rules for creating value as we work to reformulate our future strategies.
She provides ideas as we navigate through uncertainty while motivating us to break out of any paralysis that might be holding us back and encourages us to take action - as organizations, as individuals and as a community...A wake up call, so to speak, so rich with depth.
This is the first book that I have read from her, and I can tell that she will be one of authors and leaders who I will reference as a key influencer in business history twenty or so years from now.
January 4, 2015
De carácter obligatorio para todo manager o persona responsable para consigo mismo, para con su empresa y para con las personas que dependen de ella. Nilofer expone de manera brillante la manera como las reglas de juego han cambiado para los negocios en plena era social y de cómo la interacción dentro de la misma empresa y hacia afuera con los constituyentes genera sinergias que involucran desde el direccionamiento mismo del negocio hasta la búsqueda coherente de un propósito compartido entre todos ellos.
September 2, 2013
A very insightful book on social media marketing and strategies. Covers lot of ground on how to position your organization in a way to be really fast, fluid and flexible and thereby create a value. It was a great read even for a newbie like me. Very simple and clear in its message.
February 22, 2015
Easy to read, explains the nitty gritty of the social era very well for people like me who have spent ages in the industrial era. A must read if you need to come up to speed and do business in the social era. More for beginners than practitioners in the field.
October 5, 2012
Nilofer is a regular contributor to blogs / articles in HBR and I like a lot of her stuff. This book was her view on the "social era" which has changed my perspective of what social is all about
November 4, 2013
Great book. I met with Nilofer and she is such an inspiring individual, this book offers 11 ways to the new era... wonderful notes could be found here.
April 17, 2013
great great stuff. this is something to refer to often when thinking about marketing and social media.
June 12, 2013
One of the best books to read to think about the future in business. I like that she frames this book as an invitation to have and continue the dialogue about how businesses will run in the future.
September 7, 2014
Main lessons -short codes:
1 connectivity and contribution
2 aadaptability
3 hierarchy free
4 love, not war
5 new strategies
6 unlocking talent
Social purpose
1 connectivity and contribution
2 aadaptability
3 hierarchy free
4 love, not war
5 new strategies
6 unlocking talent
Social purpose
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews