By Karl Meinhardt

We are all familiar with the maxim of avoidance that warns us to "Hear no evil, speak no evil, and see no evil." Even though its origins are in 8^th century Asia, their meaning has passed on from generation to generation, and sure enough, is still as popular as ever in our digital age. I continue to run into the Three Wise Monkeys "philosophy" when it comes to organizational strategies on social media.

Over the last year I have been giving keynote speeches and workshops on social media for everyone from corporate leadership teams to technology groups and even educational administrators. The reactions to social media as a form of communication are as varied as the audiences I have faced. Some think it is the best thing since Tivo, while others view it as an evil that is best to actively avoid. It is the latter group that is fully embracing the Three Wise Monkeys rule and limiting or denying access to social sites via the corporate network.  But in this quickly changing digital economy, this philosophy of social isolation can be more than harmful - it can be fatal.

Let's take a look at some of the most common reactions I have heard and see if we can address the root of this social anxiety.

Fear of the "time suck"

This is by far the most common reason I hear company executives cite for limiting or denying access to social sites over the corporate network. They believe their employees' productivity will decrease because employees will be "Facebooking" all day at their desks.

I am sure in every company there are those employees who don't have enough work to do or whose work is not monitored or whose performance is not properly evaluated. And for these folks the potential time suck of social sites is a valid concern. But for those companies who hire intelligently, set employee expectations, create environments of trust and respect, and inspire employees with core values that ring true, the time suck fear is no reason for concern. Because regardless of access to social sites, employees are still required to execute their mission, deliver their deliverables, and perform their duties, as always. In fact, for these employees, social sites can provide a wealth of information and experience from which to learn, and which will help them do their job more efficiently and more effectively.

My reaction to the time suck fear is this: if you really think your employees will waste a majority of their work day on social sites, then you don't have a social problem; you have a leadership problem, a culture problem, or a hiring problem. Once you get these issues addressed, social sites can be of great value to your organization. Besides if you actually do have any of these issues, you can rest assured that employees are already wasting time on social sites via their smartphones (which you can't track) or on something else.

Don't know what to say?

I actually don't hear this one verbatim, but I hear everything that indicates it as a reason for social aversion. This applies many times to leaders who are faced with the concept of actually participating in an internal or external social conversation.

I find this one fascinating, because, as leaders, we are expected to be great communicators! We are charged with rallying the troops, inspiring the corps, convincing investors and analysts that our companies are sound and on the road to great success. So why the negative reaction to the social conversation? I believe this is not so much about a lack of what to say as it is a fear of what might be said by others in response to a leader's or company's social media posts.

It's true. We all know of the horror stories of social media "fails." And we have all learned from them, right? Well, all of us who are participating in or at least LISTENING to the social conversation have at least learned a thing or two about what not to do! The important point here is that even if your organization really doesn't know what to say, that should not keep the organization from listening to the social conversation. I've learned much more by listening than I ever have by speaking! There are some great things to listen to in the "social sphere."

Start by listening to what social media participants are saying about your brand or about your company. You might be surprised by the results. It might even give you a starting point on what you could say to make the conversation about your brand or company a positive one.

Lack of funds

Adequately funding a social media initiative is not to be taken lightly. In my keynote speaking, I always make the point that any social media strategy that is executed as an employee's "extra duty as assigned" is in the "high risk of failure" category. Effective social media initiatives require adequate funding to staff them with the right people and give those people the right tools to do the job. And while many of those tools are free, good social analytics tools can cost a bundle!

OK, so I'll buy lack of funding as a valid reason for social media aversion. However, if your marketing / PR budget includes funds for traditional advertising and PR outlets, then I'm going to throw the challenge flag. Traditional advertising is rapidly becoming less and less effective. The social world is quickly becoming less interested in how good companies claim their products are. They want to know how other social users' (their social friends or followers) experiences with your products have been. The word-of-mouth marketing afforded by social networks is becoming more and more prevalent and, in fact, more powerful and more trusted.

Can you really afford not to fund social media initiatives for your organization? Social media adoption continues to increase exponentially. For many people this means a shift in the way they are communicating with friends, brands and companies. To not be present in these social conversations is creating an opportunity for your competition and detractors to speak against for your brand. I try to illustrate it this way: What if I told you that 50% of your customers were only going to speak Chinese from now on; what would you do? Ignore them? Write them off? Of course not! You'd allocate the funds to enable Chinese communication. Once company leaders start viewing social media as the future conversation of at least some portion of their customer base, the allocation of funds for social media becomes a different conversation in itself.

Parting thoughts

The wisdom of the Three Monkeys is sage advice for some, but for those who need to acquire and engage customers and employees, their philosophy represents a huge risk - the Risk of Indifference, more commonly read as ROI. While that may not be the traditional definition of ROI, it is definitely the definition of the risk you take by not participating in the social conversation. Social media is the biggest conversation in the history of man. Does your company really not want to participate in it? 

Karl Meinhardt is a partner of Leadership Advisors Group in Boise. With over 20 years as a technology professional, he has served as a strategy consultant to many companies regarding information technology products and services. 

Karl is the co-author of The Leader's New Clothes: The Naked Truths, a book based on his management experiences, set in modern-day corporate America that presents new insights to authentic leadership. He provides social media and social enterprise leadership strategy consulting services.