Best Buy’s Blue Shirt Nation = Edge Organziation

I recently had a chat with Gary Koelling & Steve Bendt of Best Buy. They seem to be at the cornerstone of success when it comes to creating an edge organization. In doing research for our talk I came across this video.  In the first minute of the video they begin to outline how, with the success of Blue Shirt Nation, their organization has become less hierarchical.  This is a perfect example of a developing edge organization.

Some of the key takeaways from the video:

• They are not VPs or C-level, yet they are giving a significant presentation as representatives of Best Buy.  This is a transformation sign away from hierarcy and toward the edge.
• The initial version of BSN was disliked by the user community.  Iteration was key.
• They developed the application first.  They shopped a .ppt deck around, but all it received was talk.  They took action and put something together.
• A top-down approach in developing an edge organization won’t work.  It has to be user driven.
• Now that BSN has a critical mass, it has become a place of vetting for key strategies.
• Trust is the key to building the community & the conversation.