Catherine Tilley, Director of the McKinsey Knowledge Centre in Wroclaw, Poland, gave a presentation about blogging for leaders. She discussed how McKinsey provides an ideal environment for corporate blogging due to its emphasis on knowledge sharing. She started a blog one year ago to provide updates about the Knowledge Centre and life in Wroclaw. The blog helped address initial suspicions about the Centre, build commitment for a new project, and create a sense of community. Through blogging, Tilley learned that clear communication, reliability, and authentic writing are important for connecting with readers.

1. Blogging for leaders
Catherine Tilley
Director, Wroclaw Knowledge Centre
20 January 2011
Social Media Day
CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY
Any use of this material without specific permission of McKinsey & Company is strictly prohibited

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Who I am, and what I’m going to talk about
Catherine Tilley
Director of the McKinsey Knowledge Centre, Wroclaw Blogging for 1 year about the Centre and life in Wroclaw
I’m going to talk about
Blogging in an ‘interesting’ leadership situation What I’ve learned from the experience

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Why McKinsey is a great environment for the corporate blogger
▪International, but highly co- operative
▪Very strong emphasis on knowledge
▪Young demographic
▪Technological infrastructure
▪Need for community
▪Blogging is an ideal way to keep in touch across time/space
▪People actively persue content, and are curious
▪Blogs are ‘normal’ (inc. microblogging and wikis)
▪Easy for authors and navigable for readers
▪Blogs provide connection

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The problem I faced in January 2010
▪Suspicion: are these people taking my job?
▪Ignorance: few people could find Wroclaw on the map. Fewer still could say it.
▪Large audience: 1,500 with an immediate interest, plus a further 14,000 who might be interested
▪Communications fatigue
My community
Me
▪Needed advice on a big project
▪Wanted to rebuild commitment and support
▪Needed a community

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Why I decided to start blogging
▪It was speedy, and unobtrusive
▪It looked easy!
▪I needed feedback on our plans
▪I wanted to record the journey and build interest

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What I’ve learned along the way
▪This doesn’t come naturally
▪most people who are old enough to be running a business did not grow up with the internet, and so we have to learn the rules
▪The rules of communi- cation still apply
▪be clear about the role your blog plays, who you are writing for, and why
▪There’s no point in lying
▪people can tell
▪No detail is too small
▪People were surprisingly excited when I wrote about choosing the office carpet
▪Reliability matters
▪Posting reasonably frequently, with reliable information is important
▪Write from the heart
▪People responded to things that touched me
▪You will change …
▪Writing authentically for a big audience who can answer back, or ignore you, will change you as a leader. That could be a good thing