I talk all the time about managing the business change that social networking through sites like Twitter and Facebook necessitates. Well here’s a change: what if using Facebook or Twitter was illegal?
This week, Richard Ketchum, CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, suggested that social networking might be against the law at US banks. Facebook and Twitter? Not for them. And not for their employees, either.
If you’re a banker and this idea has escaped you, well, you’re welcome. Ditto that if you work in any kind of regulated environment. Insurance Company? Doctor’s Office? Uh-Oh.
Aside from saying that here at Answer Guy Central we’re very good at navigating regulatory red tape, I won’t make this about anything other than how important it is for you to understand all the ramifications of any business change you enact at your business. And I’ll go on to suggest that most of this issue boils down to the steps that you must take to protect your patients / customers / depositors information when you possess it. Listen, apply the same idea that Mr. Ketchum is talking about to your business: what do you do with credit card information? Is it safe and secure? Are you sure about that?
When it’s time for business change you have to be ready to move fast. But sometimes enacting business change needs to be a slow, careful process, affected by lots of things you might not have thought of when you had that “a-ha!” moment.
A-ha!
