We’re becoming old friends now! It’s great to see you back here again for another chapter of Making Connections with me, Jim. Last week, Maria used IBM Connections to develop a new and exciting mentorship program. This week, we’re talking with Carlos. He’s a “graduate” of Maria’s initiative. He shared with me an idea he had about how to make the business even more social. His focus was on the day-to-day operations. Carlos is a bit of a tech lover. He often reads blogs about technology trends and already has a high-level understanding of the benefits of becoming a social business. He used IBM Connections to connect with experts across the business to expand his working knowledge and, ultimately, improve his productivity. But he felt it could do even more for him. I was excited to see the team catching on! Carlos wanted to know all of the details, so I explained that IBM Connections isn’t just a learning tool. It’s a collaboration platform for business that helps you engage with the right people, find content, work smarter, accelerate innovation and deliver real results—no matter where you are. It’s fully integrated, expandable and super secure, too. That keeps both you and the IT folks happy. I began by showing him his IBM Connections activity stream. This provides a view into all the relevant business activity across his personal network and communities. That way, Carlos can get a view on which content is available to leverage, discover opportunities for collaboration and share his expertise to add business value. What’s more, IBM Connections has a feature that allows Carlos to work in a single, familiar environment. “Oh, I see,” he said, “so I can bring my email, calendars and work communities together in a social context?” I nodded. Carlos was a quick study! I explained that IBM Connections allows teams to collaborate on documents, centralize project management and share content. And when teams work in an open, collaborative way, members of your network can jump in to help, share experiences to save you time and offer valuable insights. “Wow, this will really help us work smarter. It eliminates the guesswork.” “Right again!” I said. “And with recommendations for who and what you need to know, you can discover trends in content, social activity and expertise. You’ll end up making better, more informed decisions.” Carlos added, “And that’ll help me get to know my network’s capabilities a lot better.” “I only have one more question, Jim,” Carlos said with a wink. “How did we ever get anything done before IBM Connections?” I laughed. I had a feeling Carlos and I would become good friends! I couldn’t wait to see how he was doing in the coming weeks… Do you want to learn more about how IBM Connections can improve your business? Read the white paper and discover how you can gain better business returns. Have a question? Tweet them to @JimClaussen using #ConnectionsWithJim

1. Chapter
4

2. Brought
to you by
More Ways to
Use IBM Connections
Chapter 4

3. Brought
to you by
We’re becoming
old friends now!
It’s great to see you back here again for
another chapter of Making Connections
with me, Jim.
Last week, Maria used IBM Connections
to develop a new and exciting mentorship
program.
This week, we’re talking with Carlos. He’s a
“graduate” of Maria’s initiative. He shared
with me an idea he had about how to
make the business even more social. His
focus was on the day-to-day operations.

4. Brought
to you by
Carlos is a bit of a tech lover. He often reads
blogs about technology trends and already
has a high-level understanding of the
benefits of becoming a social business.
He used IBM Connections to connect with
experts across the business to expand his
working knowledge and, ultimately,
improve his productivity.
But he felt it could do even more for him.
I was excited to see the team catching on!

5. Brought
to you by
Carlos wanted to know all of the details, so I
explained that IBM Connections isn’t just a
learning tool. It’s a collaboration platform for
business that helps you engage with the right
people, find content, work smarter, accelerate
innovation and deliver real results—no
matter where you are. It’s fully integrated,
expandable and super secure, too. That
keeps both you and the IT folks happy.

6. Brought
to you by
I began by showing him his IBM Connections
activity stream. This provides a view into
all the relevant business activity across his
personal network and communities. That
way, Carlos can get a view on which content
is available to leverage, discover opportunities
for collaboration and share his expertise
to add business value.
What’s more, IBM Connections has a
feature that allows Carlos to work in a
single, familiar environment.

7. Brought
to you by
“Oh, I see,” he said, “so I can bring my
email, calendars and work communities
together in a social context?”
I nodded. Carlos was a quick study!
I explained that IBM Connections allows
teams to collaborate on documents,
centralize project management and
share content. And when teams work in
an open, collaborative way, members of
your network can jump in to help, share
experiences to save you time and offer
valuable insights.

8. Brought
to you by
“Wow, this will really help us work smarter.
It eliminates the guesswork.”
“Right again!” I said. “And with
recommendations for who and what you
need to know, you can discover trends in
content, social activity and expertise.
You’ll end up making better, more
informed decisions.”
Carlos added, “And that’ll help me get to
know my network’s capabilities a lot better.”

9. Brought
to you by
“I only have one more question, Jim,” Carlos
said with a wink. “How did we ever get
anything done before IBM Connections?”
I laughed. I had a feeling Carlos and I would
become good friends! I couldn’t wait to see
how he was doing in the coming weeks…

10. SocialBusiness
have a question?
Tweet them to
@JimClaussen using
#ConnectionsWithJim
Do you want to learn more about how IBM
Connections can improve your business?
Read the white paper and discover how
you can gain better business returns.