Who’s a Democratic Workplace?

On April 14th, WorldBlu released the “The WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces 2009 ” 40 organizations,

including Seventh Generation, NixonMcInnes, and BzzAgent, made the list this year. The list contains an eclectic list of companies from a multitude of countries and various industries that all have moved away from the standard control and command model and taken up a democratic management structure.

Having had the opportunity to work with Traci Fenton and meet several of the leaders whose companies make up the list I can honestly say  this list is an amazing demonstration of the power of innovation.  The companies on this list have chosen to build there organizations around the principles of transparency and accountability, fully engaging their employees and creating a work environment where people are actually treated as…what for it…people!

I encourage you to check out the The WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2009, and spend a little time perusing the site to learn about this fantastic movement.

@tracifenton, an awesome tweeter

Traci Fenton of WorldBlu, Inc. is a great example of a CEO leveraging social media to engage her audience. Right now Traci is at TED Palm Springs provindg a live feed of her impressions of the conference and the speakers. Take her comments on speaker and former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates

• 30% of students in US never graduate from high school, 50% of minority students don’t – via Bill Gates #TED about 1 hour ago from web
• Bill Gates – Past performance, not years teaching or MA education makes great teachers, we must study that to improve education in US #TED about 1 hour ago from web

Many who follow TED know, it’s not just about the speakers, but the community of people who attend the event. It’s a special brand of individual that is willing to dedicate the time and put forth the financial commitment to attend an event purely dedicated to the promulgation of ideas. Traci does a good job of tweeting the vibe of the TED PS audience as well:

• An indication of how cool people are here at TED@PalmSprings – I am sitting next to the guy who did the music for this year’s Super Bowl.about 2 hours ago from web

Too often Twitterers, myself included, unintentionally spam their followers with tweets that really aren’t about informing them or engaging them in a conversation but act as some cathartic release. There is nothing wrong with tweeting your daily goings ons, I’m sure someone cares where you ate for lunch, but when using Twitter for professional purposes it’s best to stick to topic, and strive to use twitter to create conversations with your followers.

p.s. check out Traci’s interview with Yahoo HotJobs.