What if I told you I could increase your productivity by 25%?

In July McKinsey released a report entitled The Social Economy: Unlocking Value and Productivity Through Social Technologies. 
The report offers up some interesting findings (many of which are worth noting, so I suggest you read it; but one in particular caught my eye. Here's the excerpt from their dandy of an intro:

"While 72 percent of companies use social technologies in some way, very few are anywhere near to achieving the full potential benefit. In fact, the most powerful applications of social technologies in the global economy are largely untapped. Companies will go on developing ways to reach consumers through social technologies and gathering insights for product development, marketing, and customer service. Yet the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) finds that twice as much potential value lies in using social tools to enhance communications, knowledge sharing, and collaboration within and across enterprises. MGI’s estimates suggest that by fully implementing social technologies, companies have an opportunity to raise the productivity of interaction workers—high-skill knowledge workers, including managers and professionals—by 20 to 25 percent."

Read that last sentence again: adopting social technologies could improve the productivity of highly skilled knowledge workers by as much as 25%.
Twenty-five percent. 

The number got me thinking

In an era defined by a global cutbacks to public spending, how much is a 25% productivity increase really worth? 

Could a 25% productivity increase actually offset budget cuts?  

And if so, how much?

Who, if anyone, has thought this through yet? 

I'd really like to have a conversation with them.

Ps - I'm still running my crowdfunding campaign to have my handbook translated, I'd appreciate your support - details here!

Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.ca subscribe/connect