01
Enterprise alignment on purpose, vision & success standards
Agreement, reached by the people who will fund and defend this work later, on why the app or intranet exists for this organization, right now.
Chapter 1 · Intranet Purpose & VisionSuccessful and struggling programs usually rely on many of the same practices. Assuming you’ve chosen an adequate platform with the content and capabilities employees need, the difference is a bit like a thriving reef and one that has lost the life it once supported. The structure may still be there. What keeps the system thriving is how many of these ten operating habits are actually in place, and how consistently they’re maintained after go-live.
ConnectFoundation
02
Governance clear at every level
Decision rights are explicit for strategic, operational, and tactical calls, well ahead of the pressure that launch brings.
Chapter 3 · Digital Channels Governance03
A managed change strategy, from launch through ongoing adoption
A deliberate plan carries the organization through initial onboarding and go-live, then continues shaping adoption long after launch week ends.
Chapter 4 · Change ManagementEngageExperience
04
User research drives the plan
Direct research uncovers what each audience genuinely needs, and that shapes what gets built and how it’s introduced.
Chapter 5 · User Research05
Information architecture and search work as one system
There are only a small handful of reasons why intranet search fails. Staying ahead of them means building a habit of surfacing what people are actually searching for, understanding why they aren’t finding it, and fixing the underlying cause.
Chapter 6 · Search Feedback06
Social features are engineered to support the editorial strategy
Comments, reactions, and community features are designed deliberately, reinforcing the messages leadership is already prioritizing.
Chapter 7 · Social Features07
Measurement is a standing routine
Analytics and qualitative feedback are reviewed together on a set cadence, built into how the intranet gets managed day to day.
Chapter 8 · Measurement & ReportingInspireContent Leadership
08
Content strategy spans the whole digital workplace
The app or intranet is one channel in a broader ecosystem, and the strongest organizations lead content strategy across the whole of it.
Chapter 9 · Content Strategy09
Content managers are equipped to exercise editorial judgment
Publishing training covers the mechanics. Sustained quality depends just as much on teaching judgment — what’s worth publishing, and why.
Chapter 10 · Distributed Content Creation10
Business leaders are aligned on the editorial strategy
Agreement on the key employee audiences, this year’s top-level communication outcomes, and the specific bets being placed to move those audiences forward.
Chapter 11 · Internal Communications StrategyThe greatest risks show up months after launch, when one or more of these ten habits start to slip. By the time someone decides the intranet needs a major intervention, the underlying problems have often been building for months, or even years.
These ten operating habits form the practical spine of Digital Endurance. Three parts, twelve chapters, in the order you would actually do the work. Ten of those chapters are on this page.
Two are not:
- One asks what you are actually leading, because the job is bigger than managing an intranet or communication channel. Chapter 2
- The other asks what happens once you understand the work: whether you are willing to step forward and lead it. Chapter 12