2. Align with your organization's values (real or desired) . The structure, terminology, and tone of your intranet should be consistent with your organization's strategy and values. Don't underestimate the intranet's ability to reinforce your current culture, or even steer people toward the culture you aspire to have. You can also leverage these values to defend your decisions. When we implemented interactive environments (such as employee comments) on our intranet several years ago, some leaders expressed apprehension. When I responded by pointing to our stated values around shared commitment, high involvement, and collaboration, they recognized the alignment and their concerns were defused. 3. Have a clear purpose. If you don't know the purpose of your intranet, how can you tell if it's successful? We've developed a four-fold purpose for our intranet, which has endured since its inception more than 10 years ago: - Enhance employee productivity (help people do their jobs). - Reinforce corporate messages (to ensure that people are productive on the right things). - Provide a place for all to meet and share. - Have a personality (to provide comfort and encourage interaction). When deciding what to work on, or how to prioritize our work, we consult our four-fold purpose. 4. Place someone in charge. I've managed intranets from within Information Technology and Corporate Communications departments, and I've seen others managed out of Marketing, Human Resources, and Knowledge Management. I've witnessed debates over who should manage an intranet, and heard some call for an executive-level leader. My opinion: