it doesn't really matter where your intranet is managed out of -- as long as you place someone in charge, with the freedom to lead and a passion for serving all of your people. Obviously, the higher this person sits in the organization, with a commanding view of all that is going on, and the resources to swiftly react, the better -- but that's just a bonus. By all means, avoid placing a committee in charge. Decisions will require consensus, impeding responsiveness and progress. 5. Forge relationships. Now that you have someone in charge, make sure this person has the tact and diplomacy to forge relationships across the organization. Focus on key relationships with the following: - Information Technology - Design - Corporate Communications - Human Resources - Ethics and Compliance - Audit Services - Legal - Your chief executive For example, I've forged a relationship with our vice president of ethics and compliance and our H.R. director of diversity, who have willingly accepted the role of deciding if an employee's behavior on the intranet is inappropriate. Thus, my team can concentrate on encouraging participation, not enforcing it. 6. Assemble a team and assign roles. It may be practical or expedient for you to hire an agency or license software to build your intranet, but I believe success and satisfaction are more likely to occur if you build it yourself, in-house. (And, from my experience, a home-grown intranet costs dramatically less.) I prefer to invest in talent. For a successful