tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291359785053554092024-03-05T17:25:09.878-08:00strategic business communicationsThe power of clarityBrucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-89936254322790549702013-09-27T07:09:00.000-07:002013-09-27T07:10:52.432-07:00A chemical-industry incident<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq27wcPQ9S0qUm5s8XP6Lw64Qr7jN_hjk6sS-MOZS_LwkqEOMmh5MUCnUF8CUkWM3WEI5KTFrFXNsDUPgBS0INvbwiMbWLiIL_SkxKHYhBdyM7MEo25bYm1LL4f480Dkg3xsfx4ek3uZ-s/s1600/ID-100183383+chemplant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq27wcPQ9S0qUm5s8XP6Lw64Qr7jN_hjk6sS-MOZS_LwkqEOMmh5MUCnUF8CUkWM3WEI5KTFrFXNsDUPgBS0INvbwiMbWLiIL_SkxKHYhBdyM7MEo25bYm1LL4f480Dkg3xsfx4ek3uZ-s/s400/ID-100183383+chemplant.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I feel very lucky to have had a brief tour of duty in the chemical industry--not a business sector I would have sought out. Over the time I met and worked with scientists, technicians, engineers and operators, I grew an immense respect for people who were doing something really difficult and more than a little risky.<br />
<br />
One thing I quickly learned was that the same spectrum of opinions on chemical use and the environment that you find in the wider world also ran through the ranks and functions of the company. Some just wanted to make their salary and go home, damn the consequences; others wanted to use their contribution to make the whole chemical supply chain more sustainable. Others were conflicted, every day, about the unknowable impact of their actions.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, at the major plant site for the company, there was some of the most enthusiasm for the business where there was arguably the greatest risk; in fact, areas at the site had designated a Superfund site for long-term remediation from prior activities. Given the size of the facility and the throughput of ingredients and product in and out of its gates, the site had a stunning safety record. Engineers and operators alike were generally proud of the place and of the successful commitment to continuous improvement.<br />
<br />
On one occasion, Greenpeace came calling. Over the years, a small town had grown up right around the plant, an oasis of economic opportunity in a marginal rural territory. Greenpeace was banking on the belief that families and residents closest to the plant would be the most discomfited and distressed with the plant's existence and operations.<br />
<br />
It sort of backfired. Greenpeace could not organize an opposition to the facility among its neighbors, most of whom were or were related to plant employees. And it wasn't just because people were guarding their feedbag; they also felt patronized by outsiders suggesting they didn't understand what they saw as a manageable, net-positive risk/reward calculation.<br />
<br />
That calculation had been informed by, among other things, years and years of ongoing communication between the plant and the community, formal and informal, some in words and some in actions. The communicators at the plant knew--and taught me--that you could only tell the truth to people and not try to blow rainbows at them or deny the risks. There was no meaningful barrier between internal and external communication in such an environment. People were willing to defend the parts of a business they felt were worth defending.<br />
<br />
Employees with deep knowledge of the business are its best brand ambassadors and advocates and trusted spokespeople. When communication with them is respectful, fair and substantive, they'll return the respect in serving as appropriate champions for the business. By the way, I'm personally respectful of Greenpeace, too, but no advocates or activists can make progress until they take the time to become as smart as the people they're advocating for.<br />
<br />
People want to be proud of what they do. Does your employee communication get them there?<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of supakitmod / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</span></div>
<br />
<br />Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-85796898941189961262013-09-09T11:36:00.000-07:002013-09-09T11:51:57.609-07:00Feeling the FOG?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2npYZCXdDAvm5K1fqKTGi1qEDNm7EYWlqS9AsI94-y-_5Ej5FS39JrcBhN1vVL6lqP6Y7MO3F8qr5IO9wnyzRJ7Wopma_WdkCnTjeZJjtckixNODzzOOfWD-cdv5bb0pYjjrv7knIkmxb/s1600/questionmarkID-100113309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2npYZCXdDAvm5K1fqKTGi1qEDNm7EYWlqS9AsI94-y-_5Ej5FS39JrcBhN1vVL6lqP6Y7MO3F8qr5IO9wnyzRJ7Wopma_WdkCnTjeZJjtckixNODzzOOfWD-cdv5bb0pYjjrv7knIkmxb/s400/questionmarkID-100113309.jpg" width="332" /></a></div>
<br />
You walk to the front of the room. The screen with your title slide is behind you, and in front of you are 350 people--and two cameras representing 1,500 more. They have stopped their schedule to listen to you. Some have their arms folded; some are whispering to each other; some are texting others using the company's messaging platform.<br />
<br />
It could be a great time to be brief.<br />
<br />
Two recent articles point out the value of candor and of brevity. The first is a <a href="http://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Laura-Rittenhouses-Candor-Analytics?gko=d416c&goback=%2Egde_3195687_member_271769418#%21">description of the work of Laura Rittenhouse,</a> who wages an ongoing campaign against what she calls FOG: "fact-deficient, obfuscating generalities." In one of her business services, she analyzes the corporate communications of leaders and publishes her Rittenhouse Rankings as a measure specifically of the candor she finds in them--or doesn't find. For most professionals in corporate communications, the editing of FOGgy prose is all in a day's work; what's remarkable about the Rankings is how much content-free writing some of the country's largest companies are comfortable putting out there for view.<br />
<br />
One on side: jargon, imprecision, loss of credibility, eye-rolling and disengagement. On the other: candor, specificity, clarity, trust and motivation. And one of those tends to take less time to deliver than the other.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/the-short-sentence-as-gospel-truth/">second article is by Roy Peter Clark</a> of the Poynter Institute, a think-tank for journalistic excellence. Clark talks about the disproportional impact of the short sentence. We all learned in high school comp class to "vary sentence length" as a matter of stylistic power, but it's a hard value to find in corporate America. Tragically, one of the typical reactions to a difficult business situation or a tough choice is to grind out more and more words in the hope of talking someone's anxiety out of existence. It rarely works. More often, it looks like what it is: buying time and establishing dominance. Because when you really know what you're talking about, and really have a strong leadership idea, and are more confident than fearful, you find it more compelling to use fewer words.<br />
<br />
Which, of course, brings us back to . . . candor. Plain speaking sounds true and commands attention. Are you good at it?<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Image courtesy of Jeroen van Oostrom / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-88841591017681465342013-07-24T13:21:00.000-07:002013-07-24T13:21:31.592-07:00Human Racehorses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC4qw-1EQwS08WOJwTYRxmsmeI2fypzYBI5AJwJDY_tC39fAj5W1lzU4eV0jRZAZYgMcSRTIECkOkGji-QL_68VxC4F2L8KFXcuE8nI6Vd_GvLbSjkTXvb4XiVOZctSP6UVkDT_yDCZ2Gy/s1600/man+racing+ID-10091866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC4qw-1EQwS08WOJwTYRxmsmeI2fypzYBI5AJwJDY_tC39fAj5W1lzU4eV0jRZAZYgMcSRTIECkOkGji-QL_68VxC4F2L8KFXcuE8nI6Vd_GvLbSjkTXvb4XiVOZctSP6UVkDT_yDCZ2Gy/s400/man+racing+ID-10091866.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
<br />
I was at a professional event last month where I swear I heard one of the panelists describe herself as an executive in human racehorses.<br />
<br />
It was some quirk of regional accent, I'm sure, but how perfect is that perceived malaprop? One of the hallmarks of the evolution from "personnel" back in the day to "human resources" (and then, for others, on to "human capital" or just "people") was a movement away from placating and monitoring and toward increased productivity and professional development. Along the way, things definitely got strident and sweaty.<br />
<br />
I can't resist. Here are some tips I found online for how to train racehorses.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>"Train them for races by daily jogging. Increase the speed and distance as the horse becomes conditioned and starts to improve its fitness level" . . . <b><i>keep moving the cheese.</i></b></li>
<li>"The horse must be able to meet or exceed the minimum speed prescribed by the track the owner wishes it to compete at" . . . <b><i>because racehorses have "owners."</i></b></li>
<li>"Have the horse practice running the track with other horses to increase speed through the internal competitive nature to be first" . . . <b><i>pitting them against everyone else as a measure of success.</i></b></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Communications that support those types of HR values will fall into patterns of top-down, comply-or-else, propagandistic cheering and saluting. These are delivered with strong assumptions that employees have all the time and interest in the world to be fascinated by professional development <i>and</i> performance management <i>and</i> team dynamics <i>and</i> recruiting and onboarding <i>and</i> benefits management <i>and </i>cross-functional teaming.<br />
<br />
But, really? Have you taken a tour lately through the brain of today's worker? It's a landscape of various elevations of anxiety. Most people are uncertain their jobs are going to exist in a three-to-five year window of time, and they are unengaged because they cannot imagine how anything they could do on the job could increase their chance of remaining employed. Turns out they're not really behaving like racehorses.<br />
<br />
There's a New Employment Deal out there. It's more crowd-sourced than hierarchical, it's got more realism and less loyalty, and it's smart about what workers today really want and need. Frankly, it's fairer and much more adult (less equine). Communicating in that new-deal environment is different in important ways: notably in content, style and channel.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #f1c232;">Do your employees believe you're part of the New Employment Deal? Do you know how to communicate differently in the new business landscape?</span></i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-64570265614459165202013-07-15T14:08:00.000-07:002013-07-15T14:15:44.470-07:00Coaching the frat boy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1Kl1Revxxrb3xaBJ4MCjLLXmvGlZoQp6Z59r6EzYxQDDZ8_brSZQXmyCMtjbvdKYWksfbojXxOjA3byxwqLYsyKMHTVs3bd5qnJfSbLQmW1Vn7Junq07wU2ccCcbe5q-SEwUezDP65cn/s1600/happy+man+ID-100150901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1Kl1Revxxrb3xaBJ4MCjLLXmvGlZoQp6Z59r6EzYxQDDZ8_brSZQXmyCMtjbvdKYWksfbojXxOjA3byxwqLYsyKMHTVs3bd5qnJfSbLQmW1Vn7Junq07wU2ccCcbe5q-SEwUezDP65cn/s400/happy+man+ID-100150901.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<br />
At one point, I had the chance to work with a senior executive who was a rising leader, affable, smart and organizationally savvy. He also fit a profile that I will for shorthand label Frat Boy: outgoing almost to excess, happy to be outrageous, no enemy of beer and wine at company events, and largely unapologetic of any offense given.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Ed. note: The label is admittedly stereotypical and does not apply to all fraternity members. Some of my best friends were fraternity members who were mature. But we all know who I'm talking about.</i></blockquote>
He was a natural leader in the sense that people liked to follow him<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">—</span>even follow him around, if only to see what would happen next. As his communication advisor, I quickly learned that he provided any number of . . . challenges. And as he became more involved in areas like talent management and workforce diversity, his limitations became alarmingly real.<br />
<br />
In one promotee reception, he acknowledged each individual with a reference to their home countries<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;">—</span>some of which he had visited<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;">—</span>and a joke about their backgrounds, to reassure everyone that he understood their cultural traits. Everyone forced a smile, but no one was laughing. Another time, he started a media interview by praising the appearance of the female reporter and comparing her attractiveness to, let's just say, a comedienne not famed for her "attractiveness." My team and I guessed that things like this used to be funny back in the old Rathskeller. Now how to get him moved forward a few decades?<br />
<br />
This is a situation drawn in broad strokes, but ever since I encountered it, I've been involved in smaller-scale versions of it again and again. It's what happens when old insensitivities meet new contexts. It's tempting to say this is chiefly an issue with white males, though my experience is that all kinds of people have sizeable blind spots that need to be filled in.<br />
<br />
What do you do? You find the right way to reflect back to leaders the effect of their words and actions so that they can freely choose how they'd prefer to present themselves going forward. It takes trust and confidence on the part of both coach and client.<br />
<br />
Happily, Frat Boy also had a strong, personal commitment to self-improvement. Over time, he figured out how to self-regulate and get a feeling for his audience but not lose some of his natural roguishness. It proved to be an extremely winning combination for him personally and professionally.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #f1c232;">Executive presentation is a pillar of strong organizational communication</span></i></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">—</span></span><b><i><span style="color: #f1c232;">whom do you know who could use some help?</span></i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of stockimages / <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-42765190494572840312013-06-11T08:20:00.004-07:002013-06-11T08:23:38.497-07:00Why read it when I can forward it?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVfi8v5y6NUcjcEDqckeajZgCHZw6YGHHPhcWW1ia_94wweJTPk3UmAOxSYtqoQUFGcxKepaPyGbkf3pJlZrhMxm4BfdzxbE4m5MjdeNbGkHak6dTxLaPfNcqE82lqhw0gQZnmxmyXMkG/s1600/throwing+trash+ID-10028594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVfi8v5y6NUcjcEDqckeajZgCHZw6YGHHPhcWW1ia_94wweJTPk3UmAOxSYtqoQUFGcxKepaPyGbkf3pJlZrhMxm4BfdzxbE4m5MjdeNbGkHak6dTxLaPfNcqE82lqhw0gQZnmxmyXMkG/s400/throwing+trash+ID-10028594.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
An enterprising writer at <i>Slate</i> commissioned Chartbeat to do an analysis of how--and whether--site visitors read articles on his site. Look at the good graphs that accompany <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/06/how_people_read_online_why_you_won_t_finish_this_article.single.html#pagebreak_anchor_2">the article</a> to get your own sense of the results.<br />
<br />
It wasn't very surprising to learn that people skim online content. People have been skimming content ever since there was too much content; in a business, a whole lot of content can be continually provided by a matrix of leaders, managers, corporate communicators and thorough HR specialists. Those explanatory memos you spend days circulating for review and revising? Nobody's reading them--not all of them, anyway. It's why experienced communicators help you drive your most important points into top-level content or summaries. You don't thin out a forest by planting more trees.<br />
<br />
The surprise was that, in social media at least, people are forwarding or linking to articles they haven't read in their entirety, or in some cases haven't read at all. The headline or the concept alone seem to be enough to get people to click Share. For this cohort, people seem to want to be seen as contributors more than they want to be seen as actually knowledgeable.<br />
<br />
This may be (yet another) cause for hand-wringing among people of a certain generation. My view is that businesses should understand it and put it to use. Sharing is good. It's that third-party endorsement that is still a precept of good marketing. Here's the question: How can you provide Sharers with the type of content they need to be both knowledgeable enough and excited to Share? Hint: It doesn't look like From / To memos with the Subject underlined.<br />
<br />
At least start by thinking single screen, above the fold. It isn't that people are too lazy to scroll; it's that you've made them too busy to scroll with all of the stuff you're sending them.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #e69138;">Have you taken a minute to think of concrete ways to analyze your cluttersphere and create measurably effective communications vehicles?</span></i></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of vegadsl / <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-81392396700831240152013-05-31T14:16:00.002-07:002013-06-11T08:22:25.871-07:00Thought leaders are people, too (or had better be)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQKEUsPCnoqFzdKLx5M9TbhrxXfq_pVTYyQA8l69sqem67SMig11Sf1PdmIRwxqatkVjDV4f-x9sAgBzkN7ZRPgxF-hSSLc1Tkk9qd17SPgv0mmrcCBgUqptoCI2JjGxjFcel1J3MRQbt/s1600/light+bulb+man+ID-10058334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQKEUsPCnoqFzdKLx5M9TbhrxXfq_pVTYyQA8l69sqem67SMig11Sf1PdmIRwxqatkVjDV4f-x9sAgBzkN7ZRPgxF-hSSLc1Tkk9qd17SPgv0mmrcCBgUqptoCI2JjGxjFcel1J3MRQbt/s400/light+bulb+man+ID-10058334.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Companies<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">—</span>big ones, especially<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">—</span>love to be seen as thought leaders. Presumably the opposite of being a thought leader is being a laggard and having to catch up with everybody else's ideas.<br />
<br />
Thought leadership is fine when it's solid, unique and insightful thinking. But many are putting all kinds of ideas out there as a marketing tactic to seem influential. There's a mass-market version of this in the endless parade of bullet lists of "5 things" or "9 things" that at least fulfill their promise to be a short read but not one that's long on value.<br />
<br />
A <a href="http://www.breakingoutbook.com/">new book by business writer John Butman</a>, <i>Breaking Out</i>, points out that the "ideaplex" is getting awfully crowded, and even having a leading thought is not the same as being actually influential. "Ideas Institutes" seem to pop up quickly and always seem to be more in service of the speakers' need to speak than of the attendees' need to know. Behind every TED speaker is a business plan for an idea-based cottage industry, waiting to Break Out. But who really matters, or makes a difference?<br />
<br />
In the book, Butman analyzes some "idea entrepreneurs" who have succeeded in longer-term influence and how they got there. One concept stood out for me:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Idea entrepreneurs do something that seems simple, but is difficult: they humanize and animate their idea. An idea is, after all, nonmaterial, nothing more than a pattern in our brains, an ideal of how things could be, a vision. You cannot simply hand an idea to the next person as you would a sandwich. People connect much more fully with an idea if they can come to know and understand it as they would come to know and understand a human being.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"To that end, the idea entrepreneur essentially <i>becomes</i> the idea."</blockquote>
In a business environment, we always want to know something important or interesting<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">—</span>where's our company heading, what should we be working on next, how are our efforts paying off<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">—</span>but we pay a lot more attention when we feel we're getting to know <i>someone</i> important or interesting. Intuitive leaders know to inject every message with some piece of who they are as a person, with passions and questions and skin in the game. It can be risky, but the payoff is much bigger.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Do your next-generation thought leaders know how to practice the art of personalization in their business communication?</span></i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of chanpipat / <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-61507505272451643862013-04-23T13:28:00.000-07:002013-04-24T06:25:03.998-07:00Of course you meant well<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJB0Uy6901oUv_2srFo348bA0jHBd0Id9fkJg09PAeWtRN9S8DhJeUj2s7-Jl3jMSBIup9I4k-0hHkQNaxXSLvxVuXH6OvlScni4JZyOVwu2_CP-mUyFt7DgIkMMcuaL6sC4CRwWJR4mq/s1600/foot+in+mouth+ID-10027813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJB0Uy6901oUv_2srFo348bA0jHBd0Id9fkJg09PAeWtRN9S8DhJeUj2s7-Jl3jMSBIup9I4k-0hHkQNaxXSLvxVuXH6OvlScni4JZyOVwu2_CP-mUyFt7DgIkMMcuaL6sC4CRwWJR4mq/s400/foot+in+mouth+ID-10027813.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
<br />
DiversityInc is one of the best organizations out there in the area of advising businesses in diversity and inclusion issues. They also love a good time: for example, their spring conference this week features an on-stage dialogue between Michael Eric Dyson and Ann Coulter.<br />
<br />
One of their regular online features is <a href="http://www.diversityinc.rsvp1.com/topic/things-not-to-say/">"Things Not to Say"</a> in which they list a few typical insensitive remarks made to people from a wide range of backgrounds. Some of the remarks on their lists can feel a little over-the-top . . . until you consider that these lists are culled from the real-life experiences of people in the workplace.<br />
<br />
Of course, YOU never say any of these things. So have a look at the explanations of how to debunk these stereotypes . . . so you can help OTHERS.<br />
<br />
There's a lot of work being done in diversity in businesses, and a lot of progress has been made. Focus has shifted from egregious discrimination to what are called "microinequities," or the small, day-to-day ways that bias can be expressed consciously or<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>more often<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>unconsciously. Whom we talk with in the hallways, what topics we raise with whom, what assumptions we voice about others' interests or capabilities: all of these can be hurtful and limiting on an interpersonal level and disruptive at the level of business productivity.<br />
<br />
So: read 'em and weep. I have voiced versions of some of these and thought about saying others, and you will undoubtedly relate to a number of them as well. With a disabled family member, I'm strong in the area of disabilities sensitivity; but having grown up in the Midwest, I'm still catching up on awareness of Asian culture and differences. We all have strengths and weaknesses in this. The good news is that our reptile brains are malleable and coachable, and that people will give us credit for owning up to our ignorance or lack of experience.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-76685257719536847402013-04-03T09:15:00.001-07:002013-04-03T09:16:38.413-07:00I didn't read your e-mail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHBJUpZ57xJOsjfWuAkwj6XTYfUar162zsszEIUmOa7HDMnSG8O3bYeMTXmRpOqdg-nW2wgntqHGPSn_PJMg5FdbznweIV17ytSK8Y8feKs_Dvga1dzRQ-oyypRn6TH2vS1jjsMXtYs1dw/s1600/throw+computer+ID-10056898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHBJUpZ57xJOsjfWuAkwj6XTYfUar162zsszEIUmOa7HDMnSG8O3bYeMTXmRpOqdg-nW2wgntqHGPSn_PJMg5FdbznweIV17ytSK8Y8feKs_Dvga1dzRQ-oyypRn6TH2vS1jjsMXtYs1dw/s400/throw+computer+ID-10056898.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
Got an internal e-mail blast in your upcoming employee communication campaign? Hold that thought.<br />
<br />
The death of e-mail has been hoped for and reported more than it has actually occurred; but if current trends continue, next-gen employees are going to continue to turn in the direction of platforms they find more efficient, more effective and less likely to fill an overflowing e-box.<br />
<br />
This <a href="http://bostonglobe.com/business/2013/03/29/mail-gets-cold-shoulder/xWOVx0s9h8EXVs8t6MxrmO/story.html?goback=%2Egde_78130_member_227692026">brief recent item from the Boston Globe</a> is anecdotal but revealing. Among the trends? Declining to put e-mail addresses on business cards. And<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>surprise<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>a plea to use the phone, instead. Part of this is natural selection for technology: e-mail was far too skinny a horse to load up with all of the uses to which it's been put. <br />
<br />
Here's the question: As the trend to personalize technology continues, what technology platforms will employees trust and expect to deliver executive communications? You probably won't want a 4-minute video of the CEO pushed to your cell phone. Will you mind if it's a link from your Twitter feed pulled from your mobile app, instead?<br />
<br />
Corporate communicators use internal media and platforms because they are there, controllable and measurable. But personal messaging from relevant individuals (managers, team members, liaisons in other departments) seems to be rising in favor and credibility, so much so that some of the other channels are being actively ignored or deleted.<br />
<br />
Which leaves you where? <b>How will you test for and determine communications methods that have the highest value for employees?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of Phaitoon / <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-30001935981286405792013-02-26T12:48:00.000-08:002013-02-26T12:52:01.929-08:00Your employees are actually entrepreneurs—you know that, right?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNt5Cd7AcwyuDKmJmRgkqEu3D7A6FaIdJunphkznuy9iHctubaxGPhSACQDAgRzVawSHoTCc-N66nf-nHytPEq3yw8VQrkoEFTqHMQidaMSbDbyu3MeJS1WT-VWJskNgGz3L7A2C9E46Ox/s1600/whitepapercover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNt5Cd7AcwyuDKmJmRgkqEu3D7A6FaIdJunphkznuy9iHctubaxGPhSACQDAgRzVawSHoTCc-N66nf-nHytPEq3yw8VQrkoEFTqHMQidaMSbDbyu3MeJS1WT-VWJskNgGz3L7A2C9E46Ox/s320/whitepapercover.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
<br />
For workers in the new global economy, there was one and only one lesson from the economic downturn: We are all entrepreneurs.<br />
<br />
Businesses--and especially large ones--found out they need the capacity to quickly grow, shrink or change business models to meet emerging conditions. Employees get it. The old career-loyalty contract is shredded, replaced by a mutual-interest agreement that is dynamically renegotiated and frequently revisited. Companies asked for employment-at-will, and workers have responded with employed-at-will.<br />
<br />
In the end, it's a much more mature relationship. Concepts like "family" and "the company takes care of me" never really belonged in the workplace. The upside for companies is a new cohort of talent that is more business-savvy and insistent on results and beneficial value. They'll want to know all about your business--but they'll expect you to want to know what they think of it, too.<br />
<br />
No surprise that there is energy behind training youth at both the primary and secondary levels globally in the ethos of entrepreneurship. This <a href="http://www.nfte.com/resources/policymakers/reversing-youth-unemployment">new thought leadership piece</a>, which I was proud to author for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship in time for this year's World Economic Forum, describes the imperative to start 'em young. <br />
<br />
This educational background will arguably shape your next generation of workers more powerfully than an MBA. <b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Do your communications with your employees respect their role as entrepreneurs?</span></b>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-57409473441104430202013-01-22T09:49:00.000-08:002013-01-28T09:54:20.904-08:00The next expectations of your workforce<div style="text-align: center;">
<object height="338" width="428">
<param name="movie" value="http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/App_Themes/v2.0/swf/external_player.swf">
<param name="flashvars" value="assetsPath=http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/App_Themes/v2.0/swf/&xmlFileName=http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/xmlresources/videol2XML.aspx?assetid=4505%26localeid=1">
<embed src="http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/App_Themes/v2.0/swf/external_player.swf" width="428" height="338" flashvars="isProduction=true&assetsPath=http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/App_Themes/v2.0/swf/&xmlFileName=http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/xmlresources/videol2XML.aspx?assetid=4505%26localeid=1">
</embed>
</object> </div>
In all of the wide discussion of "business use of social media," we've finally reached a maturation point. The comparisons with Facebook or even LinkedIn are gone. We now have some specific terms of success--collaboration, meritocratic contributions, reduction in email--that point directly to productivity gains. What remains is either to wrestle SharePoint to the ground and bend it to our will, or to actively look for more elegant platforms that sit well on enterprise servers.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Organization/Strategic_Organization/Making_internal_collaboration_work_An_interview_with_Don_Tapscott_3052">McKinsey Quarterly</a> has put out the above video featuring <a href="http://dontapscott.com/">Don Tapscott</a>, who will be part of the World Economic Forum this week and has published an insightful TED book, <i>Radical Openness</i>. He's making a career midwifing companies from old information flows and barriers to new knowledge pathways.<br />
<br />
Implicit in this analysis is the understanding that your workforce is showing up in your organization with expectations for input, collaboration, and access. <b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Does your corporate culture encourage those values or thwart them?</span></b> And do you understand the changes that will be necessary in traditional, top-down employee communications in order to participate credibly in this new environment?Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-90095329712080108992013-01-09T15:05:00.000-08:002013-01-09T15:08:40.590-08:00First, the bad news<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbJ2W34kgiQPQolARBhTjCY32rnISjxxnW0viYjiWp-Zl6fBJWuiAV2OBi7IxOrVUeZck9T1NnfV_cEw8OFaNcFUf6JmlL1n_Z2D8RgU8AK6uVmgnP-_SEvsGcHwurG0swAdiJBjYqs1T/s1600/ID-10071732+titanic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbJ2W34kgiQPQolARBhTjCY32rnISjxxnW0viYjiWp-Zl6fBJWuiAV2OBi7IxOrVUeZck9T1NnfV_cEw8OFaNcFUf6JmlL1n_Z2D8RgU8AK6uVmgnP-_SEvsGcHwurG0swAdiJBjYqs1T/s400/ID-10071732+titanic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Think transparency is easy? When something goes wrong, does your business culture <i>really </i>encourage you to bring it forward? It should. This has long been a tenet of effective business teaming, but a commitment to transparency is usually one of the first casualties in times of overwhelming stress or unmanaged change.<br />
<br />
Some great excerpts from "Lessons from the dark side of information use" by Donald Marchand, in <i>The Journal of financial transformation</i> published by the CAPCO Institute:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Here is a test question: Do people in your company trust each other enough to talk about failures, mistakes, and errors in a constructive manner, free of unfair repercussions? . . .</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Managers who discourage their people from identifying 'bad news', punish the bringers of bad tidings, suppress constructive responses to mistakes, errors and failures, stifle opportunities for preventive action or improvements to company performance. . . </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Transparency is critical for human improvement, whether improving the poor shots in your golf game, or tackling operational or customer service problems. Managers who cannot hear bad news cannot turn it into good news; they are incapable of learning, and they discourage learning among their employees."</blockquote>
Turning bad news into good news is NOT spin. <b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Do you know how to do it?</span></b><br />
<br />
Full disclosure: CAPCO has been a client.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of njaj / <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-27806482053966804562012-12-19T10:49:00.002-08:002012-12-19T10:49:32.519-08:00Know how to TED?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtC8MXHzLvoNfwkJkak44C7b5UZwpdDKx9Yt2aMeVzrb4J5mkx6-bbDKx7uSn_UjArx9CLfGv6kAtq5OojRBEl0a2jydfXKxPoWczmqXbiVN3UsuxsTQS-QI1k95cV58wLukw5R2HR6o90/s400/TED+screenshot.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
TED is driving communications. Are you ready to be TEDified? You could do worse.<br />
<br />
If you feel a little under-a-rock about TED, <a href="http://www.ted.com/">have a look</a>. TED conference presentations are one of the current darlings of social media, forwarded and shared like crazy, garnering millions of views. <br />
<br />
Why? Because 18 minutes turns out to be an almost ideal time frame to deliver stories and ideas--even complex ones. And it's significant what types of stories are most popular on TED: they're the ones that follow a pretty standard arc of Here's who I am, Here's something I tried, Here were the results. In most cases, the results are surprising or delightful and almost always inspiring.<br />
<br />
TED presenters are also allowed to use slides and videos, but not to distraction; the clear focus is on the presenter on an open stage, no notes or script prompts, showing that they are open, responsive and knowledgeable.<br />
<br />
Business presentations should take a page from TED. If you say there are some corporate messages that don't fit the TED arc, I would ask: why not? Are you really resigned to the belief that certain messages must, by nature, be a big bore?<br />
<br />
The laws of good storytelling are as ancient as our race. <b>What's the next presentation you need to make -- and how could you take it from okay to great?</b>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-75678232508738977372012-11-20T13:06:00.003-08:002013-01-28T09:51:44.167-08:00Executive presence: some people have it . . . <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3JTGjw-YWq4HDM80KLeud1FogZUezRWj7pOUDyWGk2doHQeEeLcHErFIHfd-vDobfxO7GUlG_5SH3vYDZ-kOyXgEPPIL_T30njhY2Es-lmqFWiqgF0qjmJv6JMzLIc1wMBabk0gzE-i4/s1600/yelling+manager+ID-10089867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3JTGjw-YWq4HDM80KLeud1FogZUezRWj7pOUDyWGk2doHQeEeLcHErFIHfd-vDobfxO7GUlG_5SH3vYDZ-kOyXgEPPIL_T30njhY2Es-lmqFWiqgF0qjmJv6JMzLIc1wMBabk0gzE-i4/s320/yelling+manager+ID-10089867.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<b:if cond="`data:blog.pageType" index="" quot="">
<title><data:blog.title/></title>
<b:else>
<title><data:blog.pageName/> | <data:blog.title/></title>
</b:else></b:if>
<br />
I've known a number of executive coaches, and their value is being able to customize their counsel to fit their client. But if they had to boil down basic executive communication skills into a manageable list, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmj45lhih/how-to-communicate-executive-presence/">this would be it</a>. <br />
<br />
This is the list you should print out and post nearby and commit to reading at least weekly for at least a year. What I like about the list is that each tip is really a stand-in for an important aspect of executive leadership. Why master a sense of humor? Because it's a sign that you are well-rounded, sensitive to appropriate topics of conversation and basically comfortable with other people.<br />
<br />
This is also a great link to send along to your mentees or direct reports whom you're counseling for advancement.<br />
<br />
I take to heart the reminder to keep posture in mind when speaking in a group--which of these would you choose to work on?<br />
<br />
Bonus content: here's a <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/11/16/the-10-worst-communication-mistakes-for-your-career/">list of ten communications mistakes</a>, if you want to look at the dark side. Both lists are from Forbes.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-87479439725764954992012-10-22T09:14:00.000-07:002012-10-22T09:14:05.075-07:00Big Data being used by Small Minds?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVejaC4sUC-NiKYhMs5TCmtj_5RUCv2D4hnp-k6OToFbAynSf5HEF6n1lR6Zec_zLNA4ZXABmGgRAWD32GPUJsUmQYUVX1JcmeXtxoB3jfnQUfkCY37SdQVIOIkpGlY2PaFq6lVHUZYkb/s1600/dartboard+ID-10053074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVejaC4sUC-NiKYhMs5TCmtj_5RUCv2D4hnp-k6OToFbAynSf5HEF6n1lR6Zec_zLNA4ZXABmGgRAWD32GPUJsUmQYUVX1JcmeXtxoB3jfnQUfkCY37SdQVIOIkpGlY2PaFq6lVHUZYkb/s320/dartboard+ID-10053074.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/features/advanced_analytics">This video clip</a> form David Court at McKinsey takes the hot trend of Big Data down to brass tacks: Now that your business has its hands on more sophisticated data, are you sure your people are going to get the most out of it?<br />
<br />
A number of things (pun intended) could happen. One is that a range of functions seize implications from the data and have different ideas of what to do next. Another is that your people have a lot of enthusiasm but not much skill or direction in using it. The introduction of Big Data into an organization, by itself, isn't going to guarantee results.<br />
<br />
The norms for accessing, analyzing and acting upon sophisticated data have got to be considered elements of the corporate culture. Those norms are going to illustrate very vividly what you really mean by shared leadership, by accountability, by quality and by team work. And like every other culture shift, if the journey to the new culture is not thought through and planned out in advance, waste will be created (passive voice intended).<br />
<br />
Have a look at the video and think through where, specifically, things could go very well or very wrong with the introduction of Big Data into your business. <b>Have you got the right transition planning team to accelerate success and realize benefits quickly?</b> (Hint: Is there a communicator on board?)Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-65591662818720609422012-09-21T12:34:00.000-07:002012-09-21T12:34:47.148-07:00Need engagement? Don't communicate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIcSU83NL1KiV-iBaF0uf-qVk0tgr3xqvrCvCEFXsgDquwnWSl_2UiOony2Oep8fERi3ZjknvF-H332qEBBFPO8DFwSNLt3UZfKu4ZQ47d7y8RENf-UyNnI5G5HMtwHPC1sUOY6YLL4yu9/s1600/bored+ID-100101881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIcSU83NL1KiV-iBaF0uf-qVk0tgr3xqvrCvCEFXsgDquwnWSl_2UiOony2Oep8fERi3ZjknvF-H332qEBBFPO8DFwSNLt3UZfKu4ZQ47d7y8RENf-UyNnI5G5HMtwHPC1sUOY6YLL4yu9/s400/bored+ID-100101881.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I've posted along these lines before, but because the hot topic of engagement doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon, it's worth a refresh--and <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dovseidman/2012/09/20/everything-we-think-about-employee-engagement-is-wrong/">this brief article from Forbes online</a> make the point again.<br />
<br />
Businesses seek engaged employees because the unleashed energy will drive the business farther and faster. But the focus and energy of engagement aren't the same thing as "happiness." If anything, they're more like "hope."<br />
<br />
As the article mentions, one more team lunch at Olive Garden won't do the trick, probably because that lunch will be seen as 1) the shallow gesture it is and 2) the time spent now means I'll be getting home later. So much for happiness. People get energized about their work when they can see that their best efforts can make an important difference: product quality, business reputation, recognition, pay, new opportunities (and no, you can't add "you get to keep your job" to that list). People have to be hopeful their increased energy and investment will pay off for them.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Will a strategic communication campaign get that done? Probably not. As the Broadway song put it, "Don't talk of June, don't talk of fall -- don't talk at all! -- show me!" The goal is that employees have first-hand experiences of the effectiveness of their efforts and the responsiveness of their leaders and systems. Communications can support those experiences, but it can't deliver them. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
One of the most tried-and-true tactics to take when facing an unengaged workforce is to stop and ask people to articulate what's grinding them down. First, you get credit for listening. Second, you're likelier to get the solution right. And be sure that "listening" doesn't feel like just another employee survey.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Next time you have the urge to sink resources into that campaign-theme video, sit down until the feeling passes. It could just be another kind of breadstick.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-25880692142368946172012-09-07T13:42:00.000-07:002012-09-07T13:42:18.217-07:00Who's ready for BYOD?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_oYP4W3yqG1A7NTNSbrzkmlgGw0f7-4FMiLsPWJMjls_JRVP7iXRhtJqKZHQAUrz2_raZkWe0sNFBTcLEU9RlYcO3aulN_jXeuKN2Fn-QvkHUFQie_PLLH-PQ9aPmTXqvwqVe9e_4Evb/s1600/smartphones+ID-10050973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_oYP4W3yqG1A7NTNSbrzkmlgGw0f7-4FMiLsPWJMjls_JRVP7iXRhtJqKZHQAUrz2_raZkWe0sNFBTcLEU9RlYcO3aulN_jXeuKN2Fn-QvkHUFQie_PLLH-PQ9aPmTXqvwqVe9e_4Evb/s320/smartphones+ID-10050973.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Two articles: one a trend piece, the other a cautionary tale.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://holtz.com/">Shel Holtz</a>, in the newest CW Magazine, talks about the "bring-your-own-device" culture that is emerging in the workplace:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Some refer to this phenomenon as the consumerization of
IT. Others label it technology populism.
. . Technology populism has weakened IT’s ability to keep the hatches battened
down by simply controlling what people use.
What’s more, IT has been forced to deal with a growing demand among
employees to use their personal devices—smartphones, tablets and more—at and
for work. BYOD has gained momentum among
employees who would just as soon use their preferred technology as anything the
company would give them."</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Implications:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>employees want to be able to access company assets (intranets, file servers) from their own devices</li>
<li>employees want their business apps (sales tools, logistics trackers) to go onto their personal devices</li>
<li>employees may NOT want to receive typical corporate communications this way</li>
<li>employees may not fully understand the risks they're absorbing (lost unprotected devices, redistribution of proprietary info)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I carried around two phones for a while—mine and the company's—and it sucks. So BYOD is a trend that won't reverse, especially after IT starts to report some cost savings. But is someone in your business thinking through those implications and how to manage them into effective communications?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <a href="http://www.diversityinc.rsvp1.com/diversity-management/racist-obama-facebook-pages-your-office-what-do-you-need-to-know/?utm_source=Genius&utm_campaign=newsletterLuke&utm_medium=DI&utm_content=2012-09-07">cautionary tale is from DiversityInc.</a> They give an example of how hot—in this case, racist—election rhetoric can find its way into the workplace via technology. It's a very short distance from reading or downloading to discussing or, worse, forwarding.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
IT, Legal, HR, division leadership and Communications are going to have to work on this together. <b><i>What should be your business' first step?</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-5721058520213671592012-08-29T15:00:00.001-07:002012-08-29T15:01:47.329-07:00Your employee's new world<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5bryypCat24kW1RLq18udYwrsPamDl0YpO72sebCa4fU41Pos9y4RyICOHAamWFlkr3s1iV5toZExLRSIFVhbzbNjq4vJzaFSivCQKRHdlfOBKLafd9TWfK_6HGLeBTRcjw_HSkjyH7f/s1600/communicators-new-reality-chart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5bryypCat24kW1RLq18udYwrsPamDl0YpO72sebCa4fU41Pos9y4RyICOHAamWFlkr3s1iV5toZExLRSIFVhbzbNjq4vJzaFSivCQKRHdlfOBKLafd9TWfK_6HGLeBTRcjw_HSkjyH7f/s400/communicators-new-reality-chart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This fairly simple graphic from the <a href="http://www.executiveboard.com/exbd/marketing-communications/communicators-new-reality/index.page">Corporate Executive Board</a> -- in their usual, elegant style -- says it all. This is the big change that has occurred to everyone working in organizations: matrixed relationships.<br />
<br />
Multiple accountabilities, multiple influencers . . . and the task of integrating it all falls to the employee as it never has before.<br />
<br />
The implications of this shift for corporate communications are enormous. You can no longer assume that the voice of senior leadership is the most important voice to hear. Now senior leaders have to earn their credibility, not only through knowledge and relevance but also through acumen of how employees hear, learn, grow and act. For executives formed in the old environment, operating in the new environment is not intuitive.<br />
<br />
How would you support a leader to be effective in this new world? You'd have to start by pointing to those new levers of influence that they can uniquely wield -- authority, authenticity, clarity -- and then consider how to deliver their particular insights in <b><span style="color: #f1c232;">smaller and more surprising ways.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><i>Is your leadership -- are you -- ready to do this?</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image from "The communicator's new reality: Building an agile organization"</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">© 2012 The Co</span></b><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">rporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.</span></b></div>
Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-3226564742601823592012-08-22T10:49:00.003-07:002012-08-27T13:46:13.838-07:00Your memo did not change my life—sorry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQ3w9i0GCCdY0vXuXoy2nFgeMIZj1tM7t2C1YmzVluzdz7UTQIZ6WDbD9SyIWb5gLNv-mAxiB4a_-DQ1w1SADoa1NIR1O3XcuMsWNDwztd7G-36XkXeTaH4SN_YOH-2c8fO6yigYBSjyI/s1600/ID-10046985+businesspeople+sleeping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQ3w9i0GCCdY0vXuXoy2nFgeMIZj1tM7t2C1YmzVluzdz7UTQIZ6WDbD9SyIWb5gLNv-mAxiB4a_-DQ1w1SADoa1NIR1O3XcuMsWNDwztd7G-36XkXeTaH4SN_YOH-2c8fO6yigYBSjyI/s400/ID-10046985+businesspeople+sleeping.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
We're hopeful creatures. We want people to think and behave rationally, and to respond well to facts and rational arguments. In business, we just know that if we explain things well enough, everyone will a) understand, b) agree, c) feel enthused and d) take a new course of action.<br />
<br />
Never mind that this is contrary to our own experience. Research continues to show that the place inside us that weighs attitude changes is much nearer the heart than the head. And the kinds of evidence that we admit -- or the kind of person who delivers it -- don't capture our attention just because they seem rational.<br />
<br />
Marketers, who place high value on word-of-mouth and third-party validation, know this. But somehow this recognition hasn't jumped over into organizational communications that assume that Facts Delivered By The CEO are the key to behavior change.<br />
<br />
This <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/magazine/the-mind-of-a-flip-flopper.html?_r=1&ref=magazine">article from the New York Times Magazine</a> last Sunday leads with the topic of moral beliefs and the phenomenon of political flip-flopping, but you'll see the relevance to how businesses might better achieve a), b), c) and d) above. There's probably a comms plan in your email that shows the messages and vehicles and delivery dates and audiences for an upcoming announcement or campaign, but where is the column in the plan that weights the potential effectiveness of each tactic? That memo you're editing may be efficient, but it may also be useless.<br />
<br />
<b>How can you plan to really communicate with employees in ways that matter to them and to your bottom line?</b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>
Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-65081848387980879002012-08-02T10:37:00.001-07:002012-08-02T10:37:41.171-07:00Teen attitudes toward social media: some surprises<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1ig5xwlCftmV-COQ-blwy_Bk2eFsiR0zwEr26w3TG-djMliXl-tRkLDQdnGG0ce_yDfsorQzUpKCcgjGsWqL7kzT9OBQ8rkhREj6eaC5DdGiORtnRkcciUew_n9zfOQxiKbGO3b_vFy7/s1600/lost+our+phones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1ig5xwlCftmV-COQ-blwy_Bk2eFsiR0zwEr26w3TG-djMliXl-tRkLDQdnGG0ce_yDfsorQzUpKCcgjGsWqL7kzT9OBQ8rkhREj6eaC5DdGiORtnRkcciUew_n9zfOQxiKbGO3b_vFy7/s400/lost+our+phones.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
There's a <a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/teen-social-media-infographic">new study</a> out from Common Sense Media about attitudes among US teens about social media and technology use -- and it's got some surprises. Be sure to click through to the full report.<br />
<br />
You know who teens are, right? They're your next generation of employees. And it turns out their loyalty to social media may be less monolithic than you think. How many wish they could go back to a time without Facebook? How many may be having their life online tainted by encountering bias content?<br />
<br />
Spend a minute with some of the anxieties and interests reflected in these teens' responses -- <b>and then reflect on how your use of social at your business could seize the opportunity to be different and valuable.</b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image: <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-44330366040144494812012-07-06T12:50:00.000-07:002012-07-06T12:50:12.706-07:00What have you got to give?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9kc_vLexFSHcotl9kpyFJFokOL-q8K2PEL11wb3GF7NqU52tbtGL4Q3ZBOrs76PhmW61Ah3OgIHdfZOAgnMQoIcOElokVmRIRsmqcKAtsaGRYQ2Wdy3JkaR3b5xWyURCfdr56A_D5hAD/s1600/ID-10072769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9kc_vLexFSHcotl9kpyFJFokOL-q8K2PEL11wb3GF7NqU52tbtGL4Q3ZBOrs76PhmW61Ah3OgIHdfZOAgnMQoIcOElokVmRIRsmqcKAtsaGRYQ2Wdy3JkaR3b5xWyURCfdr56A_D5hAD/s320/ID-10072769.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://blog.rockthepost.com/2012/07/10-social-media-secrets-from-the-social-scientist/?goback=%2Egde_106495_member_131020475">This solid blog</a> from Rock The Post is a great summary of current thinking on how and why social media works.<br />
<br />
The bottom line: social is about what you've got to <b>give</b>. If a business wants to use social media internally, for its people, it has to think through what the medium will give people (and that had better be something they actually value or want). <br />
<br />
Much corporate comms doesn't feel like a "gift" at all. Even when it's pleasant, it only feels like a fist in a velvet glove. But if you're giving people what they really want to know, your social platforms will light up like fireworks.<br />
<br />
<b>Do you know how to discover what your employees really want to know?</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image: <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-39882338503777763302012-06-28T13:30:00.000-07:002012-06-28T13:30:26.341-07:00Is it "crisis management" — or the new normal?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqqKQH83cwQHIGvmKBVVyJnRWkClDGWSVO9Nq4-TfopmXoLRw4Ct9v6jFTkGP8KnUgn35TSsi5u5JHLH2C9TED-BjIFfrEx746EV_2bMetpKZ4kZP7-mFLGtFPOOkHtL-DNZwZnwg6PYT/s1600/ID-10072182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqqKQH83cwQHIGvmKBVVyJnRWkClDGWSVO9Nq4-TfopmXoLRw4Ct9v6jFTkGP8KnUgn35TSsi5u5JHLH2C9TED-BjIFfrEx746EV_2bMetpKZ4kZP7-mFLGtFPOOkHtL-DNZwZnwg6PYT/s320/ID-10072182.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
A problem hits. Leaders huddle. What do we do about the problem? And what do we tell people about the problem and what we're doing about it?<br />
<br />
In today's social media environment, delay is seen as lying—or, at best, figuring out how to spin. A group of leaders basically has a few minutes to figure out what to do. Which really means they need to have figured out options well in advance so they can use those few minutes to pick one to use.<br />
<br />
This used to be the sole domain of crisis management, and the end goal was preparing a crisis management plan. But now, in everyday matters as well, standards for speed of response and transparency are higher than ever. If you have a well-oiled communications engine, you'll be ready for both crises and quick relationship <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">opportunities. This article from <a href="http://listedmag.com/2010/06/communicating-at-the-speed-of-now/">Listed</a> nails it: "The more places and ways in which people can find you, the more ways you can influence or ensure you're a part of the conversation."</span><br />
<br />
If you don't know if you're ready, you're probably not. So where are your lists of:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>The types of things you can say immediately and the types of things you can't</b></li>
<li><b>Who can go out—live, right now—and start responding</b></li>
<li><b>The internal and external channels you always want to use</b></li>
<li><b>Places where you'll be able to do real-time measurement of impact</b></li>
<li><b>Who's on your quick-response team as you proceed (Legal, PR, HR, Marketing)</b></li>
</ul>
Or you could just wait a while and see what happens...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
Image: <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-86828134727288087642012-06-06T14:44:00.000-07:002012-06-06T14:44:34.753-07:00Another set of eyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvN2XlnOfrzAPlnBSZYQqoJxEYJqocMFb3mMQwVB-OW9GA5d2Xa7NF0A4GbmUbA4ZqrVseypbY0dDBAqDAIixj8ZTMs5L1q1KGUYHrwXDyxAdZPkUm7AA0kII_P7FJwvhLHTWOtfwt0Pk/s1600/ID-10024748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvN2XlnOfrzAPlnBSZYQqoJxEYJqocMFb3mMQwVB-OW9GA5d2Xa7NF0A4GbmUbA4ZqrVseypbY0dDBAqDAIixj8ZTMs5L1q1KGUYHrwXDyxAdZPkUm7AA0kII_P7FJwvhLHTWOtfwt0Pk/s320/ID-10024748.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
"Planning for the future with a rearview mirror" -- great phrase that came back to mind today, from a Gallup blog. This is easily one of the bigger besetting sins of working in corporate communications. Sometimes, there's just no time to innovate. And if you feel like you're being asked to help with the umpteenth benefits change communication plan . . .<br />
<br />
If only you had a trusted communications executive colleague, someone outside the organization, and could just pick up the phone and run the background and plan by them. Not a half-day meeting, not an exorbitant fee. And what you get are some challenges you wouldn't have anticipated, some new tactics, some new questions to ask. A fresh point of view: a micro consultation.<br />
<br />
I cannot tell you how many times I would have found this valuable.<br />
<br />
I offer this service. <a href="mailto:bccomms1@gmail.com" rel="nofollow">Drop me a line</a> if you'd like to explore a micro consultation for you or your team.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-9809341277908454572012-05-23T06:53:00.000-07:002012-05-23T06:53:25.667-07:00Greater expectations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvS_n9u7UuJUUe34e5bqWkTMaWskyIdzjhL1e0Pwk9MWvmJOdPSjWa4f7N41WLdOWGd-z3DxFToqcm_zM9Jts_mGbROxiWpIyd3-yzxG10vKeZl5DVZG7_hApvE3VcnY7XxXBje2Y760b/s1600/last+to+know.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvS_n9u7UuJUUe34e5bqWkTMaWskyIdzjhL1e0Pwk9MWvmJOdPSjWa4f7N41WLdOWGd-z3DxFToqcm_zM9Jts_mGbROxiWpIyd3-yzxG10vKeZl5DVZG7_hApvE3VcnY7XxXBje2Y760b/s1600/last+to+know.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Here's a <a href="https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Marketing/Digital_Marketing/Demystifying_social_media_2958">great overview</a>, from a marketing angle, of the touch points that social media provide and how businesses can understand them. There's an awesome graphic in the middle of the article that limns it all out. (It's from McKinsey Quarterly -- you may need to join for free to read it.)<br />
<br />
There's an employee-engagement angle in here, too: these social-media functions are radically changing people's expectations of how they should receive information from their own companies and should have access to participate and respond.<br />
<br />
Put another way, I'll call this Campbell's Credibility Quotient:<br />
<br />
<b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;"> effectiveness in communicating with employees</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">credibility of leadership = ------------------------------------------------</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;"> effectiveness in communicating with customers</span></b><br />
<br />
If people feel leaders are more committed to being effective with customers than with employees, that perceived gap harms the credibility of leaders. Commitment to rapid, fair, clear, two-way and engaging communications with customers -- the pillars of social media -- needs to result in the same approach or better for employees.<br />
<br />
Have a look at that graphic and ask if your employee communications hit those same touch points. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Social media have already changed your people whether it's changing your business model yet or not.</i>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-15101442604137195052012-05-17T11:59:00.000-07:002012-05-17T12:01:39.892-07:00Serious about social? Really?<div id="__ss_8223008" style="width: 425px;">
<strong style="display: block; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/tkawaja/social-lumascape-8223008" target="_blank" title="SOCIAL LUMAscape">SOCIAL LUMAscape</a></strong> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/8223008?rel=0" width="425"></iframe> View more presentations from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/tkawaja" target="_blank">Terence Kawaja</a></div>
</div>
<br />
Welcome to social media!<br />
<br />
This graphic, or LUMAscape from LUMA Partners, is pinging its way around the 'net, probably both because it's useful and because it's not. Be sure to full-screen it to get the total effect.<br />
<br />
When you're asking the question about whether using social media is a good business strategy, the answer is a strong "Possibly." For the right kinds of content, for the right audiences, it's actually essential. But -- as with any medium -- you've got to start with a clear picture of what you're hoping to achieve, in very concrete terms and with specific outcomes. Otherwise, this is the landscape that's going to greet you, and good luck with that.<br />
<br />
Here's today's topic for comments: Would you or would you not like to be the person charged with keeping this graphic updated?<br />
<br />Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329135978505355409.post-26741752627810452142012-05-16T09:17:00.000-07:002012-05-16T09:17:53.826-07:00Communication is when people understand<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6aDN313xl_j0kmpu5q_yBhFcvXl4TzP-eUjTLe_-VJI7XgVy4dQkrIjHh06fInny9DGZHN_jEcq-etajem7ELkX-uf_i5QIQU4wi0xwrQSDz3mnWMTIgQaapm07slJ0LmFd-vF3vRPvD/s1600/ID-10080771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6aDN313xl_j0kmpu5q_yBhFcvXl4TzP-eUjTLe_-VJI7XgVy4dQkrIjHh06fInny9DGZHN_jEcq-etajem7ELkX-uf_i5QIQU4wi0xwrQSDz3mnWMTIgQaapm07slJ0LmFd-vF3vRPvD/s320/ID-10080771.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
At the same time companies are feeling a crush of internal communication, some functions say there isn't enough (see <a href="http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/survey-lack-of-communication-top-management-mistake?goback=%2Egde_78130_member_111999223"><b>this survey</b></a>). Of course, "Communication" (the formal, planned messaging that's generated from the top) isn't the same as the routine communication that people need to feel plugged-in, valued and effective.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Note that this is an Accountemps survey of CFOs -- interesting because finance functions are especially attuned to whether employees understand the workings of the business. When they do, departments make better budget decisions (and better budgets), T&E keeps from ballooning out of control, and new-business proposals are smarter. Finance, like everybody else, hates feeling like they're either an internal cop or continually cleaning up messes. Clear communication helps keep that from happening.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Do the branding, do the promotion, do the employee engagement. But don't neglect advising line leaders on their day-to-day communications methods and styles. When people feel they're getting clear, ongoing communication from leaders and managers, they do less re-work and they get excited by forward momentum. That's a benefit worth more than an in-house masseuse, every time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Is your communication team helping you with this?</b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net/">Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></span></b></div>
</div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16538334354037876326noreply@blogger.com0