A Simple Truth
By rdaprix | July 13, 2010
As professionals we sometimes forget the simplest truth about communication. At its most basic level, it is really about human connections. I’m reminded of this fact as I anticipate our annual family vacation on the Maine coast this and every August. A college roommate used to say that this was the best part of any vacation—the simple anticipation of the joy ahead. When we were getting ready to go home for Christmas or the summer ahead in the hasty, stressful days of preparation and exams, he would always say, “Rog, enjoy it now. This is the best part because once the vacation starts, it’s almost over.”
At first I thought that his insight was pessimistic. Through the years, however, I learned that there was a wisdom in his view that the anticipation is the real source of pleasure. But that’s usually not true of our family gathering of 17 of us, including our adult children, their spouses and 7 grandchildren in a network of cottages where after all these years we are regarded as more than ‘summah people.’
What has always been so great about this time is that we can totally disconnect from modern technology because our cottages are completely outside of the range of high-speed—or even low-speed—connections. In the beginning our cottage didn’t even have what we now call a land line. The only potential intruder is the FedEx driver, whose services we usually manage to ignore.
The absence of such things when the kids were small forced us to talk and to listen to one another’s ideas, visions, aspirations and fears. Over a game of Old Maid or Monopoly, we had plenty of time to ‘commune,’ which my dictionary defines so well as ‘to communicate intimately.’ Those times cemented relationships that are so deep in every one of our hearts that we find it unthinkable to not return each year, regardless of how we are now scattered or how busy our lives might otherwise be.
Today Old Maid has given way to long adult dinners at one or other of the network of cottages we occupy. But the games continue for the second generation of kids for whom the trip to Maine is as treasured as it used to be for their parents, who counted the intervening days until we packed up the car in terms of the number of ‘sleeps’ remaining until we began the long drive.
In the cottage my wife and I occupy there is a tradition we have faithfully honored for 40 summers. The original owners, now long deceased, and their surviving son have always kept a logbook handy for their various guests to record their experiences in the cottage that sits prominently on a rocky ledge 20 or 30 feet above the waves that alternately retreat, collide, foam and throw an occasional spray high against the rocks. The stack of old logbooks is a testament to the magic of the place and a communication of the comings and goings of family members from childhood to college to jobs to marriages and births. Only happy thoughts are recorded in the log book. There is no formal prohibition, but the communications are touching, thoughtful and often wistful for such a simple existence.
My long ago roommate was right. This is the best time because it’s full of anticipation without the realization that the actual days will fly faster than we ever want. But oh the communication!
Topics: Perspectives | No Comments »
Different Generations Want the Same Thing?
By aheinrich | June 28, 2010
I came upon an interesting post the other day on the CRM Learning blog titled The Myth of Generational Workforce in the Workplace. The blog post reviewed new research on the multigenerational workforce by Jennifer J. Deal, a research scientist with the Center for Creative Leadership.
Deal argues that the stereotypes associated with the different generations are just that. After surveying more than 3,000 corporate leaders for her book Retiring the Generation Gap: How Employees Young & Old Can Find Common Ground, she found that all generations of working age value the same things – family, respect, leaders who are trustworthy, opportunity to learn, and feedback.
While this may not surprise any member of the four generations in the workforce today, what may surprise at least some is what Deal found out about how the different generations react to change. Her research indicated that resistance or acceptance of change had less to do with age and more to do with what personal impact the change would have on the individual.
The CRM Learning blog quotes Deal, “The so-called generation gap is, in large part, the result of miscommunication and misunderstanding, fueled by common insecurities and desire for clout.”
Sounds like a fairly easy fix then, right? Just improve communication, create a more open environment where employees can express their concerns, and find ways to ensure that promotions occur with a consideration as to their affect beyond the individual being promoted. But wait…aren’t those steps management experts have been espousing for at least the last two decades?
Evidently, the old adage “the more the world changes, the more it stays the same” continues to be valid today; regardless of what generation you belong to.
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Internal Communications: Lessons for BP
By jrobertson | June 14, 2010
Like many of you, I’ve been following the tragic oil rig disaster and subsequent spill into the Gulf. While companies may eventually realize the importance of external communications, adequate communications with employees is often lost when a crisis occurs.
I’ve worked for a few companies who’ve had their share of crises that were either self-inflicted or out of their control. Consequently, I’ve seen some best practices that BP – who seems to suffering from both –may want to leverage for communications with its employees:
- Care. This may seem obvious, but the history of business is rife with examples of companies that didn’t see the need to communicate with employees. The reasons cited are more often “it doesn’t affect them directly” and “fueling the water cooler talk just causes lower productivity.” However, the reality at BP is that productivity is already suffering. Their employees are consuming news far more than the average person because it’s about their company. They are also hearing it in their social communities, networks and from others within the company. Multiply this by 96,000 (latest BP employment count) and you have the makings for quite a productivity problem.
- Listen. During crises, employees want information and they want to be heard. Don’t guess on what they are thinking, engage them directly. Toyota, despite its missteps, has a plan in place for internal communications, and by their accounts they are seeing the positive results of doing so. Even if “I don’t know” is the best response you can give them to their questions; employees will appreciate that you took the time to hear them and respond.
- Acknowledge. It’s ok to be empathetic, even if the company doesn’t think it’s at fault. Just acknowledge what the employees are feeling (hint: you learn this from listening). BP finally seems to be doing this to some degree with the clean-up workers.
- Be Timely. The goal is to be the information source your employees trust. If there is news, make sure employees hear the company’s version of the story first. This makes you appear transparent and open. It can be challenging to do, but when it’s built into the plan, it can be done successfully.
A great example is this earnings video from Cisco Systems CEO, John Chambers. This was completed in November 2008, right in the middle of the economic free fall. In the video, Chambers provided a steady voice and outlined a plan in the face of tremendous uncertainty. What’s interesting to note is that this video was made available to partners, shareholders and the press as well.
Even though BP is now being proactive and acknowledging mistakes, their initial approach of minimizing the event, not taking accountability and limiting information really fueled the fire with the press. Time will tell if these missteps result in any long-term damage with employees. However, a strong internal communications plan will keep employees informed, keep them engaged and most importantly keep them on the company’s side. And in a time like this, BP needs all the allies it can get.
Topics: Communication Strategy and Planning | No Comments »
The Movement to Open Communication Cultures
By rdaprix | June 3, 2010
In my last blog I suggested that we were unlikely to see the fulfillment of a vision of full corporate democracy imagined by a new generation of anti-authority Internet bloggers. Their dream is of the end of corporate hierarchy and autocracy to be replaced by consultation and the flowering of social media that presumably will influence, if not drive, leadership action and behavior. But that vision seldom gets articulated clearly, and one is left to imagine what the new age will look like.
No doubt the digital age that is truly in its infancy will inevitably have a profound impact on the communication style and behavior of today’s organizations. The growing interest and actual creation of internal social media is one of the hottest trends in our profession today. Not every organization is joining in, but the degree of interest reflected in various communication publications and meetings is intense. Social media alone, however, are not sufficient in the drive to open communication cultures.
The earliest adapters of greater openness seem to be the usual suspects—those organizations that are on the leading edge of all things new and novel. It’s a good bet that if there is going to be a significant movement to greater employee inclusion and openness that it will happen in these companies first. They are the leading candidates to create any movement toward less hierarchy and greater inclusion and collaboration.
Predictably, they will also continue to have as their imitators those companies that are receptive to new trends but that are not necessarily pioneers. They too fall in the category of early adapters. In both cases, they will for a time be in the minority as companies contemplate the benefits and risks of greater openness.
That leaves most of the remaining organizations today in a range of positions from heightened awareness of the potential opportunities posed by the digital age to caution occasioned by the perceived risks of openness. A small minority of the late adapters will continue to resist openness at every turn and to rely on spin and failed attempts at information control.
In the end what is likely to create movement toward open communication cultures are two forces. The first is the obvious one of the irresistibility of the information revolution powered by ubiquitous digital technology. The other is perhaps less obvious. It will be the eventual ability of our profession to connect all the dots and to create integrated information strategies that will knit together social media, the need for innovation and collaboration, and the strong business case for openness. That case is increasingly evident from a variety of respected researchers. It remains for us to do our job and to integrate the moving parts in a compelling fashion.
Topics: Communication Strategy and Planning, Perspectives | No Comments »
Who’s Managing Whom?
By aheinrich | May 26, 2010
Imagine this workplace scenario. You work for a company run by a member of the Silent Generation – those born between 1925 and 1944. Let’s say he or she is in their late 60s or early 70s. You are in your late 30s, which makes you a member of Generation X, and you are managed by a member of the baby boomer set; let’s say someone in their late 40s. You manage several staff who are in their early to mid-20s or Gen Y-ers. That may sound typical, following what would normally have occurred in a fairly traditional company.
In fact, according to a Career Builder Survey, this scenario, as typical as it may sound, is actually far from typical. That survey found 43 percent of workers ages 35 and older currently work for younger bosses, as do 53 percent of workers ages 45 and up, and 69 percent of workers who are 55 or older. That means not only are Baby Boomers being managed by Gen X or Gen Y, but sometimes the age gap can even result in a Gen X-er reporting to a Millennial manager.
What this has done has created some very unique management challenges. In particular, the survey also found that a significant percentage of workers (16 percent) who were 25 to 34 said they found it difficult to take direction from a younger boss, but only five percent of workers age 55 and up had problems with it.
Complaints about younger managers run the gamut and include micromanagement, a sense of entitlement, favoritism with younger colleagues, and not giving enough direction. Sound familiar?
These are age old and ageless management problems that people with advanced degrees, colleges with massive research budgets, and consultants with $500/hour billing rates have been trying to solve since some guy managing the fire told another guy to go get more wood.
It should be no surprise that you could be managing people who may not like you or you could be managed by a boss you believe doesn’t deserve his or her position. Most of us have or will be in one of these situations at some point in our career. Rather than fight either situation, imagine an alternative one where the tables could be turned—you’re the younger boss managing an employee either close to your age or much older, or you’re the one being managed. Then do everything you can to be the manager who’d get you to do your best work and the employee who’d do the best work for you. That isn’t a multi-step process, but it’s one many people of all ages have trouble taking the first step toward.
Topics: Leader and Manager Communication, Perspectives | No Comments »
Sun Tsu’s Guide to Communication Effectiveness
By jrobertson | May 10, 2010
Sun Tsu, a Chinese military commander from the sixth century BC, wrote a book titled The Art of War that is considered by many to be the definitive work on military strategy. The book’s influence is widespread and has been used by military leaders throughout the centuries, and most recently has been applied to Western business strategy and management tactics.
Sun Tsu’s insights can also be applied to communications, particularly how to ensure effectiveness of your work. Here are a few pearls from The Art of War and how they might apply.
“Every Battle is Won Before it is Fought.”
This goes right to the heart of why developing a communication strategy is important. A good strategy starts with understanding your goals, both communication and the larger organization goals. These will shape and drive your communication strategy.
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
Building off of the earlier quote, having a clear plan to achieve your communication strategy is the quickest way to produce results. Without a clear plan, your chances of success are unknown at best.
A good plan also provides direction to the team responsible for implementation, and builds confidence with your stakeholders because they can see how the results will be achieved.
“If you Know Your Enemy and Know Yourself, You Need Not Fear the Result.”
In communications, knowing your audience is as important as knowing your enemy (or your competition), and understanding your audience is the key to selecting the right messages and vehicles. To gain an understanding, ask yourself these questions:
- What are their current attitudes and beliefs on the subject?
- What channels do they trust the most?
- What channels do they prefer for this content?
- When and how do they normally access content, and for how long?
Use the answers to these questions to determine the appropriate content, tone and vehicles for your communications. If you are unsure of how to answer these questions, it may be time to consider evaluating your communication vehicles.
“If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.”
This reinforces the importance of effective leadership and manager communications, which not coincidentally, are components in our ROI Scorecard. Employees need to understand the company’s strategy, and research has shown they want this direction to come from senior leadership. Connecting the dots between the strategy and the employee’s role is the job of the line manager. The important thing to note is that both need to happen to produce the desired results.
It is fascinating to see that words written so long ago have a practical use in today’s environment. At the very least, they are a reminder of what’s important.
Topics: Communication Strategy and Planning | No Comments »
Corporate Democracy versus Corporate Hierarchy
By rdaprix | April 26, 2010
A very interesting trend has emerged in internal communication circles over the last several years. It’s the formation of a group of professional communicators who are ardently anti-hierarchical in their thinking and philosophy. For the most part their position has been shaped by the politics and viewpoint of Internet bloggers, who believe that organizations will only thrive to the extent that they become more democratic in their thinking and functioning. And who see the validity of one’s opinions based not on position in a hierarchy or seniority but rather on logic, careful reasoning and independent thinking. With more than a little legitimacy, they claim that the bureaucratic business model, topped by a hierarchy of senior leaders and line managers in descending order of position power, is obsolete in a fast-paced economy.
Their faith is in the wisdom of teams and the good intentions of corporate citizens. But to put it bluntly, many of them also seem to have an authority hang-up, a not uncommon perspective in Western countries with well-developed economies and long histories of relative prosperity. It’s also not surprising that well-educated workers with other options would chaff a bit under arbitrary decision-making by people who are used to having their directives obeyed and their privileges reserved.
But in the end, the hard truth is that someone has to be in charge and take responsibility for results. That makes some degree of hierarchy, regardless of how we soften it or label it, inevitable. The debate—if we can call it that—between corporate democracy and corporate hierarchy is cast in terms that are too black and white, too much ‘the good guys versus the bad guys.’
In an earlier version of this debate some years ago, there was a school of thought that argued that internal communication professionals should be permitted to play the role of investigative journalists in their organizations. The idea was that they would be given the democratic freedom to report events as they saw them, without review and with as much objectivity as their brothers and sisters in the public media. Not surprisingly, there were few, if any, senior leaders willing to fund a free press within their walls. So that particular discussion went nowhere although it did open things up a bit and make people more self-conscious about obvious spin in their communications.
No doubt the dialogue that is pervasive on the Internet and that is being advocated as healthy in the context of corporate social media will tend to influence more candid and more inclusive internal communication. But as the corporate autocrats used to complain as they contemplated, first, participative management, and later, employee engagement, “You think we’re going to sit around and take a vote on every decision?” The hard truth is that it’s highly unlikely any of us will ever see that day. More inclusion? Yes. More consultation? Yes. But outright corporate democracy and the end of hierarchy? I wouldn’t put any money on it.
Topics: Communication Governance, Perspectives | No Comments »
What the Numbers Don’t Tell Us
By aheinrich | April 19, 2010
The interesting thing about statistics is how they can be used to make or break a point depending not so much on the numbers themselves, but how the numbers get used, and what you need to keep in mind when using them. Take this statistic from the Bureau of Labor Statistics–by 2014, nearly one-third of the total U.S. workforce (32%) will be age 50 or older. This will be a significant increase from 27 percent in 2005.
The interesting thing about this isn’t that the number probably seems high—I certainly thought so–but that this number was derived before the current economic downturn forced most of those planning on retirement to put off those plans another five or 10 years, maybe even forever. An entire generation may actually be working until they die.
According to a study by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Baby Boomers Envision Retirement II: Survey of Baby Boomers’ Expectations for Retirement (September 2004) eight out of ten Boomers expect to work at least part time in their so-called retirement years. Another interesting statistic, but considering again that this study was completed nearly six years ago, it wouldn’t take a statistician to determine that given the spate of articles about boomers foregoing retirement the number staying on the job is potentially much higher than eight out of 10. For the Gen Xers and Millenials who’ve been itching for the 48 and older elders to leave sooner than later, this new workforce reality is going to “suck.”
When resources are scarce, conflict is sure to arise. There’s already a scarcity of jobs. Compound that with a scarcity of managerial jobs because they’re being held tightly by an entire generation that can’t afford to give them up any time soon, and imagine the conflicts that will ensue.
Employee engagement may be one of the initial aspects to suffer if there’s no chance to move up or move on. Consequently, new reward systems, performance measurement, and even job titles may have to be created to keep multi-generations engaged in something other than backoffice maneuvering for management jobs that will be difficult to come by. More important will be improved management techniques and communication skills that will emphasize and reward collaboration and team work at a time when many employees will be driven by self-interest and preservation.
Five years from now, we can hope for a statistic that proves this out, no matter which way you look at it.
Topics: Communication Measurement | No Comments »
The Role of Emotion in Making Decisions
By jrobertson | April 12, 2010
At ROI, we pride ourselves on collecting quantifiable data to help clients understand situations and make informed decisions. Like many, we subscribe to the motto that “facts are our friends.”
Interestingly though, we see that regardless of what the data says, people still rely on their emotions when making decisions. This isn’t just limited to communications. If you look around, you can see plenty of that actions contradict what the facts says should happen.
Well, it turns out that this is simply human nature and that we are wired to use our emotions when making decisions. In fact, we have two sections in our brains called the amygdalae whose sole purpose is to fuel our decisions with emotion.
Furthermore, in a study of risk and decision making, researchers found that even when people are presented with odds of success, they still chose riskier options, even when the odds say there was a greater chance of loss.
So, should we abandon data-based decision making and just go with our gut tells us to do? Hardly.
The key is to understand the role that emotion plays, and build your strategy to leverage it. Obviously, what you present and how you present it is key. In addition to the quantitative stuff, you need to pull in other types of information to build your story. Qualitative information like quotes and first-hand observational data are great ways to produce the desired emotional reaction. Combine these with the data and you have a recipe for success. Here’s a hypothetical example of how this would work:
Let’s say you conduct a readership survey of the company magazine.. The results show that 55% of employees don’t find the company magazine a valuable source of information. You want to recommend cancelling the magazine, but it has a 15 year history, so you anticipate some resistance. To engage your audience’s emotions, along with the date, you select 3-4 write-in comments that reinforce your findings through the employees’ voice. Finally, you include a full-slide photo that shows the mailroom’s recycling bin filled with unread copies.
The combination of quantitative, qualitative and observational provides your audience with facts, but also produces the emotions necessary to produce the right actions.
The other benefit of using the different sources of information is they can be used to validate each other (i.e., “Does the data match the comments?”) This makes the findings even more compelling.
Topics: Communication Strategy and Planning | No Comments »
The Magic of Face-to-Face Conversation
By rdaprix | March 29, 2010
A few days ago I had the exhilarating experience of meeting with four colleagues in a two-day, brainstorming session. The members of the group have known each other for years as colleagues and even as competitors, so this was a group with a common history.
Our subject was differentiation in what has become a crowded profession. We spent a lot of time reflecting on the rather unsurprising premise that consulting is fundamentally about human relationships—personal relationships between the consultant and his or her clients and corporate relationships with customers, shareholders, communities and all of the other constituents that leaders care about.
The insights that flowed from that premise were informative, but what really struck me was the magic of a face-to-face conversation among five highly experienced and caring people. I was reminded once again that there is no virtual substitute for the dynamics of a face-to-face experience. There’s no way to capture the tone of voice, body language, energy, or enthusiastic interruptions for different ideas careening around the room. With the right participants wrestling with an important subject, meeting in person is an intellectual experience without equal.
The use of technology in today’s corporate environment has created a manic necessity for instant decisions and input, leaving us little time for such valuable face-to-face interludes. Instead, we conference call, email and text or tweet our half-formed thoughts as though these terms really were action verbs instead of nouns.
Clearly, the technology train has left the station. Although there’s probably little chance of going back to a more reflective time we should make time for face-to-face conversations in between rapid-fire messaging. Based on what I recently experienced, in-person conversations are not only useful for relationship building and productive outcomes, but they’re more efficient than you might think.
Topics: Perspectives | No Comments »
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