#Trust30 Day 3: communications can change the world

Day 3 prompt from The Domino/Ralph Waldo Emerson Self-Reliance Project: The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it? (Author: Buster Benson)

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I believe communications can change the world.


It’s not that my friends and family don’t believe this; they just don’t understand why I’m so, so passionate about this belief.  Maybe, too, they’re tired of hearing me talk about this, but not really acting on my convictions.

While I’ve helped corporations and CEOs communicate in new ways to affect change, have I helped organizations and leaders who are out to change the world?

Not so much.

I see an opportunity calling. Or maybe it’s a responsibility

If we have a gift, as I do with bringing people together to see and articulate new possibilities, shouldn’t we use that gift to give back to the world?

Every time I facilitate  workshops magic happens. People get lit up by being able to talk with other people about issues and questions that they rarely have an opportunity to discuss. They begin imagining different approaches. They start connecting and forming trusted, collaborative relationships. They get energized and into that “flow” zone where work doesn’t feel like work.

My intent in the next year is to focus more on helping leaders who want to change the world.  And I hope it’s a mix of corporate and non-profit leaders. The world needs both.

Herd or bird?

When it comes to attracting customers, engaging employees, and earning recognition, this one question may be the most important.

How can we move from this…..

 

 

To this….?

In today’s competitive world the most effective way to attract customers and talented employees  is to offer something special and different that attracts people to seek you out. You don’t have to be an Apple or a Google. You just need to be a company that knows and cares for its tribes so well that those tribes, be they customers or employees, seek you out.  Your passion for their success attracts their passion for your company.

The old way of pushing messages onto people is akin to herding cows.  It’s a lot of work, costs a lot of money,  you have to continually push, and the ROI stinks.

Here are some examples of why pushing and herding fails.

Most leadership training is failing

In a conversation last week Case Western business professor and author Richard Boyzatis said that most leadership development programs fail. Why?  Most companies require people  to take courses (herding), but they’re just not really into them. Without the attraction and motivation to learn, people don’t learn. You can require training (herding) but it’s unlikely to stick.

Most brands are becoming commodities

A study by marketing strategy firm Copernicus found that people buy on price because they view most product categories as commodities; there’s nothing attracting to them to one brand over another. None of the 51 product and service categories analyzed in the brand trends study are becoming more differentiated over time and 90 percent are declining in differentiation. So if nothing is attracting people to your brand,  marketers resort to the herding strategy of promoting cost savings.

Most employees are job hunting

In a recent workplace study by Monster, human resource managers reported that employee loyalty has decreased slightly this year. Yet 82 percent of the workers surveyed said they have updated their resume in the past six months, and 59% say they’re looking for a job all the time.  Challenge and inspiration trumps salary and status: When asked what they want this year, nearly half (41%) of respondents want to be challenged and inspired by their jobs; a subset also want to make a difference in their jobs (17%)

Creating an attraction strategy

So as you step back and evaluate your marketing, HR, leadership and organizational development strategies, ask “what will attract and inspire people?” A better customer experience? New ways to work that challenge people? Training that is completely out of the usual training box?

For more insights into the power of attraction, check out the book, “The Power of Pull.“  My summary of the book is here.

 

Great ideas come from great questions

What makes some collaboration and brainstorming workshops great — and others a drain? What makes some customer advisory board meetings thought-provoking, high-energy sessions, while others  are a nice meal and friendly conversation?

Aside from having a clear purpose, the most important ingredient for success is asking good questions.

Think back on workshops and meetings that you have loved. What made them so great?  My guess is open-minded people, a skilled facilitator, and great questions that you rarely have the opportunity to discuss with other smart people.  And those great questions probably helped you see new ideas that got people excited

Here are some questions to consider as you frame up an agenda for your next collaborative session. They’re from “The Art of Powerful Questions: Catalyzing Insight, Innovation and Action” that you can download here from The World Cafe.

 

  • Is this question relevant to the real work of the people who will be exploring it?
  • Is this a genuine question—a question to which I/we really don’t know the answer?
  • What “work” do I want this question to do? That is, what kind of conversation, meanings, and feelings do I imagine this question will evoke in those who will be exploring it?
  • Is this question likely to invite fresh thinking/ feeling? Is it familiar enough to be recognizable and relevant—and different enough to call forward a new response?
  • Is this question likely to generate imagination, engagement, creative action, and new possibilities or is it likely to increase a focus on past problems and obstacles?
  • Does this question leave room for new and different questions to be raised as the initial question is explored?

Leadership lessons from Oprah

It was spring of 1986 and my boss asked if I wanted to go to a women’s conference at the Sheraton in New York City.  Looking at a calendar full of looming client deadlines, I hesitated.

“A woman named Oprah Winfrey is going to be speaking,” he said. “I’ve heard from  friends in Chicago that she’s going to be a big star.”

I went and got my first dose of Oprah.

The conference wasn’t one of the big ballrooms; it was a smaller function room, but boy did Oprah fill it up with energy and a message that we women had the power to change the world — and still be women. ( I remember  her partner Stedman joined her, and Oprah called him the love of her life.) Her style was unpolished but charismatic, genuine and positive. She was a woman who wasn’t trying to act like a man, which was so common during the 80s.

So of course today (and yesterday) I watched Oprah wind up her 25 year show. Looking back on these many years she shared what she’s learned.

  • We all have a calling, what we’re meant to be doing in the world. When we live what we’re suppose to be doing — however small or big — we’re using our life to serve the world.
  • We are all responsible for our own lives. No one can fix us, save us, give us the answers. We create our our own energy.
  • The root of all struggles is not feeling worthy enough to be happy or successful
  • Everyone wants to be validated and be heard.  We can change the world one person at a time by letting a person know that I see you. I hear you. What you say matters to me. Validate their value.
  • The secret to her success has been her staff and God. “My success has been waiting and listening for guidance greater than my meager mind provides,” she said. “What are the whipsers in your life right now. Your life is speaking to you. Are you hearing it?”

Many tweets and Facebook posts have been moaning about Oprah’s long send off.  My sisters laughed at me when I told them I had re-arranged my business schedule to watch these last shows.

What people miss is that Oprah is not just a celebrity. She is a leader.

There are not enough inspirational people in the world focused on serving others.  There are too few role models who give and give and give — of themselves and of their wealth.

Oprah has inspired thousands and thousands to be more than they thought possible – and to pass on that gift and by helping others.

Speakers at leadership conferences seem to all share the same examples of exemplary leaders –  Steve Jobs, Ronald Reagan, Sam Walton, Herb Kelleher, FDR, Churchill. (Notice many are dead, and all are men….)

They’re great examples, but Oprah sets new standards in what it means to be a leader for our times, and is worthy of the label  of leader.

Love you Oprah. Even when we shared all that big hair and shoulder pads in 1986.

 

 

Have I got a story for you

“I’m so tired of  hearing about corporate storytelling,” a corporate communications manager confessed to me recently. “Really, what does “storytelling” mean for businesses? What am I suppose to do to create “stories.”

“There are nine story themes that people like hearing about from companies,” I explained. “If you create content  based on those themes you’ll  be turning your messages into stories.”

I introduced these nine story themes four years ago when I published the book Beyond Buzz. This simple model is used around the world by companies and agencies of all sizes to get unstuck and come up with fresh ways to connect with customers, employees and analysts.   Guy Kawasaki included these themes in his new book “Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions,” writing,

“These story lines from Lois Kelly, author of Beyond Buzz, will help you craft a story that does your cause justice.”

Sean Moffit and Mike Dover also include them in their excellent new book “Wikibrands: Reinventing Your Company in a Customer-Driven Economy,” saying:

“People love to tell stories. When repeated they reinforce a message; when told well they become viral. Lois Kelly suggests nine types of stories in her book Beyond Buzz that get talked about.”

The 9 themes

  1. Great aspirations (Patagonia believing a company can grow big and sustain the environment in innovative ways)
  2. David vs. Goliath (Southwest Airlines taking on the big, established players)
  3. Personal stories (Fred Smith on why he started FedEx, and why investors funded the company after they met the janitor)
  4. Contrarian/counterintuitive (BestBuy deciding to fire some of its customers. What? A company doesn’t fire customers?!)
  5. Avalanche about to roll (Spotting, forecasting early trends before they’re big and in the mainstream)
  6. Anxieties (Does your child have what it takes to get into a good college?)
  7. How-to (How to do things related to your service/product to help customers)
  8. Glitz and glam (What you can learn from Sara Jessica Parker about investing money)
  9. Seasonal/event related (Financial and tax advice leading up to April 15; vacation deals just before he summer)

Download the eBook, check out Guy Kawasaki’s post

Not in the mood for reading books to learn more?  Click here to visit the Foghound resource center, and download a copy of the eBook, “Beyond Buzz: Let’s Talk About Something Interesting.” Or check out Guy Kawasaki’s post, “How to Change the World: The Nine Best Story Lines for Marketing.”

 

 

Putting words to why your company exists

A great company purpose  is a rallying cry that inspires employees and customers.  It moves people emotionally, creates a differentiation that has nothing to do with products or price, and can be explained by anyone in the company.

The best example is Nike. While most of us know the company’s 20 year-old “Just Do It” motto, there’s much more to why Nike exists. Simon Sinek, author of the great book “Start with Why” shares this story about Nike founder Phil Knight over on his re:Focus blog:

Looking across the audience, Knight asked those who run to stand up.  And a good percentage of the room stood up.  Then he asked those who run three or more times a week to keep standing; everyone else was asked to sit down.Looking out at the people left standing, Knight said, “we are for you.”

“When you get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to go for a run,” he went on, “even if it’s cold and wet out, you go. And when you get to mile 4, we’re the one standing under the lamp post, out there in the cold and wet with you, cheering you on.  We’re the inner athlete.  We’re the inner champion.”

Without a single mention of their latest technologies or which athletes wear their products, Knight makes a vastly more compelling case for Why we want Nike in our lives. Nike may or may not be better, but we are drawn to them because they have a cause.

Nike doesn’t want to make products for everyone, they want to make products for champions.  Champions are not the ones who always win races, champions are the ones who get out there and try. And try harder the next time. And even harder the next time. Champion is a state of mind. They are devoted.  They compete to best themselves as much if not more than they compete to best others.  Champions are not just athletes.  Champions are entrepreneurs, politicians, nurses, soldiers, students and Hall of Famers.  Nike wants to make products for all champions.

Most companies have clever or meaningless tag lines (marketing) and bland, gobbledygook mission/vision statements (corporate communications). Few can express why they exist in a way that inspires.

Imagine what might happen if you could?  And you can.

A simple workshop exercise is to ask people, “If our company were a cause, what would our rallying cry be?”

Be prepared to be amazed at what your own people believe. And if they are stumped? Time for some corporate soul searching. If you don’t know why you exist — other than making money and improving shareholder value — you really can’t lead effectively. Manage, sure. Lead, no.

 

When leaders are open

When we’re open to ideas they often emerge unexpectedly, almost out of nowhere.

“Where do you come up with these ideas,” I’ve heard leaders ask people, almost incredulously.  Interestingly many creative types don’t necessarily come up with the ideas. Instead, they’re tuned into the world in a wide open frequency, and they find ideas. Or people suggest things to them and they have the interest and courage to say, “Huh. What if we took that idea and….”

The challenge as leaders is to be open. To not have our plans so locked down that there isn’t room for a new approach. To not think of “research” in only the traditional market research ways. To listen to people and take in not just the idea, but how the person feels about the idea. Is there a certain hunger, drive, passion in how the person is sharing an idea?  That’s always a signal for me to tune in. This just might not be business as usual.

Here’s a TED talk from Eric Whitacre who, with two thousand other people around the world, created a magical virtual choir. And it started with a young woman sending him a video with an idea and Eric saying, “huh…what if….”

Take a look. Inspiring. A reminder to me to keep some white space open for opportunities that just might come out of left field.

Getting rid of bureaucracy, bloated processes

The processes for getting things done in many companies can get so complex that it takes forever to move from point A to point B,  bogging down progress, frustrating employees and often inadvertently making customers and vendors crazy.

Before a new initiative starts at many big organizations, you need to involve legal, compliance, procurement, the quality management office — all with their own processes. You need to get a certified project management specialist, an executive sponsor, a cross-functional team, and a governance charter for how it will all work together.

Sometimes this makes sense. Other times it plain out doesn’t.  Just as IT systems, HR policies, and marketing strategies can become irrelevant, so can business processes.

Why not be the person who has the courage to bring people together to adjust  processes and get rid of what no longer works?  If you’re extremely frustrated, chances are that others are too.

In today’s New York Times Russell Bishop, author of the excellent book Workarounds That Work, suggests some simple solutions for bureaucratic roadblocks. (“Don’t Let Bureaucracy Ruin Your Day”)

Assemble your teams and ask a series of questions:

  • What are we trying to accomplish here?
  • Why does it matter?
  • How does our current process help our goals?
  • How does it hinder them?
  • What hurdles have we created for our customers or suppliers? What makes it difficult to do business with us?
  • Based on what we’re learning, what do we need to stop doing? What do we need to keep doing?

Bishop cites an example of a state agency that pulled people together, asked these fundamental questions,  and reduced 100 pages of  process rules to 20 pages.

Maybe the business equivalent of spring cleaning should be to examine  processes to see if they’re helping or hurting the business.

Still not sure? Check out this video. Powerful statistics about “corporate systems holding people back and diminishing employee creativity.” The point: how to get the company systems to work for you vs. you working for the company systems.

Solving the RISD leadership problem

 

Carly Fiorina at HP. Larry Summers at Harvard. And now John Maeda at Rhode Island School of Design. (RISD)

These leaders  all committed a fatal leadership mistake: they charged into organizations with strong  cultures and completely ignored the organizational DNA. They tried to force their beliefs on organizations with much different beliefs.  Things almost always end very badly for the leader when this happens.

Changing these revered institutions is necessary and difficult.  I followed all three leaders closely and admired their strategies for how to transform their institutions to be more relevant and dynamic. It’s a shame that such brilliant people didn’t understand a critical leadership fundamental.

The way to inspire people to change is to show them how new ideas support the organization’s reason for being and unique organizational beliefs.  Put change into the context of how it honors the organization’s rich culture and history, and how it makes the organization even more relevant for today’s opportunities.

Alas, these leaders fell into at least one of these three leadership traps:

  1. They did not identify their organization’s true and unique  DNA, the beliefs and values widely shared by multiple constituents — employees, trustees, board members, shareholders, customers, alumni.
  2. They knew the cultural DNA,  but did not know how to use it to inform decisions, build trusted relationships, or communicate change.
  3. They knew #1 and #2 but didn’t care about the culture. They were so passionate and/or arrogant about their new ideas that they wanted to move them ahead fast. Taking the time to align new strategies with the organizational beliefs and culture was viewed as “slowing things down.”  This approach almost always sends the message the new leader doesn’t think anyone else is as smart as they; things aren’t up for discussion and input because “I am smarter than you.”

John Maeda has not yet been asked to leave RISD.  But after an whopping 82 percent of the faculty gave him and the provost a “no confidence” vote, the chances of his survival are slim. Especially as this vote came just weeks after the faculty voted overwhelmingly against a five-year strategic plan.

In today’s Providence Journal Maeda said the problem at RISD is about communications, but from my conversations with RISD faculty and staff the problem appears to be about a deep cultural disconnect and questions on whether Maeda has the needed leadership competencies to run this college.  Few executives can ever repair that damage.

As RISD moves forward — with or without Maeda — it would be well worth their time to bring their people  together — faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees — and uncover the purpose, beliefs and values that have made this prestigious art college so successful for so many years.  Then use those beliefs as a yardstick on which to assess future leadership decisions, inform strategic directions, and inspire their people to create what’s next.

Based on my experience helping organizations in this type of situation, enaging people in this collaborative process not only gives them a voice, it helps them and the organization heal and look ahead with confidence and optimism.

That’s good leadership.

Social media obsession dies, real work starts

Now that we’re getting over social media lust and obsession, it’s time to get to the real work.

As Seth Godin points out in his post today, “Bring me the stuff that’s dead, please,” the real work is focusing on what we’re saying, not how or where we’re saying it. It’s creating new value with all the tools at our disposal.  Not just using the tools willy-nilly.

Much deserved attention — and too much undeserved hype — has been spent on the need to have social media.  It’s an amazing way to communicate.  But what are you communicating?

Edward Murrow wrote more this than 60 years ago. Replace “the newest computer” with “social media’ and his advice is still relevant.

“The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem of what to say and how to say it.”

Tips for more productive (and meaningful) meetings

One simple way for people to feel more connected is to start and end meetings differently. But for we corporate types that takes some courage to step out of our comfort zones. Consider this:

At the start of a meeting, ask a question that sets the tone and gives each person a chance to answer it — no interrupting from others.  (This also signals that everyone’s voice is valued.)

Questions vary depending on the intent of the meeting. Some I’ve recently used:

  • What drew you to want to be part of this group?
  • What has been your most memorable experience with the company in the past six months?
  • How are you feeling about what we’ve done in this space recently?

Then at the close of the meeting, go around the room again and ask a question like, “What is the most valuable thing you learned today?”

These opening and closing questions build connection, trust and camaraderie. And when you have that, it’s easier to dig into the tough stuff.

Corporate values: the last place you’ll ever want to work

Here’s a new addition to my ongoing collection of corporate vision, mission and value statements. This one is from Yellowbook.

Yellowbook Culture: Core Values

  1. Gain Usage
  2. Build Confidence in Our Brand
  3. User 1st, Advertiser 2nd, Yellowbook 3rd
  4. Think Long Term – Act with integrity
  5. Under Promise/Over Deliver
  6. If You Can Help Enough People Get What They Want…You Get What You Want
  7. People Achieving Career and Personal Goals within the Company
  8. Career Focus – The Last Place You’ll Ever Want to Work
  9. Have Fun, Keep Score, Win!

I have to say #1 and #8 gave me a chuckle.

Values say a lot about an organization. They show the clarity of the leaders’ thinking, how connected leadership  is  to its people, and what behaviors matter most in the organization. More and more job candidates are looking at an organization’s values before making job decisions — as are potential partners.

Do your values accurately reflect your organization?

The end of employee communications as we know it

Will companies need employee communications departments three or five years from now? I think not.

Just as Twitter is changing how news and information is gathered and shared. So will social communication change business communication, eliminating the need for a centralized employee communications function.

In an interview this week NYU journalism professor and media critic Jay Rosen said, “Because of Twitter, the news system is tending toward a state where every user is a node in the news gathering network. And a distributor. That’s a very different system.”

Employee communications will quickly evolve into a very different system as well. With every employee a node in the company information network. Whether it’s Twitter, a private company social network or some other social form of communications, people will want to find out what’s going on in the company — not just from executives and department heads but from one another.

A Fortune 100 company called this morning to talk about new skills and competencies for corporate communications professionals. There are many, which I’ll try to address in another post.  But this got me to thinking that perhaps we need to elevate the conversation to what communications skills and competencies executives need in this evolving world.

Soon — or maybe it’s already here — executives will need to be direct communicators, like all team members. How they participate will determine the effectiveness of workplace communications and how well they attract talent.   Not the Intranet, the employee newsletter, the beautiful posters or the occasional and well-scripted town hall meeting.

While this transition like all transitions will be full of uncertainty, I hope it is not full of fear. Leaders with a clear sense of purpose and passion for their employees, customers and community  have all they need to be superb communicators. Just be yourself. And help people see the way forward.

Workplace communications: the revolution is in progress

The use of smart phones and social networks in the workplace is expected to double in the next three years, according to an IDC/Unisys study of 2,820 people employed in companies with 500 or more employees. (“A Consumer Revolution in the Enterprise”)

What people use at home, they expect to use at work. And if their company isn’t providing them the devices or access to social networks, they’re using their personal devices to communicate at work in new ways.

The average survey respondent already uses four devices for work, and the proliferation is growing fast.  Much faster than enterprises’ IT support and security, governance policies, and communications training. This is somewhat like the early days of PCs, where enterprise IT departments were slow to introduce PCs so individuals in departments went out and bought them. the difference? Change is happening much, much faster.

In a time of such rapid change, there are few “best practices,” and there may be greater risk in waiting for these best practices than proactively establishing some fundamental enterprise communications behavioral guidelines, especially:

  • Who can communicate about what with customers? With employees on an enterprise-wide basis? How do you coordinate efforts to prevent customers or employees from feeling “spammed”?
  • What is an acceptable response time to interactions in the company? With the lines between work and personal life blurring people  respond at night, on weekends, and vacations.  Do you want a 24/7 norm for your enterprise — or are is there a need to set more human guidelines.
  • Education: what device/channel is best for communicating what kind of information? In other words, when is an instant message or email called for — and when is a posting on the internal social network a better communications alternative?
  • Security: what should be communicated within an enterprises’ VPN — and what  can be shared via instant messaging?

There are many questions to consider. I urge you to form a group and get to work laying down some communications fundamentals, carving out the time to think through how to provide communications guidelines  that reduce risk. But not so many guidelines that you suffocate people and add too much complexity.  (I’ve been guiding a number of enterprises in these discussions. Write me if you’d like to talk more about this approach: lkelly@foghound.com)

At the same time IT organizations need to quickly figure out which new apps, devices and Web-services are needed for your organization and customers — and how to introduce those in a way that provides the security and scalability for this new communications tsunami upon us.

The good news in all this, of course, is that employees are becoming much more productive, are having an easier time accessing resources and expertise important for their work, and are willing to blur the lines of work and personal, working more “off hours” if it’s easy to do so.

Social media chaos: the customer is confused

What a social mess in big companies. Every organization seems to be creating their own social media strategy. Advertising. PR. Customer service. Direct marketing.  Sales. Product marketing. Market research. Oy veh.

Here’s the problem. The customer is getting confused. So many different company Twitter handles, Facebook pages, multiplying blogs.  Customers feel like they’re hearing from five different companies rather than one.  That’s because your five different organizations have only been thinking about their organizational strategy — without thinking about the customer strategy.

You’re not alone. I could name five big companies who this month are sitting down to try to make sense of how they’re engaging with customers. Things have gotten out of hand amid the social media exuberance. Every organization wants a “social media presence.”  And every ambitious marketing and communications professional wants social media accomplishments on their resume.

But what do customers want? If you keep one marketing New Year’s resolution, make sure you lay down an enterprise strategy for how your company/brand will connect with customers based on building a valuable relationship with the customer.

Then establish the processes, workflow, and internal rules of engagement. Keep it clear and succinct, make sure it’s easy to follow, and honor it as you honor the revenue that comes from each customer.

Then everyone can succeed.