This blog is about the relationship between organizations and the people who work for them. And, it’s dedicated to the millions of people around the world who go to work every day wanting to do a great job.

Archive for December, 2011

Learning from the Bishop’s wife

by Deborah Hinton

It’s that time of year in the Hinton household. The time of year when we dust off all our of our old and favourite Christmas movies. Last night we watched “The Bishop’s Wife“.  And for me it was as it is every year like being with a good and familiar friend after a long time apart.  Fresh and new.

For those of you who don’t know the story, an angel [Cary Grant. Yes that Cary Grant!] comes to earth to answer a Bishop’s [David Niven. Yes that David Niven!] prayer.  The Bishop wants to build a cathedral. He’s become ruthlessly obsessed on doing whatever he has to do to get the cathedral built.  And the answer the angel brings isn’t quite what he’s expecting.

We discover, through his wife [the very beautiful Loretta Young], that when he was a priest in the small and poor parish of St Timothy’s he was very different. More like his wife – loving, generous and joyful. As the story unfolds we see how he has lost sight of his fundamental values and turned away from what really matters to him.  And, if that can happen to a Bishop then it can certainly happen to any one of us. [smile]

The new year is just around the corner.  With, or without an angel, may it bring you, your family, the organizations you work for and communities you live in the opportunity to create what you truly value most.

And in the meanwhile, enjoy!

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Deborah Hinton Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Permalink Culture, Work No Comments

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Why communication fails

by Michael Hinton

The other day I ran across a question on an on-line discussion group for people in Organizational Design and Training: “Why do you think communication fails in organizations?” If you’re tempted to say “good question” think again. It is, I think, a bad question.  Bad because there is no such thing as “communication” in organizations, only particular people trying to make themselves understood in particular ways for particular purposes in particular circumstances. The question “why do you think communication fails in organizations” invites mistaken one-size-fits-all answers: sales never listens, people are too sensitive, too little too late.  It would be nice if there was a simple answer. Unfortunately, there isn’t, which means the next time you want to “communicate” you’re going to have to do the inescapable hard work of figuring out precisely what you want to say to whom for what purpose. If this is a formula, it certainly isn’t a simple one, which is perhaps why “communication fails in organizations.”

And now you know what you have to do if you want success. 

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Michael Hinton Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Permalink Communication, Corporate communication, External communication, Internal communication No Comments

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