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.
Communication
Grey zones are costing your organization big time
There’s a lot of focus in organizations on moving fast to meet customer needs and shifting market conditions. We’re encouraging employees to be more involved in defining and delivering organizational success. People from all levels and all functions of the organization are getting together to ‘hack’ solutions to important business problems. Collaboration is our mantra. Innovation our goal.
When the formal structures and systems of the organization aren’t supporting what we’re trying to do we’re finding ways around them. And this is a good thing. But, in our rush to collaborate and democratize our organizations we’re losing clarity. While we’re busy crowd sourcing hacks: Who’s got the responsibility? Who’s got the authority? And, how do we know? Will we only find out once whoever it is pops out of the wood work to disagree with what we’ve been working on/towards?
This lesson came crashing home last summer when I discovered that, on a not-for-profit project I’d been working on for several years, I had all the responsibility and no authority. Since, I’m in the business of clarifying, helping make the grey zones black and white, this was a shocking revelation. But it was an informal volunteer thing, so… “These thing happen”.
Now I’m noticing grey zones places where I would never have expected. In a high growth, high success organization that completed a major restructuring and failed to make accountabilities clear for over a year. In a 500 year old institution where lack of clarity on roles and relationships and responsibility and authority is somehow seen as a good thing. And, in a global company where decentralization of decision taking was taken to such an extreme that their shareholders are now threatening to sue them due to lack of oversight.
The grey zones we create, intentionally or not, are costing organizations time, energy, and money. They are increasing politics. It’s more and more about who you know rather than what you know or how well you do it.
Grey zones are decreasing transparency to the point where it’s virtually impossible for anyone to figure out who’s doing what, why, when and how decisions are being taken.
And, they are decreasing trust in the offering, the leadership, the institutions and, if you’re on the inside, in each other.
At high speeds, when we’re all moving fast to meet customer needs and shifting market conditions, new ways of working are imperative but grey zones may be costing us big time. Are they worth the risk?
Random Posts:
Saying goodbye to jargon
Saying goodbye to our favourite jargon isn’t that easy. A recent chat on the IABC linked in page asked for jargon no one wanted to hear ever again. Here are just a few examples:
Incentivize, c-suite, granular, customer-centric, innovation, collaboration, creative, low hanging fruit, breaking silos, verticals, blueprint for change, under the tent, run of play, strategic architects, rolldown, scaling, flight risk, thinking outside the box, pick my brain, value-added, leverage, make an ask, reach out, bandwidth, deep dive, drill down, ramp up, onboard[ing], quick wins, tactical execution, think laterally, going forward, socialize, run it up the flagpole, circle back, face time, strategic decision…
And more. Many, many, more.
I think we all agree. Jargon is a bad thing. And yet, most of us have been guilty at one time or another of contributing to our jargon-filled world. Jargon just sticks.
So, now what? I’m thinking we may need a good exorcism.
Random Posts:
Don’t leave them laughing
Is there a right way to write? Ever since Dr. Johnson wrote his dictionary people have been laying down laws for the English language. Perhaps the most famous rules today are Elmore Leonard’s 10 rules for writing, which begin with: Number 1 – “Never open a book with weather” – as in “It was a dark and stormy night.”
My own rule is the title of this post and a central message of David Foster Wallace’s brilliant essay “Tense Present: Democracy, English, and the wars over usage,” which was published in Harper’s Magazine in April 2001. Wallace says that as much as grammarians want to believe that rules for writing exist to prevent misunderstanding they actually exist to prevent your not being taken seriously. For example, to make one up - “Running furiously down the road the clock struck one and she knew she was going to be late.” Everyone knows what this imaginary writer is trying to say. But the result is laughable.
Here are some other examples, not invented that I found in the Montreal Gazette and Toronto Globe and Mail on Wednesday February 29, 2012.
“Montreal drivers were slapped with a 14-cent jump in gasoline prices on Tuesday and energy industry eperts say that’s just a taste of the higher fuel costs Canadians can expect in coming months.”
“She was smart as a tack, perceptive and forever thinking outside the box.”
“Another worry: these digital medical records will be worth their weight in diamonds, not just in gold”
Here thanks to George Orwell are some rules to avoid breaking my rule.
Random Posts:
A master class with Ed Sullivan
On Sunday night when I was a kid everyone gathered around the TV to watch the Ed Sullivan Show. The papers joked about his voice, his awkwardness, and his look – old stone face they called him. And impressionists like Rich Little and John Byner made a living “doing” him, even on his own show. Sullivan’s show was a hit. One of the reasons it was a hit is that he knew people tuned in to see his acts not him.
Yesterday I saw someone introduce a speaker at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. It was wrong in almost every way. It was boring. It was too long. It began with the introducer explaining who they were. Then it had too much detail about the speaker – every degree and award for 30 years. And then not enough on why we would want to hear what the speaker had to say. It made me want to grab them, sit them down and force them to take a class from a master. A master like Ed Sullivan.
Watch the clip. He’s fast. He’s excited. He’s all about, look what I”ve got for you, here’s why, and getting out of the way. The clip is a long one - although I assure you Ed’s intro isn’t - so don’t feel you have to watch the whole thing – intro plus act. But then again you just might want to – it’s guaranteed to warm up a cold winter’s day like the one I can see out my window right now. Ready? Heeeerrrrrrrrrreeeeee’s Ed!
Random Posts:
The truth about the number 1 fear
Can it really be true that public speaking is the number 1 fear of ordinary people like you and me? Presentation coaches often say so. I should know because among other things I’m a presentation coach. But the evidence for the claim is underwhelming. Years ago Jerry Seinfeld used to open his comedy act with this story. “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does this seem right? That means to the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”
Of course Jerry’s right this doesn’t seem right. The facts are “most studies” haven’t found this. One study did. The much quoted or referenced 1971 Bruskin Report, conducted by the U.S. marketing research firm R. H. Bruskin Associates for the [American] Travel Research Association. The good folks at Travel Research wanted help dealing with what they thought was a big marketing problem for the travel industry: Americans fear of flying. Bruskin was delighted to be able to help them out with their survey which, remarkably, showed ordinary Americans were much more afraid of public speaking, heights, insects, financial problems, deep water, sickness, and even death than they were of flying. [Which proves, to carry on with Jerry's logic that if your swimming in deep water and get a cramp you'd much rather drown than ask the crowd on the beach for help.] Since then surveys have been conducted from time to time that report what everyone already knows that large numbers of otherwise ordinary people are to some extent apprehensive, hesitant, shy or nervous about, fearful or afraid, call it what you will, of public speaking. If this research proves anything it is that nervousness about public speaking - to use one simple label for a complex collection of feelings and energies – is a normal part of what it means to be human. It is not our number 1 fear; and fear is the wrong word for most people; it is our most common shared experience. And I have come to believe it is an extremely useful thing. I don’t think any great presentation happens unless the presenter feels some nervousness before they go on. Too much can hurt a presenter but so can too little. The key is to master your nervousness not eliminate it.
Here, for your consideration, are the musings of an expert on the subject of fear:
Random Posts:
Want to know the secret to writing a great speech?
The other day I was listening to a speaker on TEDx talk about the secret to writing the great speech. She had me hooked. Afterall, in one part of my life I’m a speech writer. If anyone has found the holy grail of speech writing - the secret to writing a great speech - I want to know it. The secret she said is the structure of the speech. All great speeches begin with the present (“I have a dream …”) then shift to the future (“One day all God’s children …”). And then work back and forth between the present and the future drawing their audience forward in the dramatic tension between what is and what will be. Great, only one problem. It isn’t true.
The great speeches aren’t all structured in this single way. Pick up William Safire’s collection of the world’s great speeches, Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History. You’ll quickly discover other ways. Examples? Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address (“Four score and seven years ago …” ) begins with the past not the present. John F. Kennedy’s opening statement in the televised Nixon-Kennedy Presidential Debate also begins with the past (“In the election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln said …”). Mark Twain’s much celebrated recounting of his battle with stage fright begins with the present (“My heart goes out in sympathy to anyone who …”) but then shifts sharply to the past not the future (“I recall the occasion of my first appearance …”) and then resolutely stays there. I could go on but I leave it to you to discover the many other structures that provide the scaffolding for great speeches.
What can we learn from this? There isn’t one right way. You can succeed in a thousand different ways. Have a look at Saffire’s collection. It’s worth your careful study even if your next talk is a Monday morning briefing at Bombardier and not the opening of the United Nations in New York.
The secret to a great speech? There isn’t one right way.
Random Posts:
On becoming a zero email company
One year ago today, Atos Origin‘s CEO and Chairman, Thierry Breton, announced Atos Origin would [like to] become a zero email company within three years.
At the time, Mr Breton said:
“We are producing data on a massive scale that is fast polluting our working environments and also encroaching into our personal lives. At Atos Origin we are taking action now to reverse this trend, just as organizations took measures to reduce environmental pollution after the industrial revolution.”
“The volume of emails we send and receive is unsustainable for business. Managers spend between 5 and 20 hours a week reading and writing emails. They are already using social media networking more than search, and spend 25 per cent of their time searching for information. At Atos Origin, for example, we have set up collaboration tools and social community platforms, to share and keep track of ideas on subjects from innovation and Lean Management through to sales. Businesses need to do more of this – email is on the way out as the best way to run a company and do business.”
In their press release they also reported that:
- By 2013, more than half of all new digital content will be the result of updates to, and editing of existing information
- Online social networking is now more popular than email and search
- Middle managers spend more than 25% of their time searching for information
- 2010 : Corporate users receive 200 mails per day, 18% of which is spam.”
Atos Origin has created a page on their site that expands on their position and approach - here.
I’m curious about how they are doing on their mission to become a zero email company. Good, bad or indifferent there will be lessons here. So, I’ve asked them – by email [oh dear!].
As for the rest of us, over the past year I think we’ve all been feeling the pressure. Virtually all “organizational” men and women are increasingly tethered to email through their mobile devises 24/7. We’re initiating, receiving and responding more.
When you add email to all of the other ways we are sending and receiving information it can all be a bit overwhelming.
Let’s hope Atos has some good news and a few insights about their journey so far that they are willing to share! Standby.
Random Posts:
Do you know the 3 best headline writing tricks ever … anyone can do, guaranteed!
Today, I was reading an article in IABCs Communication World – “What can we learn from the ‘real world’” – by Steve Crencenzo. Steve advises companies on how to write headlines so employees, customers and other people they want to influence will read what they have to say. He suggests that you write your headlines the way newsstand magazines like Cosmopolitan do. Cosmo, he explains uses three basic tricks to hook your interest: use lists, directly address your audience and use dot, dot, dots.
For example:
- 10 sure-fire ways to have the best sex ever!
- You can be a sex goddess now!
- Admit it … you definitely need more great sex!
Wow, I thought that sure beats the typical headlines you see in corporate writing, such as:
- Speed and disintermediation
- Reputation management is strategic management
- Local values, global view
Granted, as Steve points out, Cosmo has got a big advantage. It’s selling sex. Most companies have a less appealing product. But as Steve also points out Cosmo doesn’t rely just on sex to sell their magazine. Afterall a lot of magazines are selling sex. Cosmo uses a far more powerful weapon: the headline hooks.
The big question is: should you try to use these hooks in your business writing? My take is if you do be careful. If you have something important to tell people great. If not the hooks are not a substitute. And you may turn people off using them even if you have something to say because, let’s face it – they’re manipulative. And that’s not sexy.
What’s your take?
Random Posts:
You have a presentation to make
You get there just in time, find the room, and grab an empty seat. The event begins and you sit patiently listening to the other speakers and making small talk with the people at your table. Finally, after an hour and half of waiting, it’s your turn. You look around the room as you’re being introduced. The applause begins. You take your time getting to your feet, shake hands with the people at your table, and make your way in slow measured steps to the lectern. Taking out your notes, you straighten your jacket, clear your throat, and looking back at the screen where your PowerPoint slides are flashing you begin: “I hope everybody can hear me. These don’t look like the right slides.”
What do you think is the single greatest mistake made by this presenter? There are a great many, but one might you might have missed is: “you sit patiently listening to the other speakers and … .”
Recently I had a conversation with my friend Mitch Joel, the marketing guru who wrote the book Six Pixels of Separation, and writes the newspaper column and blog by the same name. Mitch is president of the Montreal-based marketing agency Twist Image and makes a lot of high-profile keynote presentations. Anything he says about presentation I listen to. You might want to as well. What does he do before the presentation begins? He said that in the time immediately before he goes on he focuses entirely on what he is going to say, his message, and getting his energy up. Pacing up and down. Rehearsing before a mirroir. Whatever it takes. You might not give many keynote presentations, so you might not think you have to go to all this effort. After all it takes alot of dedication, concentration, and discipline, to be a professional speaker, but then again you might want to give it a try. It just might be what you need to do:
Random Posts:
Shocking news!
The shocking news on the internet is that presentation coaches have been telling you a lie: Mehrabian’s so-called “55 - 38 - 7 rule” is a myth.
How shocked should you be? My take as a presentations coach is - not very. The rule as it is usually presented in presentation workshops and seminars is that only 7 percent of the “impact” of communication depends on the words used compared to 55 percent on facial expression and 38 percent on voice, a discovery reported by Dr Albert Mehrabian, a psychologist at UCLA in the late 1960s- early 1970s.
Hold on say the myth-busters doesn’t this mean words are unimportant. Have you ever tried to communicate without words? How far has that got you? And what about the times you got the words or word wrong (Sascha rather than Tascha, Danny rather than Donny). Besides, they continue, the rule applies only in very particular situations: one-on-one, face-to-face conversations where someone is expressing their feelings (I would love to see you later, I really do want this job, Trust me, the check is in the mail) and the other person is making up their mind on whether or not to believe them. Clearly there is a lot of wiggle room for error.
What can you learn from this? (1) People will try to use academic research to sell you something. (2) People will also try to put down academic research to sell you something else. (2) Words do matter. (3) Far more than words matter. If you want to be believed pay attention to what you say, how you say it and how you look when you say it. And remember, there are more than three elements at work in any communication; pay attention to context too. And, yes, you might want to think about what your actions say about what you’re saying. (4) If Mehrabian had a nickel for every one who tried to make a buck putting him down or puffing him up, he’d be giving Donald Trump lessons on prime time. The big take away is that if you want to be believed you’re going to have to put some effort into persuading people. Shocking, isn’t it?
Sign up for mailing list
Recent Posts
- Grey zones are costing your organization big time
- Saying goodbye to jargon
- Don’t leave them laughing
- A master class with Ed Sullivan
- Innovation & collaboration: Strategic priorities or not?
- The truth about the number 1 fear
- Want to know the secret to writing a great speech?
- Connecting for big business benefits
Authors
Recent posts
- Grey zones are costing your organization big time
- Saying goodbye to jargon
- Don’t leave them laughing
- A master class with Ed Sullivan
- Innovation & collaboration: Strategic priorities or not?
- The truth about the number 1 fear
- Want to know the secret to writing a great speech?
- Connecting for big business benefits
- Staying in touch with reality
- “Just hire a Dalek”
Categories
Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010