Black Belt Dojo

What drives you bonkers?

At the Melcrum conference the week before last Wendy May of Zurich insurance let slip that she hates the terms "journey" and "solution" when used in a business context. 

Having just written a proposal jam packed full of references to journeys and lots of travel analogies I can't really agree with her on that one.  But Solution????

'Solution' is one of those words that people stick into sentences to make them sound important.  You actually have a choice of such words - for example we've all spotted 'Strategic', 'synergy' and 'socialised'.  And that's just starting with 'S' but the point is to pop them in purely to make the sentece seem weighty.

And then there's the stock opener.

Recent premutations include "...In a fast moving global economy [insert any unsubstantiated assertion at this point]" and "Our new customer focused strategy means [insert any irrelevant annuncement].  Someone admitted to me last week on a Black Belt Course that she recently found herself using the cardinal sin of internal communications cliches ...." People are our greatest asset...".

This isn't a moan about grammar - just boring writing...A while ago when Sue and I launched the competency model someone gently suggested to us that we could have been more ambitious or aspirational on behalf of the profession....

Liam

Proof of the pudding

I flicked through the PR Week award winners special magazine this morning to see who won the Internal Communications award. 

It went to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council for their 'Winning Healthy Hearts and Minds' campaign.

What struck me about the case study was the attention paid to research and measurement and, as a result, the proof the team had of the value they had added to the business.

The campaign was built on sound business objectives: to tackle the issue of stress at work (a third of staff said stress was affecting their performance), to increase the awareness of council-run health initiatives, encourage healthier living outside work and cut the number of days lost through sick leave, which was affecting the council's running costs.

The team ran a survey before the campaign and a second afterwards, which showed, amongst other things, that staff awareness of council health and well-being initiatives had risen by 16%.  Most strikingly, analysis showed there were 44% fewer days lost through sickness absence - a saving to the council of £1.6m. The total cost of the campaign was £4000, equivalent to 69p per employee.

To the question 'how do I help senior managers to 'get' internal comms, it doesn't come much more obvious than this. This team set clear business objectives, their plan was totally focused on achieving those objectives, and thanks to some solid measurement, they can demonstrate just how much value they added.

It reminded me of the responses to a question someone asked at our workshop at the Melcrum summit. The question was 'how do I publicise/market our internal communications strategy' ... which was unpacked by someone in the room as 'how do we show we add value?' The consensus from the room was 'through delivering it'. Putting together presentations about what the team can offer, including industry stats blah blah blah doesn't cut it - was the opinion of workshop participants. You earn your reputation through doing things that add value to the business, and being able to prove it through measurement.

This case study is a perfect example of that philosophy in action. I bet nobody will be quibbling about the IC team's budget at Stockport Metropolitican Borough Council next year.

Sue

Invisible man

I've watched the debate about where IC sits with interest. I've worked within HR, Quality, PR and Marketing and found it didn't make an iota of difference.  I still needed to influence areas other than the one in which I worked. Which leads me to another thought.

Do we influence openly in a directive way or subliminally in a more consultative way? If the latter (which I aim to do) how do we obtain credit for our work?  This week I was discussing with HR and Ops managers about a cross-functional team I'd established to help coordinate communication priorities.  Everyone was interested, so much so that the HR director said that he now needed to lead the group. In my head I thought "breakthrough!", but some colleagues later commiserated with me on my 'demotion'. I had lead this high profile group and it had now been hijacked by the business who were to do good and great things. I personally saw it as a major success and am moving onto my next goal which is to get the business to rationalise the rewards and recognition programme.  No rest for the wicked!

Meetings, meetings, meetings

I feel as if I've spent the last two weeks at conferences and meetings.  Probably because I have.

Last week was Melcrum's Strategic Communication Summit, which Sue and I extended by doing a workshop on the day before the event.

Then this Monday I did the CIPR's Inside Information conference (see wingeing in previous post) - And found a really interesting write-up from Casey Leaver (well worth a read).

So this week I've been running a two day masterclass on Strategy and Planning which always leaves me exhausted (no Sue to argue with or keep me on track!).   

Apologies to the guys for the dodgy photo!

I was more than usually nervous about this one mainly because I'd tweaked the material quite a lot since the last time so I could concentrate more on the question "what should be the strategic concern or purpose of internal communicators?".  That meant that I spent less time than normal on "what should be the contents of your communications plan?"

I was also more than normally intimidated by the group that was coming - a couple of people I know and really admire, someone with acres of training and development experience (who turned out to be a trained hypnotist!) and everyone else seemed to have scarily important positions!

As it turned out, I think it went OK (well at least they were kind with the feedback markings on style and content).  And I think at least one delegate has been persuaded to set up a local self-help group for IC people along the lines that Claire Venn has established in the East Midlands.

However, I do wonder whether "Strategy and Planning" is the right title for the session.  My query is based on the fact that this heading does raise a very broad range of issues for people.  For example when you start talking about the strategic concerns of IC you quickly get into themes like coaching skills, co-ordinating with external comms and stakeholder management.  I'm wondering if we should redesign it to have one masterclass on "Managing IC" and another on "Writing the comms plan".   

Thoughts welcome!

So next week I've got a session at the IABC, a lecture on Comms Theory for the CIPR Diploma plus a workshop for a client.  Maybe I should get some tour tee-shirts printed with dates.

At least I've got a bike ride planned on Friday - anyone want to join me?

Liam

Learning to write (again)

Writing has always been one of my favourite parts of my job. I love the feeling when a note I've ghost-written sounds so much like a senior leader I can hear them speaking when I read it.  Or when I've pulled together a story that makes such common sense, the messages flow together like perfectly-fitting parts of a jigsaw puzzle.

But despite 16 years spent honing my corporate writing skills, for the second time in recent years I feel as if I'm back at primary school because I'm trying something a bit different.

The first time was when I did a feature writing course. Two days. Me and a room full of journalists. I loved it, but I sat practically quaking every time I had to read out yet another standfirst or introductory paragraph that sounded clunky and clumsy next to everyone else's. Afterwards, I wrote a series of one page interviews for a local magazine. I can't tell you how much I agonised over 750 words and what a fraud I felt when I had to call the BBC to get a photograph of one of the sports personalities I was writing about. "Are you a journalist?" asked the nice switchboard lady. "No!" I said instinctively. "Er, I mean yes." ("But not a REAL one", the voice in my head was shouting.)

Now, I'm learning to write again for a different reason. Some of you will know it's my dream to write books. Well, I've finally got my act in order and last week I started seeing a publishing coach. We talked a lot about my ideas, angles, what a publisher might and might not buy, and then she said "And how do you feel about the writing?"

At which point I realised I'm actually quite nervous about it. I've spent so many years writing for other people, I've forgotten what it feels like to write for myself.

So my homework is to write a piece about anything, of any length, just for myself. No brief whatsoever. I am NOT to think about objectives, structures, audiences, etc. I am not to finesse what I've written. Most importantly, I am not to worry about whether it's any good. (Gulp. I'm worrying about how not to worry.) The worst of it is, I don't have to hand it in. So I won't even know if I've done it right. Except there IS no right - that's the point. It's about remembering what it feels like to enjoy the experience of writing just for me.

This probably sounds very easy, but I'm a perfectionist (which is like a dead weight sometimes) and I work by planning, structure, going over and over things until I'm happy with them and asking for feedback at any possible opportunity. So it actually feels quite alien and daunting to me.

Which is a good sign that I'm about to learn something ...

Sue

Being polite or being honest?

I've just got home from chairing a one day conference at the CIPR in London.  It was a mixed experience as a chairperson as I never quite know what my role is at these things.

On the one hand I think I should try to keep the day moving and make sure that the speakers stick to time and the audience members who want to ask a question get a chance to do so.  On the other hand, how appropriate is it for me to weigh in when someone speaks rubbish?

Luckily there were some good sessions - I particularly enjoyed Claire Cater from Bell Pottinger on Crises, Paul Middleton of the City of Westminster and ever reliable Russell Grossman.

Yet after one presentation (good manners prevents me from saying which) one of the delegates came up to me and expressed himself puzzled by a piece of advice that had just been dished out.  It particular, he said in the nicest possible way, he didn't think it was really practical and he couldn't imagine the sort of organisation in which it might work. 

I have to admit that I'd missed the point - I'd been too concerned with getting people away for a break (20 minutes late) to have noticed it in what had otherwise been quite a good presentation.  And I had intervened a couple of times to make alternative suggestions during the day so I didn't feel too bad about missing it.

However, since getting home I have felt a bit bad about it - especially given the rants I have made in the past about challenging some of the rubbish that passes for insight in our profession at times.

OK it was quite a trivial issue this time, and possibly a difference of opinion, but I'm still angry with myself from a couple of years ago when I never said anything when a very senior PR consultant had patronised a group of internal communicators with some nonsense that indicated she had no idea or experience of the subject she was pontificating upon... ho hum...

Liam

New boy in town

Lets talk mousemats. And mugs. And little gonk-like creatures with tails that say 'I (heart) my team'. And puzzles that spell out innovation (if you are right brained enough to do them). What's the point? Who cares?  I don't.

Last week was a bit like the Matrix. People appeared to be living in a created reality where mousemats have the power to communicate. They don't.

I wanted to talk about the aim of the communication, the audience, the non-audience (my term for the people who get left out of plans), the success factors. "Stop over-complicating things..." said the HR guy. Was I? Do gonks have a strategic role to play? Am I a communications snob who's forgotten where she came from?

Inside out

I was forwarded this item about how an internal announcement to staff at Merryl Lynch was more blunt or open than previous external promouncements on the subject.

I wonder if this sort of coverage will encourage executives to think more carefully about IC or become more tight-lipped with the one audience that expects real frankness (and knows when it's not getting it)?

Liam

PS I enjoyed this blog posting about the pro's and cons of having a blog policy so I thought I'd share it...

Who really is measuring?

Some time ago I saw some Melcrum research that suggested that although everyone in IC said you should measure and evaluate, very few people were actually doing very much about it.  In fact when I ask people on the Black Belt Programme, most people admit to feeling guilty that they don't do enough.

I think that there are basically three levels of measurement:

• Process - did we do what we set out to do?  Were ten newsletters published?  Did we hold the town hall meetings?  And if not, what can we learn from our failures?
• Understanding - did people get the message from the communications and can they play it back to us as we hoped?  Are we having a sensible conversation about this issue?
• Impact - did anything change as a result of the communications?

Clearly measurement gets more difficult as the usefulness of the information gathered increases.  Before you can measure Impact properly you have to isolate out the other factors apart from communication that might drive behaviours in a workplace - no mean feat.

But wherever I hear about the paucity of measurement I shake my head and sigh.  My theory is that other functions are so much better than us (with the exception of PR of course!) and I assume that if the day ever comes when IC people routinely spend big bucks then effective measurement will be the norm.

This little snippet from IT analysts Forrester has rather shaken my faith!

And this week I received an excellent e-newsletter from measurement writer Angela Sinikas in which she tells a story about being challenged on the ethics of measuring at all.  Apparently someone wrote once about one of her articles:

"I'm sure the slavish focus on the organization's bottom-line concerns makes for effective consultancy, but it disrespects the humans who invest so much of their lives therein."

Angela uses this story to make the point that failing to listen is even more unethical than being worried about business performance - but it does make me wonder whether there is a silent majority out there that is in denial about the need to measure at all.

Liam

Comms doesn't matter...

Picture the scene... me smiling broadly because I have just received a fab template for something or other from one of our 'let's all share' internal communication community:

Sulky marketing manager: "We never get any freebies from our marketing oppos... s'not fair."

Passing sales manager: "That's because marketing stuff counts towards the bottom line. Her stuff doesn't. That's why she's allowed to share it.  If was worth anything commercially the top guys would string her up."

Smug marketing manager now smirks, sales manager swans off and I do fair impression of goldfish out of water... on a hot day... in a desert.   

When's a blog not a blog...

...when it's a book.

I've been reading David Ferrabee's collected blogs 'People Power'.  He's taken two years' worth of blogs and pulled them together in handy sections and it's a pretty good read.

I have to admit to be sceptical about it as a concept but it works pretty well.  That's probably because his spare writing style makes it an ideal dipping book - lots of short chunks with ideas and reflections - an ideal commute read.  It's not really a 'how to' sort of book - more a series of interesting thoughts about what makes IC work well and the life of a consultant. 

So on my highly recommended list (does that earn me a drink David?)

Liam

Men and women from the same place after all

I admit to having been completely taken-in by the whole Men are from Mars/Women from Venus thing - not that I ever read the books of course.  I didn't really argue with the whole "women are more sensitive and men like talking about hunting" hypotheis.

Although If I thought about it I guess there is plenty of evidence around me to challenge the universal truth of these arguments.  I know plenty of men who are sensitive and intuitive communicators and I even know one or two women who can drive tractors.  And we all know plenty of women who say little, don't listen and don't seem to have a need to create an emotional wall of chatter around them.

But a series of articles this week has made me think about all this gender difference stuff again.

Writing in her new book, Deborah Cameron, is quite blunt about the evidence behind the theories about all the recent noise. 

She says...it's not only untrue, but many of these writers must have compeleytely overlooked the wealth of scientific evidence that says "THERE IS NO NOTICABLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOW GENDERS COMMUNICATE".

Apparently there are as many communication differences within genders as there are between them.  And where differences have been observered they are often clearly situational or cultural.

But it does raise the question about why the Mars/Venus myth is so popular - a question that she suggests some answers to - not least is a need in society to compensate for changes in gender roles in the last 30 years.

There's no doubt that men and women don't have the same tastes or views that they might have done in the past.

I don't know enough to have a firm opinion either way but I have always felt very uncomfortable with people who rush to grab an easy psychological label and use it to provide a complete explanation of the world around themselves.  For example I'm always very nervous when people start telling me their Myers Briggs Type indicator or that they are an Introvert with Analytic tendencies or something.

Us Scopios are prejudiced like that (and we recycle our old jokes...)

It's very easy to grab a ready-made cloak and decide that it defines not just yourself but also those around you.  It saves you having to listen properly or indeed apply any of that tricky emotional intelligence stuff...

So, I'm off to knit some lace doilies....

Liam 

One to watch

Terry MacKenzie is guest-blogging over on the Melcrum blog. Terry heads up internal communications at Sun Microsystems and I've mentioned her on here before because I find her an entertaining and thought-provoking conference speaker and I'm always interested to hear what she has to say.

I also think Sun are doing good things on the social media front. Even if you're fed up of the general hype, here's an example of a company using social media tools for real and having some good results.  See this article about CEO Jonathan Schwartz talking about his blog. And see Terry's own blog - she's one of around 10% of Sun's workforce who have one.

And by the way, if you're still in the 'what the heck is RSS and I know what wikipedia is but I still don't really understand what a wiki is' camp, do try these short videos from the CommonCraft blog. Yes, it's the second time I've mentioned them recently and no, I'm not on commission, but we showed them at Black Belt last week and people found them incredibly useful.

Sue

PS And no, I really didn't post this at 5am. I'm back overseas for another workshop. I shudder to think about my carbon footprint. Holidays in the UK for the next ten years for me, I think. 

Geek?

You know, I never intended to get into this game - communications I mean. I sort of fell into it. So, I'll be honest, sometimes a feel a bit of a fraud. As if I've forged my membership to an exclusive club and someday I'll be spotted. Now the point of this blog is not my paranoia. It's just that the other day I was called a 'geek', a communications geek at that. The person in question said that I was so fascinated by the detail of communication theory that I had become detached from the reality of what it means for your average Joe. I was compared to an IT geek, mesmerised by technological capability, but completely unable to see why someone's computer crashing was annoying and not fascinating. Hmm... I still can't work out if it's a compliment or not.  What do you think?

October's guest blogger

October brings us a fresh guest blogger in the form of Deborah Gogarty from Wincanton.  Debs runs IC and was one of our earlier Black Belters.  People may well recognise her from her avid use of things like Melcrum’s Communicators’ Network  –  She’s always on the look-out for new ideas and we’re looking forward to her blogging this month…

Over to you Debs...

Liam