May Articles 2011

The Articulate CEO

Can We Make Twitter Useful? The #simplydefined Challenge

I want to invite you to be a part of a communication experiment.

The world is full of ideas and concepts that we use and discuss everyday but that most of us have very little understanding of.

For example, most of us probably don’t know what a ‘planet’ actually is or how a ‘combustion engine’ works or what ‘Einstein’s Theory of Relativity’ is about.

They are all things we are familiar with but for most of us they are more abstract concept than practical knowledge.

Could we explain them to someone else? More to the point, could we explain them to someone else in 140 characters or less? Welcome to the #simplydefined challenge!

Ground Control to Major Tom…

These funny conversations are alleged to have taken place between air traffic controllers, pilots and air crew around the world.

Not only are they funny but they also provide examples of not so great communications and relationships between ‘customers and suppliers’, in the context of achieving quality of customer service and service delivery.

There is always room for well placed humour and/or firmness in organizational communications, but when misplaced, effective inter-group working can be undermined, especially when a little misogyny, xenophobia or arrogance is thrown into the mix.

Enjoy with thanks from http://www.businessballs.com/

Sizzle or Steak? A Lesson From The World of Advertising

One of the biggest battles I face when dealing with CEO’s is convincing them that their communication issues are not the result of what they think they don’t do well but rather what they think they already have a handle on.

In other words, when it comes to communication, it isn’t the presentation skills or surface displays that are letting them down but the message.

It is an attitude that is the corporate equivalent of “sell the sizzle not the steak” but you can only do that if you are dealing with quality steak in the first place.

Sadly, in the corporate world the “steak” or message is often quite awful.

Burger King Get It… Qantas Don’t…

“We care about our customers” and “We love hearing from our customers” are two popular refrains that most companies like to bandy about at every opportunity and they are also two statements that for most companies are outright lies.

A recent trip to Wellington in New Zealand to present at the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards highlighted the difference between a company that truly walks the talk and one that doesn’t.

First the one that doesn’t…

I’m sitting on board Qantas watching a movie when a one of the Flight Attendants approaches me to ask if I would be willing to fill out one of their Customer Satisfaction Surveys.

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