I’m not sure who’s the most frustrated: CEO’s who can’t get their communication people to help improve business results, or communication people who want to add value but don’t have what it takes to do so. Most internal communication people play the role of town crier rather than business problem solver. They’re focused on distributing… Read more
Author: Jim Shaffer
What Kind of Boss Are You?
Roger D’Aprix has just published another book that should serve as required reading for every project, team and corporate leader. Bosses: True Stories of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly is Roger’s eighth book. Each focuses on improving business results through better managed communication. The most powerful communication in an organization comes from leaders—or… Read more
Change the Game: Save The Dream
Jack Stack has done it again. He’s produced another superior book about the huge successes that open book management is having on organizations of all sizes and industries. The book is “Change the Game: Saving the American Dream by Closing the Gap Between the Haves and the Have-nots.” Jack is CEO of SRC Corporation in… Read more
Minds are Like Parachutes
“Minds are like parachutes. They only function when open.” My dad loved to use this quote from Scottish businessman Thomas Dewar back when I was in high school. I thought of Dad’s favorite quote the other day, listening to a small group of people discussing the recent impeachment hearings in Washington, DC. The group seemed… Read more
Ask These Five Questions and Get Started.
The question I most often get from communication professionals who want to make the shift from the current town crier role to one that’s more aligned with improving business results is, “How do I get started? How can I make a difference in our organization’s outcomes?” I recommend beginning by asking five questions. Here they… Read more
Facebook Fail: Internal Communications Strategy
Surely Facebook didn’t intend to put the internal communication discipline back 20 years, but they did a mighty fine job focusing on outdated tactics. The headline on a recent “Workplace by Facebook” piece was: “A 9-Step Strategy for Connected Communications,” which certainly perked up my ears. Alas, the piece focused more on improving internal communication… Read more
The Purest Form of Organizational Communication
Last month, I spoke at the Gathering of the Games, the world’s largest conference on open book management. Hundreds of open book leaders and communication practitioners from around the world were in attendance to learn, share and celebrate the principles and practice of open book management. Open book management is a leadership philosophy that’s grounded… Read more
Pilot Projects Create Big Successes
Want to produce results fast, minimize risk of failure, perfect a concept and create demand for more? Pick a pilot, improve results and replicate. Increasingly, organizations are adopting surgical approaches to improving performance, focusing on targeted segments (a branch office, manufacturing plant, laboratory, sales territory, or distribution center), making significant shifts quickly, creating stories around… Read more
Cracking the Metrics Code
For years, I’ve heard communication practitioners talk about the importance of measuring everything that mattered EXCEPT financial or operating performance. Measures such as tweets, re-tweets, page views, content consumption, readability, channel usage, word count, timing of content delivery and a ton of other irrelevant measures. Communication measures and broad business measures should be the same… Read more
Communicating with Awareness
When asked recently what I enjoy most as a management consultant, my response came quickly: “Coaching leaders.” I thoroughly enjoy working with new first line leaders who’ve just moved into that role. And I like working with seasoned CEOs who may not have ready access to what their peers are doing. Leaders make the weather…. Read more