Listen to the Kid, and Listen!
September 24, 2009
At what age do we begin to learn from our children? My friend was babysitting her grandson while she was trying to work from home. The phone rang, and she took the call. The very smart three-year old tugged at her and said, “You need to be with me, not on the phone.” 
It reminded me of the saying “Be here now.” Have you heard that one? My own daughter has reminded me of the importance of having a meaningful conversation, a dialogue where each party is truly listening, tuned in, and not focusing on what the response should be, and what they want to say. How well do you listen? Are you ready with your response as soon as you hear a few phrases from the speaker?
Listening skills are critical in any relationship, especially in business where using both your ears can help you learn what the mood of the workplace is currently. The expression, Management by Walking Around (MBWA) was the cornerstone of Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett’s management style as they grew their company, HP. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard created a management style that formed the basis of HP‘s famously open corporate culture and influenced scores of other companies in the way they created trust in their organizations. MBWA is marked by personal involvement, good listening skills and the recognition that “everyone in an organization wants to do a good job.”[1]Ultimately, MBWA morphed into Management by Objective (MBO), which gives employees the flexibility to create business objectives for themselves that work towards the company’s goals. MBO were another sign of trust in the HP workplace.
Trust in the workplace translates into more productivity. If you are in marketing, or perhaps a department head, before you begin any campaign, go back to the basics. Start by collecting data; you need a baseline of opinions and attitudes. With your new knowledge you can assess the situation and create a more powerful program, a program with punch, and pizzazz that will resonate with your employees. If you have carefully listened to your constituents, your campaign will achieve its goals and behaviors should change.
Some Quick Listening Tips
- Be an active listener. Be tuned in to the speaker, show interest
- Maintain eye contact
- Nod your head periodically
- Concentrate on what the speaker is saying and not saying (“listening” to body language is also important)
- Create a safe listening environment
- Have an open door policy
- Practice MBWA
- Have an email address that you respond to personally and in a timely manner
- Have town hall meetings with question cards—if time does not permit answering all at the meeting keep your promise to respond in the company newsletter, or the company intranet
And remember the old saying, “We were given two ears and one mouth because listening is twice as hard as speaking.”
Tell us about the good or bad listening environment where you work!
[1] http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/timeline/hist_40s.html
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Eileen Weisman is a communication strategist, a good listener, a recycling expert, a dog lover, and a mother of the bride. Contact The W Group to discuss opportunities for improving the listening environment within your company or organization.
Communication Lessons Learned by the Mother of the Bride
August 23, 2009
Missing in action. Yes, the missing part refers to the fact I haven‘t written a blog entry in a few weeks; I apologize. The action in the phrase describes how busy I have been ensuring that the wedding plans that have been in process for the past six month crystallized into the vision we all had for a most perfect wedding. I could have started with “I have been on vacation” but vacation may not be the most accurate word to define my disappearance from the blogosphere.
Our daughter was married on August 9 and it was a magical moment in our lives. We were our own wedding planners and using my decades of project management skills, I was able to keep everyone and everything on track. With a 16 tab Excel spreadsheet by the end of the six months, we tracked our budget, guests, flights, vendors, and just about anything else you can imagine.
As always, I read a lot before diving into this new and very personal project of planning our daughter’s wedding. But as I reflect back on the past six months I think the one thing that isn’t discussed enough is the need for open, and honest communication during the wedding planning process; openness between the bride and groom, the couple and their families (if they are involved in the planning), and the planners with the vendors. How could this be overlooked or under emphasized in all the bridal magazines, and online sites? Goodness knows, the importance of open and honest communications in the couple’s relationship before and after the marriage is discussed constantly.
We had no bridezilla in our house and we are thankful. Any bumps we had along the way were planted by our miscommunications, but an honest conversation quickly brought us back to the same page and with a positive result. Being honest with each other, discussing the situation, and moving on quickly made our wedding planning a very beautiful thing for mother and daughter to share.
But what if you weren’t a good communicator? Here’s a possible scenario to consider.
You have a budget, but you don’t tell your vendors your price point. They come up with something that is magnificent, but out of your price range. You now have a vision of a wedding you can’t afford. This frustrates you, even depresses you because it won’t satisfy your dream, and you come away feeling sad or inadequate during what should be one of the happiest times in your life.
Can you make the leap from this notion to your business world? Imagine this…The current economy is hurting your company. You don’t tell your employees or ask them for assistance in cutting costs. They continue to operate in an unrealistic work environment, and eventually get caught in a cost cutting mode which might include their job or their co-workers’ job. Morale sinks quickly, productivity is squashed along with morale and with productivity depressed, your revenue-stream is hurt even more.
It is very true; many people spend more waking hours at work than they do with their family. Are you honest in your communications with your family? Are you honest in your communications with your workforce?
Your employees know you business. Be smart and access their intellectual capital and the love they have for your company. Be honest with them; if business isn’t where it should be, ask them to help you identify opportunities for improvement. You may be surprised at the recommendations you receive.
We planned a great wedding; you can have a great workplace, an engaged workforce. Just be sure you include good communications, and two-way dialogue opportunities. Just like ensuring a good marriage through good communications, you may have to work on it a bit. But believe me it is worth the effort!
Do you have a personal communications lesson that would translate to a work environment? Please let us know!
Eileen Weisman is a communication strategist, mother, and mother-in-law! Her company, The W Group helps clients create messages that are visible, heard, and understood!
Tell Me One Good Reason Why I Should Use Social Media
June 17, 2009
“Tell me one good reason why I should use social media in my business,” is what I heard recently. And my response was “tell me why you don’t want to use it?”
Most people just don’t understand what social media is, how it is being used, who is using it, and how it could actually help businesses.
First, many feel it is a fad, something used only by the youngest generations. Secondly, businesses can’t seem to grasp how social media could possibly help generate new business, and certainly many cannot fathom how it could help maintain current customers and clients.
Whether you are a company, a client or a potential new customer, here are three very basics reasons to consider using social media.
- Benefit from its low cost marketing approach
- Dell sells on Twitter—“In the last six months, Dell Outlet earned $1 million in sales from customers who came to the site from Twitter, after taking 18 months to earn its first $1 million.”[1]
- As a potential customer or a new client, use social media to see what is good and not so good about a company.
- Have conversations with customers, potential clients, and employees
- Talk, talk, talk, blah, blah, blah….it is happening so use it to your advantage. Promote new products and services, offer coupons exclusively to your community, even your employees. Product improvement doesn’t require an expensive focus group anymore. Be out there, and hear what is being said. You should be part of the conversation.
- Let a company or business know what you liked or didn’t like about their product or service.
- Build brand awareness, conduct e-commerce, track comments, respond to comments
- The line between customer service and marketing is becoming blurred because of social media. You can introduce new products, sell them, and get feedback quickly through your communities. Remember, you can respond to negative comments and your honesty will serve you well. Social media is a two-way conversational approach to living in the 21st century.
Just last month, in May 2009, Compete estimated that Twitter had 19.7 million unique visitors, far short of MySpace and Facebook. But it is growing much faster than the more-established social networking sites—more than 1,000% over the previous year. [2]
| US Unique Visitors to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter May, 2009 (millions and % change*) |
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| Unique Visitors | % Change* | |
| 113.0 | 253.7% | |
| MySpace | 56.9 | -5.6% |
| 19.7 | 1,043% | |
| Note: *vs. same month of prior year Source: Compete, Inc, as cited in company blog, June 9, 2009 www.eMarketer.com |
||
The Power is Potent!
I find no better way to illustrate the power of social media that using current events. This week social media use has been the most potent challenger to the embattled government of Iran as they are unable to censor and control the conversations regarding the recent election results. Iranians all over the world are blogging and posting everywhere. This should give you a very vivid picture of the power of social media.
And I am certain there are studies showing how the Obama campaign used social media to their advantage and continue to use it to drive their agenda.
So image this…. I make a statement saying, “The Internet is just a fad!” Would you believe me? Well, certainly not today. What if I said it in 1980?
So here it is, 2009, and I don’t consider myself going out on a limb here by telling you, “Social media is here to stay. Get use to it, explore its capabilities, and learn how to use it for your benefit.”
Eileen Weisman is a communication strategist. Her company, The W Group can help you identify the best ways to improve you bottom line.
Eileen invites you to comment on her blogs. Let’s get our own conversation going! What social networks do you use for business? Does your company take advantage of this new approach?
[1] New York Times, June 12, 2009
If you do, you should take the approach that the survey is only your first step of assessing attitudes, behaviors and engagement levels. By administering the survey you have created an expectation for those who participated in the survey that you are going to do something with their opinions and comments. They are wondering if you are truly going to listen to them, look for trends, and announce your strategy for addressing these opportunities for improvement.
What you do with the information from an opinion survey reveals what kind of leader you are.
I am sorry if that sounds like I am challenging you, but if there is no follow-through after you ask the questions, you have just probably created a major morale minimizer within your organization!
Unfulfilled expectations reduce satisfaction, and reduced satisfaction can result in reduced business. With employees that means lower employee engagement. With your board and donors it could mean less underwriting, less contributions, and less engagement as well.
And that brings us to the importance of communicating within your organization. I have said it before, and I will say it again—tell it like it is—honesty translates into respect! Use the survey as your opportunity to show commitment to the mission of your company and your organization. Use the survey to address what has been confirmed as important issues. Use the survey to celebrate the positive and use the survey to challenge everyone to engage in suggesting strategies or tactics for resolving these important issues. You have empowered participants to share their ideas; now empower them to help make your organization the benchmark of its peers!
Thinking surveys cost too much money to administer is a myth. These surveys can be done for a minimal cost. Getting started can be done quite easily and The W Group would be pleased to assist you in launching a survey, including results analysis, and suggested strategies for incorporating your results into action!
One final comment: consider surveying twice a year. Why? Because sometimes you get people on a bad day, sometimes people can’t participate for some reason, and by surveying twice a year you address the first two reasons, and you now have two data points to begin using metrics to confirm if your action plan is taking affect.
Remember, just asking people to complete a survey sends a good message. Creating an action plan to illustrate you actually listened to what they said is “priceless.”
Times are tough right now. The economy is creating anxiety in everyone’s world. People are worried about their job, their homes, and their family’s well-being. They are thankful to have a job but may bring their worries with them every day to work. They may obsess about life’s challenges and not be able to focus well. Rumors are negative energy and non-productive. You want to avoid rumors in your workplace.
If you have defined your companies core values I am certain trust and honesty are among them. These values apply not only to your customer relationships but first and foremost with those who contribute to the daily success of your business. Once trust has been tested, “business as usual” will not have the positive image you have enjoyed in the past. Confidence in you and your words will be questioned, and negative energy becomes a daily occurrence.
Honesty during tough times is not easy but being forthright in your internal communications within your organization can bring positive results. Consider including your employees in identifying cost-cutting opportunities and give them as much information as possible in trying to find solutions to some difficult situations. The concept of “inclusion versus exclusion” can yield dramatic results in engagement.
Today we call it “transparency.” But over 200 years ago, Benjamin Franklin stated, “Honesty is the best policy.” And in 2009 it should still be the #1 core value of any organization.
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