What the Co-op Group could learn from Socrates

It seems that some things never change. The capacity of organisations, big and small, continually to make the same reputational and communication mistakes, for one.

The recent turmoil at the top of the UK’s Co-operative Bank and the catalogue of blunders, bad management and sheer incompetence (not to mention the personal peccadilloes of its former Chair, the Rev Paul Flowers) all reinforce the sense that we’ve heard all the excuses before and yet little changes.

And once again a huge amount of media and PR effort is being expended to retrieve the good ‘reputation’ that has been lost. But, to quote Warren Buffett: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” In the case of the Co-operative Bank it was a reputation for ethical dealing that went back 145 years.

Surprising, then, that so many organisations and institutions still often appear more concerned with protecting their organisational image than with putting in place the long term measures that would equip them to cope successfully with the problems they face. So when the Co-operative Group tries to repair its tarnished reputation as an ethical organisation, but begins by cutting grants to charities and employing a high-powered firm of lobbyists, it shouldn’t be surprised that its reputation takes another hit.

Enduring reputations (as the Co-op once knew) are built on actions, not on clever PR, lobbying or marketing. A good reputation is created by people or organisations when they act in ways that benefit others — and the news that they are doing these good things becomes spread among a wider audience.

That’s why building, maintaining and repairing a good reputation is intimately linked with good, honest, straightforward communications. As Socrates said: “The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear.”

There is no substitute for doing the right things consistently, communicating what is being done, keeping your ‘stakeholders’ informed, telling the truth (not attempting a quick PR ‘fix’) and building trust and credibility over the long term. It’s a lesson the Co-operative Group — and any other organisation tempted to follow its example — would do well to learn.

Why keeping it simple is the smart thing to do

While I was standing in line to get into the Guggenheim Museum on a recent visit to Bilbao, my eye was caught by a leaflet being read by the woman ahead of me. As soon as I’d bought my ticket I went and tracked down a copy for myself. It’s on my desk now as I’m writing this.

The leaflet introduces visitors to the Museum’s architecture. And if you’ve ever visited the Guggenheim, or seen pictures of it, you’ll know what a breathtaking and sophisticated building it is. Roughly half the leaflet was devoted to photographs of the building. And the rest to text describing how it came to be built and the main features of the design.

So what makes this particular leaflet special? It’s certainly not fancy graphics, bold colours or complicated folds. There aren’t any. And that was what grabbed me — the simplicity of the thing. No gimmicks. Just stunning images, elegant typography and high-quality printing.

The clue to its success is that little word “just” in the previous sentence. The person who produced that leaflet (and whoever you are, I take my hat off to you) had the skill and the courage to include “just” those things that needed to be there. No more, no less.

The text was clearly written and beautifully typeset, with plenty of space between, above and below the copy, making it easy to read, and allowing both words and images to ‘breathe’ and make maximum impact. There were no jarring elements to distract a reader and detract from the leaflet’s purpose.

In my book, that represents a great piece of communication.

Now you may be thinking that this kind of thing is all very well for a wealthy institution like the Guggenheim. But that it’s unrealistic to expect an organisation with limited resources of time and money to achieve a similar result.

I disagree.

The reason I like this leaflet so much is that it has a clear purpose — to help visitors to the Guggenheim appreciate the building — and every single element within it serves that purpose. And that is something you can achieve irrespective of the size of your budget.

I’d go even further, and suggest that keeping things simple is a particularly smart tactic when you’re working on a tight budget. If you’re producing something like a leaflet, express yourself simply by choosing a style and format that will allow you to get your message across without overstretching your resources. Or if you want to communicate on a regular basis with your supporters or customers, opt for one or two carefully chosen channels of communication (e.g. a website and an email newsletter). Don’t try to maintain a presence on every social media platform going and risk diluting your impact.

So next time you’re planning a piece of communication, why not see how simple you can make it?

How to keep your communications focused. Some practical tips

One of the skills needed to be a better photographer is mastering the art of focusing the camera. There is nothing more annoying or disheartening to take what you think is going to be a wonderful picture only to discover that the crucial elements are blurred and indistinct. Of course, you can always leave everything to autofocus. But if you want to improve you need to understand the settings on your camera and learn how to manipulate them so that you determine the elements you want to draw attention to.

My struggle to master my camera has made me much more aware of how often people use ‘focus’ as a metaphor when they’re talking about communications — and how easily commentators speak about bringing something ‘into focus’, ‘focusing on’ a problem or ‘being focused’. Faced with a communications challenge, such as how to plan a marketing campaign or develop a PR strategy, for example, we are told that the problem is a ‘lack of focus’ and that ‘more focus’ would help deliver the outcomes we seek.

But how do you actually bring a communications issue into focus? And what practical steps can you take to put this well-meant, but in reality often vague, advice into practice? Here are some suggestions based on my own experience.

1.   What focusing means in practice is identifying the most important and significant element of what you want to do. So the first thing that’s needed is to formulate as precisely as possible the crucial outcome or outcomes that you want to achieve. Then write them down in as few words as possible.

2.  Be clear about the timeframe you are working within. The more precise you can be, the better.

3.  Now it’s time to list the major obstacles in the way of  achieving your desired outcomes; then list those things that will help you overcome those obstacles; and finally list the major resources you have at your disposal.

4.  And then identify and list the most important publics or stakeholders who you wish to influence or persuade.

5.  Only once you’ve done the above, think about the messages you want to convey. Brainstorm as many as you can and then be ruthless in reducing them to the two or three key messages that will  have the most impact.

6. Now think about how you are going to deliver these messages. Identify the channels and media that will enable you to do that most effectively.

7.  Only now are you ready to formulate your messages in words and images. But by now your way forward should be much more evident.  And the picture in your head of what you want to achieve and where you want to go should be sharp and clear.

And if it isn’t, return to Step 1 and start again ….

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll continue …

In a post a few weeks back, I promised a further instalment on how to tell a story about your organisation in a way that will make your readers want to sit up and listen. Here it is.

Storytelling isn’t only for fiction writers. You can apply the same principles to the information you produce for and about your organisation. When your writing is enjoyable to read, it’s more likely people will want to keep going and — what’s more — pay attention to what you say.

So how do you transform your content into a compelling read that really connects with and engages the people you want to influence? Here are some pointers:

• You need a beginning, a middle and an end That applies just as much to the About Us page of your website as it does to a crime novel. Where your story begins, how it continues, and where it finishes are, of course, up to you. (For more on beginnings, see below.) The critical thing is to know where you’re going, how you’re going to get there — and not to allow yourself to be diverted. And if anything in your story doesn’t have a good reason for being there, cut it. As the late Elmore Leonard famously wrote: “Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.”

• In the beginning … It’s critical to start your story in the right place. But be prepared to challenge your own assumptions about where that is. Take Pride and Prejudice, the story of how Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy meet and — after various setbacks and misunderstandings — decide to marry. Does the narrative begin with Elizabeth’s birth? Or when Mr Darcy’s parents first set eyes on each other? Of course not! Jane Austen’s novel starts just before her main characters meet for the first time. Similarly, the point at which you start your story should be the point at which it becomes most relevant and interesting for your readers.

• Always remember your readers They’re the reason you’re doing any of this in the first place, remember. And keeping them at the forefront of your mind as you write will help you ensure your writing stays relevant. Constantly thinking of your readers can also help you when you get stuck — as all writers do from time to time. So as you write, continually ask yourself such questions as: “What information will my readers want to know?”  “Will my readers understand this expression?”  “Have I provided enough context for readers to understand the true significance of this point?” and so on.

• Start with  the ‘why’ Every organisation, according to leadership expert Simon Sinek, knows what they do. Some know how they do it. But very few know why they do it. Yet, as Sinek explains in this TED Talk: “People don’t buy what you do, people buy why you do it”. Most writing about organisations starts with the ‘what’. With predictable results. But starting with the ‘why’ — the thing that really makes you tick — can transform both how you write about yourself and the way people respond to you.

• Harness the power of images Photographs or illustrations don’t just add depth and impact to a story; they also bolster its appeal to the significant proportion of the population who respond more strongly to visual stimuli than to words. A note of caution, though. The power of images is such that a poorly chosen one will undermine even the most skillfully crafted words. For example, if the copy on your website presents  you as a cutting-edge organisation, but the photographs you use make you look conventional, your readers won’t believe you. So if you’re going to use images, choose them just as carefully as you choose your words.

Photo credit: mollypix/iStock.byGettyImages

Why there’s more to effective communications than meets the eye

It’s often the things you don’t see that separate out the professionals from the rest.

I started thinking about this after reading what leading production designer, Sophie Becher, does to get the details of set design right so that actors can do their best work. She says: “I tend to try and fill every drawer and every cupboard with things, so that if they want to open a cupboard, there is stuff in there. It’s their home and their space and they can inhabit it.”

That level of attention to detail only comes about with experience, based on years of practising your craft. There’s something unselfish about it too — doing everything you can to make the project you’re working on as successful as it can be.

Professional communicators understand the importance of details. They know that they can make all the difference when it comes to getting your message across. Even though the impact of the details may not be immediately obvious.

I was reminded of this again while talking to an experienced graphic designer about a logo he’d produced. At first glance it looked simple. But as we discussed it, and he pointed out things about the spacing and positioning of the various elements, I realised that the apparent simplicity of the design was the result of rigorous attention to detail.  Many of the finer points would only be picked up by a very practised eye — while a more casual observer might simply register the absence of anything that looked out of place.

One test of a successful piece of communication — a logo, say, or a video, or a report — is that it doesn’t draw attention to the work that’s gone into creating it. But don’t be deceived into thinking that because something looks simple, it was also simple to produce. As Apple’s head of design, Jonathan Ive, says in this interview: “Our goal is to try to bring a calm and simplicity to what are incredibly complex problems so that you’re not aware really of the solution, you’re not aware of how hard the problem was that was eventually solved.”

When you’re looking for someone to work on an important communications project, don’t settle for the “That’ll do” approach. It almost certainly won’t be good enough. Instead, seek out the person who has the skill, the tenacity and the attention to detail that’s needed to achieve the best possible result.

Why is it so hard to be strategic?

According to Chief Executive Magazine, seven out of 10 leaders are not strategic. Those responsible for communications are no exception.

Why is it so hard to be strategic? A common reason is feeling overwhelmed by the daily blizzard of low-level decisions, urgent tasks and ever more messages. Thinking about the bigger picture gets pushed into the background and put off until there is more time or ‘room in the diary’. But that time never comes.

It’s also the case that the culture of most organisations doesn’t support taking the long-term view. Being seen to be busy gets people noticed – and often rewarded. The focus on short-term results – delivering the annual report on time, meeting newsletter deadlines or getting out press releases – pushes out questions about the purpose or audience of such activities.

And, deep down, many people in leadership positions feel ill equipped and uncomfortable when asked to operate at a strategic level. Strategy demands systematic thinking, a willingness to focus on complex and often elusive ideas, not to mention sheer persistence. It’s hard and demanding – and there’s no immediate payoff. Much easier, then, to concentrate on particular bits of the communication system – improving your website, for example – than grappling with a structural issue such as aligning your internal and external communications.

As a result of this aversion to strategy, leaders stride ahead, reassuring their followers in the immortal words of Woody Allen in the film Antz: “Don’t worry, I know almost exactly what I’m doing.”

So what to do? Here are five ideas:

1. Take a break. Find a way to schedule some time and space on a regular basis to start thinking and planning.

2. Ask provocative questions of yourself and others. Why are we using this method of communication? What is the purpose of our website/social media activity/newsletter/meeting etc? Who are we communicating with? How could we do things better?

3. Look at the whole system, not just the parts. How do the various activities fit together? Are people working as a team or pulling in different directions? Where are the weak points in the system, the bottlenecks or blockages that prevent information circulating freely?

4. Take a long view. For example, consider setting longer-term goals and being more aware of how the environment is likely to change. Of course, given the speed of change, especially where media is concerned, this can be difficult. But part of being strategic is being aware of emerging trends (for example, the shifting usage of social networking sites) and being sensitive to developments that might impact on your organisation.

5. Be persistent. Daily pressures will always threaten to undermine your best intentions. So don’t give up! Make thinking and planning strategically a priority. Better to have an imperfect strategy that you can adjust as and when things change, than to have no strategy at all.

And remember, in the words of Harvard Business School’s Michael E Porter: “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”

Want to make an impact? Get your story straight

At one point in his revealing book Flat Earth News, the journalist Nick Davies quotes the head of communications for a UK government department complaining: “It’s been a hard educational process to explain to my ministers that the reason we are not getting the story across is that we haven’t got a policy.”

The problem isn’t confined to government departments. I was once hired by an organisation that was embarking on a new phase in its development and needed a strategy for communicating the changes in its focus and priorities. One of the first things I did was to interview (separately) the two most senior members of staff. I wanted to know more about where the organisation had come from and where they felt it was going.

Just one problem. The accounts they gave me were so different, I could have been working for two separate organisations! And having such divergent views at the top made it very difficult for this organisation to tell a coherent and convincing story about itself.

This situation is surprisingly common. And it’s frequently accompanied by a kind of magical thinking in which, rather than crafting a clear, compelling story before it embarks on a communications campaign, an organisation expects other people somehow to work out what its story is, and then share it with the rest of the world. When that doesn’t happen, and journalists aren’t beating a path to its door, the organisation is surprised – maybe even resentful – and blames the media and others for their lack of interest!

So what are the barriers to getting your story across? Here are four common ones:

• You’ve never thought about telling your story A surprisingly prevalent problem, this. And it often stems from certain assumptions. For example, taking it for granted that everyone already knows your story. Or, being unduly modest and assuming that your story isn’t sufficiently interesting to be worth telling. (NB If this is you, your assumptions are almost certainly incorrect!)
• The story you tell about yourself is at odds with how you’re experienced For an extreme example of this, think of what happens when you try to contact a large corporation by phone. And then look at how that same corporation presents itself on its website or in television advertising. Do the two things match up?  Enough said!
• There’s a power struggle going on within the organisation This is a tricky one, because often control of the organisation’s story is seen as part of the prize for the ‘winner’. So unless and until the power struggle is resolved, it may be impossible for the organisation to communicate effectively. Smart organisations know that everyone who works for them has a stake in their story — not just the people at the top.
• You don’t know how to go about it It can be surprisingly difficult to tell your own story. For one thing, it requires you to stand a very long way back and put yourself in the shoes of someone looking at you from the outside. It also involves identifying all the different threads that make up the story and weaving them into a compelling narrative that will attract the people you want to influence.

If any of the above strikes a chord with you, keep an eye out for my next blog post on this topic. In it I’ll be sharing some ideas about how to tell a story in a way that will make your audience sit up and listen.

Perception is reality, even when it’s wrong

“A recent IPSOS Mori survey has shown just how much public perceptions can be out of kilter with social reality, producing the memorable headline “British public wrong about nearly everything, survey shows.”  The finding didn’t surprise me very much. It’s well established that public opinion on different topics is rarely guided by intimate knowledge of the facts, and that the media and politicians work overtime to present us only with those (often dubious) statistics that support their arguments.

Anyone whose task is to communicate on behalf of an organisation or a group knows how difficult it is to shift negative perceptions or to foster positive attitudes among clients, customers or the wider world. Indeed, the public relations professionals themselves have recently been discussing how to improve perceptions of PR in general. But, as Jim Beckham observes, it is hard to get away from the pervasive image of PR as more or less successful spin doctoring – especially when this perception is constantly reinforced by TV shows and films.

But at least the PR industry is acutely aware of how it is perceived by the public. Many other organisations are blind to how they are being perceived or, at least, act as if they are unaware of such perceptions. A website or marketing brochure may give a good impression of how an organisation sees itself, but how do prospective clients or customers see it?   Organisations can easily fail to take into account the perspectives of their target audiences. (For a cautionary tale see: Are You Alienating Your Customers?)

To complicate matters further, the IPSOS Mori survey underlined again that people often have a positive perception of the local service of organisations  with which they have direct contact but a negative perception of those organisations at a national level. Thus, fifty percent of people are satisfied with their local NHS  but only thirty-three percent with the NHS nationally! Without direct experience people are more influenced by messages and information coming in from other sources: from their friends and neighbours, for example, or from the media.

Taking perceptions seriously means being willing to take a long hard look at reality – not just of who or what you are and how you operate but also at how you are perceived by others. Often the perceptions of others will be unfair, biased  or just plain wrong, but they are still realities that you will have to work with. And sometimes, the perceptions of others simply reveal different expectations. It is only through a constant process of reality-checking (through market research, surveys and — best of all — feedback and personal contact) that you can use communications to improve and help to build more positive perceptions.

How much is poor communication costing you?

I had an experience recently that made me wonder how much money businesses and organisations are losing every day because of poor communication.

It started with a phone call to a florist. I’d chosen them after seeing a piece about them in a national newspaper. Their website confirmed my impression of a well-run operation offering a quality product. The purchase I was about to make wasn’t an optional one, so I didn’t need convincing to part with my money. And I felt pretty confident when I picked up the phone that by the end of the call I’d have placed an order. In other words, I was ready and willing to buy from them.

But I didn’t.

The person who answered the phone sounded flustered and distracted. He seemed completely thrown by the questions I asked him — even though they weren’t complicated or difficult. And worse still, throughout the call he gave the impression that he had something far more important to do than speak to me. It was so bad, I brought the conversation to a swift conclusion. I knew that, no matter how great they were at arranging flowers, there was no way I could give them my business because I didn’t want to deal with people who treated a potential customer in that way.

I couldn’t help wondering if I was the only person who had taken their custom elsewhere after calling this business. My guess is, I’m not alone. And, if that’s so, does the owner of the business have any idea that poor communication by a member of their staff is losing them money?

Other people’s poor communication skills can undermine your organisation too.

A business owner I know discovered their website had gone offline. It turned out that the web developers responsible for the site had changed over their servers. And, it emerged, these developers had sent the business owner an email to this effect some weeks ago. The problem was, the content of the message was so technical only an IT expert would have understood what it meant. And, crucially, this really important piece of communication failed to do two things: i) make clear what would happen if the message wasn’t acted upon, and ii) explain what steps the client needed to take to ensure their website would continue to work.

The poor communication skills of one of their key suppliers had left this business with a major problem.

Communication is often looked upon as ‘the job’ of PR or marketing professionals, when in fact it’s fundamental to everything that happens in an organisation.

• Communication skills are core to your success no matter what field you’re in.
• You may be really good at what you do. But you may never get the chance to prove it if you can’t communicate effectively.
• How good are the communication skills of your key suppliers? Their failure to convey important information clearly could end up costing you dear.

Four (simple) tools for better communication

The philosopher Daniel Dennett has just brought out a new book, Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking. In it he explores the ways in which we can all learn to think and argue more clearly.

Reading an extract from the book, I was particularly struck by what Dennett says about how to argue effectively against someone else’s position — what he calls  the ‘target’ — and this recommendation from social psychologist Anatol Rapoport: Attempt to re-express your target’s position so clearly, vividly and fairly that your target says: “Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it that way.”

That struck me as a good piece of advice for communicators in general. So, inspired by Dennett’s example, here are four simple tools for communicating better.

1. If you’re attempting to persuade your public or audience of something, you need to be able to understand and express clearly the possible objections or opposition that may be raised. Often we are so sure of the rightness of our position or of the benefits of what we are offering that we fail to take seriously what a sceptical public might be thinking or saying — and so we end up being less than convincing.

2. Trying to think your way into someone else’s position is one way of getting to understand your audience better. Another way is to find a method of experiencing reality from their point of view. This is supposed to happen, for example, when company bosses leave their offices and spend time on the front-line of their business.  If they are open to the new reality they can see what is really being communicated to staff, clients and customers.

3. It’s not always possible to experience another’s reality at first hand. But you can go a long way to compensate for this by using your imagination. In fact, making a serious effort to imagine how your message may be received by  the particular audience for which it is intended should be second nature to all communicators. Failing to use one’s imagination often results in the messages that are irrelevant and dull — and that’s because they are addressed to no-one in particular.

4. All the above techniques have one thing in common. They presuppose a capacity for listening, whether at first hand or indirectly by analysing feedback and other forms of data. Being attentive to what your audience or public is thinking, saying and doing is at the heart of successful communication. And the best ‘listening’ is empathetic, allowing you as the communicator to feel something of other people’s emotions, hopes, fears and desires. It’s worth remembering that communications is generally more an emotional than an intellectual experience.

So why not take a look at the latest piece of communication you’re planning and ask yourself: how well have I understood the position of the audience I’m trying to reach; what experience do I have of their reality; can I imagine how they might respond to my communication; and how much did I listen to them before I started putting my message together?