Blackberry outage – a great example of how not to communicate strategy
Posted on | October 12, 2011 | Comments Off
So it is now day three of the great blackberry outage, and what do we know?
I know emails come to my desktop but not to my blackberry. Then suddenly, 4-8 hours later I get a burst onto my blackberry. Not good when I am out and about.
Well if you go to the RIM website you are greeted by offers to select a smart phone. Perhaps their news and media area is better. No. The latest news is that “Taiwan Mobile and RIM Launch BlackBerry 7 Smartphones in Taiwan”. I was amused to be asked to fill in a pop up asking for feedback as I left. Well that would be a bit pointless. Ok, blackberry.com? Nice advert, but no messages. Support, contact us and blackberry help and little use. No information there. I tried my service provider O2 and their dedicated blackberry website. Again no messages, and nothing on the support page. Come on O2, you have a role in this as well. Putting a link at the top of the page to the latest iphone release is not the answer.
Where am I getting my updates from? BBC, Forums, ZDnet, and other people who are monitoring teh network. But not from Blackberry.
Update: Day four RIM founder, Mike Lazaridis, eventually posts a video on youtube apologising and explaining that they did not know when the problems would entirely be resolved. http://youtu.be/zQ1esvGae_s
But what were we expecting by day 3? What do I know. A Core switch has broken. So, lets get this right, blackberry are blaming some technology, when in reality several mistakes have been made: It was not tested properly by someone, fall-over and contingency was not tested properly by someone, the new switch is not yet installed by someone.
The thing is we can blame technology, computers and things, but in the end we need a face. Actually at the start we need a face. Someone who says, “We have screwed up and we have our best people on it”. Even a video saying sorry and here is the latest status.
Because strategy communication is about people talking to people. This is as true in a crisis as it is in any other time. My Professional Speaking Association colleague Alan Stevens will tell you that you need to get in front on the camera and talk to people. I want to know you are dealing with it, from you: not from a third party.
So what should they have done?
1) Talk to users directly, through their website, twitter, linkedin, even via an email
2) tell us what is actually happening. Most of Tuesday it was simply a Monday issue. Now we are on Wednesday.
3) Roll out the pre-prepared contingency plan and communication plan
4) Be honest, with a Human face. If the internet age and the cluetrain manifesto has taught us anything, it is to be human and have a conversation.
It is true that in times of crisis, communication with the outside world is often the last thing you want simply because you are focussed on fixing the issue. But someone should have a role of being that outside face, whilst others fix the issue. Even if you do not know yet, tell us when you might know. We want confidence that things are happening, not uncertainty that leads to rumour. The iphone and andriod people are wringing their hand with glee. If RIM, as several commentators say, are losing market share and failing to protect it well, as well as having internal shareholder angst, they still need to be open and talk to their millions of users.
Poor show RIM and Blackberry. By not talking to us, there is the danger we shall no longer talk to you.
Why mission, vision and strategy statements are often too vague…
Posted on | September 28, 2011 | Comments Off
…and what we can do about it.
How do we make sure that our mission, vision and strategy are understood? Are sticky, and stay in peoples’ minds?
In the book, Made to stick, by Chip and Dan Heath, there is a lovely example of how to create stories that are concrete for people.
The problem they highlight is that much language is abstract, ad I would add, especially in management. Of course, ironically, management is also quite an abstract word. For instance if you are told to manage better, you have almost no idea what specifically is meant? What specific new behaviour is the person looking for? You don’t have a chance. Expressions such as “world class customer service”, “being number one in the industry” and “Engaging the customer” are all just as abstract.
Chip and Dan Heath, use a great example. They ask the reader to first spend 2 minutes writing down as many things that are white as they can. Try it.
Then they ask you to do a second exercise. They ask you to write down as many thing as you can that are white, within your refrigerator.
They point out that many people find the second task easier, even though the fridge is not the most common place for white things. This is because the task is more concrete, and being concrete mobilises the brain. I suspect that if you were successful with the first task you hones in on something to start with and worked from there. You made it concrete before you started listing things.
You can do the same with your mission or vision or strategy by created what they call a “shared turf”, what I would call “common ground” or simply making things concrete. I see this a lot with customers as examples. What you do is to tell the story of the mission vision or strategy with reference to something, or someone that is easy to relate to. One car hire company chief executive told his call centre staff to imagine it was their grandmother on the end of the phone (It was appropriate in their context and industry). A Chief Executive I interviewed last week used an individual’s customers’ journey to engaging them to tease out what a new approach meant for the organisation and how it needed to respond. In another case the example of a project with a particular organisation was used as the concrete example of how the big management consultancy was to change the way it thought about engagements. In every example the wider mission, vision and strategy is being explained through concrete examples. Concrete examples that are easy to relate to.
One of the points of this approach is to give people a tangible experience of what “good” or “Management” feels like. If you start to treat customers on the end of the phone “Like your grandmother” you start to build up experiences and a common experience of what that means. People can relate to that. Starting with Excellent customer service gives people no concrete reference point nor any shared experience. It can mean too much to any one person, let alone a team or an entire organisation. So you can see how stories help this process.
What can we do about vague mission, vision and strategy statements. Immediately follow them with examples, stories and reference points that provide that concrete common ground. That way people can start to build up their understanding of that new way of working and share it amongst others. They remove the vagueness for you, once you give them the fridge from which to work.
Tags: communicating mission vision and purpose > Made to Stick (Chip and Dan Heath)
Why do many (corporate) mission or vision statements omit the obvious?
Posted on | September 23, 2011 | Comments Off
Why do many (corporate) mission or vision statements omit the obvious?
TO MAKE MONEY
or
“To create a return on the capital invested in the organisation by the owners and funders.”
Are their mission or vision statements pandering to a different audience?
Are they really what the owners investors think?
Are they some sort of manager aspiration?
It seems to me to be the elephant in the room in these discussions about mission and vision…..
Why are people, nay organisations, not honest about this!
Do you have employees, or people in your business
Posted on | August 3, 2011 | Comments Off
Whilst researching my next book, I was discussing with a Chief Executive how he communicated the culture his organisation.
He explained that they published the revenue, margin and profit from every deal on the wall. Everyone knew what the overheads were so that they knew how many deals covered their expenses for the month. Everyone could see the cash position so they knew the the implications of giving any credit terms to a major customer. Every month they all say down and discussed the organisation’s finances and cash position.
In essence, he deliberately created financial literacy and awareness in the business. He made everyone aware and so responsible for the finances.
This is not the first example of owners exposing the organisation’s finances to their staff, that I have come across in my interviews.
Contrast this with most organisations: You join the company and the finances are never mentioned. You probably do not even know the costs of the department you are in, let alone the margin or contribution. You might get an annual profit figure or turnover figure. Unless you are in sales, you are probably not looking at turnover (and in some cases not looking at margin or contribution).
It is as if it is all a secret.
What is going on here?
In these businesses, you are being treated as an employee. In this Chief Executive’s Business, you are being treated as a part of the business, a member of the business, responsible for the business.
This is a dramatic mind shift in how you treat people.
- As a manager or executive, just try the difference: “I employ people” vs “I have people in my business”
- As someone employed in a business, try “I am a part of this business” vs “I am an employee”
Notice the difference.
What would happen if we asked people to behave as if it were their business? What would happen if we exposed the finances to people and explained what things costed and where the costs went.
What would happen of the public sector thought of themselves as “in the business of public sector service provision”? Would it change the way the cuts are explained? Would it change how people felt about the cuts that are being made at the moment?
And why does this not happen in larger businesses? Just because you are in a large organisation, or a department that supports other departments, does that mean you should not be aware of what it costs and the value you should be providing?
How would it change how you communicate strategy, improvements and change?
Are you employing employees, or bringing people into your business to be a part of your business? I will let you decide.
(You can find out more about my research here)
Tags: communication skills > engaging employees > engaging staff
Communicating your strategy more effectively, Part 6: Key messages
Posted on | July 15, 2011 | Comments Off
What have we been discussing?
Communication of strategy is not just about talking. Its about people being different. Having different needs. Thinking in different ways and having different views of the world. You can hear it in their language, see it in their behaviour, and sense it in their actions, emotions and persona.
Its about how people rationalise things: You all know a “But”er. No matter what you say, they will say “Ah, but…” and discuss the exception. They intrinsically agree with all the positive things, but never say so. They go straight to the exceptions and differences. They are a real frustration to the “matchers” who look for similarity in things – “Isn’t this just like the old strategy”. You know the conversations. But to a “But”er, the conversation is tedious, “We all agree on that – let’s sort out the issues and exceptions”.
Some people are toward people and look to the future – “Won’t it be great when as achieve this”. They really frustrate and get frustrated by the away from people who say “Yes but how will we get out of this/stop doing this/ win more customers”.
Some people are “big chunk” and take the helicopter view, whilst others are “small chunk” and drive into the detail. “I can really see how this will change the way we do business”. “Yes, but what about the way they work in customer service”
It’s the same with strategy. The executive team have spent a good amount of time gathering facts, developing hypotheses, thinking things through and done all these things amongst themselves. It’s too easy to try and short cut the approach for the rest of the organisation – Fanfare… Here it is and this is where we are going now.
It is much more about planning how the message will be communicated. Not just to who, but how, in a way that will touch their emotional senses, the way people think and the way they work.
Conclusion
Communicating strategy is about communicating:
• The where?
• The why?
• The how?
It is about communicating them in a variety of different ways that touches the many different ways that people think and behave in your organisation.
It is about communicating the messages and the actions: Where to focus attention and how high to jump.
It is about giving everyone a sense of purpose so they can think “How can I contribute to the strategy?”
Most importantly it is a continuous process. Strategy formulation does not stop with the business plans. You need to sense what is going on, inside and outside the organisation and react to those signals. To listen to the feedback, learn and change the message or do something different if it is not working.
So strategy communication is just like any other effective communication. It’s a two-way process that requires rapport, listening skills and the ability to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.
Tags: Planning communication
Communicating your strategy more effectively, Part 5: Communicating through your actions
Posted on | July 12, 2011 | Comments Off
Communication through actions
So you have told the story of the strategy, but do you back it up with actions. Do your actions also communicate the strategy?
Take three examples:
1) I want to encourage excellent customer service. I measure the time with a customer and set targets to minimise it so you speak to as many as possible.
What message am I giving? Correct. Move on as fast as possible and forget service.
2) I want to invest in supply chain efficiency. However we have an expensive project that supports none of the critical processes of the strategy. It’s a pet project of single Director.
What message does this give? Is this strategy being communicated effectively? I doubt it.
3) I want to recruit someone for a critical innovation project and have the ideal person through an unusual route. The personnel systems mean I have to advertise it on the open market. By the time I do that the person will be lost.
What message does that give about innovation? Is the organisation encouraging innovation?
4) Do the individuals understand:
• What can I influence?
• What can I contribute?
• Where can I help others?
• Where will I have an effect?
Note difference between “what can I do?” and “What can I contribute?” The former says “Do this and we will succeed”. The latter says, “This is where I want us to go. I trust you to find a way to help as best you can”. They create quite different messages to the organisation.
So the how is not only about the steps on the way. It is about the levers to pull and understanding what will drive success. It is about identifying and communicating them.
It is also about the way the organisation thinks and works. Communication can be about ripping out old measures and procedures. Getting rid of practices and symbols from the old school communicates as much of a message as talking about the future. Their removal will as much be a communication of the strategic intent as all the presentations, workshops and events – and far, far, cheaper.
Tags: Communicating through your actions > how managers behave
Communicating your strategy effectively, Part 4: Communicating the journey
Posted on | July 11, 2011 | Comments Off
Communicating the “how?” Communicating the journey.
We know where we want to go, quite clearly and tangibly. We know why we want to go there. But how do we get there? How do we make the journey? How do we communicate we mean business with this strategy?
To explain the journey, the most effective way I have found is based around a cause and effect model based upon the simplified version shown below.
This is the framework to ensure the whole organisation communicate the same message. It allows you to add measures, targets, incentives, procedures and investments around it. It is based upon the Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map (See ‘Strategy Mapping for Learning Organisations’, Phil Jones, Gower Publishing)
If we learn good customer Service skills…
we can improve the service in our shops…
it will be recognised and appreciated by our customers…
which will create higher sales and retention…
which will improve the performance of the company.
The “how” is frequently expressed as financial targets along the way: “We shall double revenue whilst increasing profits by 25%”.
This is not a how. I don’t know whether I have to double prices or throw fertiliser on the figures. The financial results are a result of what we do. It is important to know what the financial targets are, but they do not tell us how to get there. This approach shows how they will be achieved.
The same is true of customer targets. We can try to understand and then satisfy their needs, so they give us money in return. We do need to ensure we are clear what they want and what we deliver, but again, customers are outside our direct influence. They react to the organisations actions. So we have to ask what will satisfy these needs.
We can influence the actions we take. By being clear about what are the few critical processes and activities that will really make a difference to the strategy, management will focus the organisation. I doubt if you can succeed at strategy if there are more than 6 really, really, critical processes in an organisation. Ones that will actually make a dramatic difference to the strategies success. There may be others (20, 30 40 others) that are important to the operation of the business, but do they all need to be really excellent? I doubt it. Can you realistically focus on all of them?
Success is about focus and it is management’s task to communicate what to focus on. For the major retailer with thousands of shops, it was reduced to down to five: Five critical processes that management had to focus on and the organisation excel at. Just imagine how powerful a message that gave to the organisation.
But these critical processes will not succeed unless we also build the capabilities of the organisation. What skills, technology, culture, and knowledge do we absolutely have to excel at to be successful? You can bet that 3M have excellent R&D practices, Wal-Mart focus on their ability to negotiate costs and lower their supply chain costs, Walt Disney on developing customer service skills.
If you can communicate a clear picture and message: To show how capability drives success in the key processes so that they affect the customers positively and get the financial results.
You are communicating the how: The story of the strategy. Quite often it can be read as such. Tools such as the Balanced Scorecard’s Strategy Map are very effective at doing this.
Communicating your strategy effectively: Part 3 – communicating the “why”
Posted on | July 7, 2011 | Comments Off
Communicating the “why?”
It is vital you communicate the “why” of your strategy, otherwise your people will not engage with either your strategy or your message.
There are two “Why”s to communicate: The “Sense of purpose?” and the “Why change?”.
The first “Why” is about what is important to people. Rather than a mission statement, if people have a sense of purpose and understand why something is important they will act upon it. If an organisation has a well-defined sense of itself, then this can and will drive the direction it takes. Think of this as ideology: Its core values and sense of purpose.
Creating a reason for being, beyond the generation of money, that the organisation aspires to, provides a rallying call to the organisation. Take three well-known examples:
• “To solve unsolved problems innovatively”, 3M
• “To give ordinary people the chance to buy the same things as rich people”, Wal-Mart
• “To make people happy”, Walt Disney
In each case, as an outsider you can understand what these are about. You appreciate what it means. Just think how much more of a driver for action these are on the inside. In each company you can use these phrases to ask, “Will this decision…make people happy, solve unsolved problems… etc”. It acts as a steadying and motivating force, for individuals and groups.
So by establishing and communicating why the company exists you communicate the higher purpose.
The second “why” is often about change. What happens if we stay as we are? What will the forces of markets, technology, economy, and competition do to us. Many people will have emotional investment in the organisation as it is. They need to understand why they need to invest emotion in the company of the future.
I am not an advocate of the “Boil the ocean”, “Create a burning platform” school of change. But I do believe that people appreciate the facts; just as the management team assessed the facts when the strategy was devised.
People are able to judge for themselves the serious of a situation, the effects and likely consequences. People are intelligent, and informed intelligent people make good decisions. Whether than involves staying with the company through the change or moving on is a question for them.
However if the reason for the change is hidden or brushed over in the rush to execute, what are they likely to think?
Communicating your strategy effectively Part 2: Reasons for failure
Posted on | July 5, 2011 | Comments Off
Reasons for failure?
I came across some frightening statistics once. They were:
• 90% of all organisations fail to execute their strategy.
That’s right. Despite all the brain power, consultancy fees and paper that goes into the development of the strategy and the business plans, 9 out of 10 fail to achieve all of what they set out to achieve. Some achieve parts, some fail completely, but only a very few achieve all.
• Only 5% of workforces understand the strategy
Only 1 person in 20 can explain what the strategy is, why it exists and their part in it. That is scary. Even if that figure is out by a factor of 5, it is still a scary number! Even only half an organisation knows what it is trying to achieve it is still extremely worrying.
• Only 25% of managers have incentives linked to strategy.
Frankly my experience is that I am surprised it is as high as that. Many have them linked to performance but this can be local performance, something as remote to most people as profits, or as nebulous and variable as the share price.
• 60% of organisations do not link budgets to strategy.
In other words, a major governing control system for the vast majority of managers is not tied to what the organisation is trying to achieve. This is just the budgeting system. What about all the other systems that prevent strategy being executed? Ever just had a new strategy announced, tried to purchase a simple part you need to execute it and found that purchasing won’t let you? What about HR recruitment & IT development? We are going this way, but with your hands tied behind your back, is not a convincing message.
• 85% of Executive teams spend less that 1 hour per month discussing strategy
So what are they doing? Gathering data, discussing results and applying corrective actions probably. This is, arguably, tactical fine-tuning. Are they considering whether the overall strategy is working? Are they asking, “Did we get this right”?
Are they thinking, “Should we modify this approach in the light of the new information we have?” And if they are not communicating and discussing the strategy amongst themselves, then are they discussing it with their staff? If not, who is?
So it is clear we have to communicate strategy in a variety of ways. But what do we communicate – and how?
In part 3 we will discuss communicating the “Where” of strategy
Communicating your strategy effectively Part 1: What is strategy?
Posted on | July 3, 2011 | Comments Off
In this series of articles we look at where strategy has been communicated well, and badly, examine why some succeed and others do not. Don’t expect a description of big conferences and management “tablets of stone” speeches. This is about communicating the underlying messages of the strategy. This is about communication with people.
We start off with by defining strategy and look behind some statistics about why strategy fails to execute: Is it understood? Are incentives aligned? Do the management processes support it? Do management spend enough time on it? All a part of communication.
We then discuss how different parts of the strategy can be communicated effectively:
• Where do you what to go?
• Why go there?
• How do we get there?
As we do this we look at the variety of ways in which different people think and bring that together to suggest that a key is to communicate the strategy in many different ways. By doing this it touches different people in different.
What is strategy? “Strategy” is a dangerously over-used word. I would argue it is such an over-used word its use actually limits communication. For instance:
“You can strategically add strategy to any strategic sentence,
to give it any strategic meaning,
you strategically want it to strategically have!”
So what is strategy? It’s the broad game plan. It’s the battles you will choose to fight, the ground you will choose to fight upon and the weapons you choose to use. In business, it is the search for sustainable financial rewards from business activity.
Most importantly it is about execution. It is about what your people do, every day of their working lives. Strategy does not just happen in executive heads. It may be conceived there – it may not. However, it is executed every time a decision is made, a customer is met, a member of staff meets a colleague.
Strategy rarely fails in the conception (though obviously if you do not have one, it will not succeed). When strategy fails, it is in the execution.
And at the heart of the execution is …communication.
The embodiment of strategy is not a business plan on a shelf. It is peoples’ collective understanding of what they are trying to achieve, what they have to do, and why they are trying to do it. They only achieve this if the strategy has been communicated effectively. Fail and you have an octopus with its tentacles going off in different directions (and a very confused head). Succeed and you have a sleek school of porpoise flowing through the water.
In Part 2 we will look at the reasons for strategy failing and the role communication plays.
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