A NEW FOUR-LETTER WORD

They’re everywhere.

Kindles fingered during el trips.  Dog-eared library books read on buses.  Even standing commuters, somehow, managing to peruse a page or two in before business starts.

More than occasionally, books sneak into the workplace. 

There’s a tongue-in-cheek app that disguises tomes in PowerPoint presentations on desktops, ready to close when a manager appears. 

More seriously, a number of companies today boast book clubs, voluntary associations of employees who read and review and discuss selected volumes. 

There’s even an Ohio-based Books@Work nonprofit that deliberately matches nearby college and university professors with companies that want to start, not a book club, but an employee development and idea-sharing habit.

For those of us who devour the word, digital and printed, somehow those ideas aren’t enough.  Sure, we all have to put in eight to 12 hours a day getting stuff done.  And time to squeeze in a book chapter can’t always  fit into the schedule.  At night and on weekends, there’s so much to do that reading – whether literature or business – loses.

But why not dedicate a business hour or two each week to reading?  Not just magazines and news, but literature and non-fiction that will make a difference.  Asking employees to skim and discuss a tome can begin to create the kinds of environments we thrive in, develop the types of colleagues who are curious and communicate well with others, build teams that step up to those big hairy goals we all strive for. 

It’s not too much to ask of a book, is it?

WE LIKE. THEY LIKE. YOU LIKE.

Maybe Facebook got it right.

Social media ‘likes,’ it turns out, are a pretty good predictor of who gets hired, who gets help at work, who’s trusted.  According to University of Massachusetts’ researchers, no matter how strong the business case, if auditors presented well-organized arguments, managers complied.  On networks like LinkedIn, recruiters seek individuals who seem to have a high level of trust – and authenticity.

What does this have to do with us communicators and designers and marketers?  Likeability boils down to a few personal attributes that, not surprisingly, are common to compelling communications:  Empathy, warmth, eye contact, and confidence.   Let’s see how they’re translated:

• Empathy.  Think listening.  Does your brand or your company have an ear to the ground – and actively project what others are asking and needing?
• Warmth.  It’s all about fake – and its opposite, credibility.  Genuine care and concern are easy to spot; the opposite, just as simple to pinpoint.  Take a good look at how you’re saying and doing; it might be a true indicator of external perception.
• Eye contact.  Personal appeals work, if they’re sincere.  So even if your medium is print, it’s not hard to infuse the pictures with a sense of individuality and ‘I’m talking straight to you.’
• Confidence.  Selling in an idea or initiative relies on the power of your belief, the faith you show in presentations and conversations and other media.  Infuse it with curiosity and a true concern about your audience – and bingo!  A sale.

Experts say likability can be taught, unlike charisma.  How do you (and your communications) measure up?

THE NERVE TO SAY NO

It must be the onset of a new year.  Or, simply, musings before making resolutions. 

Whatever. 

We’re ruminating on what makes us stellar communicators, designers, marketers, branding gurus.  All prompted by a recent AdAge interview with Sir John Hegarty (yes, the founder of agency Bartle, Bogle, Hegarty) who said, right in front of us, in print:  “I think what our industry has lost is courage.”

Immediately enter the Cowardly Lion, in our favorite Wizard of Oz.  He’s eminently qualified, by his species, to be courageous.  Yet somehow he seems to have lost the nerve, until, of course, he’s awarded the Medal of Courage from the Wizard.

Courageousness isn’t specified in most job qualifications we see today.  But, at times, our mettles are tested.  How willing are we to confront, to right what we consider as wrong?  Regardless of our position in the company.  And regardless of the outcomes. 

What are our triggers for being brave … illegal practices, long-standing workplace institutions, authenticity, or just plain hard decisions?    Are we being seduced by dollars and complacency?  Do we understand what it takes to face real risk, and the sacrifices we might have to make?

Yeah, you could say courage is situational.   Heavily reliant on the who, what, when, where, and why.    A client who demands a certain campaign be killed (when you know it’s still got legs).  A leader who avoids telling it straight.  Groups spending money on initiatives that won’t net enough benefits.  Metrics that, somehow, don’t add up.

And so on.  Do any of us have the nerve to say no?

UN-SPINNING ...

Resolutions and a new year go hand in hand.

We’re bucking that trend in 2015. 

Instead, we’re more determined than ever to adopt a realistic state of mind.  Not optimistic.  But not pessimistic either.

Why the change?  Reading  umpteen surveys that show pessimists are likely to live longer, healthier lives than those wearing rose-colored glasses.  And then encountering caveats from research psychologists who note that every response is situational.  Their points:  Getting on the defensive, for example, helps lower expectations and anticipate what could go wrong.  [ Which many of us do for a living.]  On the other hand, those with positive outlooks might find a job more easily.

Our point of view? 

A balance between two extremes, sometimes difficult to maintain, is optimal.  In fact, many businesses could profit by learning that being realistic is the way to go.  Shareholders, employees, and other significant audiences aren’t necessarily fooled by cheery prognostications and smiley-faced quotes.  “Spin” doesn’t work in our transparent world.  Everyone is seeking the mean, an authentic picture of current events and a realistic perspective of what this all means in the future.

No less a promoter of positive psychology than the University of Pennsylvania’s Martin Seligman is, amazingly, modifying his own “gotta be upbeat” views.  To flourish, he says in Flourish, demands four attributes:  a positive emotion, engagement with what one is doing, a sense of accomplishment, and good relationships.  All of which result in a life of well-being. 

How are you un-spinning?