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?

BOOMER-ALITY

Does every demographic in your marketplace – public or private, external or internal – get the same amount of attention and respect?

Recent statistics caught us up:

• ·       Boomers buy two times as much online as young adults
• ·       They’ll control 70 percent of U.S. disposable income by 2017
• ·       And those over 50 years old buy nearly five times as many new cars than the coveted 18 to 34-year demographic.

Yet why do many of us dye gray hairs, fib about our age, and delete graduation dates from resumes?  And why do so many advertisers and communicators ignore us or play down to us (cf. Beatrice of the eSurance spot)?

The unwritten, unspoken answer – and one we’ve intuited before:  America’s all about the youth culture, the supposed trend-setters.  They’re the courted ones (before age 49, that is), those who will influence for years to come. 

Sheer numbers, though, count.  Which is why AARP, Intel, and Walmart teamed up to offer a ready-to-go, 24/7 customer service-centered tablet, available this month.  Which is why the discipline of knowledge management, capturing workers’ wisdom and intelligence, is one of the hottest offerings from professional services firms.  Which is why an Oprah Winfrey and a Diane von Furstenberg still draw huge crowds, young and old, on the public circuit.

We won’t belabor the point, except to ask:  Are all your communications relevant to all your audiences? 

TO THINE OWN SELF, BE QUANTIFIABLE

Athletes do it.

Kids do it.

Even some dogs do it.

The “quantified self” movement has exploded.  Between FitBits, Jawbones, and, yes, FitBarks (among others), two- and four-legged creatures keep score of sleep, activities, calories, and blood pressure through computerized jewelry.  A distant ancestor of the reliable two-plus centuries-old pedometer, digital self-tracking devices are, say retail pundits, running off the shelves.

Or are they?  One-third of wearables’ owners discard the appliances after six months (Endeavor Partners’ research).  Others cite the difficulty in persuading consumers to buy yet another tech gadget.

What’s needed, in our change-mindedness, are a mix of emotional and rational benefits to tout.  Go beyond the black rubber and plastic styles to a more design-worthy objet d’art (maybe Apple’s new SmartWatch?).  Consider tying fitness data output to discounted health insurance premiums.   Start a social media campaign featuring the best and the brightest and most famous … dogs and people.

Here’s a right-brained idea:  Forget the fitness angle altogether.  Why not develop an on-the-wrist device to track receipt of and response to different media, be it corporate communiques or Instagrams, viral videos or business podcasts?  We’re not thinking mandatory, like handcuffs, but a wearable that’s completely voluntary, motivated by a range of individual incentives – small cash awards, exclusive club merchandise, attaboy/attagirl kudos, and IDP mentions.  In turn, the kind of elusive data professionals have been seeking for decades just might be in our grasp.

Sit.  Stay.  Watch?

DEAR ABBY OR ADAM OR ANN ...

One of our colleagues, half-heartedly and with more than a little (implied) sarcasm, suggested writing an advice column on communications, marketing, and the like.

After bristling, we thought long and hard:  Well, why not?  It’s the sort of unwanted self-help tactic that usually seduces readers with its outlandish set of problems and solutions.  The guy who fought with his neighbor about pet boundaries.  The woman who just couldn’t resist the last word.  Every day, millions skim these funny Q and As online and in print; why couldn’t that be us in lights?

Then came second thoughts:  How many times, when advice was sought, was it discarded by the seeker?  How did that make us feel?  And how many times did we offer unsolicited advice … only to be spurned like a rejected suitor?

Hmm:  Enter an academic article detailing four types of advice (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes).  Two are obvious:  Either be ‘for’ or ‘against’ a decision.  Detail the processes involved in making a choice, for three.  Or four, providing information without indicating whether it’s thumbs up or down.

Information, in short, is the winner.  Why?  Because advice seekers become more confident in making decisions now and in the future.  They also feel more autonomous and self-directed.  In short, the authors admonish: Giving advice might seem glamorous, but it’s not always treasured.

As for seeking it?  Call us in the morning after you’ve read two self-help books. 

THE TYRANNY OF MESSAGING

At one point or another in our careers, we learn the importance of “messaging.”

“It’s the foundation of everything we do,” proclaim senior communicators.  “We need to ensure that we’re consistent and accurate in our statements,” insist agency brethren.  “And it’s the best way to spell out our uniqueness and differentiate us from the competition,” underscore marketers.

Sometimes the cry for re-messaging starts because of one specific event, say, an executive’s speech or a major presentation.  Other times, it’s the re-thinking of what to say about a company and its products/services, prompted by a merger, acquisition, reorg, new C-suite, and similar changes.  Or:  It’s simply time for a refresh.

Then … wordsmithing and architecting begins.  Reviewers, many of them, weigh in.  And go through many rounds until, voila!  Messaging is complete.

Not quite yet.  To us, the application of messaging often gets lost after the crafting’s done.  It’s all too easy to plonk down the messages in the middle of a blog or speech or Town Hall.   Recycle it, in other words.

But ask yourself first:  Does it ring true?  Is the leader’s quote plucked almost verbatim from the platform?   Could you imagine someone reading (or talking like) this?   Can you readily pick out key messages … simply from the exact words used and not the meaning?  How powerful, in short, is the conversation? 

One last question:  Does messaging control us – or do we control it?