Stop teaching them to ignore you!
What’s the difference between strategic communication and noise? Strategic communication occurs when a message is sent, understood and acted on as intended. Noise is simply that, information that is sent, misunderstood and/or ignored. We all know what that looks like. That person, department or organization that constantly sends you irrelevant information that just fills up […]
Communication versus Communications
My former boss and I used to have an ongoing conversation about the name of my team and what we did. We were the Internal Communications team. I was the Senior Director, Internal Communications. He had a real problem with that. Why? Because he believed that communications referred to the tactics and vehicles …we create […]
What came first? The plan or the tactics?
Many of us, regardless of our roles, are under tremendous pressure to deliver, so our response is to ‘do’ as much as possible to create success. Never has this been more apparent than with Internal Communication. The problem? We need to communicate with our stakeholders to be successful.The solution? Start communicating as much and as […]
When success is invisible
Many will agree that sometimes it’s difficult to articulate the role that good communication, or the lack of it, played in the success or failure of a business initiative. As much as I strongly believe that communication is the glue that connects the dots between strategy and results, it can be intangible. Not many of […]
How may I ignore you today?
Internal communication assessments (or audits) reveal some interesting stats about how well a company communicates to what I believe is its most important audience, its employees. What I’m finding more and more are companies and communicators who measure success through output (the number of messages sent) versus outcome (the impact of the communication). Many tend […]
Canadian Federal Election: What does it mean to be Canadian?
Many generation Xers like me remember the endless essays on the Canadian identity written in our youth. We were trying to define ourselves and set ourselves apart from our colonial parents and our American neighbours. The Canadian Federal election, that will be decided on October 19, 2015, has us asking this question once again. Our […]
Stop treating employee engagement like a one-off program.
How do you engage employees? Do you believe a one-time event or program will help you create the performance, participation, pride and promotion you’re looking for that lead to true business success? When it comes to engagement, organizations need to focus on and invest in systems and cultures to have a real impact. That’s where […]
Many voices, one IABC
Only a few months into the IABC brand adoption, and this image makes me very happy. Since launch of the new IABC brand, it’s been wonderful to see the international organization, regions and chapters begin to put the brand guidelines into practice. There’s still work to do before our June 2016 adoption deadline, but the […]
The 4Ps integral to Employee Engagement
Philosophically, we know that engaging employees is important, but many of us don’t really know what Employee Engagement means and how to actually measure success. The definition I often used, and by which many employee engagement surveys measure, focus around if an employee STAYS with an organization; if an employee SAYS good things; and STRIVES […]
Do you work in the past, present or future?
A conversation with a colleague had me thinking of how I work and add value. I said to him that I work in the future. When a project gets started, all I see is results and potential, and I know instinctively what needs to be done to get there; but not everyone is like this. […]
The IABC Brand: A look back
On Monday, June 1, 2015, the International Association of Business Communicators will launch a new brand after a year and half of dedication by a terrific group of volunteers and with the support of creative agency, Arcas Advertising. I was honoured to lead this effort. On Monday, many will focus on a new look and […]
The importance of context
A conversation with a former supplier got me thinking about the importance of context. As communicators and executives, we often begin a communication plan with our own needs to provide information. It’s about what we have to tell them versus what they, our audience, wants and/or needs to know. Here’s what I’ve learned. The content […]