We’re not all the same – and that’s a good thing!

We’re at another point in our country when we’re having to confront the reality that we DON’T live in a world – or a country – where ALL MEN AND WOMEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

We are not the same – race, religion, beliefs, cultures – but these are the things that should make us great and enrich our lives! Broadening our perspective and appreciating our differences makes us all better human beings.

The marketplace of ideas is valuable for the development of perspective, understanding and learning. We’re all better for the impact of different cultures and opinions.

I’ve tried for a while to wrap my brain around the idea that at some point long, long ago someone looked at another person and decided they were better simply because of the color of their skin. How does a brain even register something like that? How does that germinate and grow? And moreover, how does it gain momentum and blossom into something others see and say, “yea, I believe in that too.” What a despicable ideology.

It seems like we get here all too often, but too soon it gets pushed aside in our short-attention-span news cycle and nothing substantive happens. The death of George Floyd is tragic, and it should be a clarion call for action. Enough talk.

How can we look at each other, look at our kids, look ourselves in the mirror and think this is acceptable? Would you stand for it if it was happening to you? IT IS HAPPENING TO YOU, MANKIND, it is happening to you.

We have to get past the narrow mindedness that until we personally experience something, we can’t get behind it or understand another point of view. We have two basic ways of learning: personal experience and the experience of others. We can’t afford to wait until we personally experience everything before we’re willing to open our minds. Our lives aren’t that long. And the experience of others is invaluable.

I’ve run across the quote “When you’re accustomed to privilege equality feels like oppression” several times in the recent past. There doesn’t seem to be any definitive proof of its origin, but it really encapsulates our problem. It’s not that someone wants to take your stuff (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness), they just want the same access to stuff as you have. The unfortunate thing is that for some folks, that access for others means they might not get theirs. They don’t want yours! They want the opportunity to have their own!

We like to think of the United States as the Land of Opportunity – and for many it is. But there are a great many others who either have to do more for that same opportunity, or others for whom that opportunity is just unattainable. Why would anyone think that’s acceptable?

It’s not acceptable and “whataboutism” is a dead argument here, because there is no “what about” that compares to the way the black community has been marginalized throughout the history of the world and our country.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (and women!) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It’s time to hold these truths, really hold these truths.

American Airlines only concern is the bottom line - not their customers

A couple weeks ago, I learned that my mom, who lives in Houston, had cancer and was scheduled for surgery on Friday, August 15. I immediately got online and booked a flight on @AmericanAir so I could be there a day early to visit with her and then stay for a few days after while she was recovering.

While I always prefer to fly @SouthwestAir, @AmericanAir flies into Houston’s George Bush airport which is closer to the hospital than Hobby airport where @SouthwestAir flies in to Houston.

A few days after I booked the flight, my mom called to tell me that they had moved her surgery up a day to Thursday, August 14. Because there’s risk with any surgery, I wanted to move my flight up a day so I could be there the day before her surgery. I called @AmericanAir to move the flight up one day (any time would be fine), and they told me there would be a $200 change fee (kinda understandable), plus an additional $458 for the ticket – a total of $658 additional to move it up one day!

I explained my circumstances – so they’d know it wasn’t just whimsy and me wanting to go a day earlier – and asked if they had any provision for family emergencies. The agent told me there was nothing they could do. Sounded more like there was nothing they WOULD do to me.

Needless to say I wasn’t happy with that, so I went online and found a one-way flight – STILL on @AmericanAir – for only $195.10; $462.90 less than the agent wanted! Yes, I booked it, leaving my other round-trip ticket in place for my return flight.

On Saturday morning (the day before my booked-and-paid-for return flight), I called to confirm my seat assignment and try to get boarding passes for my return flight to Nashville. They told me they had cancelled my whole ticket when I didn’t make the original flight to Houston – unbelievable, right? How about this: In order for me to get my ticket reissued, there would be a $200 change fee!

They cancelled my flight – NOT me – and now they’re charging me $200 to have it back!

I’m a small business owner in Nashville, and I’d been away for 5 days, so I really needed to get back. My mom was in excellent spirits and doing pretty well, so I felt OK coming back, knowing I’d probably have to go back again soon anyway. I paid the $200 change fee.

In total, because of @AmericanAir’s unwillingness to work with me on the front end and their cancelling my flight on the back end, I paid $400 additional for my flight – about double the original round-trip ticket I bought, and enough to book another flight to go back and see her if I fly @SouthwestAir, which I definitely will do when I go back.

Over the years whenever I’ve flown @AmericanAir, I’ve said, “This is the last time I’ll fly @AmericanAir.” From now on, I will gladly pay more to fly another airline and hope to NEVER fly @AmericanAir again!

BUYER BEWARE: Customer service @AmericanAir is horrible!

Politics, schmolitics. It's the culture, stupid.

When I read this quote from Tom Davis, former Republican member of congress, I was certain I’d write about this week’s election:

"It is time to sit down practically and say where are we going to add pieces to our coalition. There just are not enough middle-aged white guys that we can scrape together to win. There's just not enough of them."

There is so much work to do for both sides – repairing the rift, averting the now infamous “fiscal cliff,” – that it seemed like a no-brainer. Add to that Washington and Colorado passing recreational marijuana laws, and so many states passing same-sex marriage laws.

So much fodder for a good post, but it was not to be.

Alas, I got settled into my seat on a Southwest flight to Chicago and my post about the election got hijacked (bad flying humor there). It’s the beginning of the month so there’s a new Spirit magazine, and if you read my posts with any regularity you know of my affinity for Southwest in general, and Spirit in particular.

Every issue is structured the same way:

1. The first feature is a letter from CEO Gary Kelly in which he inevitably talks about how great his Employees and Customers are (their idea to capitalize those two words – nicely done), and how well their Employee-first attitude has served them over the years – 39 consecutive years of profitability!
2. Next, it’s an article highlighting an outstanding Employee that oftentimes features that person’s involvement in some philanthropic endeavor. Nothing like a pat on the back in front of millions of people, huh?
3. Then there’s an article featuring one of their great Customers. These usually feature enough information about the person that if you were inclined to contact them, you probably wouldn’t have much trouble. (These are not your boilerplate testimonials signed by “Rebecca H., Tucson, AZ.” How would you ever find that person to see if their passion was true?)
4. Blah, blah, blah. The rest of the magazine – which I really do like, but isn’t anywhere near as compelling for me as numbers 1-3.

So here’s my thing about Southwest’s approach. It’s deliberate to the point of being relentless, and that’s what it takes to be successful with anything. You can’t just expect good accounting, marketing, customer service or sales practices to evolve, you have to be deliberate and relentless in your implementation and follow up.

None of these disciplines has a “check the box and it’s done” approach to success. Each of them requires daily attention to the details.

It’s the same with culture (and internal communications); you can’t just say, “This is what I want” and expect it to happen. Developing the type of corporate culture you want requires a deliberate, concerted and relentless effort daily. Otherwise, what will develop is a kind of ad hoc, whomever-speaks-the-loudest-or-longest kind of culture – it won’t be carried through the organization with any degree of success because you’ll always be starting over.

You have to live it all day, every day. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I like Southwest founder Herb Kelleher’s quote (that’s why I use it every third sentence!) about culture:

“Culture is one of the most precious things a company has, so you must work harder on it than anything else.”

It’s important to remember that it does require effort; it doesn’t just happen.

There’s an old axiom in sales – besides Blake’s ABCs from Glengarry Glen Ross – that in order to get the sale, you must ask for the sale. The same thing holds true in other facets of business: If there’s a specific outcome desired, you must ask for it.

What kind of culture do you want? Be deliberate. Be relentless.

By the way, did you see what voters in New Hampshire did? They elected a female governor, two female congresswomen and two female senators (the first all-female congressional delegation from any state). That’s cool.

Talk about a deliberate culture change!

You don't have to swing for the fences, just keep swinging

Most of my posts have to do with corporate culture, communications, employee engagement and their relationship to workplace enjoyment and success. Go figure; I guess that’s what you’d expect from a corporate communicator. Sometimes, though, it feels like Groundhog Day.

In that movie, Bill Murray is weatherman Phil Connors. He’s sent to Punxsutawney to cover the Groundhog Day festivities, but wakes up day after day at the same time doing the same things over and over – covering the festivities, interacting with the same people and so on. After what seems like a hundred repeats of the same day with variations, he realizes that he’s getting these chances to relive the day until he gets it right.

I think maybe that’s why I keep hacking away at it – I want to keep after it until we get it right. “Keep chopping wood” as they say.

As I was watching the World Series this year, it struck me that the San Francisco Giants, like they did in 2010 when they last won the World Series, had something companies can emulate for success: Full buy-in from their employees/players on what it takes to be successful. Good pitching and defense, and making contact at the plate not only served these guys well in the post season, but it was enough to shut down one of the best hitting teams in MLB. (Detroit was third in the AL during the regular season.)

The Giants didn’t have the star power of the Yankees or the Tigers. And while Buster Posey is no slouch, having led the NL in batting average, he’s not a household name like A-Rod, Jeter, Prince or Miguel Cabrera, the Triple Crown winner this year.

But it doesn’t have to be about star power, you just have to have everyone on board with the plan. Marco Scutaro, a nice player who’s had a nice career, was the epitome of the Giants approach at the plate. Scutaro was traded to the Giants at the end of July and in 179 plate appearances he swung and missed only nine times. Nine times! In his 736 plate appearances this season, he swung and missed only 62 times. Wow!

Scutaro was easily the catalyst in the Giants 3-game surge against the Cardinals in the NLCS. Not a home run hitter, Marco-put-it-in-play-Scutaro.

It doesn’t take superstars to achieve your goals, it just takes everyone acting like a team, striving toward the same goals, watching each other’s backs, picking each other up when we fall short and not getting caught up in “what’s in it for me.”

You see, when you get that buy-in, there’s something in it for everyone. A better workplace, goal achievement, happy bosses and career opportunities are all by-products of pulling together for the good of the team.

It’s easy to lose sight of big goals sometimes because we want to have personal successes and be recognized for individual achievements, that’s human nature. But if you’re doing it right – playing as a team – people get the credit they’re due and everyone benefits.

So think about these Giants (and the 2010 team), even if you’re a Dodgers fan, and think about how you can contribute to the organization and the greater good for your teammates. You may even get your own Groundhog Day experience and find success again and again.

The Giants did.

P.S. For more on ways to incorporate Giants culture, check this out.

Culture & communication define who you are

I was in Seattle last week for Ragan’s 4^th Annual Employee Communications, PR and Social Media Summit. They always have great companies at their events – SAS, Best Buy, Disney, Microsoft, and bunch more you’ve heard of (and some you haven’t). Southwest Airlines is another frequent partner, although they were not at this one.

I flew Southwest from Nashville into Seattle – I always fly Southwest, unless there is no other option. In my opinion they’re the best, and second place isn’t even close. One of the things I enjoy when I fly is reading CEO Gary Kelly’s article in Spirit Magazine. Almost without fail he talks about the importance of Culture (they capitalize the “C” to emphasize its importance) at Southwest and how much attention they pay to their Culture throughout the company. Everyone owns it.

Herb Kelleher, the guy who founded Southwest and its original CEO, is actually the author of one of my favorite business quotes. He said, “Culture is one of the most precious things a company has, so you must work harder on it than anything else.” I agree on both counts. Without a strong culture, nobody – employees or customers – knows what you stand for or who you are. I also agree that it is hard work to maintain and protect culture. It’s up to everyone in the organization to be vigilant and make sure the standards are upheld and that the organization as a whole walks the talk.

That’s right; you have to work on it. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Is there any other facet of business that develops the way you want it to without putting forth a lot of effort? Of course there isn’t – they all require deliberate, intense effort to make sure they reflect the business you want. Corporate culture is no exception.

Each of the sessions I attended last week talked at length about “culture this” and “culture that” when they describe the necessity of developing an effective internal communications (IC) program. In fact, I’d be willing to make the case that an effective IC function IS the organization’s culture. When you have a culture of good internal communication, the company and the employees thrive.

You know what these companies (and a rapidly-growing number of smaller organizations) have in common? They all have dedicated internal communications people. It makes sense. What if you gave secondary responsibilities to other departments in the organization? Can you imagine marketing also having responsibility for accounts payable or receivable? Or accounting handling SEO and customer acquisition strategy? How about the folks in content cold calling in their spare time? Of course not. So if you believe internal communications to be an important part of your organization, it has to be a primary responsibility or it just won’t be a priority at all.

Best Buy spent over $200K on their internal social tool so that employees could communicate more freely. SAS has a dedicated Internal Communications team that includes a Senior Director, three team members on Social Media & Technology, six managing editors, an International Liaison and an Administrative Assistant. And Microsoft’s Frank X. Shaw, CVP of Corporate Communications has enough clout to speak on behalf of the company on Facebook when TechCrunch blasted them.

Corporate culture and internal communications are inextricably tied – they are who and what an organization is. They define the personality and behavior of the organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side to side. And neither one of them just happens – they both take work.

Think about it: When something goes wrong – either personal or professional – doesn’t it oftentimes come down to a “miscommunication?” So if an organization is able to create an effective, reliable IC program, doesn’t it stand to reason that it’s something they work at? Of course it does, it’s what defines them and differentiates them to their employees and customers alike.

Take Southwest for example. Doesn’t it look like the kind of company you’d like to work for? They look like they’re having a blast most of the time – really enjoying their work. The company obviously appreciates their Employees (they capitalize the “E” in employee too), emphasizes their importance and expects that the caring will be passed on to the customer – it works! It’s because of the importance they place on culture and communication.

Another presence at the Ragan conference last week was companies who, like Southwest, appear on Fortune’s 100 Best Places to Work list. And you know what they all have in common? Emphasis on corporate culture and the importance of good internal communications.

Not one of those companies said they just let it happen; they make a concerted, deliberate effort to develop and nurture the culture they want – and it takes everyone in the organization to make it happen.

Like I used to tell my ballplayers, “Play the ball before the ball plays you.” It’s the same thing with internal communications and corporate culture: set the tone before a bad tone gets set. Do your part – it takes work and it’s everyone’s responsibility to make it happen.

Very interesting/encouraging infographic about freelancing from Ed Gandia.
 

Good Internal Communications is a High Percentage Play

Merriam-Webster online defines logistics as “the handling of the details of an operation.”

UPS has a new commercial out now that I really love (of course it’s sports related), that features the Doug Flutie Hail Mary against the Miami Hurricanes back in 1984. And while that was a spectacular play, UPS’ use of it to describe and define what logistics means to them is brilliant. Strategy, teamwork, and execution … “That’s logistics. And that is what we do.” That’s a little different than Merriam-Webster.

Defining Internal Communications (IC) is a little trickier; Merriam-Webster doesn’t have an entry online and if you Google it, you get about 46,900,000 results (in 0.37 seconds no less!). Since this is my post, I thought I’d give you my definition of IC: Yes, IC is about encouraging communication – interpersonal, interdepartmental, vertical and horizontal – but it’s not just conversations, it’s about finding ways for the organization to do those things better. It’s about maximizing organizational effectiveness.

The best companies – and people too – are always looking for ways to improve: Ways to improve the bottom line/salary; ways to improve processes/methods; ways to become more efficient/ better time managers, and especially ways to reduce frustration. That last one applies equally to companies and individuals because nothing stifles productivity, creativity, innovation, and motivation like frustration.

That’s where an effective IC function can play a vital role in an organization. Internal communicators are constantly on the lookout for ways to improve the workplace and reduce frustration.

In The Enemy of Engagement: Put an End to Workplace Frustration – and Get the Most from Your Employees, Mark Royal and Tom Agnew define that enemy as frustration. To overcome that frustration, they outline the necessity of providing the tools to do the job properly and making sure good employees are put in position to make their greatest contributions.

It is through effective internal communications that organizations are able to uncover where the frustrations lie. Exposing those frustrations and finding solutions is at the heart of IC, because ultimately internal communications is about maximizing organizational effectiveness. And one of the keys to employee engagement is effective internal communications.

Accounting is busy handling receivables and payables. Marketing is busy trying to figure out the best way to find and target new customers. Sales focuses on closing that next deal. Content producers strive to present the newest and best information. Customer Service stands on the front lines making sure customer satisfaction remains high. New Product Development looks for the newest way to serve existing customers while also trying to attract new ones. And Human Resources tries to keep their heads above water with benefits, regulations, counseling, complaints, and maybe most important of all employee satisfaction.

Because all these people are busy with their “day jobs,” internal communicators can focus on the internal and external forces that stand in the way of people getting those jobs done to the best of their ability. The day job of internal communications is finding and eliminating frustrations and barriers to organizational success and improving the flow of information throughout the organization.

I was on site in Connecticut last week, and noticed two employees standing in an open, newly vacant area chatting. One was holding a bowl of cereal and the other was holding a cup of coffee. It struck me that an ideal complement to that area would be several high-top tables where people could gather and chat – it’s those drive-by meetings that are gold mines for companies. We should encourage impromptu employee gatherings where camaraderie is built and ideas are shared.

You see it’s not just about the communication itself, it’s about what we can do to make the organization communicate better. High-top tables, internal communication? Yep.

Here’s the kicker: There is no downside to striving toward a culture of effective, open communication – it truly is an everyone-wins proposition. The cost is low, the returns are high, people stay informed, collaboration increases, innovation soars and everybody wins.

And here’s another thing, and I’ve said this over and over, but the numbers don’t lie: Organizations with effective internal communications have higher employee engagement. Higher employee engagement leads to higher productivity and higher profit margins. That’s not opinion, it’s fact and there is a mountain of quantifiable research and empirical evidence to back it up.

So, since higher profitability and higher profit margins is the reason we’re here, why not make effective internal communications a priority.

However you define it, you can’t deny the effectiveness of good internal communications.