Beyond the headline below, there is a committee.
There is marketing with an idea. There is sales with a preferred way to tell about the product. There is the executive team with their years of tenure and the history of the organisation. There is product with a use case, and product marketing with the results of market research.
And of course, there is no customer.
Every product presentation in B2B and Saas goes like: here is our product, here is what it does, here is why it is different, do you have any questions? And the audience feels like being at a party where the host only talks about themselves.
Why not try instead: you start your day at the office with a cup of coffee, and instead of *normal situation that causes pain*, this happens. Followed by a detailed description of how the new way of working looks and feels like, from the perspective of who you are talking with.
We know how to tell a story. We just need to stop pretending that when it comes to business people do care about different things. They don’t. They are people. And at least at the beginning, you have to hook them with something that is relevant to them.
You need to be able to keep success and self-worth separated.
For two reasons.
First, because success is the outcome of many inputs, most of which out of our control. Luck, for example, plays a huge role. Others do as well, whether we recognize their contribution or not.
Secondly, because we need to be ready to maintain the same distance when success turns into failure. We are not worst human beings (or writers, fathers, marketers) merely because we are failing.
Understanding that success is not a reflection of how good we are keeps us grounded and maintains our horizon wide open. Ready to appreciate the complexity of things and continue learn from it.
Free of hubris.
When companies hire or appoint a person in charge of internal communication, what they often seek is somebody who understands Public Service Announcements.
This person ends up being a sounding board – or setting up a sounding board – for decisions that management is too lazy to communicate or does not know how to communicate. All-hands-on-deck meetings, intranets, committees, chats and channels are all manifestations of a role that slowly turns into a PR service for upper management: let’s give executives a way to share their views and opinions with everyone.
Communication is two-way, though.
And so, when is the last time your company’s all-hands has sparked an interesting discussion? When is the last time that a post shared on the intranet has led to the improvement of a process, to an idea for a new product? When has a conversation on a public channel been effective at changing the way you look at problems?
Communication is two-way. And it happens whether you are prepared for it or not.
So, if you are about to be appointed as the new internal communication manager, give this some thoughts. How can I start an actual conversation on an interesting topic? How can I make sure that ideas emerge and get discussed? How can I affect the culture, so that communication is no longer a role, but the way we do things around here?
The role is going to feel much more exciting right away.
Can you argue against your beliefs?
Can you make the effort to see the world from an opposite perspective, to scrutinize what you think is true, to approach the same problem from radically different angles?
And come back on the other side with a changed mindset?
If so, nothing will stop you.
You've got this 