eCommunications for global organisations

I just finished reading ‘Leadership In the Era of Economic Uncertainty’ by Ram Charan and I found it a very practical guide for senior executives during the downturn we are currently facing.  It provides useful advice and gives a down to earth approach and shows how being prepared, facing reality and communicating clearly with your team and suppliers your current situation and approach.   Ram Charan also does a very good job at showing what priorities need to change in this context and how it affects every key parts (and roles) of the business.  I feel that he doesn’t overplay the downturn and the ‘worst thing since the 1930s’ panic angle that journalists seem to be relishing and but he also avoids the cliché this is a great opportunity for everyone.  He is realistic when he says that most companies will face negative growth and need to prepare for keeping focus on cash and coming through what could be a prolonged situation (one to three years in his estimates).

His advice his summarized in the amazon editorial review page:

• Protect cash flow vigilantly, even daily, and use cash more efficiently
• Use ground intelligence to survive the storm and position your business to thrive in the aftermath
• Develop a better understanding of your customers
• Reevaluate your pricing strategy and capital expenditures.
• Use cost cutting strategically

All of these are explained in a clear and concise way and give concerned executives a framework in which to approach the recession and plan ahead.

Perhaps insufficient attention is paid to the opportunities that this environment creates for corporations, such as making much needed changes to the communication approach and rethinking certain aspects of the corporate structure that have been shielded from changes by the ‘good times’.  In my mind, this period is a time to challenge, rethink and review what didn’t work as well as it should.  However Ram Charan identifies the key fundamentals and I am sure senior executives will find a very useful read.

Back to wisdom to get back on track…I was very inspired by the first part of Barry Schwartz speech and was ready to write about why big organizations were not wise and why they did not know how and when to make an exception to every rule, with some juicy cases on guideline compliance. I then went through the entire video and just decided not to do so. His message is much more deep and fundamental than whatever I planed to write and there is much more value just passing the idea. Just take a 20 minutes break to hear a truth you and your company might have lost for a while.

In the past couple of weeks, my interest in blogging has been renewed by a couple of projects and client conversations we have had.  In the past we have been involved in setting blogs for a few clients and also finding ways to engage with bloggers.

The conversations we have with clients often start with the reasons why they feel a blog is a risky proposition and is fraught with potential dangers and difficulties.  Debbie Weil does quite a decent job at giving practical advice on how to approach this in her book ‘The Corporate Blogging Book’

Check out here presentation on Blogging and E-retailing

Although blogging continues to grow as a tool of corporate communication, we still find that some clients are very reluctant to test it as a marketing or simple communication tool.  The reason for this, in my view, is not because of the technology or legal consideration.  The main obstacle is a mind set.  From outside it looks strange and dangerous.  The idea of people communicating in a company with their own voice is still a major paradigm shift.  The good news is that once they start blogging they usually realize that it is enjoyable and works.  It also opens the door to changing the tone and manner in which they communicate.  So there is hope for 2009.