Faster Innovation and the "Google-ization of Business"

The Wall Street Journal had a fascinating piece yesterday call "The New, Faster Face of Innovation". MIT scholars Michael Schrage and Erik Bryn Jolfsson have traced the implications of the faster and more iterative approach to innovation that we are seeing from companies in today's market.

We have referred to this trend in past blog posts as "the Google-ization of business". Yesterday's article does a great job of describing the trend and cites excellent examples of its implications.

We think about the implications of faster innovation specifically from the perspective of what does it means to communications in today's world; when you combine this rapid pace of innovation and change with an "architectural" view of communications which we have discussed at other places in this blog, it has vast implications. To keep things simple, following are two of the key changes.

1. While having an idea of what image you are trying to create and a hypothesis of how you will get there is more important than ever (because of the transparency of communications), today it is no longer necessary to feel that your first communications stake-in-the-ground is indelible.

2. This new iterative approach to innovation means that you can communicate more frequently and with more trial balloons to help educate the market. Ultimately, when used well, it is likely to enable reaching your communications goals both more effectively and perhaps even more efficiently.

This new flexibility is quite liberating. When communicating, you no longer have to worry about whether every point is the "perfect" point. And you can learn along the way in order to make your communications better.

Please don't misinterpret this flexibility as a recommendation to just throw material into the communications chain and pay no attention. As referenced above, we still feel it's very important to have a clear hypothesis of what you want to communicate over the long term and how you think you might get there (this is what we call the "communications architecture").

The big difference now is that you can course-correct much more easily.

At the end of the day, we believe this new world means you should communicate more than ever before.


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Leadership and the Importance of Press Releases

Who knew? The last post on "What about Leadership (Redux)" led to a fair amount of dialog. It also led me to believe that I should probably advocate an unpopular subject: the importance press releases.

In short, we believe that a well-crafted press release is a big opportunity to clearly and effectively tell a company's story. And that's true whether the news hook is mundane or earth-shattering. Along with the many other means of communications available today, press releases are part of the entire communications architecture.

This is, to some, a fairly radical view. Many "modern" communicators think that whispers, blogs, and tweets are the right way to get a story told. We believe all of these are a valuable part of the mix. But we also believe that it's critical to lay out the story clearly and simply in a few places that are broadly available. Therefore, more than ever, we think press releases are a tremendously important communications tool.

In thinking about this position, you may be interested to know that, in years past, I have been very conservative about press releases: when they were just a tool for communicating to a very limited audience, it was key to make sure you didn't flood people with paper. But today, the press release plays a different and more important role:

1. It is a tool, at the appropriate time, to tell a company's story to the appropriate audiences. It should be written clearly and without hyperbole.
2. It can have a viral benefit.
3. In this environment, many constituencies look for and read press releases (not just press and analysts) and this can be helpful to companies on many levels.
4. It can be very helpful in reinforcing leadership messaging and communications architecture.
5. There are lots of other comments -- let me know if you want to discuss them.

This odd topic arose because I have recently seen a few companies that may be squandering their opportunities to help the market understand who they are and how they fit into the world. Hence, these companies may be leaving their market leadership position unsupported and unexplained -- leaving it to chance that the market will figure it out. And, on the flip side, we have seen when we are working with companies who are leaders, the ongoing explanation about important news and nuances of their stories helps the leadership positioning emerge over time.

A few thoughts/caveats about this viewpoint.

1. A press release should always have added value. That is, it should be interesting and provocative.
2. We are not talking here about press release that have two paragraphs (one with the lead and the second with some innocuous quote.) If you are going to bother, explain enough to be meaningful.
3. The purpose of a press release today is not always just to get "ink". It should be viewed as an important part of the toolset to create leadership in the long term.
4. Of course, press releases alone are not the whole communications mix. They should be built into the plan along with thoughts about the Web site, blogs, tweets, conferences, one on one communications, etc.
5. Some press releases are tactical in their nature. That's fine. But never squander an opportunity to tell the story well.
6. Keep the bar high. Don't tell people "what the CEO had for lunch."
7. A press release should be objective and educational; the more boastful, the less believable.
8. Yes. Some recipients might be skeptical of a press release. Sometimes that means you shouldn't do it. And sometimes if means you just have to move ahead and keep the long term in mind.
9. A well-conceived press release takes a lot of work -- to understand what the news is, why it is important, and how to explain this clearly.

Remember, the goal is leadership. (Oh yeah. I already said that.)

"When all else fails, try the Truth"

I saw a wonderful film the other day called "The Audition" . It was about contestants in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. At the end of the film, when asked for the most important advice for young opera singers, one veteran star said "Say what you mean and mean what you say".

I thought it was ironic that an opera singer would provide the same coaching advice as we do in the communications realm. Our version is a little more tongue-in-cheek: "When all else fails, try the truth."

Of course, what we really mean is "start with the truth". But that's not as provocative. Either way, its an important perspective. We are in the business of managing perceptions and have always believed that the market always figures out the truth. This is ever more the case today, when all communications are "transparent" and the data is available easily.

This, of course, does not mean that you just spit stuff out. As we have said many times, start with a clear idea of your goals and messages and provide information both within this context and clearly explained.

But, at the end of the day, the truth wins out. So, start there!

"Yes" is the New "No"

Each day I watch President Obama with continued fascination. There are certainly a lot of things to find fascinating in today's world. But, as a communications professional, it is clear that all of us have a lot to learn from our new President.

There are layers of nuances in the way the President communicates. But the single biggest lesson that we can all take away is one the nearly all of us know already and just don't practice. Rule number 1 of communicating is: be inclusive; if you can keep people listening, you have a much better chance of getting your message across.

Let's look at a few recent examples:

1. The big one recently was when Tom Daschle removed himself from consideration as Health and Human Services Secretary. Instead of being defensive, President Obama quickly said "yes, I screwed up." The issue nearly became a non-story and we could move back to the big issues at hand.
2. We are also seeing this technique in the President's dealings with Iran and the Arab world. He has expressed toughness but at the same time went first to an Arab TV station and has openly said we will talk.
3. And with the Labor Unions, which will undoubtedly need to make concessions to help keep the economy progressing, Obama said "We will work with you." Rather than "get with it and lower your expectations." They will become part of the solution through this, rather than part of the resistance.

Daily we see more examples of this very astute communications approach -- it is clearly innate to the President's view of the world. It underscores that, in addition to the other rather wholesale changes happening today, we are returning to a time of candor and what I hope is a "win-win" approach to communicating.

What does this mean to technology start ups? Here are a few takeaways:

1. Start ups are often trying to do what President Obama has been trying to do: change the way people think. Communicating early and often is most effective.
2. Be inclusive in your communications; rather than negative. Try to find a way to get everyone to be a part of the transition/solution.
3. In response to criticism and challenges, acknowledge them and move forward rather than fighting against them.
4. Always remember, "Yes is the new No."

Words Matter

There's been a hullabaloo about words in the ongoing presidential race. The substance of the debate is that "words matter". I won't get into a political discussion here since that's not the point of this post. But I do want to underscore that we at Roeder-Johnson feel strongly that "words matter."

We have described in previous posts the idea of a "high concept" behind communications. That is, boiling a set of messages to its most resonant and simple context (there's been some of that in this campaign as well). Certainly words matter in that exercise. We have had numerous instances in our history when the choice of the right words to describe the essence of a company was at the heart of our communications -- and often of the company's success.

But even in some less lofty circumstances, words and their choice matter. Just this past weekend, we worked with two separate clients to craft communications that would clearly explain the significance of the companies, and why their particular news should be paid attention to (I can't tell you the details, since that would breach confidences). And last week, we did the same for another client -- as we will do for someone next week and the week after that.

The real point here is that in today's world where communications are boiled down to "sound-bites" -- in text, audio, or video -- making the point quickly and simply matters more than ever.

Vertical Integration and Communications

I had the wonderful opportunity to tour the Carver Boat factory in Pulaski, WI last week. It was fascinating for a variety of reasons. But what struck me most was that our host repeatedly went to great effort to reinforce the benefits of being vertically integrated (predictability, reliability, and quality assurance). This was such a different perspective from what we in technology companies have come to value; and it was quite provocative. As you know, the "Dell" model, outsourcing, fabless semiconductor companies, etc. are today the rule, rather than the exception, in the technology world. And if you choose to make an exception to that rule, you will raise a lot of eyebrows.

But, this very interesting and unusual perspective sparked some thinking about a conversation I had last week with a large company that is working to remake its image. It's not that this company is or is not vertically integrated; rather, I was struck with the fact that at Roeder-Johnson our view is that most companies (particularly large companies) fail to understand the tremendous importance of "vertically integrated messages".

If you have read this blog before, you probably can guess what I mean by the new term "vertically integrated messages". In short, it is a phrase that implies that messages need to be consistent throughout an organization rather than piecemeal. And that vertical integration stems from a clear understanding of the "essence" of an organization, how it manifests in each of its parts and the whole, and how this essence can be communicated in such a way that the language stands separately or together for each of the parts as well as the whole.

I know, some of you are probably saying that this is not a realistic view in today's transparent communication environment. But we disagree. Sure, today you certainly can't control every word ever mentioned about your company; but if you have a clear vision of who you are, and then proceed to manifest it throughout the company -- not just in some superficial messages -- the market will figure it out. As a matter of fact, we contend that if you really do have a clear understanding of your vision and you execute it well (including in your communications), the market will do a better job of understanding you clearly than when we just had to rely on the far more limited distribution of a few short words to get the message out.

What does this mean practically?

• From what I can tell, the Carver Boat Corporation has done a great job of this: they know who they are, implement it through their execution, instill that vision clearly through the organization in lots of ways, and then they communicate it clearly.
• The large organization I referenced must really work to understand the essence (or "high concept") that it has built through the years, manifest it in all they do, and then talk about it clearly. (By the way, I felt the company understood this.)
• If any organization tries to just posit a position that is not based in reality, the market will figure it out.

I would never have guessed that a visit to a solid, midwestern company where boats are built would so clearly underscore one of the key tenets of communications!

The Message is More than the Medium

When Marshall Mcluhan wrote the "medium is the message" nearly four decades ago, he was presaging a world he certainly couldn't imagine: one with so many media options that it can be mind-boggling. Very few of us really understand the implications of the multi-media world we live in today and what is to come.

More than most, Seth Godin is quite rare in his ability to "grok" the implications of all these media. (For those of you who are interested, Seth has always had that ability, dating as far back as being the producer of the first -- or nearly the first, I'm not sure -- Interactive Novel using computers).

It is noteworthy that Seth, with all of his nuanced understanding of this complex world in which we live, believes in the combination of clever use of media and a "remarkable" message. This is as opposed to so many people today who think that simply by using a new medium, they are doing something different. In fact, as we have said before in this blog, in a world where communications transparency is easy, knowing who you are and communicating effectively are even more important than ever before.

Therefore, I beg to differ with Mr. McLuhan: the message is more than the medium.

What does this mean for a start up? We see so many young companies that:

• Speak in mumbo-jumbo about what they do; and/or
  
• Think a better mousetrap will be sufficient to win the ballgame; and/or
  
• Think "hype" will replace thoughtful approaches to communications; and/or
  
• Think that just putting any old words out there is sufficient (or you might call this the "quantity vs. quality approach").
  

We believe in the current communications environment a simple prescription is appropriate for start ups:

1. Develop a clear, straightforward message that reflects who you are now and who you want to be;
2. Use multiple media. Use press releases *and* blogs *and* other media to communicate;
3. Communicate your message consistently throughout your media;
4. Neither hype nor assume a better mousetrap will do the trick. Be modest, thoughtful, educational, and a leader;
5. Take a long-term view of communicating: Very few organizations get their point across without consistent repetition;
6. Listen to the market: While remaining true to your goals, refine your messages *and* your media as you get feedback.