Pulling Weeds

Pulling weeds is my not favorite activity. But it is far from being on the low end of the totem poll of chores on my to-do list during the spring and summer seasons. Even though it does have its own set of challenges, pulling weeds can be quite calming, even relaxing. The task itself is pretty straightforward. You spot a weed and then yank it out of the ground. The real challenge comes in being able to separate the weeds from flowers and other garden varieties around which they sprout. Once you can do that, then pulling weeds is as tension-free and as direct as shutting off a television, closing a drawer or answering a telephone.

The field of communication has weeds, too. They come in several primary forms: blowhards, smooth talkers and liars. On the surface, one would think each is easy to spot. But the truth is that is not often the case. Take blowhards. They talk tough. They talk loud. They tend to dominate most any dialog or conversation. Because of their shamelessness and bravado, these men and women even generate followers who assume the high wind behind the blowhard must mean he or she knows what they are talking about. Smooth talkers are trickier simply because they are articulate and seem so sincere. They are also polite. People like that. Finally, liars can be equally tricky, particularly when they weave facts into their fiction. Good liars do this really well, thus often making it difficult to see them for what they really are.

The best way to recognize these weeds is to focus on the content of what they are saying. Does what they are saying ring true? Does it make sense? Is what they are saying more about putting others down, then anything else? Do not allow yourself to be distracted by their communication style or give their style greater weight than what it is they are actually saying. The hope of these weeds is that is exactly what you will do. Once they have you focusing on their style, then it becomes easier for them to incorporate half and non-truths into their messages. You are just as smart as they are. And if they are talking about something that you don't quite know all that much about, then either tap into other sources, do some homework or both. Expanding your own knowledge base is the best defense against communication weeds. The good news is once you become good at identifying these kind of weeds, then they are just as easy to dispatch than the ones that grown in our gardens and yards.

Personality and Communication

How much of a part does personality play when it comes to communication? If someone has an outgoing, bubbly, engaging personality, for instance, are they better able to connect with others and establish two-way exchanges than those who are introverted or have a more insular persona? I would say the odds are very much in favor of the person who is more out-going than the one who is not. Even if the exact messages are the same, all of us are more inclined to pay closer attention to the person who is more engaging than the one who is not. But before I totally sign off on this question, some caution needs to be inserted here: in my view personality only goes so far. It may help one get their foot in the door, so-to-speak, but it does not guarantee they are going to be invited to pull up a chair and stay.

This is where we come to my basketball analogy. I am six feet tall. If I am matched against a person who is five inches shorter than me for a a game of one-on-one, then the betting odds would make me the heavy favorite. But height is only aspect of basketball. There are others that are equally important: speed, shooting accuracy, quickness and ball-handling ability. If I am not particularly adept at any of those and my shorter opponent is, then my height advantage may not mean all that much. The same holds true for personality and communication. Having a so called personality advantage takes one only so far and can easily be overshadowed by other qualities: sincerity, articulateness, command of information and ability to listen.

At first, the tallest person on the basketball court may dominate the crowd's attention just as a gregarious person may be the focus of their audience. But one should never be under the illusion these traits are all that it takes to be either a star player or successful communicator. Neither basketball nor communication is that easy. In communication, it all begins with the quality of the message. If that is fluff, misleading or inartfully presented, then no degree of outgoing personality will reverse it to the sustained satisfaction of a public. Because communication occurs on ever-shifting ground, as many ingredients to make it work as possible are needed. An outgoing personality can be one of them. But for those who may not be outgoing by nature, then take heart: there are lots of other variable in the communication mix that, collectively, contribute a whole lot more.

Strategies and Values

If I am feeling stressed at work because I am having some type of crisis and want to go home to relax, would it be all right if I decided to run every red light between my office and home? After all, doing that would enable me to get home that much faster. Any one answering "no" to that question does so because they know driving through red lights is dangerous and against the law. Driving laws are one of the values of our society. Enforcing that law is a strategy designed to keep people safe and ensure a smoother running society. In dealing with my crisis of wanting to get home more quickly, one of the sources to which I turn to help me make a reasonable decision on how best to handle my own situation is society's law or values. In this scenario, society's values serve as a guide

In this example, values influence strategies. In fact, they drive them. The same should be true for organizations facing unexpected situations that threaten their reputations or demand immediate responses. In making decisions on what crisis communication plans to devise and, ultimately, implement, there is no better source of information or guidance than an organization's own values and overriding strategic goals. These values and goals are reflected in their strategic communication plans. Ideally, they should serve as a guiding light that helps organizational members determine how best to handle a crisis.

Research on this topic indicates that currently organizations rarely draw from their strategic communication plans when dealing or handling a crisis or carrying out their crisis communication plans. This is unfortunate. A strong strategic communication plan can be an important resource for crisis planners. Connecting the two helps provide the implementers with direction and better enables them to support the goals, mission and values of the organization to which they belong. While strategies may not always specifically mention values, values can and should be part of the strategic communication mix.

Chasing Cars

We all know this old joke. It has to do with dogs that chase cars. They chase and chase and chase, while not knowing what they would do with the car if they ever caught it. We people do the same thing. In some instances, we marry without giving much thought as to what the full ramifications of making such a commitment to another person entails. In other instances, we have children without properly appreciating the challenges and sacrifices that raising a child means. One example I observed recently pertained to an office set on staff expansion without first giving thought if it was prepared to take on additional workers and adequately meet the needs that new employees bring with them.

Staff expansion is about people. Yes, it is about work load, too. Offices hire additional staff to help handle increasing demand for product and service. New employees enter into their new positions and begin striving to meet the responsibilities they were hired to fill. But there is also what I call a human element involved when new employees are hired. These individuals are strangers when they first enter into a new office environment. They are much like the new kid in class. No matter their level of experience or professional sophistication, they are a bit lost and uncertain. And perhaps they are feeling somewhat vulnerable as well. They need support, guidance and attention to help them get through their beginning days. Unfortunately, not all companies or supervisors are sensitive to this.

When a supervisor takes on a new employee, then they have just entered into a new relationship. With a new employee on board, the supervisor gives up part of his or her work day. Sure, this can be a bother, particularly if they have things to do that were assigned to them by their boss. This is one of the key challenges of being a supervisor: juggling what you have to do with being available to direct, assist and/or oversee what you have assigned to others. New employees are people first and workers second. Supervisors are wise to remember that. It makes for better communication and better employer-employee relations.

Continuity

As I have gotten older one thing I have come to appreciate in so many aspects of my day to day activities is continuity. I like it when one thing flows to the next in a fairly smooth, logical manner. It could be in the form of a well written article characterized by the seamless transition of ideas from one paragraph to the next. It could be in the form of a comprehensive communication plan in which the tactics utilized complement each other as they advance a client or organization toward a specific goal or result. On a much broader scale, it could be in the form of life itself when one generation follows another. Ideally, the evolution within these and other examples represents ongoing improvement as opposed to negative decline. In the literal sense, a downward slide may represent continuity, but it is not the kind any one wants.

Without question, the kind of positive continuity we desire is not easy to come by. It requires focus, thought, consistency and vision. Successful communication efforts are not the result of wild ad libs. They are drawn from either previous strategies that were successful or largely from variations of those same successful strategies. A case-in-point can be seen in the way many of us commute to work. Often we take the same roads each day. But if one day we are hit with an unexpected traffic tie-up, then we incorporate a variation of that normal route. The result is not only a successful journey but positive expansion of a previously-identified successful strategy. This is a form of continuity in that we are building on what has come or been done before us.

One of the challenges our country currently faces stems from an innate lack of continuity. Driven by its own vision, the Clinton administration, for example, had a number of economic policies that it incorporated. When the Bush administration took over, it had its own vision of economics. It quickly replaced the vision of the previous administration with its own, thus dramatically altering the economic direction of our country. In 2009, the Obama administration took over and, with it, began implementing its own vision of what the country's economics policy should be. The result was a series of dramatic changes with little attempt to build on the strategies of the past. Instead of continuity, we had - and still seem to be experiencing - a lurching from one vision to another. In the long run, it makes for questionable economic policy and it certainly makes efforts to communicate it all the more difficult.

The "How" of Communication

Why do some people have trouble accepting facts? Why do some folks refuse to believe or accept information that has been documented, validated and corroborated? Is it a simple communication problem or are there deeper reasons behind their unwillingness to let go of their own inaccurate versions of the truth? The current controversy surrounding President Obama's place of birth is a case in point. Despite the fact his birth certificate has, in fact, been produced and displayed on television and put out on the Internet for all to see and that authorities have confirmed that he was born in Hawaii, none of this is good enough for some. Why not? Why do some people still cling to the notion he is not an American citizen? A second example is climate change. There is overwhelming scientific consensus that it is real and that mankind has been and continues to be a key factor in its existence and escalation. Nevertheless, there are those who refuse to acknowledge this truism. Why not?

Whether it is where President Obama was born, the issue of climate change or any number of other issues (those who believe the 1969 Moon landing was faked are among my personal favorite), some people refuse to believe or accept the truth no matter no matter how insane, silly, indefensible or inaccurate 's their perspective. I remain baffled by their steadfast allegiance to gross untruths. It points to the reality that sometimes the truth, no matter how well packaged or straight forward, is sometimes not enough. Some people need more than that to rethink their perspective on certain issues because, depending upon the specific issue, there are those who feel down right hostile toward what is that contradicts their interpretation of reality.

To me, this emphasizes the complexity of communication. Being an effective communicator goes beyond facts. It also speaks to the manner in which people process information and ways in which they are most receptive to it. Information, for many, is a personal thing. No one likes to be made to feel as if they are ignorant, particularly if they have been spouting information that runs counter to the truth. Thus, in the communication process, the "how" of it is often as vital as the "what." Having said that, it must also be pointed out that there are those - a relatively few - who really do insist up is down and down is up and nothing can be said or done to change their mind. These people have their own agenda. The communicator might not be able to completely wrestle them from their perspective, but, with effort, can get them to acknowledge the possibility of their being mistaken.

Playing Matchmaker

Many yeas ago George Bernard Shaw penned one of his most famous stories, "The Matchmaker." It is the tale of a woman who brings men and women together for the purpose of matrimony. That plot should sound familiar as it was the basis for the popular Broadway and Hollywood musical, "Hello Dolly!" With that in mind, I wish to do my own brand of matchmaking. Up till now, the two I have in mind been more colleagues than anything. They are both part of most any organization's communication effort but have never been brought to the same table at the same time to explore how they could or should work together. That needs to change.

I am talking about crisis and strategic communication. Upon first glance, one would be forgiven for assuming the two have already been collaborators for a long time now. After all, they have so much in common: they are strategic in nature; they contain elements of measurement; they usually are geared to speak to specific publics; and they are designed to enhance the reputation or image of their organization. With all that going for them, how could such a match go wrong? More to the point, why haven't those two already been introduced to each other? For something that seems such a natural fit, matching the two is nothing less than a no-brainer. Yey, extensive research shows that it has never been done.

My guess is this is because the two types of communication plans have always been looked upon as having different purposes. The crisis communication plan is utilized when a high risk/high reward situation appears. Because these situations happen infrequently, the reasoning goes, under normal circumstances there is no need for a crisis plan to be put into play. While that may be true, what is also the case is the fact if a crisis is mishandled and miscommunicated, then an organization could be forced to adjust or alter strategies it has to stay in business and maintain positive connections with its various publics. As a result, it makes sense for the organization's leaders to include the same kind of talking points in its crisis communication plan as one would find in its broader, more encompassing strategic communication plans. For starters, the two should share the same talking points. Such a linkage could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Tortoise and the Truth

Ever since Al Gore's popular movie "An Inconvenient Truth"was released, that particular title has been used a lot by many writers regarding a wide range of issues. Now, I suppose, it is my turn. To me, the most inconvenient truth is truth itself. In this age of branding, messaging, marketing campaigns and spin, no matter how fancy, catchy, attention-grabbing, powerful or even persuasive a statement or slogan might be, if it is false or misleading, then it is only a matter of time before that becomes known. Truth eventually, ultimately and inevitably floats to the surface. Almost like a force of nature, truth comes out. Granted, the length of time on any given issue this takes to happen may vary, but eventually truth reveals itself to the delight of some, chagrin of others, and enlightenment of all.

Truth has no loyalties other than to itself. People who tell the truth are mere agents of it rather than leaders or directors of it. Those who abuse or ignore it are enemies. These people never win. No matter what advantage not telling the truth brings them, at some point either they themselves suffer the consequences of their deceit or their reputations are compromised. Either way, they lose. Agents of truth win in the sense their reputations remain intact even if, for example, their strategies are not successful. But at they are honest and, in the long run, it is that which separates those that are respected from those who are not, those who contribute to the greater good from those who do harm.

The best communicators are the ones that seek to contribute. Truth, accuracy and fairness are their primary weapons. If truth were a character in the famous race between the hare and the tortoise, then truth would be the tortoise. It wins in the long run without fanfare, flash or bravado. In that race, the hare was dishonest because he was more interested in showing off than in being true to the race itself. He used the race as a means to promote himself. Consequently, he not only lost the race but his reputation as well. The great tragedy in that tale is that, given the hare's great abilities, he would have been a great teller of truth. Thus, to all current and prospective tellers of truth, be like the tortoise and not worry so much about headlines. Instead, focus on the honesty of your message. That will generate results of the best kind.

Dealing With Frustration

The other day I saw a video of an office worker who become so frustrated with his computer that he literally picked it up threw it into a nearby trash can. Is there anyone among us who spends any degree of time at their computer who has not been tempted to do the same thing? I know I sure have. In fact, a little earlier today I was tempted to do that very thing. There's no doubt, computers can be among our biggest allies and, in the same day, among our biggest sources of frustration. Computers, of course, are not alone in this dual-personality role they seem to play in our lives. There are many other entities that give us great joy one day and great heartache the next.

One of these so-called entities are people. Ironically, often times it is people we love, respect and even genuinely like. They let us down. They say or do something we don't like. They annoy us. The list of reasons why they go from friend to foe in our minds are too many to come even close to itemizing here. But it happens because that is what all of us as imperfect beings do from time to time. The real challenge for us, however, is not that those in our lives - particularly those close to us - displease us. It is what we do about it when it happens. Do we pick them up and throw them into a trash can as that guy in the video did with his computer? Or is there another, less dramatic path to take?

Of course there is. It is called talking and being open and respectful and letting the person who is the subject of your frustration know why you are feeling the way you are. Granted, this is not always easy to do, especially in a way that won't trigger knee-jerk anger from the other person. Those we hold dear we do so for a number of positive reasons that should not be discounted when they anger us. If anything, we should make a point of reminding ourselves of those reasons when they do frustrate us. Doing so may not make the frustration go away, but at least it keeps it in perspective.