All in Communications
Culture, in all its forms, plays such a strong role in our lives that, for the most part, we don’t really even pay attention to it or realize it.
It’s formed through years of experience, understanding and shared experiences. This is the case at home, in our communities, with our friends and with our colleagues at work.
In fact, Trevor Noah once referred to culture as “an operating system that you have, that you didn’t even realize you had”. That captures it perfectly for me.
This month's topics focus on personal war stories and observations.
Today's episode focuses on the importance of being able to work with people as the route to our success - as well as the sheer difficulty of learning (and mastering) how to do so.
How do you choose a headliner?
If James Taylor and Jackson Browne go on tour together (which they’re doing) and it’s billed as a “co-headlined” show, is it really a co-headline?
Or if Sting and Peter Gabriel toured together (which they did), and that was billed a co-headlined show, is that really a co-headline, or is it really tilted towards one of those artists?
Our business lexicon is rife with buzz-phrases such as “win-win” but it’s important to remember that that standard has to be met (and perceived to be met) by both sides. In other words, we have to be cognizant of such definitions not only for ourselves but for the other party as well. Deals are better in the long term when we do so.
In fact, our approach to negotiations says alot about us and also provides a good indicator of what we’re going to be like to work with.
At some point in the evolution of any organization, we have to build in structure and process.
The pure quest for growth and, hence, total focus on execution, in a company’s early days inevitably leads to a situation where some level of resource organization is necessary.
That makes sense. We’ve been so focused on getting things done that we’ve spent less time trying to figure out how best to get it done.
‘Messing up’ is par for the course.
Any time you take on an initiative or a project or a venture, there’s a strong chance that you’re going to mess up along the way.
The more visible the initiative (in whatever sphere of life you’re operating within), the more public that mess up will be - and the more prominent the impact on some stakeholder or constituent. In other words, someone’s going to get hurt, in some form or fashion.
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
In today's episode, I speak to the fine line we walk when we're in the midst of combative communications. In particular, I speak to the four elements that allow us to tell when it's constructive and when it's not.
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
In today's episode, I discuss how no amount of clever language and word smithing can make up for a poor message or offering. That sometimes, the problem isn't in the message but with us.
I was in the car with my family the other day and we were heading to lunch. We were having a conversation, and in the midst of it, we noticed that my daughter’s answers were short, to the point, not really like her normal, jovial self.
My son actually noticed it first, and he asked her what was wrong.
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
Today's episode focuses on the idea of conflict, and the fact that it can actually be a good thing for our relationships at home and at work. The question is one of intent and ego (or lack of it).
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
Today's episode focuses on the idea of objectivity in what we believe and what we communicate. It's important to believe in ourselves but still be objective enough to understand the reality of our situations.
Recently, Unilever, the global consumer goods giant, announced that it will be removing the word “normal” from its beauty and personal care products and related advertising.
The idea behind this is to move away from descriptions that might suggest who (the type of person) the product is for, and towards those that describe what the product does. A step towards inclusivity and body positivity.
Those who’ve worked with me for any length of time will inevitably have heard me say some variant of the following words: “If the customer has to work to understand what we’re offering, we’ve already lost.” I try to live by those words.
There’s enough going on with any client or customer that any of us are dealing with. Just like us, they’re constantly bombarded by emails, news, requests for, and demands of, their time - and, oh yes, their actual work.
I think I was 13 or 14 when my brothers excitedly came home one day with a handful of vinyls that a friend had lent them. The vinyls were singles from a couple of the biggest British heavy metal bands of the day - Iron Maiden and Saxon.
We put the Saxon single, Women in Uniform, on first followed by Iron Maiden’s now-classic track, Phantom of the Opera.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I speak to the importance of being an optimist, to fight cynicism. Many view unbridled optimism as a weakness, because it requires a health measure of vulnerability. To the contrary, I believe it's a superpower.
Authenticity has become a rare commodity.
I mean, at first blush, you’d think it would be abundant in society, personal or professional. Because when what you see is what you get, there are no illusions, no need for personal estimations or second guesses. What you saw would, in fact, be what you got.
But in a world driven by social media, the lure of the instant, ADD-fueled soundbite, and the much-discussed finality (and hence, importance) of the ‘first impression’, most of us are on our toes.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I discuss how we often want to be nice to someone in our orbit, but hold ourselves back because we pre-judge the way it will be received. It turns out that that we overthink things and in fact science backs us up.
We believe - with good intent - that we’re trusting individuals. That’s important, because trust forms the very foundation of our relationships. Without trust, there can be no relationships, in any environment, personal or professional.
But how do we build trust? What’s our specific role in developing trust among our colleagues (or our family)?
Culture isn’t created overnight. You can’t mandate it.
You also can’t leave it be and assume a positive productive culture will create itself.
Culture needs to be defined and cultivated, which means a few things:
It has to be intentional. It requires a clear definition i.e. we need to be clear as to what we want it to be.
It has to be actively pursued - we need to have a plan to cultivate it.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I talk about a decision to remove someone from my LinkedIn Network because of their constant negativity. There's no point in encouraging that behavior, and in fact, I'd argue it demands a stronger response.
