Changeworksblog.com

Communication comes in two flavours: Communication and communication. Communication with big ‘C’ refers to the formal, planned communication programmes; the ‘big splash’, so to speak. By communication (small ‘c’) I am referring to the informal means of communicating with people: word of mouth, role models, mentoring, on the job training, one to one meetings etc. In organisations, we need both types of communication for communication to be powerful and most effective.

An interesting article in the New Scientist magazine, considers the transmission of communication through informal networks. Whilst this article puts an interesting slant on these ‘transmissions’ considering anything from moods (happiness, depression) to habit patterns and illnesses, what is interesting is the subconscious and rapid way that our peers influence our behaviour.

Recent research shows that our moods are far more strongly influenced by those around us than we tend to think. Not only that, we are also beholden to the moods of friends of friends, and of friends of friends of friends - people three degrees of separation away from us who we have never met, but whose disposition can pass through our social network like a virus. The fact that, seemingly, friends and peer groups are more influential than relatives or partners and spouses is even more pertinent to the transmission of communication at work. And gender is important, so the research claims: women observe and are influenced far more by other women and vice versa for men.

So what does this mean for organisational communication? There are two sides to this: the first that we need to recognise how powerful this transmission of ‘influence’ is in the organisation’s informal communication system. If employees are influenced more by those around them – in terms of attitudes, thoughts and behaviour – we need to know how to use this for positive influence in communication and change programmes. We also need to understand that this social influence can both hinder and help change communication programmes. And of course, what applies inside the organisation through informal social networks, applies even more powerfully outside the organisation. Think of the informal influence, negative or positive, that your salesmen, engineers and customer service staff have on your customers every day.

This influence is spread through a process of unconscious imitation – like the reflex action of our nervous system, this imitation by passes any conscious process and is performed highly efficiently by our brain and nervous system without any conscious interference or even awareness. Remember how infectious a smile is? I often walk around with a smile on my face, and I notice other people - complete strangers - smiling at me for no reason at all! I think they are nutters until i realise that they are simply and unconsciously copying me. This process of unconscious imitation – copying of behaviour – that we humans are so beautifully ‘wired up’ to do – facilitates in the ‘modeler’ (the person doing the copying) the experience of the emotion of the model. By copying that person’s smile with my body (facial expression, posture) i experience a ‘pale reflection’ of my model’s emotions. So by copying behaviours, I start to experience the attitudes, emotions and even thoughts of the person I am copying.

And what of the implication for organisational communications? By tapping into the ‘collective intelligence’ of social networks in the organisation we can ‘engineer’ the adoption and spread of new behaviour and cultural change. Viral Change (TM) offers a process for this, but it does require careful planning and facilitation (and an understanding of human behaviour) behind the scenes. Coupled with a strong ‘Communication’ programme, this can be a very powerful way to effect change and communication in organisations.

And what about applying this yourself? Whilst we might not be in complete conscious control of the process of social modelling, our brains take the shortcuts before we even know it; we can choose who we have around us who are likely to influence us. In 2009, do you want to be more happy or more depressed? More successful or more lazy? Whichever you prefer, think carefully about who you have around you – they might be more influential than you think!

Talk to us at Changeworks to find out how we use traditional and new media as well as behavioural change techniques to turn around performance and communication in organisations: info@changeworkscom.co.uk.

The field of internal communication is a rich one to write about because of its potential to influence and change. But that’s not to detract from the vitally important job of communicating to external stakeholders. Effective B2B public relations requires thought, planning and imagination.

Research shows that journalists turn first to the internet for all things press and media for their clients. After all most media types are going to be gen X-rs or gen Y-rs. They are online, wired, actively seek technological interaction and are becoming seamlessly connected through technology.  

Clients are often not doing enough to meet the communication needs of the press and media. They think that a list of latest press releases posted on their customer facing site is enough. But they are missing a trick, or twenty, and not getting a fair share of voice.

We recently conducted some informal research with journalists, specifically in the B2B sector (though the same will apply to B2C) and they pleaded with us to have more press resources online.

This is precisely why we are introducing an online media centre. With a dedicated url, easily referenced by journos and indexed by individual client, this will contain press releases as searchable html pages and dedicated RSS feeds. It will host all podcasts, blog feeds and videocasts that we use to supplement client communication as well as a searchable image library.

Of course none of this matters unless the journalists trust the source and this means spending much time and effort in building relationships. It goes without saying that face to face communication is still critical in building relationships, with 45% of journalists in the Keynote survey agreeing this was actually their preferred method. Telephone contact (15%) and events/ conferences (13%) also have a place, but fall a way behind the internet and face to face channels.

This is part of our vision to take B2B PR into the 21st century and to continue to drive value for clients. Find out more about our services at Changeworks Communications.

We believe in using copy as an effective tool to influence, persuade and have an effect on behavioural change. However to write for this purpose requires planning and preparation.  At Changeworks we write for impact. This involves a creative briefing and planning process that is designed for maximum impact and highest value.

A key part of this process is a unique creative brief.  Not only do we consider the usual objectives, target audience, core proposition etc etc.  But we make sure that we build in the 4-Mat system, the 6-step motivator and other techniques drawn from NLP and other behavioural change programmes.  This ensures that our copy is not just plain speaking and impactful but that it has influence too.

We also believe in storyboarding and mindmapping our creative process. Say, for example, I am writing copy for a brochure, I will always storyboard this first.  This helps to ensure that I cover the representational systems and have a finished piece that catches the eye as well as the imagination.

My employees use the same process and my suppliers and associates follow this too, which ensures consistency in our delivery.

Changeworks combines an understanding of the cognitive-behavioural aspects of communication in its copywriting and media work, which helps make our work more impactful.

We are taught about (and I lecture on) the cultural web and this model certainly has relevance when we talk of organisational culture but one thing is missing.  What is the evidence of culture? What is the real tangible measure of culture? It has to be behaviour. 

Behaviour is the outcome from the inputs of those elements of the cultural web, such as symbols, structures, rituals, values.  And when we talk about cultural change we are really meaning behavioural change anyway.

I went to the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Annual Conference in Birmingham on 11th November and was inspired by some of the speakers there.  Evan Davis was fantastic as the Chair of the event. And several of the key speakers alluded to using employees as champions of cultural and strategic change. John Smythe, founder of Engage for Change, talked about sharing power and adopting a ‘co-creation’ approach to engagement where employees are involved in decision making and building the strategy (the ‘how are we going to get there’ element). I loved what John had to say because it takes the approach of employees as champions of change, perhaps seeing employees as directors of strategic and cultural change from the ground floor.

John listed five routes to engaging for change:

1. Engage the leaders (them as role models)
2. Interventions
3. Transforming communication
4. Build capability
5. Identify measures and drivers

Rather like in the hero’s journey (from Joseph Campbell’s amazing book ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’), they need a strong ’call to adventure’ to get them bought in to this process. I can see the hero’s journey applying to organisational change where the hero’s journey starts in the ordinary corporate world, and the employee receives a call (a challenge) to enter an unusual world of strange events.

Glenn Manoff from O2 told us the about the O2 story - a massive employee engagement exercise culminating in the opening of the O2 arena.  And this gave me some ideas for how to get this call to adventure across.  Using an almost trance-like process (akin to Anthony robbins!), a manager cleverly used ‘appreciate inquiry’ as a tool to help people visualise, imagine and connect to a future that is different and more successful than the present.  This is exactly like the ‘Imagine If’ sessions in Viral change.  It helps people step out of their current frame and put on a new, exciting frame that opens them up to possibility. From here we can use facilitated sessions to elicit ideas and connect to a new reality.

“If you can imagine it,You can achieve it. If you can dream it,You can become it.”
William A. Ward

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”  Einstein

Internal segmentation of employees is sometimes needed to help target different audiences by attitudes, values and potential behaviour around change. It can be useful in a collaborative change programme. We need to consider the outcome and use this as the basis for the segmentation, otherwise it is meaningless. But as part of this process, which doesn’t have to be onerous, we can ask employees where they can add value and what the likely blocks to success will be.  And this is just the start of the co-creation process.

Comment on this article or email me (sue@changeworkscom.co.uk) with your thoughts.  Changeworks Communications helps organisations achieve behavioural and cultural change.

I am in the middle of a Viral Change project for a large organisation and, as part of this process, I am talking to employees. I prefer to call these ‘thinking workshops’ rather than focus groups, because I think that the latter term has become cliched. And without encouragement, people perhaps may not think deeply enough about what we ask them.

On that point, I would highly recommend a book that I am reading: ‘Marketing Metaphoria’ by Gerald and Lindsay Zaltman uncovers the deeper metaphors that work behind our deeper thinking.  Zaltman has developed an innovative process for depth interviews and focus groups to elicit people’s unconscious layers of thinking.  You can watch a video of Zaltman talking about this process, with a live example at HBR’s site.  There is also a ‘mock’ written case study to illustrate Zaltman’s point about the risks of failing to think deeply about what consumers are saying.

Whether we are planning internal or external communication, marketing principles apply. However, most marketing practice is based on outdated or incomplete knowledge of how the mind works.  By studying disciplines such as cognitive and behavioural science we can augment and enhance our marketing tools significantly and far apace of our competitors.  But more importantly we can add significant value to our clients in our change communication with them.

I love Zaltman’s book because it is about understanding the deeper structure and meaning behind the words that customers use, and using this to produce deeper level and higher quality managerial thinking. As a coach, I am fully aware of the importance and significance of metaphor in the change process.  For me this book gives me lots of ideas as to take this approach overtly into focus groups and depth interviews as part of a research process for internal change.

Whilst the book relates the concepts to brands and brand development, but there is plenty of application in developing internal communication programmes and certainly in change management.

But remember, deep thinking is hard work: have you got the courage to face the deep?