This is the second in a three-part series on thought leadership.

Once you consider what thought leadership means at your company, you’ll need to develop a strategy.  After all good thought leadership is neither haphazard nor a series of one-off campaigns. It’s deliberate and strategic.  There are (at least) two ways to think about your strategy.

Inside-Out Approach

Outside-In Approach

Read More »

This is the first in a three-part series on thought leadership.

Un-think what you think about thought leadership.

You’re a communicator.  You don’t need to live by Marketing’s definition for thought leadership.  You can create your own!

Marketers, especially those in the B2B space, are attaching to Gartner’s definition of thought leadership marketing:

“the giving — for free or at a nominal charge — of information or advice that a client will value so as to create awareness of the outcome that a company’s product or service can deliver, in order to position and differentiate that offering and stimulate demand for it.”

Most companies espouse this definition and think of thought leadership only as a tactic to build awareness of the company or product with its customers.

Communicators—with their myriad stakeholders and focus on corporate reputation and brand—think of the term and its implications quite differently.  Whereas Marketing’s thought leadership rightly so focuses on the product and customer, Communications’ thought leadership can focus on a wide variety of activities to achieve company-specific ends.  Perhaps the most challenging part is defining what those ends should be.

We polled the CEC membership and partnered with Ignacio Gonzalez, Stakeholder Engagement Specialist at Shell USA, and Matt Broder, VP of External Communications at Pitney Bowes, to uncover how communicators are defining thought leadership at their companies and using it as a potent tactic to achieve company goals.  We found that most thought leadership programs aim to achieve one of three outcomes:

1. Boost Credibility (Reputational): “Thought leadership is where an organization can share best practice and offer valid views and opinions on a topic which gives them credibility in the marketplace.”—Head of Communications, Consumer Products 
2. Instill Company Culture (Cultural): “Thought leadership is a culture that is driven by, rewards, and recognizes ideas and strategic thinking that is outside the norm and where ‘idea failure’ is considered a learning opportunity.”—Executive Communicator, Fortune 500
3. Shape the Industry (Aspirational): “Thought leadership means defining the horizon for your industry.”—Anonymous Read More »

I live at the epicenter of American politics just blocks east of the U.S. Capitol.  The Statue of Freedom that adorns the Capitol dome scrutinizes my morning commute.  As I scurry toward the Metro that will take me the enclave of the private sector for the day, she reminds me of the role and influence of government in our lives.

That influence is growing.  Don’t take my word for it or the collective voices of the masses that have coalesced in DC for various rallies and protests this past year.  Take instead the cold hard facts of the corporate communications budget.

In 2010 Communications’ government relations budgets increased by 7%, the largest shift in Communications budgets according to CEC’s annual Resource Allocation Benchmarking Survey.  CEC members can view the full survey on the website: 2010 Resource Allocation Benchmarks. Read More »

Managers are your most effective communications tools.  In fact, Comms teams that focus on improving their line managers’ ability to lead dialogue with employees can benefit from a 12% increase in employee mobilization.  (For those unfamiliar with CEC’s term, “mobilization,” it’s a combination of discretionary effort and active alignment…essentially, mobilization = employees working hard on the right things.  CEC members: you can learn more about mobilization here.)

So, if effective managers are Communications’ best tools, what is the best tool for communicators to use to equip managers with the information and skills they need?

One of the best tools is manager dialogue training. CEC members: you can access our full-blown Dialogue Training and Workshops AND learn more about how training managers to “dialogue” is very different than training them to “cascade.”

Of course, with thin training budgets and dispersed workforces, dialogue training may not be a feasible option for your communications team.  In that case, your intranet may be the best way to help boost your managers’ communications confidence.  I took a look at a recent discussion thread in the CEC Employee Communications Forum to pull out some smart ways your peers are taking advantage of their intranets to boost the impact of line manager communications:

• Toolboxes

Quick-tips, key talking points, worksheets to plan for a dialogue — intranet toolboxes that are easily accessible by managers help them confidently share information with their employees.

“I set up a Manager’s Toolkit site where there is a discussion board and a document library where they can pick up talking points as developed for key messaging.  I want to ‘teach them to fish’ so that they become better at communication and can deliver messages as leadership would hope for them to be delivered.”
Communications Consultant, Financial Services Read More »

You don't have to camp outside of the Capitol to influence the government.

 The government’s influence on business is growing worldwide.  According to a recent McKinsey Global survey, 63% of executives believe the government’s impact on their industry will increase in the next 3-5 years.  It’s no surprise then that we here at CEC have been bombarded with questions about how to set up a more potent and persuasive government relations function within Comms.  Communicators are seeking to influence government and thus, more fully exert their freedom and license to operate. 

However…what if, instead of thinking about how to directly influence the government, we thought about influencing  those that hold disproportionate influence over the government — the public. 

Read More »

I’m a strong believer that Corporate Communications should lead a company’s intranet strategy.  Unlike other possible leaders in IT, HR, or the business units, communicators highly value—and are measured on—employee engagement.  The intranet has quickly evolved into a key instrument to achieving this engagement through functionalities that promote connectivity, collaboration, and productivity among employees.

That said, in most organizations, the Communications function has yet to embrace the mindset and activities necessary to transform the intranet from “digital landfill” to “employee productivity tool.”  Communicators may say they want the intranet to boost employee productivity and engagement, but then focus on superficial fixes, primarily improving the intranet’s function as an internal news distribution service.   Sharing internal news is important, yes.  Optimizing the intranet to do only that, however, is short-sighted.

How do you know if your heart is in the right place, but your activities are not? Ask yourself, “Do we…

• Focus improvements on the “look and feel” of the intranet—such as logos, layouts, typefaces, buttons, boxes, menus, etc.?
• Rely on annual “intranet satisfaction surveys”?
• Track and depend on broad metrics such as clicks and views on news stories? Read More »

Public Affairs, You Confuse Me.

Calling all communicators in the business of Public Affairs—what makes you stand out from the rest of your peers in Communications?

• Do you have key legislators and lobbyists on your BBM contacts?
• Are you the sole owner of CSR and community relations initiatives?
• Are you the policy guru, spotting nefarious legislation and getting your company ahead the messaging curve?
• Do you spend countless hours grooming your CEO and other executives for government testimony?

Read no further if you have an answer and wouldn’t mind sharing it with me. Continue on if you think I’m a confused Millennial. Read More »

Still in need of vacation plans? Come to DC!

Summer can be a corporate communicator’s worst nightmare. Naturally, employees are less engaged in their 9-5 during the summer months. We’ve all got:

• family vacations to enjoy (endure);
• baseball games to watch (have you seen this kid Strasburg?!);
• barbecues to host;
• and, for we DC folk, jazz in the sculpture garden to sweat through.

This month is especially challenging for you, corporate communicators. Beyond the typical noise and distraction, you’re competing with the most watched event on the planet—the World Cup. Look to your right and left. Your colleagues who suddenly have earphones on in the morning are not listening to soothing, motivating Enya. They’re likely plugged into ESPN360.com or Univision to follow the action. Basically, no one is listening to you.

So take a break, right? Let people have fun for a few months, and reboot your engagement efforts when the sun starts to set earlier, the kids are back in school, and Q4 madness is in full swing?

Wrong. (I humbly suggest.) Read More »

Whenever I need inspiration, I visit Big Think, a global forum that “put[s] you in contact with the ideas of very smart people.” There, I’ve watched short videos and read articles that prompt me to question my life assumptions; some of my favorites include Learning from Failure, Why You Can’t Work at Work, and Why You Can’t Get a Date. Apparently, there is a mathematical theorem that proves that dating in large cities is difficult and frustrating. Amen. It’s not just me .

One of the more interesting videos I’ve watched on Big Think is about “Unleashing the Creative Economic Revolution”. It’s an interview with Richard Florida, an academic and author of the book The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life. Florida theorizes that the “creative class”—basically knowledge workers with an added dash of pizazz, flexibility, and creativity—is vital to the growth of society. He sees a lot of this “creative class” participating in science, technology, arts and entertainment, and film making design.

Now, most of you reading this post aren’t scientists, techies, or rock stars. You’re communicators. But, guess what? YOU, communicator, are part not merely part of this exciting “creative class,” but the potential leaders of it.  Hear me out. We need not all be Lady Gaga to be considered “creative.”  Simply approach your daily work with a fresh, open perspective, and  you’ll capitalize on opportunities to discover new talents, devise better solutions to tired problems, and help your business in the process.

Sound like a bunch of idealistic Millennial hogwash? Leading the “creative class” is a lot easier than you think; in fact, you’re already active in the “creative class” business. Here’s what you do EVERY SINGLE DAY to stamp your creativity all over your organization:

• You invent.
  You don’t employ traditional tactics to build your reputation and differentiate your brand. You think about your audience, goals, and available tools to create customized communication plans. For a cool innovation that we like, check out TheFordStory.com to see how they’ve invited customers to tell the company’s story.
• You consult.
  You solve strategic problems with creative communications solutions. We’re seeing more executive communicators report directly to the CEO, highlighting the importance of communication in achieving company goals. Moreover, CEOs are looking to you to determine fresh ways for them to engage with stakeholders. Check out the CEC Employee Communications Forum for creative ideas for executive virtual engagement.
• You enable. You help others express their creativity. I’ve been impressed by your efforts to help employees start blogging, Tweeting, and creating content. Inside the organization, you’ve been working hard to implement the internal collaboration tools necessary for employees to connect and engage with one another. If you haven’t yet seen the inner workings of Sabre’s internal platform, SabreTown, check it out on video today.

See? You’re creative! And cool. And a communicator. Rise up and take your place among the artists and filmmakers, the professionals who leave their personal mark on everything they produce! Rise up and take your rightful place as leaders of the “creative class.”

Done something especially creative in your work recently? We’d love to hear stories!

It’s May, and you know what that means—graduation season! Congrats, new grad! Now, what are you going to do with your life? If you’re thinking of a career in communications, be forewarned: your social-media savvy and ability to condense complex thoughts into 140 characters won’t be enough to stand out.

Yep, even toddlers are tweeting now. You, college grad, need to bring something else to the table to shine through in this ultra-competitive environment. But what?

Two critical things you need to be able to excel at as a communicator are:

1. Project management skills &
2. Listening skills.

You may be a master of these skills now, but some of you may need to work on them. Here’s a quick litmus test based on your college years: Read More »