Well.

I am always interested in reviewing all the different published methods and theories with regard to how to develop effective communications.

It seems experts <and non experts> constantly analyze the topic and issue laundry lists of ‘to dos’ and ‘how tos’ and so many different thoughts and ideas your head begins to spin.

Oh.

Let me stop a minute.

Developing effective communications.

That sounds like such a cold analytical view on communicating.

Well.

It isn’t cold.

On the other hand … it may be calculating <albeit I could probably find a better more positive word>.

But here is something to ponder with the calculating thought in mind.

Off the cuff communication … at best … is simply a starting point. If you get lucky and you are good at communicating you may get close to what you really wanted to communicate let alone the best <most effective> way to communicate it. The key point here? You MAY get close. Off the cuff is a starting point whether you are good or bad at communicating.

And this is true professional and personally.

If you think about what you want to say beforehand <that is the calculating part> and actually apply some methodology to what you want to communicate beforehand <by the way … we all do this … some of us subconsciously and some of us consciously … and some of us subconsciously consciously – this is people like me who have been trained and studied how to effectively communicate so much so that I don’t think about it I just do it> you are more likely to not just be lucky but actually communicate what you want to communicate effectively.

Sorry.

That’s kind of a given <not sure it’s a Life truth>.

This means that no matter what anyone may suggest about saying what’s on your mind … the first thing that comes to your mind … it may be starkly … well … stark.

And not stark in a better way. It’s stripped of effectiveness <in its supposed efficiency>.

Suffice it to say …thinking before you speak <communicate> is always better than speaking without thinking.

Now.

I began this post suggesting a boatload of people are overthinking <in bad ways> effective communication methodology.

You can overthink.

You can poorly think.

But in the end it is too much thinking … and I get frustrated with all the ‘how to’s’ because effective communication is relatively simple if you spend a moment or two on the basics.

Please note that when I discuss all this effective communication gobbledygook … or effective advertising … it spans both professional and personal worlds.

I don’t think that is so hard to grasp because … well … communication is communication.

So when we talk about how advertising is so manipulative and formulaic … it is actually indicative of anything we want to communicate in everyday life.

Regardless.

Developing effective communications really is not that difficult.

Despite the fact there are gobs of books and a gazillion experts suggesting how to develop effective advertising and communicate effectively … honestly … it is really simple. And in fact the more you overthink and the more you try and ‘persuade’ through some formula … the more insincere and more ineffective it becomes.

All that said … having managed a company I had to try and simplify things because the employees’ heads were so screwed up from reading all the how to books.

Oh. I imagine there is some irony in the fact that I am now offering a ‘how to’ list of my own but here are the things I would consider the principles of “how to produce effective communications/advertising” … the basics:

–          Do your homework

Before you begin communicating … you must truly understand the brand, the customer, the competition and the client … or the person.

The more deeply and meaningfully the better.

Well. As deeply and meaningful as possible.

I purposefully say ‘person’ because the moment you forget you are trying to communicate with a person, in business or in Life, is the moment that everything starts going awry.

While ‘homework’ sounds professional … be aware that I almost simply put “just care.” Care about who you are communicating with. If you care even one iota <this means discarding any iota of disdain> it will show.

–          Be aspirational but don’t over promise

Any advertising must stretch the brand and help to move it upwards.

However.

Blatant over promise leads to disappointment and rejection.

In general any communication … while needing to always be pragmatic and centering … should have a tinge of hope. Hope for something better.

I certainly don’t mean false promises nor do I mean any version of over promise … but great communicating always has an aspect of “what could be.”

–          Create new paradigms

It’s easy to think and say what everyone else does.

I have always said that every business category seems to invent its own brand of boring. When we speak with our friends and people we know … it is exactly the same.

Don’t recycle the same tired imagery, the same claims and the same old superlatives that everyone else is using.

Create a new paradigm.

I am not suggesting you shouldn’t lean on some acceptable comfortable imagery and words to center people … but create something new in addition if you do.

That’s what makes communication great.

Or makes great communication I should say.

Sometimes communication is about affirmation <using tired old words & imagery> but most people want to be inspired.

Yeah. I will use the Hope word again. Most people want a glimpse of something more than what they know.

What they know comforts.

What they don’t know excites.

That’s the easiest way for me to describe creating a new paradigm.

–          <this is a professional one … mainly> Use a single strategy for all disciplines

Every single piece of communications — from the biggest TV campaign to the smallest coupon — must emanate from the same strategy, vision or soul.

This law is inviolate. Break the law, go to jail.

I imagine I could suggest this is true in personal Life too.

It is called consistency of character. If you speak from the heart and the soul … which is inevitably a reflection of your character … consistency matters. Why? Well. part of effective communication is being believed <and heard>.

Now.

To be clear.

Anything is communications. Anything is advertising.

We may not like to hear this but … I mean absolutely anything.

A TV commercial or print ad qualifies.

But so does a movie night for employees.

Oh.

So does how you sign your name.

The heading on your outgoing faxes.

A thank-you note to customers.

By the way.

This thought suggests that everything you do is some form of communicating who you are and what you stand for.

Oh.

Whether you want it to be, or not.

The way your employee gives directions to your store.

The design of your catalog.

How your shelves are arranged.

Heck.

What you put on your shelves in your home.

Hate his thought … but everything you do and say is an advertisement for who you are and what you stand for.

Everything.

<chew on that for a couple of sleepless nights>

–          Reassess. Reassess. Reassess

This sounds professional … and it is.

Is it working?

Is the advertising doing what we want it to do?

Is any communications doing what we want it to do?

Can it do better? Can we do better?

Whoa.

But what about us every day schmoes?

Doesn’t this apply to us to?
You bet.

Far too many times we walk away from a communications moment <a conversation> pleased with ourselves and thinking “well … they are better off knowing that.”

Silly silly us.

Reassess.

And reassess again.

If what we communicated wasn’t applied … it is more likely not a failure of the person who we communicated to … but rather the communicator <oops … that is us>.

–          Be considerate.

How you communicate is almost as important as who you are as a person.

Coincidentally … advertising or what is communicated … is as important as the product.

Think about this.

People are overwhelmed, selfish, have what they need, and buy what they want.

By the way … ‘buy’ also means ‘pay attention to.’

Same thing.

Here is the good news.

We know what we people like.

People like a good story. People play with stuff that’s fun to play with. They like to be entertained, and surprised. People ignore what they’ve seen before <maddeningly … even if they really haven’t>.

Yup.

They ignore it if they think they have.

In a sea of sameness the only thing people notice is the thing that’s different.

Advertising to business is also advertising to people.

–          Remember that people talk to each other.

This is the corollary to the fact you are communicating with people.

While it is death to forget when you communicate with a person … it is a sneaky death awaiting later on in that inevitably people talk about your product, you and what you said.

You can’t stop it, or control it.

If your product is very good, or very bad, they talk a little.

If you are good or very bad they talk a little.

If it’s neither, they don’t talk at all.

The only time they talk a lot about anything is when it’s different. Whether it’s different in a good way, or in a bad way, doesn’t affect the amount of conversation.

By the way … people talk about advertising too.

The same rules apply.

And 6degrees of separation? Geez. Least of your worries. Think 22 squared. That’s the amount affected by the pebble you dropped in the pond <assuming the pebble registered>.

Well.

Ponder that before you speak off the cuff again.

–          People <in general> don’t care about your product or even what you have to say <in Life>.

They have their own worries.

They have their own wants.

And what they really don’t have is time.

What that really means is that you’re not in charge.

They are.

You can’t force anyone to listen.

That’s it. Too long but once I got going I couldn’t stop.

But there you go.

I purposefully mixed communicating and advertising.

And I did so because it is an interesting exercise to think about what we do in our everyday lives as ‘advertising’ ourselves.

A bad thought?

Heck. I don’t like to think I am advertising ‘Bruce’ in everything that I do and say.

On the other and … it certainly gives you a perceptive on a Life in a professional communications role.

Oh.

And maybe it will make you think a little more of the repercussions of things you currently do and say.

Maybe not.

But maybe.

Business consultants. As with anything … there are good ones .. and bad ones … and then there are those of us who think they could be a consultant and are a little unclear what defines a good one or bad one.

Regardless. Let’s take a minute and talk about consultants through my eyes. I will begin by suggesting I imagine it is often as effective in Life to admit what you are not good at as well as what you are good at in determining what you want to do.

I have already noted I would suck at being a free lancer <http://brucemctague.com/14-reasons-why-i-would-suck-at-freelancing>.

And today, after reading a great article in The Economist <Schumpeter: Thinking twice about Price>, I will be able to note I would suck at being a consultant.

Why?

Because I have a deep need to tell the truth in business … no matter what it may be.

Now. I did not believe that would be a problem until I read this article <okay … that is not true … I have always known telling the truth in business is often not a good ‘survival’ strategy>.

In fact … while reading the article I was beginning to think of myself as a potentially good business consultant. Because most of the thinking in the article discussed why businesses should be discussing how to raise their prices rather than cut costs as a way to increase profits <and I am also a huge advocate for this type of business thinking>.

Oh.

And then I reached the end of the article and … well … oops. I was mistaken. Because apparently while many consultants may actually believe this <raising prices can be good> … and believe it is the right thing to do … they will not tell a client for fear of not maintaining the relationship:

“The irony, confides a senior management consultant, is that firms have such a taboo against letting go of a client … that they are the worst at taking their own advice to be fearless in asking for more, and walking away if they do not get it.”  – The Economist <Schumpeter July 2013>

I couldn’t be a consultant because … hmmmmmmm … I am too fearless? That I am willing to walk away? Well. That not only sounds odd said out loud … it even looks ludicrous now that it is typed.

Ok.

To be clear. I am not anti-consultant. I actually believe they can provide a huge value to businesses <although I do believe how they go about business is a little wacky on occasion: http://brucemctague.com/a-rant-about-process-and-consulting>.

Wacky process or not … I sometimes believe the title ‘consultant’ is incorrect and does not infer enough responsibility upon the consultant themselves.

Maybe they should be called … truth teller? fixer?

Anyway. A consultant should do work that most large companies <and smaller leaner organizations> are simply incapable of doing internally. Well. They are actually capable … most companies actually have the smart people who can do what a consultant <truth seeker> is hired to do … but those people are already in important positions already doing important things to keep the company going. In other words… they have other important shit to do.

Just to go on the record <this is Bruce mental research and not some expansive global survey of actual results and feedback> I believe there are several groupings of consultants:

–          The larger consulting firms. They are really really smart <but maybe not willing to tell you all you need to hear>

–          Maybe 50% of the smaller consultants are really really good. They are senior experienced folk who know what they know and are willing to not do things they don’t know. Some may tell you what you need to know … and some may tell you what you want to hear <because small businesses sometimes go into survival mode>

–          Maybe 25% of the smaller consultants are not really that smart in a solution criteria judgment way … but are really really good listeners and can play back something they have heard in a way that actually helps you <the company> identify a solution you kind of already knew but now it becomes clearer & actionable.

–          And the last 25% are hacks. They think they are smarter than they really are. They are sincere with regard to believing their own capabilities but they sincerely give you really bad advice.

Oh.

A quick note on the fact that the larger consulting firms are really really good.

It is a fact that most of the larger consultancies have gobs of very smart, very ambitious, very hard-working young inexperienced people killing themselves to do what they are required to do. And these gobs of smart young people feed information to more senior experienced team leaders <who actually know what they are talking about> leading to some really smart insightful thoughtful thinking. Unfortunately … you <the client & company> may never get to hear what the really smart insightful thoughtful thinking is because it is going to be tempered in a way to insure you don’t walk away.

In other words … they fear telling the truth because the truth may piss you off <or it may not be what you want to hear>.

Now.

Consultants are the furthest thing from stupid <on this truth telling topic>.

They know what most companies already know … that truth telling inside organizations is a common challenge.

“Authentic and honest internal communication results in better, faster decisions and actions. It also builds a culture of trust and collaboration where opposing views are debated and more effective solutions and innovations are created. In reality, however, there is a distinct lack of truth-telling inside most organizations. I’m not talking about malevolent dishonesty. No-one goes to work thinking “I’m going to hinder my own and my company’s performance by withholding the truth from my colleagues”. I’m talking about the many moments each day where we think one thing, but say something different; where we have an idea that may be of value, but we hold back and say nothing; where we are called upon to give an honest opinion, but decide to say what is easier or what we think others want to hear.” – Lynn Harris <organizational development consultant>

And it is a challenge for actually a good reason.

Telling the truth is not pervasive in most organizational cultures because we fear the consequences. This fear is all about an imagined <and often very real> negative impact.

It is a fear of conflict as well as fear of self survival.

I read this somewhere which captures the real fear better than almost anything else I read:

One thing’s for sure, in an environment where truth-telling is not the norm, we would certainly stand out by speaking frankly and many of us would prefer to keep our head down rather than present a stationary target

This all leads to me to another non-research suppoerted point.

It seems like there are two basic types of consultants.

Those that listen carefully for what the client wants to hear.

Those that listen carefully to isolate the issues  for what their clients should hear.

As a corollary … there seem to be two types of consultant clients.

Those who want consultants to tell them exactly what they want to hear <with the intent to support their own ‘already made up mind’>.

Those who really want the consultant to help them and want to hear what they need to hear.

Regardless. Great business consultants are like psychiatrists … well … but different. While psychiatrists only ask questions <the patient must answer them> … consultants ask the questions and answer them.

Ok.

But back to me not as a consultant.

I would suck because somewhere down the business career road I began to tell the truth. I knew I had to from a personal integrity standpoint … therefore … the first person I had to stop lying to was myself. While I cannot consciously go back to any one point in my career and say “this was the moment” I can say unequivocally, while painful to a lot of people around me, once I began telling the truth it seemed like my business life began to become my own. And it happened very very quickly.

So how does Truth in consulting come to life?

I like to report what I find without considering whether they fit the client’s preconceptions.

I like to admit if I cannot find something or even if I do find something … that I have no frickin’ idea what it means <but still share the information>.

I like to give a point of view so I can be held to it <and actually get compensated more if I am right>.

I like to give the best recommendations for their future business without thinking about the impact on my own future business.

I like … well … to tell the truth.

Why?

Well … its not just an integrity thing … it is more a business thing. I tend to believe businesses need truth more now than ever.

So many organizations seem to run on fear these days <which I do not believe is healthy> and I kind of feel like it is my responsibility to give voice to the fears … and the truths <which one could construe as the ‘hope’>.

Consultants need to act like the pilots of the ship … not passengers who are along for the ride. By the way … this is an aggravating behavior to the current pilots of the ship.

Yeah.

I know.

I would suck at being a consultant.

Not only does no one want to hear the truth … when they do hear it they disregard it is ‘non-truth’ <’that’s not really the way its is’> or worse … the answer that sends me directly to a bar … “oh, that isn’t relevant.”

I imagine my real point here is that a consultant is worth every overpriced dime you give them … if they tell the truth.

Question of the day.

Would you want to know how long you’re likely to live <assuming you don’t get pushed off a cliff by your spouse)>?

“I don’t know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before.

Not just his life – anybody’s life; my life.

All he’d wanted were the same answers the rest of us want.

Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got?”

–

Deckard in Blade Runner

=========

Whew.

Knowing how long you would live.  Now there is an interesting question.  I bring it up because some scientists/doctors/smart-people-I-don’t-know-what-they-do have developed a blood test that could predict how long you will live (it’s called a “Telomere test” to all you biology freaks).

Do I truly believe the test is accurate? Nope.

Do I believe the test is infallible? Nope.

Do I believe the test can directionally tell you how long you could live? <assuming you do not get pushed off a cliff or stand in front of moving buses>

Yup.

But.

I think the real question is … do I believe people want to know?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm …. that one is tougher.

Here is what I do know.

I would.

I would take it in a second. I would have taken it when I was 21 <so I don’t think my point of view has varied over time>.

Would most other people? <here is the answer below>

The Guardian ran a poll on their website. I believe they had several thousand respondents:

Would you take a test that tells you how long you’re likely to live?

A blood test that can show how fast you’re ageing and estimates how long you have left to live will go on sale later this year. Will you be taking it?

 

50.9%   Yes

49.1%   No

 

So.

Basically the world is split on this. 50% would and 50% wouldn’t.

Was I surprised? Gosh.  I don’t know. I didn’t know what to expect.
But suffice it to say that there are plans in Britain to offer an over-the-counter blood-test kit that would allow you to learn your biological age (and, from there, to estimate how much longer you might live).

Anyway.

This test measures the length of your telomeres, which are like caps at the end of each of your chromosomes. Every time a cell divides, its telomeres are shortened. The more dividing that’s gone on, the more your body has aged.

Therefore short telomeres suggest advanced age (that’s the everyday person’s definition of how this hifalutin test works).

The thought that this telomeres blood test might serve as a potential measure of life expectancy takes on a new perspective when the test kit moves out of a scientific lab and into your own home.

I guess the main question for anyone considering such a test has to be, of course, whether you really want to know how much time you still have left.

It is an interesting question.  And kind of a dilemma <because what do you do when you do know?>.

I scanned a bunch of articles and of course everyone started the whole domino affect discussion <who do you tell, what do you do, what about insurance companies, all that crap>.

Who cares?

Really the only question resides within you.

And me.

Me?

I would want to know.

Why?

“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.”

 

–

Chuck Palahniuk

I would then know how long I had left to create something that could last forever.

And maybe the knowledge would give me the strength to make whatever changes I would need to make to create something that may ‘live forever.’

Because it would really suck to run out of time before that happened.

Well.

When is saw this illustration I was fascinated with the different interpretations.

Is it fear of flying?

Is it fear of control?

Is it just the fear of letting go (any way you look at it)?

Is it letting go of the kite and giving that up.

Or is letting go of what is holding you to the ground.

I love this little illustration.

Life is just like that kite.

Everyone gets one (at least one) in life. You either decide to fly it, fly with it or let it go at some point.

Regardless of your personal choice my only wish is we make sure every child has a kite and learns to fly a kite.

For they need to know that it is okay to fly.

I recently had a couple of conversation where I was being asked a lot of questions about new business, positioning a company and all that sort of stuff. Of course that type of conversation wanders thru strategic strength, criteria of ‘what you want’ (call the criteria fun, fame, and fortune) and how to grow a business smartly (and a half dozen other topics).

In both cases they were pleased with the conversation and asked if I had a process they could use to help guide the people around them in this discussion.

Whew.

Bring up one of my pet soapboxes.

Well.

Having worked my way thru these issues at least a hundred times … yes … I have a process. In fact I probably have 5 or 6 effective processes. Okay. I probably have a thread of questions that probably need to be answered to effectively reach a conclusion.

Suffice it to say most situations relate to a continuum of “who am I now, where am I now, where do I want to be, how do I want to be seen in the end.” I have seen consultants and positioning experts apply a variety of words and “voodoo” process systems to attack these same questions over and over again.

To me it’s kind of silly to have one process to attack this. Especially if you believe the solution resides within the company itself (or whomever is asking the questions) rather than the answer residing within the consultant (because the answer never is there by the way).

The “process” is typically dictated by the problem that needs to be solved and the personality of who has the issue that needs to be resolved. I will be honest. I don’t really give a shit about my process. I just care about what trick (or tool that inspires the response necessary to get the conversation moving if you feel better worded that way) I have up my sleeve at the moment that will get the person who has the issue to be able to state their problem in a way that they kind of see the solution themselves. Is that process driven? Heck I don’t know. I doubt I do exactly the same every time. And I sure won’t shove “my process” down someone’s throat if it slows us down from finding a solution.

Timing? In general I think week long consulting gigs are nuts. I think if you get the right people in a room and stimulate the right conversation if a consultant can’t isolate the issue in one day he/she isn’t worth a shit as a facilitator or “consultant”. It isn’t some type of voodoo. There aren’t but so many solution vectors available. And most people who look at their problems when you force them to truly strip things down can see the core issue (heck. They are typically smart folk. Sometimes they just get caught up in the fog of politics and random important unimportant things they have to think about.

One day.

One room.

The right people.

You should get close to the core issue and solutions.

Consultants also drive me a little nuts. Especially how they get paid.

Here is the deal in my eyes.

Initially pay me for my time and the effort I put into it. Cover my expenses. That is it. If the consultant sucks that is all you pay. And that is all the consultant deserves. Even if the consultant in their brilliance believes they have given you brilliance (and you just weren’t brilliant enough to see it) they shouldn’t be rewarded for that. They just weren’t good enough for you to see the brilliance. Don’t pay them anymore then their time and initial effort.

Okay.

You were happy. Thought there was value. You felt it was time well spent. You may have even found a solution (by the way. No matter what you are told you may not walk out with a usable solution.) Or for a variety of reasons you may get close to “the answer” but just cannot implement it or whatever. But. SEEING the solution was worth it. Pay some more.

Last.

You thought it was worthwhile AND you found a usable solution. Pay more. The consultant earned it.

Paying more by getting help implementing.

Well, sometimes a consultant can earn more by helping you implement the solution. I believe the lure of money can make people do some things they just may not want to be involved in.

Sometimes it is good to part company and to walk away then. Implementation can use some outside guidance but I kind of believe you will either get it done as an organization or you won’t. Sure. There are some tricks that can help gain embracing of an idea but bottom line is it takes management fortitude to win the day not organizational alignment tricks (tools).

Sometimes great consultants are like “hit men.”

Their strength is focus and solution for the issue. And I admit I also like to offer up a couple of methods to implement a solution (usually right when the solution is discussed). But I am probably better served walking away and maybe coming back in a year and talking with the same group about “the solution” and how it is going.

In other words continue to maximize the strength of “stepping in, assessing, and offering a solution.”

But, hey, that’s my opinion.

Communicating meaningful information so people can make meaningful choices.

Let’s talk about the definition of ‘Marketing.’

It isn’t sales.

It isn’t some psychological mumbo jumbo of convincing people to do something they don’t want to do.

It IS about attitudes & behavior. That means … at its heart marketing should be about education.

And similar to our school systems I believe marketers have a similar responsibility as teachers … a responsible transfer of information.

Okay.

That doesn’t mean, as a marketer, I have to always facilitate a debate on the positives of social democracy versus socialism in the marketplace with regard to adult diapers but it does mean marketers have a responsibility to speak the truth. Not nuances of the truth (or selective lying … or selective or partial truths).

So, in the end, I tend to believe marketing’s struggle will always reside within individuals’ definition of “meaningful information.”

And we shouldn’t be naïve enough to believe that even if everyone agrees with this definition that everyone will “get it right.”

In some cases people will make true mistakes based on “I think it should be ‘this’ versus you think it should be ‘this’.” <note: because whether we want to admit it or not … people in marketing are … well … people .. and not all people think exactly the same way … sorry about that>

On other occasions, someone will decide to try and communicate something unimportant and try to make it important (shame on you).

The largest error in our ways will be reflected in what I see is the biggest flaw in the marketers’ world.

The fact that most marketers delude themselves into shaping something <product or service … or worse … a ‘brand’> as unique when it is simply well crafted information (and not unique).

Regardless.

I believe marketing is ultimately about truth.

Maybe I am naïve but I believe common sense and honesty always ends up winning. False “uniqueness” is uncovered as emperors’ clothes in the end … so why not stake truth out, meaningful information, for all to see and let people make meaningful choices?

You are gonna have to do it anyway <because consumers are pretty smart people>.

In other words, educate people and they will judge what you say, your product,your company, your brand with an unjaded eye.

The potential prize? Maybe, just maybe, they will actually choose what you are offering for all the right reasons.

So.

All that said. Here is a surprising definition (that is if you have done the math and uncovered the formula) … the definition of Marketing is … well … truth.