Tag Archives: sustainability

ARE RESPONSIBLE BUSINESSES TAKING CARE OF THE FUTURE?

Ethical branding and sustainability trends for 2015 and beyond

There is so much talk of sustainability, ethical branding and how to strategise a company’s CSR programmes and efforts, to make ‘being good part of good business.’

Corporate governance and CSR – is it for REAL?

I have found two interesting items on this topic. The first, a delightful, creative and easy-to-understand ‘story’ about becoming a ‘conscious industry.’ I love it. But my question is, who sees it, who is learning from it and who is doing it? This is a resource that should be circulated to every single business in this country. To experience it, visit: www.ogilvyearth.co.za

The other, EthicalCorp’s report on sustainability trends for 2015.
Ethical Corporation is hosting its 14th Annual Responsible Business Summit in May this year at which over 300 executives from across the globe will discuss the future of responsible business.
As a precursor to this prestigious event, Ethicalcorp conducted a survey to assess the current issues and trends in sustainability. What emerged from the 472 responses were the 3 top international priorities in 2015:
1. Embedding CSR
2. Creating a Sustainable Culture
3. Sustainable innovation
30% of respondents stated that sustainable innovation was the most exciting opportunity for their company in the next five years.
Nearly 25% stated that their companies were driven by sustainability. The hope is that this would increase as sustainability becomes more embedded in R&D and permeates through the organisation.
Visit: www.ethicalcorp.com/rbs

I say, there’s too much talk and not enough will for action!

Why a Mission Statement?

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Why a Mission Statement?

Part of my work as a communication strategist is to ensure that my client (business, organisation or even individual) plans where it is going and how it is going to get there. Together we develop a ‘blueprint’ that serves to align its business plan with its communication plan so that the overall ‘dreams or hopes’ articulated in the mission statement, are fulfilled.

There are many debates around whether or not a mission statement is worth all the attention we afford it. Some say it’s a waste of time, while others say it represents the soul of the organisation; it is a declaration of intent, the guiding principles for the way a company behaves.

Take a look at Geoffrey James’ article: Mission Statements are a Joke

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/mission-statements-are-a-joke.html

Then take a look at the article on Holstee’s Manifesto:

http://www.inc.com/magazine/201202/a-powerful-mission-statement.html

What are your thoughts on a Mission Statement?

Exploring trends in Branding and PR without men

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We ran another very successful PR Boot Camp on Thursday, 20 March. The theme was “Exploring current thinking and trends in Branding and PR.” We covered a wide range of branding and PR information and each participant shared their experience and knowledge on the topic and then got down to actually reworking their own strategies based on their new insights.

Marcel, Lindy and Des hard at work Participants hard at work

Some of the key questions and issues raised included the ones I’ve listed below and, over the next month or two, I’ll be dealing with each one in a separate blog. However, here I want to focus on the last one: Why is it so difficult to draw local men to PR and Branding workshops?

The PR Boot Camp attracted a group of highly professional participants, including an attorney, two marketing managers – one from a large private hospital, the other from a firm of lawyers – a graphic designer and website builder, a business coach, an owner of companies, a human resource manager, and an online networking business operator. They proved to be a facilitator’s dream because they contributed constantly with insight, expertise and questions. The only thing was – they were all female! We had to ask ourselves, where are the men of Maritzburg?

No rest for the Marketing Manager

This opened the way for a deviation to an interesting discussion on workplace gender issues. Several of the women there had experienced a sense that some – NOT ALL (no need to get your jockstraps in a knot now!) – men in business still showed ‘traditional’ attitudes towards women. Examples included not taking seriously suggestions on business management that came from a woman; men would pay thousands of rand to go to Johannesburg to attend a seminar when facilitated by a man, while not attending a local one run by a woman of equal calibre; corporate men are generally slow to change or implement new ideas or procedures that are initiated by women.

What IS the reason for these attitudes and behaviours in 2014?

Feel free to comment………….. while you await the blogs on:

1. Why Brand? Is branding only for cattle?

2. Why a Mission Statement? Read this article: http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/mission-statements-are-a-joke.html

3. Why Ethics and Values in business?

4. How to outplay the Competition?

5. Why Social Network platforms?

6. Why a Communication Strategy?

7. How to brand and market a coaching business?

8. Why is it so difficult to draw local men to PR and Branding workshops?

Employee relations is core to any Business Branding Strategy.

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Connect, engage and win together

Strategic business communication planning should start ‘from the inside out’. Leaders and managers should begin with a journey to the ‘source’ and purpose of their business, to find the real values that drive them forward to growth, prosperity and sustainability.

Once they’re identified their values and set their goals, the obvious next step would be to share them with the people within the company who, on a daily basis, have to ‘live’ those values and work to achieve those goals. They have to buy in to them, making the company’s values and goals their own. Their actions and behaviour have to reflect their belief in the company and what it stands for. Some would refer to this as developing a ‘corporate culture’.

However, too often business leaders fail to share and instil the common core values and then wonder why there’s a mismatch or non-alignment between their values and customer satisfaction.

Here are some points on Strategic Employee Relations Planning. It can go a long way in developing a common culture that positively affects and benefits the employees themselves, customers and other stakeholders, the brand and ultimately the company reputation:

Business Leaders have to be audience-centric, and employees are the key audience. Leaders and managers have to listen to them in order to be ‘listened to’
Internal communication and engagement must be two-way and ongoing to contribute to team cohesion, performance, productivity and profitability
Employees must feel supported by management; their individual needs for growth and skills development must be addressed for mutual benefit
Knowing they and management have a shared purpose and vision gives employees the desire to achieve the common goals
Where there are actions aimed at fulfilling common goals, measurability, evaluation and constant reflection are welcome and valued
Rewards for achievement are a motivation to perform and reach goals together
Shared values and goals lead to shared responsibility where each employee knows what’s expected of him, as part of the whole organisation.

So it is vital that your Strategic Employee Relations Plan is used as a tool that underpins all your business activities.

Speaking about the corporate revolution….

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There is a corporate revolution going on! Complexity and chaos theories abound, and things have to change. Businesses need to take note of this and listen to the thought leaders’ appeals to start adapting before it’s too late.

As with all change in thinking and behaviour, there comes a change in the language we use to reflect our new beliefs and actions. Here are some of the current buzzwords in business, branding and corporate communication:

Organizational change involves “deconstructing the silos” or structures of business past and means making the necessary strategic shifts to meet the demands of the changing times. One of the most fundamental changes is in the balance of power between consumer and producer.

Power to the people, not corporates – people know more, they have more freedom, more access and more voice. They expect more and want to be treated accordingly. It is people who build brands and reputations, not companies themselves.

Customer is now audience, so-called because people are watching, listening and responding now, not just buying. If this relationship is audience-centred and managed well, the audience becomes your ‘community’ and advocates on behalf of your brand and builds your business with you.

Sustainability and Social responsibility – these concepts focus on conscious decisions and long term commitments to social, environmental and economic issues that affect ALL people, not just short-term CSI campaigns that gain company kudos.

Truth, Vision Transparency, Collaboration? Unfamiliar terms in business? But soft skills are now core skills. Developing these soft skills within a stakeholder engagement strategy means working on BOTH an emotional and a rational level. After all, we are dealing with people who really want to know who we are and what we stand for. And as with all relationships, we need to unpack our true purpose and seek collaboration partners to share it with. So now there’s more use of ‘us’ than ‘them’.

Spin is replaced with real content – spin attracts and lures people into believing what you say, based on the company’s needs or agenda. Relevant content and story-telling engage people and build relationships based on audience needs. It’s an ‘outside-in’ approach that values content marketing, instead of just product marketing, and connecting, not just selling, using conversations about the business and its products and services to build meaningful, long term relationships with the audience.

Ethical branding not just advertising. Every brand has its unique story about what it stands for, not only about its products. And even the products are ethical now. The question of image versus façade highlights exhibiting an identity based on purpose not profit, and mindful actions, not pretty packaging. People trust businesses that believe in what they do and value integrity rather than those with nice appearances and words.

The authenticity revolution? Carla Enslin calls it an evolution – wherein organisations become…. “responsible for creating legacies based on sound social and economic values and authentic practice”.

You’re a Corporate Communication Strategist? But what do you do?

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You’re a Corporate Communication Strategist? But what do you do?
In order to explain what I do as a Communication Strategist, I need to first point to a few crucial factors that answer the question “Why do you do what you do?”
1. The world is a different place now. Business is only one part of a much greater system and, to sustain harmony in the world, organisations have to consider their place in and their responsibility to the bigger system. They have to act in a way that enhances the concept of interdependence between economic, financial, environmental, political and social factors. The business arena is ‘being watched’ by activists and thought leaders who are very ready and able to expose companies that cause disharmony; so much so that regulators and governments are responding to the pressure by imposing guidelines and conditions for how organisations should behave if they want to be seen as reputable and sustainable global players.
2. A business is not self-sufficient, it needs all kinds of support from those on whom it depends for its existence. Today, people and consumers know more and expect much more from business. They want to feel that a business identifies with them and their needs, not the other way around, and ‘speaks to’ them.
3. There are thousands of similar products and services out there, so why should people choose yours? What you offer, over-and-above your product, counts for a lot now, and it is involves more than a transactional relationship, it must be real engagement with your people – an emotional connection. Differentiation through communication not products.

A communication strategist understands these factors and reaches out to the business world to develop a deep appreciation of how these factors impact a business’s operations, growth and success. The strategist engages with organisations through communication learning from each other, getting to know the company’s situation and responding to stakeholder needs appropriately to achieve business goals.
Tony Manning, once said, “Organizations are managed conversations.” Every day you and your organization communicate. There is an ongoing flow of information, ideas, opinions and emotions between an organisation and its audience or stakeholders – but is this communication well-planned to achieve its goals? Is it sufficiently strategic?
For corporate conversations to be meaningful and have a positive impact on the company and its publics, they need to be planned, appropriate and relevant. And the messages that come from a company must reflect its personality and its purpose. Developing a strategic communication plan moves the company in the right direction, getting internal and external audiences to buy into its vision, plans and activities.

The plan begins with YOU. Your company’s purpose and vision is fundamental to your success. If you don’t know your company’s purpose or even your own, finding one is your first priority. You also need to identify those with whom you want to share, collaborate and build your company, and then harness the power of communication to get them to work with you to accomplish your business goals.
Many business owners, managers and leaders need a helping hand in developing a clear, consistent and effective communication strategy. That is where the communication strategist comes in: she begins their conversation by getting the ‘boss’ to reflect on the business, its purpose and goals, its strengths, weaknesses and challenges, asking questions like: what is the outcome you want? What stands in your way? How do you overcome these obstacles?
At REAL Communication Consulting, we use well-researched methods to develop a strategic communication plan. We divide the process into ten ‘conversations’ in which you:
1. Identify your purpose and develop a vision or mission statement
2. Develop a corporate identity or brand to reflect who you are
3. Identify specific communication goals that support your business goals
4. Communicate mindfully with your stakeholders to learn what is important to them
5. Find alignment between your perceptions and those of your stakeholders
6. Develop the key strategic messages to achieve your goals
7. Create and deliver communication that speaks to your key stakeholders
8. Clarify meaning to minimize misunderstanding, wasted time, and negative emotions
9. Plan feedback and measurement methods to ensure that communication achieves its goal
10. Develop reflective practices that help you develop your communication expertise.

A communication strategy helps you create a productive communication environment, generating trust and a culture of interactive, engaging and meaningful communication in your organization.
Once your business starts on this journey, it will see itself as part of a much larger system with greater goals for future sustainability, and it will begin considering ways to make not only its business, but the world, a better place.