The Building Business Value newsletter has one purpose - to assist midmarket business leaders in their never-ending quest to build better companies.
This month we talk about one of your most nagging challenges ... creating clear channels of communications among all your stakeholders.
We are very conscious that you spend much of your day buried in e-mail, so it is with your permission that we send this newsletter your way.
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The 5-15
Keep Your Leadership Team Communicating
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After the Boeing Company acquired Conquest in the spring of 2003, I became the managing director of a business unit creatively named Maryland Operations. We went through the normal integration pains and once we got it through our heads that a $100M business unit was not going to change the policies of a $50 Billion company, the adjustments actually became easier to swallow.
But this is not a discussion about the challenges of merger integration; this entry is about more effective ways for your leadership team to communicate.
Much of the culture of being a leader at Boeing was at odds with my personal leadership style, but one of the great tools I took from the experience was the 5-15. The 5-15 was a tool used by Boeing to keep everyone informed on weekly (and normally tactical) activities going on in the company.
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| The Internal Press Release
Another Great Communications Tool |
A number of years ago I interviewed Bill Shrader for a book my colleague Bob Blonchek and I were writing ("Act Like an Owner", Wiley 1999). Bill was then the CEO of the high-flying internet service provider PSINet. One of the excellent tools Bill used to keep his team informed on how the company was performing was his weekly email. Bill had certain rules for the communique. He kept it brief ... less than a screen shot so you would never have to scroll down to see the full message. He always related inside events to the outside world with the idea that he would keep the staff focused on serving their customers versus being internally focused. It is an effective executive communications tool. More recently, Leo Fox, CEO of Tenacity Solutions suggested further compacting the message so those that read email on their phones won't have to hit the option to download the remainder of the message. Good thought.
Another great communications tool leaders can use is the Internal Press Release. The press release has been used for decades to inform stakeholders about new products, senior appointments and earnings announcements. A great deal has changed in the world of PR and press releases.
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As a business operator, I have been in a position to lead a company during troubled times. Concerns over the direction of the company, sleepless nights worrying about debt and cash flow, high anxiety over closing a deal or a transaction⎯the challenges seem endless. But I've also experienced the highs of leadership⎯the real joy of meeting client needs, the fulfillment of shaping a team, and the satisfaction of watching a vision become reality. As tough as it can be, there is really nothing quite like being a leader in the midmarket.
It is my sincere desire that this newsletter will support leaders in the midmarket as they navigate their way to building stronger, more valuable companies. I welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
Marty
Martin O'Neill
Corsum Consulting, LLC
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