Gizzits
I have grappled with the complexities of gizzits for donkey’s years. Gizzits for those of you unfamiliar with the term are basically corporate freebies used externally for marketing purposes at trade shows, conferences and the like, and internally, typically to celebrate something.
According to ARRSEPedia, the font of all spurious knowledge for the British Army, the word gizzit derives from the traditional army habit of acquiring souvenirs whilst ’abroad’. “That’s shiny, gizzit ‘ere!” so the story goes.
For military invasion read trade show. We’ve all seen them. Roughnecks marauding from stand to stand hunting down stress balls, garish ballpoints and shiny memory sticks with sadly inadequate memories. If they get really lucky, they track down the holy grail of trade show gizzits, the mobile phone deck chair.
Note my slightly dishonest use of the third person plural here. Admit it. We’ve all done it…
My real interest in the science of gizzitology is in the internal use of corporate gifts, where they attract greater levels of variance in terms of perceived disposability and value. By value, I don’t really mean financial value, for there is none. Unless of course you count the money saved by not buying them in the first place. No folks, the true value of a gizzit is measured in emotional equity. And this is where things get tricky.
I’ve never worked anywhere where your own branded merchandise is not highly prized. It’s amazing how much emotional value there is in a baseball cap, T shirt or pack of cards dished out, preferably with no strings attached. The road to gizzit nirvana is however strewn with potholes and dangerous bends. There is a very thin line between success and failure when you play with people’s emotions.
If you get it right, nothing beats the power of a gizzit to raise spirits. If you get it wrong, damp squibs and chocolate teapots spring to mind. The challenge is to make sure that the the internal use of gizzits is appropriate, proportionate, timely, on-brand, culturally acceptable, equitable and hits the gizzit-spot (let’s call it the g-spot) of every recipient.
If they are not dished out to everybody at the same time, the ‘have nots’ can get very uppity, even if they know it is on the way. So the logistics have to be spot on. If a particular team or location is earmarked for exclusive gizzitry, those left out will be unforgiving.
Perhaps the hardest thing is getting around the “one size fits all” issue. For example, there is often a bit of a divide between what a senior director would value versus the preference of a front-line customer service representative. Another trophy for the cabinet is great if you have a trophy cabinet. Or even a desk. To someone who hot-desks every day, this is unlikely to land as well. Closely aligned to this is cultural fit. Why would you give a USB memory stick to a work force that doesn’t use computers, or a crystal paperweight to a dynamic young paperless internet company?
So my questions are thus.
- Are gizzits worth the time, effort and cost or should you consider other forms of internal recognition and celebration that are less problematic?
- What is the best gizzit ever to land on your desk?
- What is the worst, most inappropriate or lame gizzit you have ever been given?
There’s value in values
What’s the difference between brand values and core values?
Brand values are owned by the brand musketeers in Marketing, often with enthusiastic kettling from ludicrously expensive external consultants. Their job is to communicate to the external audience in a way that creates an expectation of a particular experience with a product or service. They are therefore likely to be aspirational and even on occasion (shock horror) a little bit contrived. They’re there to sell. They are therefore prone to change and re-invention as new products and services are developed and existing products wither and die.
Core values on the other hand are more likely to belong in the HR stable, often with enthusiastic kettling from ludicrously expensive external consultants. They are directed at the internal audience. They serve as a set of guiding principles to employees. They are enduring truths about what is important to the people within the organisation. They are not objectives. They do not seek to change behaviour. They cannot be invented. They already exist in every organisation. You don’t create them, you uncover them. The essence of core values is that regardless of any changes in your products, services, and the world around you, they remain constant and resonate with everyone in the company.
Forget everything I just said about the above distinction because I don’t believe it really exists – and if it does at your place, sort it out now because it won’t be doing you any favours.
Brand values and core values should be the same thing. Granted, they may need dressing up in slightly different clothing, given that the external and internal audiences will be looking at them from different angles. Regardless, they should be the same thing.
Externally, customers will be looking to see what they can expect when they buy stuff from you or do business with your company. Internally, this message cannot afford to be a promise; it needs to be a deeply held and enduring truth. There has to be full alignment because any disconnect is likely to result in customer disappointment.
Core values that are not deeply held and enduring truths are empty promises.
Core values that are empty promises will not amount to engaged staff.
Brand values that are empty promises will not amount to engaged customers.
Brand values that misalign with core values will lead to internal friction and a lack of engagement with either the brand values or the direction of the company. Staff will question the development of products and services they feel are not aligned with the company’s core values. At best they will become reluctant passengers. They may still travel with you but you will lose their best work and natural advocacy. At worst they will seek every opportunity to apply the brakes.
Whichever way you cut it, customer disappointment is inevitable.
If your brand values are driven by the success of a single product, they will have a shelf life limited to the success of that product. If your brand values are driven by your core values they will have longevity and a dramatic impact on your future product development pipeline and organisational growth.
Take a few minutes to listen to what Steve Jobs had to say on the value of values way back in 1997.
He knew the score.
Policy Schmolicy
When you write a policy, you probably do so because someone somewhere wants to manage risk and protect the people it’s aimed at. Despite this noble intent, many flinch when a new policy is announced because they think that yet another cherished freedom is under attack.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Policies can empower. They can liberate. They can enrich. And they can make you feel a whole lot better. That’s because they tend to provide clarity around what is acceptable and what isn’t. This clarity removes doubt and fear that can otherwise stifle an individual’s personal and professional development as well as cripple the organisations they work for, by blocking innovation and collaboration, and encouraging risk aversion, inertia and even withdrawal.
To be effective a policy has to make sense and land well with the intended audience. The ‘what’s in it for me’ question must be addressed right up front. “Failure to comply with this policy could lead to disciplinary action, including dismissal” just doesn’t cut the mustard.
That’s a bit like telling people they are lucky to have a job when they submit an idea to improve the conditions they work in.
With words like ‘compliance’, ‘discipline’, ‘conflict’, ‘declaration’, ‘grievance’, ‘enforcement’, ‘monitoring’ and ‘unauthorised’, the language around policies is littered with negativity.
I promise you there’s at least a glimmer of positivity in every policy and a shed load in most, so stop focussing on the doom and gloom and bring out the positives. Demonstrate how the policy will liberate you to get out there and sell more stuff, build better products, provide even better support to your customers and even maybe encourage you to evangelise about the great company you work for.
Given that most policies fly out of Legal, Finance, Internal Audit and HR it may be too much to expect the language within to ensure a smooth landing with the intended audience. This is where Internal Communications should take over the controls, ease back on the throttle, and bring the plane in safely.
The next question is do they really have to be so damned prescriptive?
Pulling in the same direction
I love working in Internal Communications. What’s not to love about trying to create a climate inside an organisation where the major factors that influence employee engagement can thrive: respect, trust, openness and recognition. For me it is the noblest of professions that has the potential to drive business performance like no other.
Marketing, Public Affairs and PR may well get all the money, resources and glory. Am I bothered? Not a jot, because I get the quiet satisfaction of knowing that what Internal Communications is doing is more challenging, more complex and every bit as important.
Internal Communications has unique challenges that external facing teams don’t have to contend with, and this fact alone makes the job such a blast.
Perhaps the biggest of these challenges is securing the enduring commitment of the senior leadership team. I say enduring because that is the key difference between external and internal communications. External communications only really needs the commitment of the senior leaders at certain points in the supply chain; budget approval, communications plan sign-off, cooperation at media training time & rehearsals, and then sticking to the script when let out in public. The rest of the time they can generally leave things in the very capable hands of the Corporate Communications team and not give a second thought to what they’re up to.
Internal Communications however needs the commitment of the senior leadership team all of the time – and I mean all of the time.
From the minute they walk in the door to the minute they clock out 13 hours later, day-in, day-out, they need to be acutely aware of the influence they have on their people. One unguarded moment; one throwaway comment on a conference call; one ill-considered line in an email; that’s all it takes to expose a potentially critical lack of alignment with company’s strategy and values, or with the rest of one’s peers on the senior leadership team.
More than anything, leaders need to live and breathe the company strategy and values through their actions,behaviours and words. Their job is to bring to bring this stuff to life internally and to empower and energise their people to follow the company’s strategic intent.
Just one loose cannon could lead to entire divisions working against each other and pulling in the wrong direction.
Internal Communications is there to facilitate and support organisational alignment – and without leadership alignment the odds are stacked against you. That’s why I believe that the single most important part of our job is to facilitate and support leadership alignment.
It’s a bit harder and infinitely more interesting than simply managing intranet content and spraying corporate messages around with the Internal Communications scattergun.
I made you a cake but then I ate it…
I can’t think of a single word in the English language that pisses me off more than the word “but”.
There’s no other word quite like it for sucking the positivity out of a room. No other word comes close to plucking defeat from the jaws of victory.
Just when you think you’ve cracked it, out pops the ‘b’ word and everything unravels. I’d love to help you but… I think it’s a cracking idea but… It’s one of the best meals I’ve ever had but…
Think about it. What does “but” actually do?
I’ll tell you what it does – it effectively puts a line through the words that immediately precede it, rendering them a pointless waste of time.
The dictionary says that “but” is a conjunction used to indicate contrast. That’s far too generous. Contrast is good – it provides clarity and makes things sharper and more visible. I think we need a new definition.
but [buht; unstressed buht]
A word used to dilute the power of the words that precede it.
Puffery
I’m a frequent flyer, and as a consequence of international aviation law and my lily-livered British tendency to comply with silly rules, I tend to browse through the in-flight magazine until the seatbelt sign goes out. I’d love to know the real reason why I am forbidden from reading my Kindle, but that’s another story.
Anyway, that’s why I came across an astonishing example of corporate puffery this evening. You know the stuff. Bland and meaningless tosh used by corporate communicators the world over to fill a bit of space when they have nothing really to say.
Here is the offending piece, which is part of the welcome page inside the front cover, written (well, signed at least) by the airline’s Managing Director:
“With the new year fast approaching, I would like to share with you the news that throughout 2012 we will be announcing a number of new initiatives. These will ensure that we continue to making flying with us the quickest, most comfortable and best-value way to travel across Europe.”
He then moves on, swiftly changing the subject, leaving me in such a state that I felt compelled to whip out my laptop and write my first ever airborne blog.
Quite how the intention to announce news of news next year can constitute news today is beyond me.
But what is worse – corporate puff or marketing bull?
