Category Archives: Thoughts

Thoughts

Beyond words

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Companies are always looking for ways to retain their best employees, their talent.

Many offer incentives, some provide developments opportunities, most give pay rises, bonuses or promote people. On that rare occasion, a company does something which trumps any other incentive – it gives without expecting anything in return. It shows gratitude that makes anything else pale in comparison.

This time it’s personal. It’s not about communications, it’s about being human. It’s about my brother.

Let me first take a quick step back – six months ago, my brother Michael passed away after succumbing to a brain tumor. He fought valiantly, but we knew what the outcome would be.

In the time he was fighting the tumor, he continued working on a project for the company he worked for, the Malta Medicines Authority.

Despite everything, he worked passionately on this project, like he had done for all the projects he ever undertook in his life. In the two years plus that he was fighting the tumor, his employers always gave him the full support he and his family needed.

And now, they have gone a step further.

Last Friday, the extension my brother worked so hard on was finally opened, six months to the day of his passing.

To be honest, I didn’t know. I had just returned from a run when a text came in from his widow with a link to a local news portal, and it left me speechless. The authority had decided to name the extension after my brother in recognition of his work.

What an amazing thing to do.

His colleague Emma Cassar Buontempo summed it all up when she told a local media outlet that “Michael was a very jovial character, energetic and with a talent to find something positive in any situation, no matter how difficult. He was always there when needed.”

And the chairman of the authority, Prof. Anthony Serracino Inglott, called on workers to appreciate their colleagues and not wait until they are no longer around.

This is what really matters. Such messages help reinforce one’s commitment and loyalty to their workplace. It’s not always money that matters – sometimes, it’s about recognition and respect.

My brother was a great worker, and the Malta Medicines Authority have shown that they were worth his while.

Thoughts

Corporate communications – what’s that about?

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The other day, an acquaintance compared corporate communications to the unruly cousin who gets invited to the party just because he’s family.

“Corporate communications – what’s that about?” he asked, dismissively. I tasked myself with explaining it to him for the next few minutes and the importance of the function for any company of any size, but he just shrugged it off before adding that his department increased sales by 17% compared to the previous quarter.

“Beat that,” he stated as he walked off. I must admit that I was annoyed and would have removed him from my Christmas card list if I had one.

This encounter made me think – it is, indeed, very hard for corporate comms to show why it is such a critical component of any corporate structure. CEB (now Gartner) describe this as Measurement Envy, and the picture shows exactly what this is.

Measurement in corporate communications is extremely important, and it’s also very hard to do, as highlighted in this great must-read article by Wendy Marx on Fast Company.

Ms Marx also highlights the dangers of underestimate corporate comms, highlighting that “we’re already familiar with the damage an out-of-place tweet by a CEO can do in the age of social media”.

Big companies excluded, many corporate communication teams are really one-(wo)man bands, or have it added on to somebody’s title as an after-thought. Looking through vacancies nowadays, it seems that (corporate) communications is always preceded by an ampersand.

That’s a pity because it’s such an important function – and here’s why.

Corporate comms is both an internal and external function. Internally, corporate comms builds a story for staff, and helps breaks down the ivory towers that higher management sometimes (inadvertently) build.

We reach out to colleagues and give them the opportunity to speak to their top management and, maybe even more importantly, to each other by providing them with the right tools. Intranet is the best example, but there are also internal social media platforms, bulletin boards, widgets and apps, and the often-overrated face-to-face discussions.

In my current role, we introduced Yammer and it has been hugely successful with virtually the entire company joining and more than half actively contributing (this is something we can measure, and it’s growing).

Communicating the company mission, vision, and strategy gives staff direction and support. It also helps quell any company’s nightmare – rumors. Often, they are untrue or grossly exaggerate a truth, and this often results in the uninformed taking ill-advised decisions.

Externally, corporate communications has many functions, be it building reputation, issuing press releases, upholding corporate identity, thought leadership, supporting the c-suite in public appearances, public relations aimed at supporting company products, publicizing the company’s mission, vision, strategy, and values, and providing communication expertise in a crisis situation, which includes telling executives when they should speak and what they should say, and when it’s better to not say anything.

And the list for both internal and external comms is far from exhaustive.

The result is that corporate communications contributes to everything a company does, maybe in a more indirect manner. The function gives the company that added value, that edge over competitors.

I’m still not sure how I can convince my acquaintance of its value, though. I guess he’ll find out the day his company decides that they don’t really need corporate comms, although by then it may be too late.

Thoughts

Mike

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You were always Mike to me, not anything else. My brother.

You were my first friend, my first enemy, my first buddy, my teacher, my mentor. I followed you at a distance – my music tastes are forged in your tastes, and thankfully helped me to find my two best friends.

I knew you as nobody else, a special bond that not even death can take away. I always wanted to be you because you are what I wanted to be.

Even when destiny handed down a death sentence, you persisted. All the way.

I see the passion, the character, the strength, the charisma, the determination, the will power in your girls – man, once again you did a great job. Unsurprisingly, your choice of lifelong partner was spot on. She’s tough as nails.

So four months have passed. Feels like yesterday.

My regret is that I wasn’t in Malta to enjoy more time with you. It’s a similar regret I have with our father – at least I got to spend an infinitesimally short time with you before you left. And for that, I am grateful. Very grateful.

I don’t need to tell people how great you are – they know that. Everyone knows Cuti. And everyone misses Cuti,

To me, you are Mike, my brother. Miss you man.

Thoughts

It’s about people

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I generally advocate for communication tools that reach a targeted audience, or as large a number of people as possible – shotgun communications sort of thing, where you try to hit everything in sight.

That’s my job.

Over the years, I have developed and created tools that seek to do just that, be they press releases, internet sites, intranet site, and a pile of other tools.

But there are instances where leaders need to stop depending on their communications people to get a message across. Sometimes, you need to just stop and talk to people and tell them what a great job they are doing. Or just say hello.

It’s like having a target audience of one person. Just one, face to face, no phones or intranets, no memos (do people still use memos?) nor instant messaging, Skype or anything. Just two people, speaking.

You’d think this was as obvious as boneless bananas, but apparently it isn’t.

Like when a colleague was looking unhappy, and it transpired that she had done a great deal of work and believed that nobody noticed. But they did, only nobody bothered to tell her.

I mentioned that her work was appreciated and somebody said that she had sorted out an area in her department that was a huge mess before she had arrived. Her face lit up, and then she opened up to me on how she was feeling sad because she had done a lot of work and felt unappreciated.

Sometimes, we communicate the big things and forget the small. Only the small can have a far larger impact in both the short and long run.

Communications isn’t just about intranet articles, press releases, yammer posts, and fancy events – it’s about people.

Thoughts

Change communications

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Change has a bad reputation fueled by the connection made to closures, redundancies, and other animals. People apparently can’t cope with change, but the truth is you can’t survive without it.

Greek philosopher Heraclitus said change was the only constant – and he was probably onto something. If things stayed the same, I’d still be sporting a Jheri curls and parachute pants, and I’d need a dedicated room to house my computer.

Today, Jheri curls gone, life moves at a faster pace than ever before, and change is happening at an incredibly fast pace. As a communications professional, here is my list (yesss, a list) of how to tackle it to maximize the real benefits change brings about:

  • Change can be (is?) good

 

    1. Needless to say, if you lose your job as a result of change, it probably isn’t great. However, it generally is, and this is the spirit in which change communications should be tackled.
  • Don’t lie…

 

    1. We PR people are often accused of sugar-coating the truth. Fair enough, it’s fair comment. Describing an office/factory closure as a ‘strengthening of the brand’ does not fly with the staff made redundant – it adds insult to injury. A spade should be called a spade.
  • … but get your messaging right

 

    1. The right message is the single most important element of change. If you say you are closing a factory because the boss wants to buy a yacht with the savings, this may not go down that well (BTW, if this were the case, it’s probably time for you to look for a new employer)
  • Consistency

 

    1. If you work in a global environment, you have to ensure that what is heard on one side of the globe is also heard on the other. Top people may not realize it, but colleagues do speak to each other…
  • Lobbying works

 

    1. Going in ‘cold’ works when the mindset is generally in line with yours, but lobbying is necessary when positions differ drastically. This does not mean compromising, but merely making the case to individual leaders and influencers on a personal level at an early stage in the process.
  • Be very well prepared (over-prepared, really)

 

    1. Obvious, really, but not always done. And when you think you have done enough, make sure you re-double your efforts and do more. There is no such thing as over-prepared, really.
  • Prepare a toolkit to help your leader communicate

 

    1. Try this out – go to a meeting and listen to the speaker. When done, ask people around you what the key take-away of the meeting was. Unless you have an excellent speaker / orator, you’ll find that opinions differ. Preparing tools (e.g., talking points, elevator speeches, slide decks, Q&As, infographics, social media posts, photos, videos, animations, etc.) are helpful to ensure consistency. It also makes it easier for leaders who are not left to ‘deal with it’ alone.
  • Once you finalize all the material, be prepared for more changes

 

    1. You can set deadlines, but sometimes changes happen at the very last minute – and you have to be prepared to accept them. If you don’t, you risk going out with a message that’s not quite right. Also, just have one set of documents – having two or more means double work. In this case, online sharing and collaboration tools such as SharePoint are very useful.
  • Repeat your messaging in all communications

 

    1. When I worked as a journalist, a leading politician complained that we never gave his party good coverage. This was not true, of course. But I did suggest that he should occasionally say something new for us to report – that, I explained, was why they were called newspapers. He retorted that for a message to get through to people, it had to be repeated 20 times. Now, as a comms professional, I am now inclined to believe him more. Repetition is key to success.
  • Speak to people

 

Don’t be afraid to get on the phone with people to explain change. It’ll go a long way to win people over

Thoughts

Dear Dad…

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It’s been four year now, four years in which I have often sought ways of bridging the void you left. Haven-t managed yet.

The timing for your departure was cruel, albeit not totally unexpected. Then again, when is there ever a good time to see one go?

I spoke to you last on my birthday. Eight days later, I received the early morning call I had so long dreaded. It was my brother on the other end. He was emotional, but brief and to the point. Typical Cuti.

After our last chat, I knew that time was tight. That was when I decided we should have a heart to heart, clearing up a great deal of issues that we had never, ever spoken about. I planned a January visit, giving me time to prepare.

I’ll never know how it would have gone. You passed before I got home. Leaving Malta entailed a lot of good and a great deal of sacrifices. Not being around when you left is probably one of the hardest things I had to go through.

It pains me to see people putting off visiting parents or loved ones. Thy will only realize what their missed once it is too late. I did.

Now, four years later, life goes on. Whenever I do anything, I always try to think of what you would do. Needless to say, I often do otherwise. It’s like when you were still here. And very often you were right. For example, I must tell you that your warnings about the possible consequences of my voting intentions have come somewhat true.

Torino is in the upper half of the table and in good company with Milan on the same points. Italy still faces a play-off match to qualify for the world cup, and women footballers are still playing far better football.

Mum is also doing fine. She hides the emotional days she has so she can look strong for us kids. Some things never change.

Your son,

Steve

Thoughts

Limited resources requires better focus

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Communications is a vast field with numerous great tools and possibilities – pity that many companies treat the field as a ‘nice to have’ as opposed to a ‘must have’.

We all know that resources are limited. But as a consummate professional, I feel I can’t turn someone down when they come for help, whether it is just a simple proof-reading task or helping with the creation of a product PR plan or communications launch strategy for the company’s brand new corporate identity.

Ideally, we’d have enough members in the team to provide offer full-service communications to any colleague who asks, but this is not the case.

The answer does not lie in saying no. Well, it does, but just saying no still leaves colleagues in difficulty. The Polish say ‘not my circus, not my monkeys’, but don’t we all love monkeys?

The answer is to focus on the most important business goals and direct your limited resources towards helping the company achieve its strategic goals.

One way of doing this is to adopt a tiered approach, meaning the communications team that lacks resources (that probably includes most) determines beforehand what it should work on and what it should turn down.

The manner in which this is done depends on the company – CEB Gartner suggest six tiers, ranging from complete support and funding, to no support at all depending on the importance of the goal. The bottom tiers are not abandoned to themselves but offered a external agency / freelance support through which their (communication) needs can be met.

The list could include PR agencies, creative agencies, social media experts, writers, photographers, taxi companies, and a whole lot more.

Having previously arranged contracts with agreed-upon hourly or fixed rates, business partners within the company do not need to find appropriate agencies, not forge relationships, or get Legal to help with contracts and that sort of work that generally makes matters complicated. Partners know who to contact, and also what costs are involved.

Turning colleagues down and directing them towards a different solution which also involves budget will result in push back. But you know what? You are in a professional environment, not a Kindergarten dealing with an unruly child. And people should act that way.

Dedicate enough time to plan this well – this will allow you in the long-run to focus on what you really need to focus on.

Determine your final goal, possibly your company’s strategic goals, and work backwards from there. Whichever way you go, you have to have a clear focus – if you know where you’re going, you’ll know when you arrive.

 

Thoughts

The rights (and wrongs) of women in business

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The workplace, at the best of times, is a veritable minefield for anyone. If you’re a woman, it’s probably worse because men – and even women – treat it as an extension of their home, or rather their parents’ home.

All the issues girls face growing up are also found in workplaces. You know the statement often made by colleagues that goes something like this: “Well, she’s the female employee – she can make the coffee” to which all male employees laugh and women stay silent for fear of being targeted (or having to make the coffee). If you have a brother, remember how it was like when he was given preferential treatment and you were left behind. Remember how your father ‘protected’ you by not allowing you to do anything remotely fun while your brother did whatever he wanted. Well, it’s the same story at the workplace – sorry.

It doesn’t happen everywhere, of course, and not all male employees are misogynists (although many are and they don’t even know it).

Here’s what I believe women should and shouldn’t do in the business world:

 

  1. Don’t accept a low-paid job if you have the qualifications for a well-paid job

If you do, you are condoning and encouraging men to continue doing what they are doing. And be careful, many women also believe that women should be paid less than men, and they are even more difficult to convince of the contrary.

  1. When offered a job, ask for 20% more…

… because you probably are being 20% less than you should be getting paid, and the same amount less than male peers with similar or inferior qualifications are getting.

  1. You can’t let emotions get in the way – sorry!

You could be having a bad day, have your period, had a sleepless night – whatever it is, personal things should be left at home. That’s the way it works. If you are not well, phone in sick.

  1. If you want to be treated equally, you have to accept that men won’t open doors for you

I once had a (woman) boss who scolded me for opening the door for her. She told me in no uncertain terms that I should stop doing it. I was, as a Mediterranean man, a bit taken aback as I feel it a duty to allow women to go first, open doors for them, pull their chair out at a restaurant, etc. And that’s all fine, but not in a business environment. My (woman) boss was right. So next time a man opens the door, insist that he goes first.

  1. Dress for business, not for clubbing

This does not mean that you don’t look your best – you do, but with appropriate clothing. By the way, the same applies for men. A former (male) colleague whom I worked with in the media trained regularly and was relatively well-built. He always insisted on going to work in a very skimpy T-shirt. He was popular, but he was always given menial assignments and never really got far.

  1. No, you don’t need stilettos to do your job

Seriously, you don’t. I read somewhere that some companies insisted on their female employees to wear them. If women wear stilettos, so should men – imagine the overweight (male) manager trying to make his way up the stairs in two-inch stilettos…

  1. Women quotas are counterproductive (although sometimes necessary)

Quotas for women in top positions are an interesting idea, and they mean well. But if you think about it, the average person will probably think you got the position because you have mammary glands and not because you are capable. I know, it’s unfair, but the times I’ve heard male colleagues say things like this is quite incredible.

  1. Men will always try to put you down – don’t fall for it or they’ll win

Similar to #7, men will also find some (generally unsavoury) reason why a woman got promoted, the most obvious being that ‘she probably slept her way to the top’. There are two things to consider – the first is that the people who say theses thigs probably don’t have the balls to say it to your face because they know it’s untrue, the second is that they want a reaction from you – and if they get it, they’ll have won. Oh, and don’t forget the mob mentality of others in a group agreeing and grinning about the whole issue just to blend in.

  1. Never, ever accept being treated like an inferior because you are not.
  2. If people say it’s impossible, they often forget to finish the sentence by saying “… because you’re a woman”. It may be impossible for them, not you. Think with your mind and you’ll come up with the right decision that suits you as an employee (irrespective of your sex)
  3. Men will try to speak over you – allow it once and they’ll do so all the time

You may find it uncomfortable, uneducated, and unprofessional, but I have seen so many cases of men shutting women up by constantly speaking over them. They speak louder, then speak even louder. This is a case when you have to fight fire with fire – it’s a zero-win game. Incidentally, some women will also try this – the same applies for them.

  1. Men will interrupt you by saying ‘Sorry to interrupt’

Don’t accept their apology and keep on going – it’s the same as for #11

  1. In absolutely no way on earth is it your fault if some idiot male sexually harasses you in any way, shape or form, verbally or physically. It’s simply not your fault in any way or form.

Statistics on this are worrying, but what’s even more concerning is that most women don’t say anything about it. It may be hard, but silence is tantamount to accepting such behaviour. Regarding this point, I am relatively sure that I have done things in my professional life that have made my women colleagues uncomfortable – if I did, I sincerely apologize.

Thoughts

The rights (and wrongs) of women

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When speaking to one of my three daughters the other day, I realized that somehow she was under the impression that she couldn’t do something ‘because I’m a girl’. I strive not to do anything that upholds this impression, but the problem is that I believe society is so male-centered that women must take it upon themselves to change.

As a father of three girls, I want to make sure – as much as I can – that they live in a fair world, not one where they are constantly in second place. So here’s my list of things women should stop / start doing:

 

  1. Don’t change your name when you get married – why can’t your husband change his? Marriage is the seal of a contract between two parties to form a union for life, and immediately, the woman has to submit to her husband by taking his name. It sets the tone for future life. Is there any law that says a woman should take her husband’s name? If there is, it should be repealed, if there isn’t such a law, woman shouldn’t do it.
  2. Speaking of marriage, why not have the groom’s mother give him away to his future wife and not have the father give the bride away – is she his possession?
  3. Don’t accept low paid jobs. Just don’t. If you do, you are setting yourself up for a big fall. Don’t let people (usually men) put you down and make you lose your self-esteem to the point that you believe you can only do marginal jobs.
  4. When you’re offered a normal (sic) job, don’t accept the salary they offer – ask for 20% more. In this way, you are ether on an equally footing with your male counterparts or you’re getting a better pay than them (because you probably deserve it).
  5. Don’t agree to having women’s quotas – they simply reinforce the idea that you ‘only got the job because you’re a woman’ and, by definition, men are better.
  6. Do laugh at ‘jokes’ which undermine women – the ‘must be a woman driver’ type jokes. These are men’s way of putting you down subtly.
  7. Always, always have control over your finances. Always
  8. If you are a housewife, treat it as a job like any other. This means that you need to plan, budget and also ensure you have time off. It also means that you can’t expect your husband / partner to know what you do (in the same way you don’t know what he does).
  9. If you want a job, go for it. Your husband / partner can also stay home as a househusband. The he can enjoy ‘not working all day’
  10. Drive, at least half the times you are with your partner / husband.
  11. If your husband / partner is so keen on showing off his skill with the BBQ, you should also make sure he does the same with the induction cooker.
  12. If you want to be treated equally, don’t expect men to open doors for you.
  13. If your husband / partner expects you to get all done up for an event, you should also expect him to do the same
  14. Have an opinion, even on the most mundane things – don’t depend on others to give you your opinion
  15. Don’t take a mini course for self-defence – take regular normal martial arts / boxing / kick boxing lessons or similar. In this way, you don’t need a man to stick up for you. And if you think it’s not ‘normal’ for a woman to do so, remember that this notion was introduced by men (probably).
  16. If your husband / partner hits you, leave or throw him out. He will not change. It’s irrelevant whether or not he had a bad day – it is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. Report the incident to the police, too. If you do nothing, he will get away with it and yes, he will hit you again.
  17. Don’t aim to reach a goal so that ‘you’re the first woman to do it’, but aim for a goal because you know you can do it and are good at what you do
  18. Don’t accept lists of this you should or shouldn’t do that were made up by a man (except this one, of course)
Sports, Thoughts

Successful failures

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I realized that two of my supposedly biggest sporting failures in terms of results were actually not as bad as I believed. No, scratch that. They were successes. Let me explain…

The first was a football game I played towards the end of the 1980s. I played in goal for the youth team of one of the bigger clubs in Malta and we were thrashed 4-0. It was a complete onslaught with wave after wave of attack.

Balls were coming at me from all direction and with varying speeds – from very fast to what seemed like ‘ludicrous mode’ (with apologies to Tesla). Now, I conceded four goals and felt terrible when the game ended. Surely, if you lose 4-0, the goalkeeper cannot feel great, can he? But what happened next surprised me.

As I was walking back to the bench, all the opposition players came to me to shake my hand and pat me on the back. They greeted me with ‘well dones’ and ‘amazing performance’. My team, too, were swarming round me. I was expecting jeers and criticism after conceding four.

The thing I hadn’t realized was that if I weren’t in goal that day, and played so well, we would have probably suffered a humiliating defeat comparable to Malta’s performance against Spain in 1982.

The next is the marathon I ran last May. I must admit, I came last in my age group. It did take me a staggering 4 hours 50 minutes to complete the 42.195 km track. A bit disappointing, I thought.

Really and truly, just finishing was an achievement in itself – it’s just a matter of having the right perspective.

The moral of the story is that you should not let your mind be clouded by doubt and lack of confidence. My Maltese teacher at school, a large part-time farmer with a permanent frown and temper (although a great teacher – just in case he’s reading this), said no matter how ugly you are (yes, he said ‘ugly’), you will still find your way in life, and even find a partner. He was right. Apparently, despite his grumpiness, or maybe in spite of it, he could always see things from a different perspective.