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February 22, 2010

Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

Leadership Communication That Drives Results

Foreword by Marcia Silverman, CEO, Ogilvy Public Relations
2008 John Wiley & Sons Inc. Adapted by permission of Jossey-Bass ISBN: 978-0470200483

Introduction
Communication is one of the most important tools a leader can use to focus their employees on understanding, embracing, and delivering a companys strategy. However, most individuals reach positions of leadership without learning how to communicate with others in a way that not only accurately conveys information, but also elicits a successful response. In Beyond the Babble, Bob Matha and Macy Boehm present a three-step process for leaders to improve communication in their companies. This process, which they call the On Strategy approach, has one goal: to provide leaders with the process and tools needed to achieve better business results with effective communication. babble. Babble is interaction between leaders and their employees in which little or no real communication occurs. Babble can be empty morale-building catchphrases, meaningless statistics and meetings, or goal lists that sound impressive but contain nothing of real substance, least of all a concise plan on how to achieve success. From PowerPoint presentations to company newsletters and forums, most of what management uses to fire up their workers falls far short of the intended goal. Babble causes more problems for a company than it resolves. Babble fails to motivate, inform, or encourage employees. In fact, it fosters employee disengagement. It can widen the gap between management and employees by hiding problems beneath positive attitude exhortations, distracting leaders from dealing with the critical issues and making employees feel their management does not appreciate or under-

Babble and How It Hurts a Company

According to Matha and Boehm, the main reason for employee antipathy and apathy in the workplace is

Business Book Summaries February 22, 2010 Copyright 2010 EBSCO Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved

Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

stand them. Babble can sap workers commitment and pride in their work. For example, if company leaders stress quality and product superiority, yet push their employees to fulfill such high volume numbers that quality suffers drastically, workers will lose faith in their management and pride in their plant.

Key Concepts
The On Strategy communication approach gives organization leaders the process and tools needed to improve their companys communication: 1. Clarify the goals, strategy, and relevance of the companys plans through the Action Equation. The Action Equation (Know + Feel = Do) helps leaders concisely define where the company is headed and what employees must know and feel. 2. Prepare the People Channel by assembling and training leaders throughout the organization. The People Channel consists of the managers, supervisors, and informal leaders throughout every level of a company. The People Channel uses the Conversation Platform to communicate the company strategy to fellow employees in an informal, personal manner. 3. Use the People Channel to communicate the Action Equation through the Conversation Platform. The informal efforts of the People Channel must be supported and encouraged by all leaders.
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The On Strategy Approach

The On Strategy approach of leadership communication developed by the authors attempts to eliminate babble by helping an organizations leader develop a concise explanation of the companys end goals and a specific plan about how to achieve them; determine what the employees must do for the company to reach these goals; and articulate why the goals and the plan matter to the employees, management, and the business as a whole. The approach utilizes simple, frank language that focuses on strategy not empty morale-building to achieve goals. On Strategy communication requires more than the efforts of a high-end executive to put it into action; rather, it is most effective when leaders throughout all levels of the organization embrace its practices. In 2004, Matha and Boehm conducted a study with the research firm Employee Motivation & Performance Assessment, Inc. that identified five communication profiles prevalent in 27 major American companies: Open, Command, Rumor, Reporting, and Discussion. The highest performance companies had Open communication, the communication type that conforms closest to the On Strategy approach. Effective communication inspires employee trust in management, clearly defines the companys goals encourages employees to share their knowledge with others, and motivates employees to do their best for a company they take pride in and feel invested in.

Information about the author and subject: www.basics3.com/Home.html Information about this book and other business titles: www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/ Related summaries in the BBS Library: Corporate Conversations A Guide to Crafting Effective and Appropriate Internal Communications By Shel Holtz The Leaders Voice How Communication Can Inspire Action and Get Results! By Boyd Clarke & Ron Crossland

The Three Steps of On Strategy Communication

On Strategy communication synthesizes three tools, the Action Equation, the People Channel, and the Conversation Platform, into a clear three-step process for promoting business communication. These steps include: 1. Clarify the goals, strategy, and relevance of the companys plans through the Action Equation.

Business Book Summaries February 22, 2010 Copyright 2010 EBSCO Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

2. Prepare the People Channel by training leaders throughout the organization. 3. Use the People Channel to communicate the Action Equation through the Conversation Platform. Step 1: Clarify Goals, Strategy, and Relevance with the Action Equation (Know + Feel = Do)

Management must first determine where the company is headed and what employees must do, know, and feel in order for the organization to get there. Matha and The heart of On Strategy communication is in leaders and Boehm have created an equation employees talking to each other every day about strategic known as the Action Equation information and perspective that help them do their jobs and (Know + Feel = Do) to help leaddo them well. ers specifically define all three of these aspects. larger goals. Each part of the Action Equation must be The Do portion of the Action Equation encourages thoroughly analyzed by management before effective leaders to distill their company goals into two concise, On Strategy communication begins.

simply worded directives for employees: what the company needs to accomplish, and what is needed from each employee to achieve a successful outcome. The Know component emphasizes the need for employees to understand the rationale behind their organizations goals and strategies in order for them to fully commit to the effort. The Feel aspect of the Action Equation helps leaders identify what motivates their workers to perform well and connects that motivation to the achievement of the companys

About the Authors

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm are the cofounders of Basic 3, a Chicago-based firm specializing in leadership communications and employee engagement. Matha and Boehm are both senior internal communication advisors for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide clients and have written extensively on public relations issues. Bob Matha has focused on business communications for over thirty years, first with Jewel Foods and Johnson & Johnson, then with Premark International and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. As part of Ogilvy PR Worldwide, Matha developed an award-winning workplace communications practice, Ogilvy PR Inside. Macy Boehm has worked with Matha in Ogilvy PR Worldwide as both a senior counselor and coleader of Ogilvy PR Inside. She has helped a number of leaders and CEOs in Fortune 150 companies develop a clear vision of their companys vision and goals and determine how to better engage their employees.

Do: To begin using the Action Equation, leaders must first clearly define the companys Do goals in five hundred words or less. These goals must be actionable and specific enough for all to understand the actions required. The goals must include the companys nonnegotiable values for example, safety or ethical considerations as a major tenet. They must also be detailed enough so that workers do not wonder which of two values, such as quality or production volume, is more important. The goals must line up with the companys actions: if a company states employee training is a priority, the money and time spent on this training should be evident. Four questions can help an organization focus its goal-making in the Do stage: 1. What critical few goals must be achieved? 2. What company nonnegotiable values must be protected in the long-term? 3. How, specifically, can these goals be achieved? 4. Does each proposed action support the achievement of the overall goal? Know: For employees to buy into the Do goals, they need to know the reasoning the why behind the goals and the companys overall strategy. They need
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Business Book Summaries February 22, 2010 Copyright 2010 EBSCO Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved

Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

to know how this strategy, and their personal role in that strategy, affects their place in the business. Management can help workers gain an understanding of the reasoning behind business strategy in a number of ways. The four most important factors that affect business goals and strategy are (1) competition, (2) societal issues, (3) trends in the industry, and (4) changing customer wants and needs. Companies which are experiencing competition within their industry must be certain that their employees understand how and why this competition affects their individual jobs. Employees will be much more receptive to changes in the workplace or shifts in company goals due to societal, industry, or consumer pressures if they have been told about the competitive problem.

7. The substance of the work 8. The sense of accomplishment 9. The feeling of belonging 10. The companys contribution to the community It is imperative that management determines the main motivating factors driving their employees. The best methods of uncovering the source of motivational triggers are (1) discussion groups at various levels in the organization, and (2) specialized employee surveys. Of the two, discussion groups yield excellent results while being less expensive and requiring less time.

Discussion groups resemble focus groups, but are a less formal way of gathering information about employee thoughts and feelings. The most effective discussion To motivate employees to the highest levels of action, a leader groups use an unbiased thirdmust find out where company objectives and strategies interparty facilitator from outside the sect with employee emotions. Note that these motivations dont organization for separate groups necessarily reflect what management wants employees to care of, ideally, five to seven people about; rather, what actually motivates employees intrinsically. each. Discussion groups have one goal to encourage employees to Although everyone in an organization should have a talk openly. The workers should be allowed to talk basic knowledge of the reasons behind their compaabout a wide range of topics, even to talk off-topic; an nys strategy, it is essential for all of the organizations effective facilitator will help guide the conversation leaders from top to bottom to know this strategy. and listen for overall themes. In addition, employees in certain parts of the business Step 2: Prepare the People Channel to Communicate may need to have more detailed information about the reasons behind strategic business decisions if their After leadership defines the companys Action Equaspecific area of work deals with work directly affected tion, the next step is to package that information in a by the companys goals. manner that can be remembered easily and transmitFeel: Clarifying a companys goals, strategy, and relevance is a meaningless exercise for leaders unless they take into account the workers feelings i.e. why they are motivated to do what they do. Matha and Boehm identify ten main workplace motivators: 1. The companys purpose 2. The companys products 3. The customers 4. The companys stature or reputation 5. The teams cohesion 6. The contribution they can make as an individual ted to employees by the People Channel, the chain of managers and supervisors throughout the business. The personal, conversation-driven exchange is the essence of the People Channel. Effective communication between a supervisor and a worker does not consist of a passive cascade of information from on high, and instead should be an active interchange. Because workers prefer to receive information about upcoming changes, strategy, and problems at work from their frontline supervisors and managers, the participation of these leaders is essential to achieving company goals. If there is a discrepancy between what the company CEO and an employees immediate manager says, the word of the manager, whom
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Business Book Summaries February 22, 2010 Copyright 2010 EBSCO Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved

Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

workers see and speak to on a daily basis, will have the largest impact.

People remember short conversations better than extended lectures, and research conducted by Princeton Professor George Miller indicates that humans retain If you try to communicate a message thats too complex and information better when it is lengthy, the people you are communicating to just wont presented in sets of five. Retention is further enhanced if the remember it. More likely, they will remember what they want chunks of information are related to hear, not what you say. in a narrative-type fashion. The People Channel maximizes this information about The next step in aligning the organizations top leadmemory through a communication tool known as the ers is to use the consider-dialogue-solve (CDS) framework Conversation Platform, a five-point story that pulls to discuss disagreements and concerns about the protogether the basic parts of a companys Action Equaposed strategy or philosophy. The CDS framework tion into a conversation-facilitator about company provides a way for the team to thoughtfully consider strategy. problems and to come to true, not merely surface, agreement. The three steps in the CDS framework are: The Conversation Platform consists of three parts: 1. Consider: In this first step, team members spend 1. The core message. This is the main theme, strategy, time thinking and talking about their perspective or issue that the companys management wants to on the Action Equation and Conversation Platcommunicate. It defines what employees need to form before engaging in formal team meetings. do and why they need to do it. 2. Dialogue: Dialogue takes place in the first portion 2. Four supporting building blocks. These four conof the team meeting and focuses exclusively on cepts provide either a concise set of actions that discussing the information and issues involved. management needs in order to deliver its strategy During this step, no problem-solving should be or the rationale behind the position or philosophy discussed. of the business. 3. Solve: In this final portion of the team meeting, the 3. Supporting concepts and proof points. These are the group should discuss possible solutions to probspecific points that bolster, prove, and connect the lems that surfaced in the Dialogue portion of the four actions or explanations management advoCDS framework and decide on the most effective cates. solutions. All parts of the Conversation Platform must be After the organizations top leaders are aligned, the articulated in plain, everyday language, and must Conversation Platform needs to be tested with the be conveyed in spur-of-the-moment interactions next layer of managers and supervisors. The most between leaders and employees. effective test at this level is the red face test. The Preparing the People Channel red face test can be conducted simply by a facilitator or leader explaining the Conversation Platform to For the Conversation Platform to change the minds a mid-level or frontline supervisor. If the supervisor of employees requires aligning all leaders within the becomes angry or embarrassed by what they hear, the organization behind it. Top leaders should begin by Conversation Platform needs some work. The red sharing the companys Action Equation and a proface test can show if upper-level management is out totype Conversation Platform with other high-level of touch with the language and concerns of employleaders or managers. A third party facilitator should ees and helps align frontline managers. be hired to determine if all the leaders understand and agree with these two documents. The facilitaBusiness Book Summaries February 22, 2010 Copyright 2010 EBSCO Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved Page 5

tor can also help uncover any employee beliefs that may prevent the companys strategy from succeeding. They can then provide the leader with a Situation Snapshot, a short summary of the main issues brought up during these initial leader discussions.

Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

Informal leaders, including influential line employees, receptionists, Union stewards, should also be engaged in the strategy. They are often some of the most respected individuals in an organization. Informal leaders can be identified by asking employees at every level of the organization who they go to for reliable inside information. Once all leaders within the People Channel, whether formal or informal, have been aligned behind the Conversation Platform, they must next receive On Strategy communication training. Ideally, the companys top leader would lead the On Strategy training for other high-level leaders, and then those leaders would train the next level. This pattern should be repeated down throughout the entire organization. On Strategy communication training should take about two to three hours and should cover six separate areas, in order: expectations about communication, the basic elements of the Conversation Platform, the specifics of the companys Conversation Platform, how to use the platform, which processes and tools will be used to support leaders as they communicate strategy to employees, and feedback. In the initial part of the training session, the leaders should explain how effective communication and results are related and why leadership participation throughout the organization is essential. After explaining the conversation platform, the training should move to giving leaders an opportunity to roleplay using the Conversation Platform in informal interactions.

for members of the People Channel, then following up what was discussed in that meeting with a summarizing Q & A document. The People Channel must not be filled with useless babble. It should be focused on transmitting the issues, changes, or events which leadership needs employees to discuss, such as Information about the organizations progress measured against the stated goals New leadership decisions Announcements of significant changes in personnel Customer or product-related issues Business news, events, and public announcements Direct information about rumors circulating around the organization

Leaders can test whether a particular item of information is worth putting into the People Channel by asking one or more of the Channels informal leaders their opinion.

Some leaders have problems using the People Channel effectively. They may inadvertently dominate or intimidate employees during strategy conversations, or place such a strong focus on problem-solving that they discourage employees from fully discussing issues. The most effective way to deal with or prevent these problems is to provide interpersonal skills training and coaching to teach leaders, managers, and supervisors how to When leadership is not truly aligned around strategy, leadership communication wont be either. As a result, strategy will establish rapport with co-workers, listen actively, and encourage an falter.Just because managers nod yes in meetings doesnt environment of open discussion.

mean they are aligned. Dont be fooled.

Once the leaders in the People Channel are trained, they must be kept regularly updated with the information they will need in order to be a reliable and strategy-aligned leader for frontline employees. Keeping managers and supervisors in the loop can be as simple as holding regular update meetings, circulating management emails, or scheduling conference calls. The best method is to hold periodic meetings

If leaders are still struggling, they should be paired with managers and supervisors that have strong interpersonal and communication skills. Step 3: Use the People Channel to Communicate Once the People Channel is established and trained, it is time to begin driving conversations about strategy up and down the organization. The communication in the People Channel must be consistently encouraged by high-level leaders and must be supported
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Business Book Summaries February 22, 2010 Copyright 2010 EBSCO Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved

Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

by a number of company-wide processes and tools known as communication vehicles.

There are two types of communication vehicles: traditional and operating. Traditional communication vehicles include company newsletters, town hall meetings, videos, posters, paycheck stuffers, tent cards, and the companys intranet site. Operating communication Companies train managers in every important facet of busivehicles include regular meetness except strategy communicationMost people have cerings, operating reviews, and documents focused on reporting. tain abilities to communicatebut a company wouldnt ask Both traditional and operating the sales force to sell a product without training them in how communication vehicles are pow- the product works. The same goes for strategy. erful tools that can be used to emphasize and encourage employee discussion about Running short-term campaigns is an effective way company strategy. However, those communicafor leadership to communicate more intensely about tion vehicles must not grow to take the place of the specific topics. A company could choose to run an personal conversations that drive true On Strategy On Strategy campaign for many reasons: to introcommunication. duce their employees to new brands and products; to introduce leadership conferences or executive preThere are three ways to maximize and govern an sentations; to celebrate employees or even prepare organizations communication vehicles: employees for challenging news such as upcoming 1. Create a steady, effective drumbeat of commulayoffs; to build excitement and interest in training nication with the communication vehicles programs. 2. Use the communication vehicles for short-term campaigns 3. Utilize the companys communications department and outside resources Creating a steady drumbeat of communication involves constantly reaffirming the precepts of the organizations Conversation Platform in the minds of employees. Traditional communication vehicles from emails to posters to newsletters should be interesting enough to generate conversation and focus attention exclusively on strategy. Operating communication vehicles should be used to promote the companys strategy by always being presented in the context of the Conversation Platform. Reports and meetings should each directly address the core message and the four supporting building blocks of the Conversation Platform by pointing out, at every opportunity, how each aspect relates to the strategy. Reports can include summary charts on the first page that show how the company is progressing towards its strategic goals; training meetings can begin with Utilizing communication departments and outside resources may also help maximize a companys communication vehicles. Many organizations have communication professionals available to them who may focus on either the strategic aspects of communication or on tactical aspects, with their sole focus increasing communication overall. Both are useful, but the authors believe that communication professionals who focus on strategy are more effective to achieving business goals in the long run. Four steps can help develop the strategic bias of any communication department: 1. Place managers and supervisors with certain strengths in leadership positions within the communication department: These strengths include strong business acumen, a history of initiative in the workplace, common sense, interpersonal skills, a positive attitude, an ability to speak clearly and easily with executives, comfort with risk taking, strong skills as a facilitator, and a passion for the job.
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a word on how training supports the business strategy. It is important to eliminate babble during this drumbeat; both the companys Conversation Platform and the Action Equation should be used to filter out information which does not pertain directly to what employees need to know, feel, and do with regards to the company strategy.

Business Book Summaries February 22, 2010 Copyright 2010 EBSCO Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved

Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

2. Focus the communication department goals on company strategy, not communication as an end in itself: More creative and practical thinking will result with both leaders and communication specialists driving towards the same goals. 3. Involve communication professionals in the process, preferably when the organizations strategic goals are still being determined: They will be able to inform leadership of a number of employee concerns that may not be fully understood otherwise. Early involvement will also make them more effective at later stages of strategy communication. 4. At least one communication professional should be a full member of the larger strategy-planning group: Avoid the tendency to use the communication department as a service resource their function should be to work hand-in-hand with leadership to promote strategy communication.

Likewise, measuring how information flows throughout an organization can demonstrate managements communication effectiveness and provide a concrete way to evaluate areas in which communication needs to be improved. Top leaders should also encourage and reinforce communication by rewarding leaders in the organization who demonstrate excellent communication and holding accountable the leaders who fail to improve. When leaders identify parts of the organization that are not functioning as they should because of communication problems, they should make it a priority to intervene and correct the problem promptly. Lastly, the leader must show their commitment to communication through their words and actions. They must speak openly with their fellow leaders and with the organization as a whole on a frequent basis.

The Role of the Top Leader

An organizations top leader is responsible for motivating and driving effective communication through the People Channel. In order to accomplish this, they must do a number of things. First, they must specifically let managers and supervisors know what is expected of them and follow up consistently to check their progress. The top leader must also establish the measurement tools business metrics that can record the communication success of the People Channel.

Addressing Problems
A number of problems can get in the way of effective On Strategy communication. The first of these involves the Behavior Chain, or the experiences and beliefs about the workplace and management that shape the behavior an employee displays at work.

Many employees hold beliefs that make it difficult for leaders to implement organization-wide changes. Matha and Boehm refer to these beliefs as the why nots. These include the belief that no program advocated by management will last very long; that leadership never tells As you prepare On Strategy communication, if you dont think the truth about its real motives; that, because the program wasnt it will raise an eyebrow, produce a smile, or cause somebody to developed by frontline employees pause and think, go back to the drawing board and improve it. it wont work; that the real problem lies at someone elses feet; that Give your employees something to talk about on strategy. only people part of the in group Metrics about communication in an organization at a workplace are responsible for making meaningful are effective if the metric results clearly track with decisions; that its never worthwhile to take workcommunication and if the members of the organizaplace risks. tion recognize this connection. Research that links Leaders must actively identify, understand, and work communication with business results and shows the to alter the why nots that affect the Behavior Chain. quality of information flowing through the People Management must create a new experience for workChannel can help demonstrate On Strategy commuers that will drive a whole new set of beliefs. They nication at work. Certain research approaches, such can do this by using employee surveys or discussion as hierarchical linear modeling, can show which groups to determine the cause of employee resiscommunication behaviors result in positive results. tance to new strategies. Leadership must then use this
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Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

information to build trust in employees by specifically announcing what they are going to do to change employee experience, doing it, then recapping what they did for the employees.
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Contents
Foreword The Authors Acknowledgements Introduction The Power of Communication On Strategy Communication: An Overview Do: What Do You Need Employees to Do? Know: What Do Employees Need to Know to Take Action? Feel: What Do Employees Need to Feel To Take Action? The Why Nots: Whats Getting in the Way? Package: Turn the Action Equation into a Conversation Align: Make Sure All Leaders Are On Strategy Equip: Give Leaders the Tools They Need to Communicate On Strategy Drive and Support: Orchestrate and Sustain On Strategy Conversation You: The Top Leaders Role How to Resource Guide Glossary of Terms Notes Index

Features of the Book

Reading Time: 10 12 hours, 240 pages The three steps of On Strategy communication described in Bob Matha and Macy Boehms Beyond the Babble can be used by PR and HR professionals, by corporate executives, and by anyone in a leadership position. The On Strategy approach is appropriate for organizations of any type or size. Although the book is designed to be read from cover to cover, the conclusion of each chapter contains a brief summary of the concepts to allow busy leaders an opportunity to absorb key ideas quickly. The book includes a number of figures and diagrams that visually illustrate the main On Strategy precepts, as well as tables that demonstrate the brainstorming process needed to develop an Action Equation and Conversation Platform for the fictional company, The Land of Oz. The books final chapter, titled the How to Resource Guide, contains detailed instructions for all of the processes mentioned in the text, from specifications on how to conduct a red face test to how a third-party facilitator can determine if high-end executives are aligned on the companys Action Equation and Conversation Platform. The book concludes with a Glossary of Terms and separate chapter notes for outside reference. Beyond the Babble provides a clear, step-by-step plan for leaders to use proven communication techniques to focus their organizations attention on strategy and dramatically improve business results.

Business Book Summaries February 22, 2010 Copyright 2010 EBSCO Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Beyond the Babble

Bob Matha and Macy Boehm

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