Top 5 Books for Communicators (and Business People) - #4

The #4 book on my list of Top 5 Books for Communicators (and Business People) is one of two books that isn't, directly, about social media (although, you could argue that social media is certainly more than simply a channel, but rather, is a philosophy about how to communicate, in which case, this book certainly qualifies):

Why Business People Speak Like Idiots, by Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway and Jon Warshawsky
In 2003, Deloitte Consulting released a program, known as "Bullfighter," which intended to point out corporate-speak and jargon in various written communication. It integrated nicely with Microsoft Word, and writers were astonished to see how far from transparent they really were.

A few years later, those same people decided to write a book, which outlined much of what Bullfighter tried to point out in its execution. And, much like Shel Holtz's Corporate Conversations book (which I covered in my Honorable Mentions post), as well as a few other boks on this list yet to come, there's not much in this book that is groundbreaking - but, we've created a pretty deep pool of corporate-speak; it's less important to find innovative ways to communicate; and far better to keep reinforcing the concept of natural conversations.

In the first chapter, Fugere, etc., outlines a sample corporate communication that we all face each day when we go to work:

After extensive analysis of the economic factors and trends facing our industry, we have concluded that a restructuring is essential to maintaining competitive position. A task force has been assembled to review the issues and opportunities, and they will report back with a work plan for implementing the mission-critical changes necessary to transform our company into a more agile, customer-focused enterprise.

If we could throw in a "leverage," a "core competencies" and a reference to "low-hanging fruit," we would hit on nearly every instance of corporate speak.

The first chapter of this book doesn't try to lull you into seeing its point -- it jumps out at you, and attacks the concepts we've grown to accept, and then helps you break them down. They identify four 'traps' that writers fall into when writing - obscurity (the "empty calories" of business communication - long, heady words that mean less than the shorter words that could have (and should have) been chosen, anonymity (the stripping away of all personality in communication), hard-selling (over-promising and relying on focusing on the positive as compared to focusing on the real), and tedium (avoiding any details in writing).

In fact, you could argue that three of those four traps are all inter-related. They all deal with a lack of natural conversation - something that makes all the difference in the world. At my last company, they deduced that the number-one influencer over our company getting a sale, compared to another company, was our relationship with the company -- the personal connections we made with the colleagues at that company. Clearly, those relationships didn't form or nurture through communications that featured the type of writing above ... it's safer to say that those relationships formed through natural, mutually-respected communications; very similar to what this book proposes.

This book is chock full of great examples of the types of writing and situations that qualify under those four traps (and, better still, it provides greater examples of situations that don't qualify and compares the two). It slices and dices the concept of using email as a business tool (and, finally relents to say, perhaps there is a place for email; but certainly not the way it's currently used.

Perhaps the most basic of all tenets is repeated over and over in this book. The idea of "Show, Don't Tell" is one of the most elementary concepts to writing. In the chapter on Tedium, Fugere etc. include a real excerpt from a Fortune 500 CEO's message to the organization:

We continue to be recognized as one of the best places to work in America. Our human resources programs are being copied by others for their innovation and effectiveness.

Perhaps, like me, initially, you didn't see anything wrong with that - and, in truth, there's isn't anything *wrong* with that. But, it certainly can be better. As the book points out, the interesting part is that the executive was speaking the truth; the company is an HR leader, but rather than simply saying this, he should have demonstrated the truth - not through a boring recitation of mind-numbing statistics, but with a couple of stories that make the point. Where's the data that proves these statements? Third-party recommendations? Internal surveys? Which companies are copying the company and how does the company *know* other companies are copying them?

The art of not speaking like an idiot is one that takes time to learn. It doesn't happen overnight; not with the amount of training we've all had. As a great first step, I ranked this book #4 on my list of Top 5 Books for Communicators and Business People.

Top 5 Books for Communicators (and Business People) - #5

The #5 book on my list of Top 5 Books for Communicators (and Business People) is also the newest one on the list:

Twitterville, by Shel Israel
Before reading this book, I was quite undecided on the purpose/use of Twitter as a business tool. I certainly saw the use as a general information tool (and, I'll admit I've used it to 'follow' celebrities, all of whom have mobile devices and use the tool as a way to stay "in touch" with fans).

But, I didn't think there was much hope for the tool in the business world. It smacked of 'fad', and - maybe more terrifyingly - a continued devolving of the written word (something that has already suffered greatly).

Unlike Twitter Power, which I reviewed last week, in the Honorable Mentions post on this topic, Twitterville doesn't provide a step-by-step process for setting up an account and using Twitter. It assumes you already have an account, and it shows you how other companies have used the tool to their advantage (and, in some cases, how using it might have helped other companies).

The book starts by outlining how Twitter began; from the original company (Odeo) to the new initiative. It discusses Twitter's "coming-out" party at Austin's popular South by Southwest festival (SXSW), where it gained rapid acceptance, as attendees used the tool to find each other and to share recommendations of which day and night events to attend.

I won't recap the entire book -- safe to say, there are ample demonstrations of companies using Twitter in a business capacity -- Dell, Comcast (which has truly embraced Twitter as a tool -- now boasting a 10-person Twitter Team for customer service), Southwest Airlines, Pepsi, Zappos (obviously) and even H&R Block. And, as I mentioned earlier, a nearly equal number of companies that haven't taken to the tool (or any real tool for that matter) with details of the damage caused by their ignorance towards social media.

There are discussions on using Twitter in b2b settings; for recruiting; and for branding; as well as an abundance of examples on the uses in customer service.

At this point, there should be no doubt that social media is here to stay -- as I mentioned in the first post in this series, three of the books deal with social media, specifically. The fact that newer, faster (and more comprehensive) tools are being introduced proves that companies may finally be "getting it." Unfortunately, the fact that this rise in awareness coincides with the worst economic recession has done little to make people believers (I can hear the nay-sayers now, asking, "well, if social media is so great, why aren't we recovering faster?") Sigh.

I heartily recommend this work - it's a truly comprehensive book on the influence of Twitter, and - while every tip/anecdote in the book won't be a great fit for every company, even a small nugget is worth the $16 this book will set you back.

Job Fair Woes, Part II

So, I attended another job fair today, despite swearing I'd never go again. This one was hard to resist, though; as it took place at a library about 15 minutes from my house (at most). And, the list of companies attending looked solid.

I spent a grand total of 12 minutes there -- a new record.

For perspective, today, it took me more time to:

• Shower
• Get Dressed
• Drive to the Library

than I spent at the job fair. Even more insulting, this one was sponsored by the Department of Labor -- I'm sure they believe they're providing a service; but when the only companies attending are either a) financial services companies looking for salespeople or b) colleges looking for returning students, you're doing something wrong.

I'd love to see an actual job fair - where hiring managers (or, anyone other than the lowest peon in the HR chain) show up and take advantage of the venue; but, I don't think that's ever going to happen. Even if/when the economy makes a complete recovery, there's just no reason for a company to do that.

With scanning software and personality assessments becoming more and more the standard for the hiring process, the opportunity to find that 'diamond in the rough' diminishes daily. And, that's really quite a shame.

At least I didn't wear one of my good shirts today.

Top 5 Books for Communicators (and Business People) - The Honorable Mentions

This is the beginning of a series I've been planning for a while, on the Top 5 Books for Communicators (and business people in general). While they're definitively communication-related, any business person who doesn't think communication is an integral part of doing business - especially today - is missing the boat.

Accordingly, at least two of the top 5 are devoted to social media; while one is almost certainly the forefather of the movement. At least 4 of the books I'll be covering were instrumental in the crafting of my communications model (for which I received the Achievement in Communications Award in 2008 from the International Association of Business Communicators).

I chose to deal more with philosophical works as compared to tactical books; but, there are some outstanding tactical books available. Since I've relied upon many of those to hone my skills, I thought it would be appropriate to pay some homage to the best tactical books. Consider these my "Honorable Mentions."

Beyond Spin, by Markos Kounalakis, Drew Banks, Kim Daus.
This one may be more philosophical than tactical, but only slightly. It attempts to explain how corporate journalism (or business communications) differs from public relations. In business journalism, it's imperative that the information/conversation be open and transparent; not pumped up to sound like propaganda. Since, especially with regards to internal communications, the audience is the workplace, it's very important they not view the communication as being less-than-honest. Any gains made from the fabricated information is easily trashed by the incremental lack of trust that will build up in the organization.

There's a lot of high-brow information here, and the sentiment is valuable; but I think other books make the point a little more easily.

Twitter Power, by Joel Comm
Admittedly, I've read the first version of this book (and, to show the growth of Twitter, there's already a second version - the first version came out in 2009!)

We're going to cover Twitter more in depth in a later installment, but, this book does a great job of getting someone up-and-running with a Twitter account. It begins by discussing social media in general and then, identifies how Twitter fits into that landscape. Details on signing up, posting and designing a profile follow.

And, then, it launches into how to build a following and how to use Twitter for business and team communication. It's easily one of the best primers I've read on going from zero to 60 in the Twitter world. What it lacks (which is why it's an honorable mention) are case studies; real-world examples of how these tactics have worked. Even still, this is a definite read for anyone looking to learn more about Twitter.

The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing, by Natalie Canavor, Claire Meirowitz
Admittedly, I'm slightly biased, as I know both Natalie and Claire - and, Natalie was one of the judges on the panel when I won my award (and Claire was the president of the organization at the time).

This is a solid book on writing, broken into a great format. It's a VERY broadly focused book -- with 52 "truths" (or tips) for writers. These truths are separated into different sections - self-editing, letters, new media, websites, etc. These truths include gems on "forget outlines - organize your thinking," "less can be a whole lot more"and "know your email dos and don'ts."

It avoids being preachy (no small feat!) and sprinkles in enough examples of how to perform the tips. Most of the tips are discussed in fewer than three pages, which makes the book easy to digest and understand.

Although there are no case studies, there are a number of instances of when it makes sense to employ these tasks (for example, the lead in to the tip on "Effective Messages Lead with Strength" is "Did you freeze whenever your high school or college teachers told you to develop a "strong thesis statement" for your "essays"?). This is authentic - something everyone can identify with - and certainly better than any metaphor. The entire book follows this same format.

Corporate Conversations, by Shel Holtz
I've had the pleasure of meeting Shel Holtz several times at various conventions. He's on my short list of people I "pay attention to." His book - Corporate Conversations - was one of the first I read when I was named to my position as corporate communications manager.

It was incredibly difficult to not include this in the top 5 - but, I think most of the top 5 books are more focused (which, almost became a barometer, I guess).

This book is completely dedicated to internal communications (although, many of the tactics are not all that dissimilar to the practice of external communications). He breaks things down into planning, tools, online tools, communicating bad news and communicating change. He preserves the identity of the companies he's worked with (and for) by attributing the "bad" communication practices to Amalgamated Pulp & Paper (a clueless company) and the "good" practices to Allied Gate & Fence, a company taking advantage of the fruits of effective internal communication.

Shel is a great author - he gets right into the information, without spending a lot of time trying to sell you on why internal communications is important, preferring, instead, to show through the plentiful examples.

When my last company needed to communicate bad news, I followed his guidelines -- tell employees first, deal with rumors, be candid and comprehensive, focus on the future and be visible.

Everything in this book is practical, hard-hitting and incredibly useful. It's a must-have for anyone in the communications world (and, almost certainly for any business person -- as Shel says, 'if communications is not a company's main priority, all its other priorities are at risk.') And, more than ever, today, internal/employee communications are even more important than when Shel wrote this book, back in 2004. The recession and subsequent reduction of benefits and increase in productivity have led to record-lows in employee engagement. One of the key components to improving employee engagement is communications.

For a tactical book, this is my #1 choice, bar none. And, although it's set up for internal audiences, I'd suggest all the information in the book is appropriate for external audiences, as well.

Next week, I'll tackle the #5 and #4 books on my list. Any guesses as to what will be in the top 5? Any books you think *should* be in there?