YOU ARE DOWNLOADING DOCUMENT

Please tick the box to continue:

Transcript
Page 1: Communicator Nick Leeson

Communicator

INSIDE2 How do your current employee com-

munication practices measure up?

4 Planning employee communication

5 Lessons on risk management

and reputation from the man

who risked it all

8 Step out from the herd and be heard

9 Disney keys to excellence

10 Media training and loose cannons:

an interesting challenge

13 A communicator’s role as

ethics sherpa

14 IABC/Toronto Executive Board

14 Communicator committee

15 Accredited members

15 On the move

15 IABC/Toronto’s mission statement

16 The greening of IABC/Toronto’s

annual report

S E P T EMBER – OC TOBER / 2 0 0 8

ESTABLISHING MEASURABLEAND ACHIEVABLE OBJECTIVES

Marketers must start with measurable objectives. It is notenough to say you want to increase market share or growyour customer base. It’s not even enough to say you want toincrease leads by 20 percent if it’s at all possible to tie thoseleads to sales and revenue.

So how do you go about establishing meas-urable marketing objectives that you mighthave some ability to achieve?

1. First, marketers must align their goalswith the company’s business objectives.That is why marketing exists—to fur-ther the organization’s agenda. Thatagenda is usually related in some wayto profits, value or growth.

2. Identify business outcomes that mar-keters can impact and then workbackwards to determine what would have

to occur to achieve that outcome. If thegoal is to increase the customer base,determine what percentage of increaseis desired and reasonable. How manynew customers does that percentageincrease represent in the marketplace?

3. If you need 100 new customers, forexample, look at your potential marketand identify those most likely to becomeyour customers. Using qualitativeresearch, determine what changes inbehavior these people need to maketo become customers, and what youcan do to facilitate those changes.

4. Working backwards again, determinewhat tactics you need to initiate overa specific time period to get 100 newcustomers. How many proposals, directmail pieces, special events or whatevercombination of tactics will it take tomake one sale? Then multiply by 100.This gives you some idea of the costand feasibility of the goal.

If feasible, you now have a goal of increasingyour customer base by 100 new customers(or X percent) over a specific time period ina particular market. This is much better thanthe goal of merely increasing the customerbase because it’s something concrete. Ofcourse, it’s much easier for marketers to pre-dict a reasonable goal when they’ve been inthe business of measuring and collecting dataover time. They are bound to be more accu-rate in their estimation of an attainable goal,and finance departments revere nothingmore than accuracy.

~ Merry ElrickThis article is an excerpt from The TruthAbout B2B Marketing ROI available at theIABC Knowledge Centre. Member price:US$40, non-member price: US$49.60.

Page 2: Communicator Nick Leeson

The purpose of a communication auditis to assess the strengths and weaknessesof internal communication practices andultimately align the messages and practiceswith the strategy of the company and theneeds of the employees. A thorough com-munication audit will aid in developingopen, two-way communication and willidentify barriers or constraints to opencommunication across the company. Acommunication audit may be done in-house by the person or team responsiblefor the employee communication functionor may be contracted to an outside com-munication firm.

The advantages of performing this functionin-house are cost savings and allowing theemployee communication team or leaderto get familiar with past communicationpractices and strategies. The disadvantageof performing this function in-house is thatthe team or leader may not be objective inthe evaluation because they are too close tothe process.

The advantages of hiring an outside firm toconduct the communication audit are the

objective analysis and additional expertisein the practice of communication (knowl-edge of best practices in the field). Thedisadvantage is the expense to the company.

The following is an overview of thecommunication audit process:1. Review the goals and objectives of the

employee communication program inlight of the current business modeland strategic business plan.

2. Analyze the content of current com-munication practices (face-to-face, print,electronic, multimedia, formal andinformal) to determine whether objec-tives are being met and ensure thatcompany messages, brand and strategiesare being delivered consistently. Thisanalysis should include the strengthsand weaknesses of each communica-tion practice (content, accuracy, imageand cost-effectiveness). To assess theeffectiveness of face-to-face communi-cation with managers and peers, focusgroups or a pulse survey may be con-ducted, or a member of the audit teammay attend department meetings.

32

HOW DO YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYEECOMMUNICATION PRACTICES MEASURE UP?

Using the specific objectives defined for employee communica-tion, it is necessary to review the current practices the companyuses to communicate with employees—from company-wide todepartment to team practices—from hire to retire. This processis called a communication audit.

3. Conduct an employee survey to assessthe employees’ use of and opinionsabout each communication practice. Inthis survey, employees may be askedabout the face-to-face communicationthey have with their immediate super-visor as well as peer employees. Alsoallow employees to suggest communi-cation practices that are not currentlyused by the company. Use the employeesurvey to seek employee feedback onthe quality of company communica-tions: What is the company’s biggestcommunication weakness? Is there acommunication tool the companyisn’t using but should be? Where doyou go to find information aboutcompany policies, news about thecompany, etc.? What communicationtools do you rely on most frequentlyand least frequently?

4. Focus groups may also be conductedwith key employee groups in orderto meet their specific needs, as thesemay be different from the needs of theemployee community as a whole. (Forexample, night shift employees may have

a greater need for information than dayshift employees simply because thehuman resources office is not open toanswer questions during their workhours. Additional communication

practices may be necessary to meet thesegaps in two-way communications.)

With this assessment in hand, currentcommunication practices may either bemodified to meet the stated objectives oreliminated, and new practices that bettermeet company objectives and employeepreferences may be initiated.

~ Tamara Gillis, Ed.D, ABC, andInsightrix Research ServicesThis article is an excerpt from The HumanElement: Employee Communication in Smallto Medium-sized Businesses available at theIABC Knowledge Centre. Member price:US$40, non-member price: US$49.60.

Page 3: Communicator Nick Leeson

This article is the first of a three-part series on employee commu-nication planning, execution and measurement, excerpted fromIABC’s latest publication: Essentials of Employee Communication.

Why plan employee communication?A CEO would not make a business decision without seeking data tosupport that decision. The same should be true for your communi-cation efforts. The plan is the element that enables everything else tofall into place. Communicating without a plan is like building a housewithout a foundation: At first glance, it may seem like it can work,but once the project gets rolling, you will find that things easily fallapart. Investing in careful planning at the start of a project will saveyou time, resources and heartache in the long run.

According to theWatsonWyatt 2005/2006 Communication ROI™Study, following a formal communication process, including effec-tive communication planning, can contribute 3.4 percent towardimproved total return to shareholders.

A few things to keep in mindAs you develop your communication and project plans, thefollowing concepts remain constant: Be flexible, keep peopleinformed and plan early.

• Remain flexible: As you build your plan, understand that youare not building a rigid document. Your plan is a living docu-ment that grows and evolves with your project. As you gatherinformation on your particular messages and intended audiences,you should be willing to modify your plan to fit the new infor-mation and conditions.

• Keep your team informed: Remember, it is important to com-municate the need for a change to other team members beforeyou actually modify your plans. Get their buy-in, and make sureteam members always have a copy of the latest plan. While for someprojects it may be necessary to change the plan several times, avoid“plan of the day” syndrome. Only make changes that are absolutelynecessary; otherwise your plan becomes meaningless, and teammembers get confused.

• Invest the time now, or pay the price later: If you are workingon a project where everything needs to be done yesterday, youare no doubt thinking, I don’t have time to put together a com-plicated plan. Think again. The time it takes to put together aplan will be repaid exponentially by the efficiencies it createsduring the process, and a communication plan keeps everyoneon the same page, which ensures accountability.

A good communication plan doesn’t have to be complicated. It canbe simple and easily created with a word processing program. In itssimplest form, a plan needs to account for all the action elements ofthe project. However, the more complex a project becomes, the morelikely it is that you will need to use a project management tool suchas Microsoft Project™ or IABC’s MyComm.

54

For those of you who don’t know whoNick Leeson is, or perhaps have forgotten,he’s the notorious rogue trader who was atthe centre of one of the largest financialscandals of the 20th century. You mayremember his photo splashed on the frontof the every newspaper in February 1995,sporting a backwards baseball cap. His rollercoaster ride in dodgy bets brought downBarings Bank, the 233-year old venerableinstitution that funded the NapoleonicWars. It was the place where the Queenentrusted her millions.

Today inviting him to speak anywhere inthe world has the potential to become acause célèbre. Audience members havebeen known to run out screaming. Giventhis, you may even be wondering whyIABC/Toronto would want to cover it forthis publication. I firmly believe his storyreally underscores the important role weplay in protecting the reputation of ourorganizations. With our high level viewof what’s happening in our organizations,

we are in a unique position to advise oursenior executives and push issues to theforefront. It takes courage to flag unusualbehaviour but I believe it’s become a reg-ular part of our job.

Ivey’s Dr. Gerard Seijts took a risk evensuggesting Ivey bring Leeson to Canada.He heard Leeson speak in Iceland andwas so impressed by his advice that heextended an invitation to speak at Ivey.It was a dicey move but he feels stronglythat business schools can only preparetheir students so much. Good judgmentis something we hone through good rolemodels and mentors, he says. All of usneed a coach to guide us through theobstacles and dilemmas.

Leeson spoke to the MBA graduating classat the Ivey School in London before trav-elling to Toronto. He told the students hewishes someone had provided him aprimer on Risk 101 because it may haveprepared him to make different decisions.

LESSONS ON MANAGING RISK AND REPUTATIONFROM THE MAN WHO RISKED IT ALL

It’s not everyday that you get to meet someone truly infamous,someone in the same league as Al Capone, Bonnie and Clydeand Conrad Black. Just before the summer, I had a chance tobe a reporter again—for one night only. IABC/Toronto memberMary Weil from the Ivey School of Business graciously offeredCommunicator a media pass to interview Nick Leeson rightbefore a sold-out event for its alumni members.

PLANNING EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

Components of a good planPlanning ensures that your project follows a processthat is consistent, efficient, effective and timely. To beeffective, communication initiatives must consider:

• Key stakeholders• Objectives: business and communication• Barriers to success• Critical success factors• Measures of success• Audiences• Key messages• Timing• Delivery channels• Measurable results

~ Tamara Gillis, Ed.D, ABC and John FinneyThis article is an excerpt from Essentials of Employee Communication,available at the IABC Knowledge Centre. Member price: US$199 (PDF– US$149), non-member price: US$299 (PDF – US$190).

CONT I NUED ON / PAGE 6

Page 4: Communicator Nick Leeson

76

He currently has a plum job as the CEOof an Irish football team but says he’s stillon the hook to creditors for £100 million.There is an injunction against him. “Ifanyone has any great ideas on how to paythat off, please let me know.”

He explained he was an employee of BaringsSecurities, a wholly owned subsidiary, ofBaring PLC, established in 1984 to carveout a niche in the emerging financial mar-kets in the Far East. At 25, he was sent tomanage the front and back office of theirSingapore operation and saw instant salessuccess, reportedly earning an annual salaryand bonus of £200,000 in his first year.

The responsibility of managing the wholeoperation proved to be very challenging andeventually led to his downfall. “I left schoolwhen I was 18 and had no managementexperience whatsoever. I think it’s soimportant for an organization to supportits young employees with the proper train-ing—especially when they are taking ona management role for the first time.At Barings, mistakes were not tolerated

and it led to hiding a mistake by one ofmy new employees.”

At Barings Securities, the focus on salesleft little time to build a strong infrastruc-ture of good governance supported bysolid corporate functions like HumanResources. Instead, they relied on a slowsystem that took hours to settle trades.The weak accounting processes allowedhim to freely operate the infamous88888—or five eights—account wherehe hid his trading errors.

He said he wasn’t guided by a code of ethicsbecause as far as he knows it didn’t exist.He knew his trading activity was wrongbut not necessarily criminal. “The com-plexity of the futures business protectedhim from the prying eyes of managementand whistleblowers. “There was no onewith enough knowledge of the businessto challenge me. No one in the bankknew exactly what I was doing.”

Even when the external auditors arrivedto review the books, he claims they’dnever done a futures and options audit

before and turned to him to address anyquestions. At the end of 1994, Singaporeregulators approached the highest levelsof Barings about unusual activity in thelocal office. The letter was cascaded downfrom the top until ironically it landed onLeeson’s desk. “They wanted me to pro-vide a response. It was unbelievable.”

Members of the internal audit committeesuspected something fishy but were pre-vented by his bosses from investigatingany further, says Leeson. “I think youcould put stronger controls in place if youpay risk managers as much as traders andexpand the membership of these audit andcontrol committees to include experts inthe financial products they’re supporting.”

It was a fascinating discussion and I leftthe event wondering if he’s right abouttoday’s business climate. He is a bettingman. If he’s right, we’re certainly assuredof job security. But what a double-edgedsword that is!

~ Alix Edmiston, ABC

ReachBarry McQuillan APR

Corporate VideosSatellite Distribution

Video News B-RollWebcasts

Tel (416) 487-5036 E-Mail [email protected]

President

NEWSC A N A D A

At the news conference in Toronto he dis-played his finesse in answering the usualquestions about whether he knows the dif-ference between what’s right and wrong. Thequiet spoken, unassuming man said, “Noone wishes more than me that the collapseof Barings didn’t happen. Success was mybiggest motivating force. It was the mostembarrassing period of my life. Success isnot what I will be remembered for.”

He stressed he’d answer any question, andfor a half an hour he openly shared hisinsight on the business climate of today. Inan interesting twist of fate he was head-hunted by Société Générale just monthsbefore his departure. There’s no way hecould have entertained a job offer fromthe French bank because his departurefrom Barings would have exposed the fullextent of his multi-million pound losses.During his last two months at Barings in1995, he was losing £11 million a day.

He joked that he wouldn’t even want tospeculate on what might have happenedif he’d gone to Société Générale. He stillfollows the markets with interest and isn’t

shocked by what happened there. “I don’tthink you can ever change what’s happen-ing in the industry. There are so manyexamples of this type of behaviour. Theydon’t all come to the forefront. Just lookat the sub-prime crisis for an example ofwhat is still allowed to happen.”

He said the story of Jerome Kerviel ofSociété Générale is very similar to his own—a young, unsupervised, type-A personalitycaught up in a competitive business whereprofit is everything. “Companies shouldtry and identify these types of personalitieswhen they’re hiring.”

While serving a four and a half year sen-tence in a “gang infested,” maximumsecurity prison in Singapore, his wifedivorced him to marry another traderand he received treatment for colon cancer.Since his release in 1999, he’s been askedto star in reality shows and endorse boardgames, but he’s chosen to speak to busi-ness audiences around the world to sharehis story and impart the lessons he’slearned since then.

“”

...it’s so important for an organization to supportits young employees with the proper training—especially when they are taking on a managementrole for the first time.

CONT I NUED FROM / PAGE 5

Page 5: Communicator Nick Leeson

98

DISNEY KEYS TO EXCELLENCE

On July 27, 2008, two employees from WaltDisney Parks and Resorts spoke to a group ofabout 800 people from several different indus-tries including media, communications andhospitality, at the Metro Toronto ConventionCentre in Toronto.

The Disney employees shared some of the key philosophies, strategies,concepts and tactics used by the company to maintain its success,introducing the group to a side of Disney that few people ever see—the business side. They presented the following strategies andapproaches used by one of the most successful media and enter-tainment companies in the world:

Leadership excellenceLeaders are responsible for creating and communicating a clearvision. This is vital to leading the group to success. In order tobe a great and influential leader, the vision must:

• Create a shared and meaningful purpose• Inspire passion and interest• Convey values• Guide decision making and strategy

The leader must live out the vision from day to day to demon-strate it to the rest of the group because though the leader mayhave good intentions, they will be judged on their actions.

Successful corporate culturesThe following factors influence a successful corporate culture:

• Heritage and traditions- What stories can help perpetuate the company’s historyand beliefs?

• Language and symbols- What do you call your customers?- What do you call your employees?- What symbols do people recognize from the organization?

• Shared values- How do the company’s values and employees’ values alignwith one another?

The right employees, those that are the “right fit” for the corporateculture, help drive the company’s vision and steer the organizationtowards success.

Service and loyaltyTo provide the best service in the industry, service that exceeds thatof the competition, companies must define who its customers are.In order to get into the minds and hearts of customers, companiesmust look at the following:

• Needs- What services and/or products are customers looking for?

• Emotions- Are they excited because they will be experiencing somethingnew or are looking forward to notable outcomes as a result ofthe company’s services?

• Stereotypes- What stereotypes might customers have of the profession,service or company?

• Wants- Wants and needs are very different from one another. A cus-tomer may need a new car, but want a particular vehicle thatgives them status and one they believe is reliable.

~ Maricel Dicion

By now you’ve all heard IABC’s new brand tagline: Be HeardTM.You likely know this represents our profession and the global com-munity we nurture to enable our organizations or clients to be

heard. It also epitomizes our role to inspire, advance and representthe profession beyond IABC circles. And you may think you arealready numb to its message. I encourage you to think again.

This simple phrase represents a daunting mandate in a noisy world,where our messages compete with hundreds of other voices, fromcredible to rogue sources, beamed daily through multiple channelsand varied senses. Add to that the challenge to reach the ideal of

two-way dialogue and we have our work cut out for us.

The good news is you’re not alone in this mission.

IABC offers a range of global to local resources and learning eventsto equip you with the means and opportunities to be heard andeven foster active listening among your stakeholders.

However, the intrinsic value of IABC doesn’t rest solely in theseservices that can be matched, at least in part, by other organizations.Its value lies in a network of more than 15,000 communicatorsworldwide with diverse expertise—that is often readily shared onrequest. And the welcoming and inclusive culture of IABC makesit even easier to tap into this network, which includes more than1,600 members in our Toronto chapter alone.

You can gradually build your own network of trusted IABC peersfor seeking and sharing insights and referrals, by reaching out atevents, through engaged volunteering and tools such as Toronto’s

Discussion Board, World Headquarter’s MemberSpeak, or theassociation’s evolving blogs and social network options. You canalso use IABC’s eXchange (IABC’s customized social media tool)to build your own niche blog or use it or another tool to even builda Wiki, as IABC/Toronto’s Alliance of Independent Practitioners(AIP) has done (www.aipwiki.com).

In fact, a 2004 study by the William E. Smith Institute for Association

Research found salaries were $25K higher, on average, and job satis-faction greater among members of an industry organization, versusnon-members. It credited much of this to the fact that associationsoffer “winners” a path to increased success through resources and theopportunity to identify themselves, network with their peers andform mutually beneficial communities.

This year, challenge yourself to be heard within the IABC commu-nity—and in doing so, use the collaborative benefits of your IABCpeers as leverage to boost your success rate in ensuring your organ-ization and its message is heard, loud and clear.

~ Leslie Hetherington, APR, MBAPresident, IABC/Toronto

STEP OUT FROM THE HERD AND BE HEARD

Page 6: Communicator Nick Leeson

10 11

Anyone who would blow up like that whilethe cameras are rolling should in fact bekept as far from the media as possible.

Ed ShillerEd Shiller Communications Inc.My initial advice to her would be three-fold:Issue a public apology for the outburst, writea letter of apology to the president of theadvocacy association and offer him anopportunity to publicly express those viewsthat he was prevented from expressing at theinitial news conference. Towards this end, shemight offer him space in her constituentnewsletter or offer to address his concernsat a public meeting of his association.

I base this advice on two premises. Thefirst is that people will forgive your mis-takes, but not your attempts to justifyyour actions, to cover them up or to divertblame. The second is that you earn respectby accepting responsibility for your ownbehaviour, taking measures to preventrecurrences, and doing your best to undo

any harm your behaviour might havecaused. Following this course of action,which the spokesperson does not appear tohave done, is likely to repair the damageto your reputation.

To get her back on track, I would providerefresher training that would stress the fol-lowing point: When subjected to repeatedchallenges from a detractor, respond to themerits of the issues that the detractor raises,not to the behaviour and the presumed oractual motivation of the detractor. In effect,it doesn’t matter that the association presi-dent may have been a constant thorn in thepolitician’s side or that he may have a hid-den agenda for being so. Nor does it mat-ter that the president may, in her eyes,have been provocative, confrontational orrude in making his statements at the newsconference. What matters is whether hischallenges are valid or not, and thespokesperson should have dealt solely withthis question when confronted by him.

Eric Bergman, ABC, APR, MCBergman & AssociatesThe first thing to determine is whether thespokesperson believes the outburst was aproblem. If not, the challenge is to convinceher that the outcomes (i.e. the very fact we’rediscussing the issue in this forum) can benegative. If she does not believe she didanything wrong or damaging, she won’tlisten to a consultant telling her she did.

If the spokesperson believes that herbehaviour created a problem, the focusshould be on discovering what wentwrong and finding ways to prevent it fromhappening again. Questions often workwell in this situation. What was she feeling?Has she had similar exchanges with theother person in the past? Has somethinglike this happened with other people?What are some of the common thoughtsand feelings? Can we find ways to dealwith those?

Later, I will examine my processes as aconsultant. Obviously, my number one

While all of these situations have negativelyimpacted the public, one event in particularturned into a communicator’s nightmare.

During a live news conference in August,a local politician lost her cool on camera.When challenged by the president of a localcitizens’ advocacy association, the politiciantold him to shut up. Apparently, they havea history of not getting along. Accordingto a Toronto Star article that covered theevent, the news conference ended abruptlyimmediately following the outburst.

We asked some media experts and trainersto share their thoughts on what could havebeen done to prevent this outburst. Whatcan now be done to repair the damage andget back on track?

Mark NuscaVice President & Regional DirectorPorter Novelli CanadaIn my view there is no reason to ever havethis kind of thing happen in front of themedia or in public, whether you are a cor-

porate spokesperson or a public official. Idon’t care how hot the situation gets; if youcannot handle it, you are not cut out forthe job. Trying to “mend fences” in theaftermath is no option in my opinion,because once the damage is done, it canbe serious and largely irrevocable.

As media trainers, an important part ofwhat we do to position both organizationsand their spokespersons for success withthe media is to actually assess in the earlystages who in fact will make the best repre-sentative on the media stage.

Putting the wrong person out there is justtoo risky, so eliminating poor candidates asmedia spokespersons early is the first stepfor any organization. When your reputationrests largely on having the right public per-sona, you need to do everything in your

power to deal skillfully and professionallywith the public and the media at all times.

In this case, of course, as a public officialwho cannot simply resort to hiring aspokesperson to meet with the media on

her behalf, she is now stuck with the realityshe created, having damaged her credibility.I have said it time and again to spokespeo-ple—all of their hard work and successcan be undone in an instant with the wrongperformance in front of the media. Thiswas a good example of that. I am sure thisspokesperson is a good politician and a niceperson. She just happens to be someonewho could not control her emotions whendoing so was most needed.

It was interesting to see a Toronto Star fea-ture on this politician appearing some daysafter the event in question, which showedher interacting in a very friendly and car-ing way with neighbours and constituents.This was damage control no doubt. Butthat kind of damage can never be fullyrepaired. So avoid it at all costs.

If she was representing an organization,the case would be made strongly to replaceher as a spokesperson. A company can onlyhave zero tolerance for such an outburst. Itsounds harsh but there is so much as stake.

MEDIA TRAINING AND LOOSE CANNONS:AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE

The summer of 2008 was full of communication challenges:from the hydro explosion in East York that forced the evacuationof a high rise apartment followed by the massive propaneexplosion that affected 12,000 residents, to the listeria recalls.

“ ”I don’t care how hot the situation gets; if youcannot handle it, you are not cut out for the job.

CONT I NUED ON / PAGE 12

Page 7: Communicator Nick Leeson

1312

A COMMUNICATOR’S ROLE AS ETHICS SHERPA

Why communications professionals can and should helpshepherd their organizations to the ethical high ground.

Unethical decision making can have potentially catastrophic consequences for anyorganization. The loss of trust from key stakeholders can be felt through decreased

confidence and loyalty and negative media coverage and can directly impact the bot-tom line. Ethical conduct has the potential to greatly reduce the likelihood of thesenegative consequences. Communicators have a diverse and well tuned skill set thatputs us in an excellent position to affect how our organizations choose to conductthemselves ethically. Doing so may help us realize an increased role in the manage-ment decision making process.

Why should we be considered for such a role?Communicators can pre-empt and mitigate poor ethical decision making wheneverpreventable crises arise. Our understanding of how and why crises occur provides uswith a unique skill set that can be used to recognize unethical actions that posepotential harm to our organizations, and guide them instead in a direction that will havepositive results overall. Communicators can draw on a variety of skills to fill this role:

Understanding of audience:Communicators are experts at understanding what makes our key audiences tick.This understanding puts us in an excellent position to identify the likely reactionto actions undertaken by an organization. This ability to accurately foresee audiencereactions—whether from media, consumers or other stakeholders—puts us ina position to identify the potential social, political and monetary fallout of ethicalwrongdoing.

Strategic thinking:A firm understanding of how to create and implement objective-based strategy is alsoessential for affirming ethical conduct. Communicators understand how unethicalactions can lead to negative outcomes that place undue risk on achieving objectives.The best strategies look at how to derive maximum benefit while minimizing risk;ethical conduct is usually a method of effectively achieving both.

Understanding of media and stakeholder landscapes:Communicators are forced to keep continually up-to-date on media and consumertrends in order to optimize communications when opportunity arises. This under-standing gives us a strategic advantage when it comes to understanding how decisionsmay be evaluated in the current climate, and this provides us with an important rolewhen it comes to consultation on potentially unethical conduct.

These are only a few examples of how communicators can apply their skills to guidetheir organizations toward ethical decision making.

goal is to help clients protect themselves, soI will examine how I provide advice. Wasthere something I could have done to modifythis client’s behaviour in advance of thisincident? This internal dialogue helps

improve the ways in which advice is given.

Kenneth EvansVice PresidentAPEX Public Relations Inc.There is simply no excuse for losing one’s

cool when being scrutinized by the media.It’s not tolerated in most business or officeenvironments and it should not be toleratedin the heat of a media interview. That doesn’tmean a spokesperson can’t be aggressive ortough; they can. But they should possess theskills and strategies to maintain a profes-sional demeanour at all times, including:

• A clear grasp of simple bridging tech-niques to help shift the discussion to thespokesperson’s advantage without beingelusive or uncooperative• A specific positioning or messagingarchitecture to keep the interactionfocused on the most critical elementsof the issue• A thorough review and rehearsal of allpotential “what if ” scenarios to eliminateany rude surprises that might spark aninappropriate response

In the event a spokesperson behavesunprofessionally in a media situation theonly recourse is damage control, such asan intervention by a moderator or handlersupplemented by an apology to the audi-ence for the inappropriate outburst (anintervention without a clarification wouldnot be sufficient).

If the incident was really egregious, then awhole series of follow-up activities would

need to unfold—from media statementsand open letters to potentially an entiremea culpa-oriented media campaign. Butwhat a horrible waste of time, energy andmoney on something that was entirely pre-

ventable in the first place.

Can spokespersons who lose their cool inpublic regain their credibility and reputation?Yes, assuming they had a good reputationto begin with. But it takes a lot of timeand effort.

What would you have done? Do you have anyother ideas on how to prevent this situationfrom happening? Post your thoughts or com-ments on the IABC/Toronto Facebook group.It’s an open forum and everyone’s invited.

~ Sarah Twomey

Please note: This article reflects theopinions of the experts invited tocomment and not necessarily thoseof the IABC/Toronto.

CONT I NUED FROM / PAGE 11

CONT I NUED ON / PAGE 16

Page 8: Communicator Nick Leeson

IABC/TORONTO’S MISSION STATEMENT

To be the communications association of choice by providingmembers with value through quality programs, professionalstandards and networking opportunities. Communicator ispublished six times annually plus two special issues for membersof the IABC/Toronto chapter. Communicator’s team welcomesyour suggestions, ideas and comments. If you have article ideasor if you’d like to submit a piece, please send your ideas and/orsubmission to [email protected].

PresidentLeslie Hetherington, APR, [email protected]

Immediate Past PresidentJanet [email protected]

Executive Vice PresidentBrent Carey, [email protected]

Vice President,Accreditation & StandardsLinda Andross, [email protected]

Vice President,Advertising & SponsorshipVanda [email protected]

Vice President,Association ManagementJulie Wilson, [email protected]

Vice President, AwardsSara Feldman, [email protected]

Vice President, FinanceCarrie [email protected]

Vice President,Marketing CommunicationsAnna Relyea, BA, [email protected]

Vice President,Member CommunicationsSarah [email protected]

Vice President, MembershipChristine Andrew, [email protected]

Vice President,Networking & Special EventsNatasha Renaud, MBA, MSMass [email protected]

Vice President,Professional DevelopmentYasmin [email protected]

Vice President,Volunteers ServicesTrell [email protected]

14

September 2007Tanya Bruckmueller-Wilson

October 2007Michela Pasquali

December 2007Marie Fitzpatrick-HallCarl Mavromichalis

May 2008Amanda Mills-SiroisMorag FarquharsonStephanie Thornbury

IABC/Toronto keeps growing!Just before the Labour Day long weekend, it was announced thatwe had reached 1601 members! This is phenomenal news consider-ing 14 months earlier we had reached 1400. Congratulations toeveryone for making this possible!

IABC/TORONTO EXECUTIVE BOARD 2008 – 2009 ACCREDITED MEMBERS

Congratulations to the IABC/Toronto memberswho recently became accredited:

15

IABC InternationalOne Hallidie Plaza, Ste. 600San Francisco, CA, 941021-800-776-4222

IABC/Toronto296 Jarvis St., Unit 7Toronto, ON, M5B 2C5416-968-0264

ON THE MOVE

Brenda Hajdu (Delodder)Marketing DirectorFuller Landau LLP

COMMUNICATOR COMMITTEE 2008 – 2009

Advertising:Vanda [email protected]

Graphic Design:Fusion Design Group Inc.Telephone: [email protected]

Printing Services:Brown Book Company(BBC) LimitedTelephone: [email protected]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Page 9: Communicator Nick Leeson

16 This newsletter was printed on FSC certified paper with 10% post-consumer content.

Why should we act as ethics guides?Our knowledge and talent put us in a strong position to giveguidance on ethical issues; but why should we fight to securesuch a role? The most practical answer is, if we don’t prevent it,we might end up cleaning it up. Communicators are heavilyrelied upon during crises to manage corporate reputation; but

by being involved from the beginning to help companiesunderstand the potential implications of their actions, commu-nicators are able to recognize their higher purpose as guides, asopposed to crisis janitors.

Beyond practicality, ethical conduct also carries with it theassertion of a positive corporate outlook. By continually striv-ing to do the right thing, an organization is doing its part toimprove business and the corporate climate in which we all work.

Our understanding of ethical conduct has the potential to beanother building block toward securing communications as amanagement function. Communicators know the importanceof effective corporate communications but can sometimes struggleto gain consideration during important decision making. Ourunderstanding of the role ethics play in reputation managementis another argument for our presence during key decision mak-ing, and has the potential to play a role in securing our seat atthe executive table.

~ Scott FryHealthComm Inc.

THE GREENING OF THEIABC/TORONTO ANNUALREPORT

IABC/Toronto plans to make the chapter’s2007–2008 Annual Report as environmen-tally friendly as possible.

To accomplish this the chapter plans to:• Publish the report in an electronic version

• Offer the print version to members onlyon request, thereby reducing the numberof printed copies produced

• Recycle surplus reports (except for a fewarchive copies) when the 2008 –2009Annual Report is published

• Hire an environmentally responsibleprinter, certified by the ForestStewardship Council, using the mosteco-friendly materials possible

CONT I NUED FROM / PAGE 13


Related Documents