The official magazine of Ketchum Pleon | english version | January 2014

Love it, change it, leave it

Inspire #05

Change Communications

FOCUSSING ON CHANGE

Dear readers,

Can you recall the mega deals that took place in the 1990s? For example,

ThyssenKrupp, Vodafone/Mannesmann or ExxonMobil, which turned whole

industries upside down? For many years, mergers, acquisitions and

production transfers of this type were traditionally the launchpads of change

communications projects. Over the past few years, new areas of change

communications have come to the fore, since many corporate structures

and cultures have been stretched to their limits as a result of digital change

and are now in urgent need of a self-imposed program of rejuvenation.

Change communications has always been the domain of communicators

with a great deal of sensitivity – and with vision. As the title of this magazine

suggests – ”Love it, change it, leave it“ – the initial challenge is to recognize

the necessity of change and to break free from the passive mindset which

prevails in so many companies. In the second stage, not only must an

ambitious, committed team be put together, but also large numbers of

employees must be accompanied on a lengthy – and not always agreeable

– path of change. These are exciting challenges, especially if one has to deal

with teams of long-serving employees. It is more important than ever not

only to plan processes and information ”cascades“, but also to adopt a new

entrepreneurial mindset and to create a vision of the change.

The possible methods of achieving this are described by our authors in this

fifth issue of our Inspire magazine. Following an overview of traditional

approaches to change communications and the challenges involved, we focus

on individual aspects, such as storytelling in connection with change projects,

or the so-called ”millennials“, who are regarded with such suspicion. The

subject of leadership will play a particularly significant role, since change

without leadership doesn‘t work (any more) – on the principle: if you want to

get things changed, you must have the courage to lead the way.

Your Ketchum Pleon Team

2 //

LIST OF CONTENTS

4 How to beat the ”change blues“ Are you weary and exasperated every time a new change in the company is announced? Here are a few tips.

6 Drivers of change Various types of change keep us on our toes: an attempt at systematization.

8 The (mis-?)guiding principles debateGuiding principles have a certain notoriety. This article explains why these vision statements are better than their reputation often seems to suggest.

10 Companies are not peddlers of fairy tales Why change communications benefits from powerful stories and genuine emotions.

12 14

Help! Millennials!Is a new generation transforming the world of work? A look at the new kids on the block.

And what do you stand for? Theme-centric leadership makes the agenda setting approach viable for one‘s own leadership work.

16 The customer at the desk beside me When customers suddenly play a key role in product development, the result is fear – and opportunities.

18 The Wizard of MarCom Between customer contact and process optimization. A trip to the magical world of marketing.

20 The right speed Talking to Prof. Joachim Klewes about regattas, speed and the art of saying no.

22 Taking a standThere‘s no hiding-place. Personnel and the public expect to hear an opinion. And they expect decisions.

// 3

Everything changing, everything in a state of flux... Companies repeat

the call for change like a mantra – and in doing so set off a full-scale

alarm. ”We need to adapt to the markets! We need to serve our custo-

mers better! We need to develop a new business model! It‘s about

time IT was consolidated!“ Unfortunately, these regular appeals from

management to the organization tend to fall on deaf ears – a shrug of

the shoulders, then they are forgotten about. Admittedly, the list of for-

merly successful firms which have disappeared from the market over-

night is a lengthy one. And the market leaders certainly don‘t defend

their position by sitting back and relaxing. But if those who believe that

doing things just for the sake of doing them is going to solve all their

problems have their way, then the whole organization will end up with

a collective burnout. Paralysis, not progress, will be the result. There is

no panacea for chronic organizational exhaustion, but there some

stimulants that are highly effective provided the dosage is correct.

Tip number 1: The core team. To ensure clarity.

So top management has given an assurance of its commitment to

the planned change initiative? Just a pity that most company

employees have heard, but not heeded, the messages from their

CEO. Instead, they are following the statements and actions of

their line managers. Even more important for them are the ”inter-

nal networkers“: colleagues who are well informed and who enjoy

respect across different divisions. There are several advantages in

including these key figures in one‘s core team prior to launching a

change initiative. Not only do they have the necessary powers of

persuasion – they also ensure an interdisciplinary setup.

Before the core team gets down to work, it should engage in a

frank and open dialog about the fundamental goals and content of

the project. This may not sound particularly exciting, yet it is very

important, as the following test shows. Ask the members of your

project team to answer two questions, allowing them one sen-

tence for each response: ”What are we doing in our project?“ and

”Why are we doing it?“ In most cases you will receive many diffe-

rent answers to the same questions. Our experience has shown

that a professionally organized alignment dialog in the core team

– based on a workshop or individual interviews – is necessary in

order to sound out the opinions of the key group of multipliers and

THE CHANGE BLUES Tired? Listless? Heard it all before? Here are four tips to help you overcome the corporate ailment of the decade.

THE CHANGE BLUES

facilitators. This is the only way to develop a unified vision of

change, which can then be communicated across subprojects,

corporate functions and regions.

Tip number 2: Informal information. To create viral effects.

The core team is in place and is clear about its objectives? The next

step should be to wheel out the concept. Time for that time-honored

model, the communications cascade – or is it? Anyone who urges

management to communicate the core messages from the top exe-

cutives down to the next level in the hierarchy need not be surprised

if a degree of paralysis sets in: the relevant information trickles

through to the lower levels very slowly – if at all. In most instances

middle management is out of its depth as far as placing strategic

initiatives in context or working out its own team‘s contribution is

concerned. The alternative? Viral effects and the ”spread the word“

mechanism. Here, too, it is well worth having a well informed, exten-

ded core team which gives credible backing to new ideas. Its mem-

bers can get the debate under way through informal chats in the

corridor, during coffee breaks or at company celebrations – without

the need for lengthy workshops or training sessions. In this informal

manner, people can share with others their own experiences as well

as credible success stories. But one consistent core message con-

cerning the aimed-for change needs to shine through all these con-

versations: What is to be the final outcome? What form will the inter-

vening stages take? What is expected of individual employees?

Tip number 3: Digital Dialog. To keep people on board.

A further antidote to ”change fatigue“: when people are allowed to join

in, they stay awake longer. In order to get their personnel involved,

companies now have a range of digital communications tools at their

disposal. With these, staff can discuss the change issues in real time

and involve themselves actively in the content of the project. One

means of maintaining interest is the use of interactive comic stories

which outline new forms of behavior. For instance, an employee in a

company is faced with challenges which he can only overcome if he

changes the way he thinks and acts. Staff can decide at regular inter-

vals how the story is to continue. And the comments function enables

them to discuss the progress of the story. At Nokia Siemens Networks,

for example, a learning comic was successfully linked to an inhouse

quality campaign. An alternative tool to put individual employees‘ wil-

lingness to change to the test is the online simulation of decision-

making scenarios that are critical for success. In this case the partici-

pants can choose between different alternatives; for example, they can

select the course of action which fits in best with the company‘s rede-

fined guiding principles. The employees then receive direct feedback

about the option they have chosen and its possible impact.

Tip number 4: Project pitstops. To preempt complaints.

Companies need to find out which formats match their own corpo-

rate culture and to what extent. But they should also be prepared to

experiment with interaction. All too often, the willingness of emplo-

yees to participate is underestimated. At the same time, the ump-

teenth workshop or large-group event is hardly likely to lessen any

change fatigue they may be experiencing. Here, the support of top

management is absolutely essential for the core team if the latter

aims to shape the change process as variably and as flexibly as pos-

sible. Ensuring this high degree of adaptability is one of the greatest

challenges. The further the process advances, the more the core

team will be confronted by surprises and imponderables which in

turn require new measures to be taken. It is therefore advisable to

make regular ”pitstops“ and to ask oneself: Are we still on track?

Where are we at risk of getting bogged down? Where are we simply

marking time? But also: What have we achieved so far? Can we

communicate it? Just as important as a good start is the successful

conclusion of a change project, allowing everyone involved to maxi-

mize their learning experience and recharge their batteries – because

it will just be a matter of time until the next change. //

RefeRence lInks

Three books which our authors recommend: R. Langen, J. Klewes (2008): Change 2.0 Beyond Organisational Transformation; J.P. Kotter (2006): Das Pinguin-Prinzip. Wie Veränderung zum Erfolg führt. L. Dörfel (2007): Interne Kommunikation – Die Kraft entsteht im Maschinenraum.

@Michaela Haseis a member of the Munich Change Team and assists companies and departments with their change pro-cesses. She believes that ”the individual steps must always be understandable.“

@Daniel Colomaalso works in the Munich office. He sees the art of successful change communications as the ability to get everyone on board on the road to change – even if announcements need to be made from time to time.

// 5

DRIVERS OF CHANGE

Globalization

Work-life balance

Demographic change

Diversity & inclusion

Flexibilization

Knowledge society

Lifelong learning

Emerging markets

// Lack of understanding of ”soft topic“

// Insufficient consideration of own behavior patterns

// On managerial level: feeling of being over-stretched and fear of more transparency

// Lack of support from top management

// Paralysis of processes and questioning of routines

// Skepticism and fear of close contact between company and organizational units

// Anger, resistance and demotivation among employees

ORGANIZATION CULTURE

For example customer responsiveness program,

management development, implementation of values

For example divisional mergers, company mergers & acquisitions,

restructuring and downsizing

Com

pani

es‘ r

espo

nse

to t

rend

sC

onse

quen

ces

and

chal

leng

esC

onse

quen

ces

and

chal

leng

esDRIVERS OF CHANGE6 //

Social trends – whether the new era of lifelong learning or digital networks which revolutionize interpersonal relationships – are drivers of corporate change, influencing companies‘ organizational structures, corporate cultures, business strategies and IT systems. Each change scenario confronts change managers and communicators with different challenges.

One common factor for success remains the same: change can only succeed if it is implemented with the people involved and if management

makes a point of seeking dialog.

Sustainability

Mass customization

Social media

Big data

Digital lifestyle

// Lack of understanding and loss of trust

// Uncertainty about objectives

// No necessity for change of strategy

discernible among employees

// Rejection and protest, e.g. because no value added recognizable

// Fear of greater transparency in tasks/ roles/areas of responsibility

// Fear of having insufficient skills/ qualifications

STRATEGY IT & PROCESSES

For example Enterprise 2.0,

logistics program, software introduction

For example vision/mission,

internationalization, sales & marketing strategy

@Isabel Schalleris an art director with Ketchum Pleon Düsseldorf. She believes that infographics are the ideal medium for complex subject matter.

DRIVERS OF CHANGE // 7

PUTTING CORPORATE IDENTITY TO THE TEST Why value processes can be business drivers. And so often don‘t work.

CORpORATE IDENTITy

Guiding principles – or the company‘s ”vision statement“ – have

regained popularity, as the result of a growing desire for orientation in an

ever faster-paced corporate environment. In their standard form, these

principles describe the purpose, the long-term development and the

characteristics of an organization‘s internal collaboration and/or external

image. In other words, the principles encompass mission, vision, values

and basic managerial precepts. They provide identity and encourage

identification. That‘s the theory, anyway. In reality, however, many organi-

zations draw a line at the point where the real work should be starting.

All too often, all there is to show at the end of the value or vision state-

ment process is a brochure, courtesy of the managing board, which is

then to be passed on to the organization by way of ”communiqués“. The

motto: ”Start living, please!“ Those managers who adopt this approach

and refuse to involve personnel in the development of the vision state-

ment need not be surprised at the lack of enthusiasm which they

encounter. The response among staff is predictable: ”Read it, had a

laugh, filed it away“. They sense the huge gulf between the theoretical

image of the company and everyday reality.

A value such as trust, for example, is easily reduced to absurdity when a

company, instead of showing trustfulness, imposes on its staff a series

of complex rules and regulations for signing documents. When participa-

tion is preached but top-down decrees are the reality. When better cus-

tomer responsiveness is demanded, but all that really matters is that the

firm comes off best.

When developing their guiding principles, companies waste a great deal

of potential by failing to transport the dialog about the existing and the

targeted corporate culture or strategic focus to the organization as a

whole. An example of how to do this more effectively is the method

adopted by Festo AG, a leading international producer of industrial auto-

mation solutions. The company‘s top management began by implemen-

ting a multi-stage values process in order to create an initial framework.

The basis for this was formed by so-called ”cultural drawings“: these

were drawings compiled by management which illustrated both existing

and desirable types of behavior at Festo. They provided answers to such

questions as ”What makes us proud?“ ”What are the dos and don‘ts at

Festo?“ ”Which situations best exemplify our corporate culture?“ Some

300 managers worldwide were involved in this discussion and definition

of future corporate values.

In addition, a cross-divisional Sounding Board, working in close collabo-

ration with a Values Committee, analyzed the initial drafts of the vision

statement. The next step was to launch a company-wide dialog, in which

personnel discussed the suggested cultural dimensions in the intranet,

putting forward various theories and proposals. With this ”culture

square“, employees were presented with two different options for each

dimension, i.e. ”more of this“ or ”less of this“: for example, should the

company exercise caution or should it be bold when it comes to decis-

ion-making? Finally, the findings of the culture square project enabled

the team to formulate concise, distinctive values. Ratification by the

managing board was then followed by the go-ahead for the introduction

of the system worldwide – in the form of dialog formats right down to

team level.

In many companies, employees greet the announcement of a value

workshop with a good deal of skepticism. They fear it will simply turn into

just another pointless ”love-in“. But many of the attendees discover to

their amazement that the workshop has given them more impetus for

their business activities and collaboration than all the routine meetings

held over the past month.

This is invariably the case when companies link the value or vision state-

ment process to their business processes. That‘s because values are not

an end in themselves. They are a tool for turning attention on key issues

and themes, such as taboo subjects within teams or partisan feuding

between departments. A shared understanding sharpens the focus on

more general corporate matters and raises the question: What is impor-

tant for us? The fact that brochures are no longer first choice when it

comes to communicating a firm‘s guiding principles is further exempli-

fied by an energy utility. This company had to undertake a major restruc-

turing process and decided to depict the organization‘s actual and targe-

ted states in the form of a story map. The scenes, showing everyday life

in the company, provided a high degree of identification potential and

facilitated the discussion of strengths and weaknesses. All the depart-

ments and teams had a shared image of the state of the organization as

well as a joint understanding of how the future is to be approached.

Conclusion: A vision statement process only becomes fully effective if at

least as much time is spent on the ”anchoring“ as on the development

process, and communication relies not only on campaign elements.

These statements come alive if they set a debate in motion across hier-

archical and divisional boundaries and also motivate personnel to add

their own stories to them. //

RefeRence lInks

Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter names ten success factors for creating value by means of values in the following article: http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/06/ten-essentials-for-getting-val/

@Markus Czeslikis a Senior Consultant and also head of Ketchum Pleon‘s Germany Change Team, which is based in Mu-nich. He attaches great importance to active listening and to showing a high degree of empathy.

@Kerstin Straubingeris an Associate Consultant Change. She is convinced that values will play an increasingly significant role in companies as well as in society as a whole.

// 9

COMPANIES ARE NOT PEDDLERS OF FAIRY TALESBut change processes need a story. Why?

”The only people who like change are wet babies.“ That was my

first thought when I replaced the handset. I had just had one of my

shortest telephone conferences as a manager – but this phone call

was destined to turn my life upside down. I had been with the

same company for close to twenty years, felt completely at home

there, was involved in all decision-making, enjoyed the company of

close friends there. Suddenly, everything was to change. Stran-

gers began to appear: I felt they were intruders in our cozy little

world. In no time at all, everything was new. This was a journey I

hadn‘t asked for. It was simply forced upon me. I had to change.

And so, slowly, I began to come to terms with my fate…

Do you have a story that changed your life? There are different

answers to this question. Some people choose to tell their own

story, others refer to something they have read or heard. The Bible,

the Koran, or possibly ”The Alchemist“ (Paulo Coelho), ”The Little

Prince“ (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) or ”The Catcher in the Rye“

(J.D. Salinger) are often named. Stories are powerful. They can

lead to suicides (Goethe‘s ”Werther“) or perhaps warn against sui-

cide (Christiane F.: ”We Children of Bahnhof Zoo“). They can help

people overcome their fear of the dark (C.S. Lewis: ”The Chronic-

les of Narnia“) and shine a light of hope (H.B. Stowe: ”Uncle Tom‘s

Cabin“). Storytelling is currently one of the most frequently dis-

cussed topics among

communications experts.

Whatever the subject,

”storytelling“ seems to

be the key to success. It is hardly surprising, then, that change

managers, HR departments and occupational psychologists are all

deeply interested in ”the power of the story“.

change managers recognize the ”power of storytelling“

STORyTELLING & CHANGE

And rightly so, because research projects on persuasion conclu-

ded some time ago that good stories are more convincing than

mere facts. Skeptics can be won over by stories much more rea-

dily than by factual arguments or dry statistics. Neuroscientists

understand the reason for this: whereas data activates individual

areas of our brain, stories spread themselves over quite a few regi-

ons of the brain. Stories make a visual impact. They are ”cinemas

of the mind“. They arouse emotions, consolidate information, and

trigger associations. Best of all: good stories are ”viral“. They are

related – shared – time and time again. So what makes a good

story – and a good corporate story?

five elements ensure success

Every story needs a good reason to be told. The beginning of every

corporate story is therefore a clear positioning of the corporate brand

(meaningful brand), providing convincing answers to the question:

”What does this company seek to achieve?“ (vision).

Every good story needs a clearly recognizable hero. That‘s because

we identify more readily with an individual person than with nameless

groups. A further tip: the company does not necessarily have to be the

hero of the story – it could be an employee or even a customer.

Every good story begins with a conflict situation. In corporate com-

munications we are accustomed to talking about solutions. But good

stories thrive on drama, on the challenges which the hero has to

face up to. The sense of conflict heightens the tension within the

story. And the more detailed the description of the conflict, the more

splendid the ultimate solution appears. Good stories move us emo-

tionally and entertain us. To win over the skeptics, stories must con-

tain passion (and pain). This is quite a challenge for many corporate

communicators, who are used to conveying information through

factual reports and serious articles.

Good stories are inspiring and they are viral. And that is what corpo-

rate storytelling needs to be. Good stories will circulate automati-

cally in companies and organizations. The challenge is therefore to

make use of the right information channels but also to demonstrate

courage and tolerance, especially when stories are altered and

expanded (”user-generated content“).

Stories are helpful in changing patterns of behavior. Fairy tales tell us

what we should do or not do and how we can make our way through

life successfully. Don‘t trust a stranger (Red Riding-Hood); brains win

out over brawn (The Brave Little Tailor); lies will soon catch up with

you (Pinocchio).

But companies don‘t tell fairy tales. So what do successful corporate

stories suitable for change processes sound like? And where do these

stories come from? Three types have proven particularly successful:

The parable. In this case change processes are illustrated with the

aid of analogies. The actual situation in the company, the targeted

situation, or the path from the former to the latter are compared with

scenarios involving, for example, nature, technology, art or sport.

Parables make storytelling more vivid and more accessible and also

simplify the presentation of complex processes.

The field report. Specific case studies demonstrate the require-

ments involved in change processes. The listener recognizes himself

or herself in the report and develops his or her experience further.

The personal report. Managers are people and people set change

processes in motion. Managers motivate their teams both perso-

nally and emotionally using personal stories about the starting-point

of change through to a description of the journey from the actual

state to the aimed-for state.

… and my own, very personal journey? Three years after the mer-

ger of Ketchum and Pleon there are many stories about the union

of the two agencies. Most of them begin ”Once upon a time...“

and many of them have a happy ending, including my own story. At

present I am Chief Creative Officer at Ketchum Pleon, Europe‘s

Agency of the Year in 2013, which was honored with one Gold and

several Silver and Bronze Lion Awards at last year‘s International

Festival of Creativity in Cannes. //

RefeRence lInks

We attach great importance to storytelling and crea-tivity. You will find articles and helpful suggestions about these topics in our blog www.kpg-blog.de and in various presentations available free of charge in Slideshare.

@Petra Sammeris our Chief Creative Officer and definitely not a peddler of fairy tales. But one of her hobbies is storytelling. She holds workshops and training courses for clients and colleagues all over Europe.

// 11

Do you know the eager beavers? Professional people who work

according to the carrot principle: they start off small and work hard

to receive their due reward – a well-paid job. The so-called ”millenni-

als“ are completely different. The members of this younger genera-

tion, today‘s 18- to 33-year-olds, have no wish to put their private

lives on hold simply to boost their career prospects, according to the

PwC consultancy. In April 2013, PwC published the largest-ever

international study of the expectations of the generation born from

1980 onward. For this survey, their experts interviewed approxi-

mately 44,000 persons – all of them PwC employees, it should be

pointed out. The provisional conclusion: millennials are changing

the working culture worldwide. They are putting firms under incre-

asing pressure to adapt, according to the authors of the study.

And sure enough, the millennials are surging on to the labor market

and creating more and more difficulties for companies. Friction is

almost guaranteed when younger employees come up against their

long-serving colleagues. Frequently, the millennials are accused of

lacking depth, having a weak mindset and being poor at putting argu-

ments across. For their part, the younger generation views their bos-

ses as inflexible control freaks with inadequate leadership skills. And it

can safely be assumed that this source of tension will increase in years

to come, especially since the millennials will account for more than half

of the working population by the year 2020. So is it high time that com-

panies adapted themselves to the employees of the future? Or is sim-

ply another case of two generations at odds with each other – just like

their predecessors?

A closer look at the millennials reveals a target group which has very

different expectations. It goes without saying that the tasks involved in

one‘s job must be attractive and meaningful – but certainly not to the

detriment of one‘s pri-

vate life. Besides, the

majority of 18- to

33-year-olds have no

wish to tie themselves

to a particular company

for the longer term. At

the same time, they are not interested in changing job frequently. They

take flexibility on the part of the employer for granted, including home

office, variable working hours, and a high degree of freedom. But then

everything should preferably take place within well-ordered structures.

HELP! MILLENNIALS!Is a new generation changing the world of work?

sure, the tasks involved in the job must be attractive and meaningful – but not to the detriment of one‘s private life.

HELp! MILLENNIALS!

In this scenario a key role is played by recognition and appreciation by

one‘s superiors. 41 percent of millennials would like to be praised at

least once a month, the PwC study adds. The working climate is impor-

tant: for newly recruited professionals, teamwork and a sense of

togetherness are attributes which characterize a good company.

Who is actually changing whom?

Is this a new generation of slackers which has grown up, with com-

pletely wrongheaded ideas about work and career? Most unlikely.

Rather, their expectations reflect the unsettled situation of young

people who are faced with economic constraints and social impon-

derables. Internships, short-term contracts, project work, freelan-

cing – these are frequently the everyday realities of life as a millen-

nial. It is also what makes this generation so skeptical toward

colleagues who have climbed the ladder by way of traditional career

histories and employment models.

Organizations would be well advised to listen more carefully to what

younger staff have to say. That‘s because there are many positive

sides to the millennials: they are well educated, they are perfectly

willing to make compromises if the underlying conditions are accep-

table, and they are totally up to date in technological matters. They

could, to name just one

example, be effective

driving-forces behind

social business and the

ongoing development of

companies toward

Enterprise 2.0, if they

were allowed to and no

obstacles were placed in their path. The older generation, in particu-

lar, could learn a great deal from the millennials in this field.

After all, the next generation has an important role to play in the

evolution of social systems – and that‘s what companies and organi-

zations are. This has been shown by studies undertaken by the

Dutch generation researcher Aart C. Bontekoning. According to

these, employees born in 1975 or later, i.e. the predecessors of the

millennials, began their careers with a great deal of enthusiasm and

willingness to change. However, many of them were unable to get

past older colleagues and soon had to resign themselves to established

working methods. This cost them a lot of energy – and it was a lost

opportunity for companies to optimize processes and develop new

business ideas.

A generation under close scrutiny

Are the millennials threatened with the same fate as their immediate

predecessors? Bontekoning gives three reasons why this is unlikely

to be the case. Firstly, today‘s younger generation receives more

attention than all other generations before it. In other words,

established professionals and managers are now relatively well

informed about the millennials, their expectations and their potential.

Secondly, the younger employees are now more open and accessible

to older colleagues than they were just ten years ago. They accept

authority provided that it is backed up by competency and they can

”fit in“ without losing authenticity. And thirdly, pressure to innovate

has increased substantially, with the result that many firms are

automatically dependent on impulses from the younger generations.

Ultimately, it is up to companies themselves whether they create a

suitable platform for millennials. And, to be honest, who wouldn‘t

want to work in an environment which meets the expectations we

have referred to? Flexible worktime models, greater transparency as

regards career development, attractive salaries, an honest and more

intensive exchange of information and opinions between manage-

ment and employees, team spirit and a sense of togetherness:

these are all factors which make for a pleasant working environment

– and not only for the millennials. Perhaps it‘s time to help them

achieve their objectives? Even the ”eager beavers“ have come to

these conclusions. //

They are well educated, they are perfectly willing to make compromises if the underlying conditions are acceptable, and they are totally up to date in technological matters.

RefeRence lInks

The findings of the PwC study, in which 44,000 members of the consultancy‘s staff were interviewed, are available (summarized in English) here.

The complete survey by generation researcher Bontekoning, entitled ”The Evolutionary Power of New Generations“, can be downloaded (as a pdf file) here.

For a more humorous slant on this subject, here is a light-hearted video clip on how to deal with millennials at the workplace. Back in 2009, the IDEO innovation consultants came up with four tips on how to manage millenni-als – these tips are still valid today. Getting the best out of millennials? More tips are available from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School here.

@Thomas Fischeris a Senior Consultant at Ketchum Pleon Düsseldorf, working alongside both millennials and eager beavers.

// 13

AND – WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR?The changing ways in which managers put themselves across. Or: what leadership communications can learn from the agenda setting concept.

In our numerous talks and discussions with HR experts at the present

time there is one constantly recurring theme: the problems which

students and graduates have with long-established management

models in companies and organizations. But all is not lost – in our

estimation, the hierarchical managerial structure will soon be a thing of

the past. It is no longer capable of inspiring employees or generating

team spirit. The traditional approach to management is being replaced by

a leadership concept which focuses on ideas and issues that are

designed to motivate employees. The theme-centric leadership is geared

to the agenda setting concept associated with traditional PR: How does

a topic get placed on the public agenda? And how can we ensure it will

be the subject of discussion? The following seven steps can be helpful

to managers as they seek to find and make use of a specific theme

which will fit in with both their leadership behavior and their organization.

Step 1: Topic identification. Authenticity and natural authority are

enhanced if the manager does not borrow the theme from other

people, but defines it himself or herself. Successful managers link

content and substance to personal involvement and emotionality.

But these attributes can only develop if the manager relies on his or

her own value systems, in other words he or she is familiar with

them and can verbalize them.

Step 2: Relevance test. The topic suits his or her own value sys-

tem? Then, in the second step, it must be verified for corporate rele-

vance and substance. Personnel surveys, organizational analyses

and focus groups can play a useful role when its suitability is being

checked.

UND – wOFüR STEHEN SIE?

Step 3: Reduction of complexity. The topic requires a catchphrase,

a buzzword or a brief sentence which is immediately clear and which

conjures up various internal images spontaneously. If it is enhanced

with creativity, the outcome is a key idea. This is the common thread

through all management communications. Images and symbols play

their part in capturing this key idea ”in a nutshell“.

Step 4: Launch of communications. Every theme which is to be

publicized for the first time requires a precise starting-point. This can

be a video message to all personnel or an inhouse townhall meeting.

The important thing is that managers succeed in encouraging

enough people to discuss their topic, for example by way of an

online platform.

Step 5. Efficient communications. New dialog-based internal chan-

nels, such as the social media or Enterprise 2.0 applications, are also

changing managerial communications. However, personal contact, com-

bined with clear messages, remains indispensable; the key idea must

permeate all of the channels.

Step 6: Storytelling. Storytelling is (again) increasing in importance

in the management sector. And not without good reason: memory

researchers refer to the ”episodic memory“ which stores our life

story or key moments in our (working) life. Stories are helpful

because they link the topic and the leader together permanently and

facilitate a more lasting memory of the content.

Step 7: Networks. In order to set things in motion, ”supporters“ are

needed: people who can be inspired by the same subject matter or

the same idea. Theme-centric management also needs to convince

critics and permit dialog. Managers should begin networking with

people who have an interest in similar topics as themselves.

self-concept as the basis for theme- centric management

Management‘s self-image is undergoing change. No long does a

managerial post automatically mean respect and acceptance. This is

particularly the case with the management of so-called ”millennials“.

Effective, successful leadership is seen most clearly in difficult

situations – for instance, when conflicts arise between members of

staff or when there is a downturn in the company‘s business

activities. That is when judicious, convincing decision-making is

essential. And one thing is required above all others: a clear,

structured self-concept.

Haven‘t you forgotten something?

In the course of their careers, many managers have lost sight of this

self-concept. As a result, they are unable to articulate the reasons

why they reach their decisions. In many places success is determined

by the professional environment through implicit and explicit rules.

The tendency is to send managers to the next training course in

order to iron out any weaknesses they may have rather than to

strengthen their individual leadership style. Yet it is a well-known fact

that people are successful in those areas where they have the

greatest enjoyment and which they can be passionate about.

Focusing on a topic – and this involves tracking it forcefully and

emotionally – will only succeed if the manager can defend and justify

it credibly and authentically.

”What do you stand for?“ is not only the title of a successful book.

It is a question which managers should answer for themselves if

they aspire to theme-oriented leadership in relation to their person-

nel. The prerequisite for a credible answer is an honest debate about

one‘s own values. What is needed is fundamental convictions and a

clear mindset which must be conveyed to other people with due

respect – and which provides others with sufficient space to develop

their own strengths. Only then will managers produce, within their

teams, acceptance, identification and, above all, critical appraisal

which will have a lasting positive impact on their own development

and the advancement of the organization. //

RefeRence lInks

One‘s own management topic can be effectively dealt with in a small work-shop, since individual ”taking stock“ and the definition of credible focus subjects are advisable, so that the theme suits the manager in question. You are welcome to get in touch with us about this.

@Christof Biggelebenis Head of Campaigning with responsibility for the development of key ideas and themes/topics for major companies, professional associations and top management.

@Frank Pieperis CEO of the wegweiser strategie agency and collaboration partner for a Ketchum Pleon client.

// 15

THE CLIENT AS COLLEAGUEEnterprise 2.0 as a platform for joint product developments.

”Shape the future together with us“ – with this slogan the BMW Group

has been inviting private persons, universities and research institutes to

be part of the Virtual Innovation Agency (VIA) since 2001. Practically

anyone can submit patents, ideas or concepts relating to new tech-

nologies and services for future mobility, according to the company‘s

website. In this way BMW receives some 800 ideas every year,

three percent of which are ultimately implemented within the auto-

motive group.

So the idea of asking fans of the company all over the world to play

a part in the next ”quantum leap“ is not new. The advantages are

obvious. On the one hand, customers have most of the knowledge

about products, their possible applications and their own product

requirements. On the other hand, the company‘s engineers,

technicians and product developers are its key know-how owners.

However, the interchange between the two groups leaves a lot to

be desired, with prejudices gaining the upper hand. Wasn‘t it

Henry Ford who quipped: ”If I had asked people what they

wanted, they would have said faster horses“? Customers should

at most be allowed to contact a well-run service hotline. But

holding discussions on a level with qualified engineers is

something new altogether, with a few exceptions – see above. Up

to now, that is. More and more companies are making the

changeover to Enterprise 2.0 (E 2.0) in order to increase their

productivity, their effectiveness and, ultimately, their business

success. This includes better networking with customers.

Acquiring product innovation including cultural change

Enterprise 2.0 denotes a possible solution concept– including the

removal of knowledge barriers in order to achieve greater value

added in the form of social business. On the one hand, E 2.0

looks to interactive ”social“ software to minimize the transaction

costs for the exchange of knowledge and know-how. On the other

hand, it is a question of a more or less radical change of culture

and leadership within organizations. This change weakens – or

even does away with – traditional hierarchies and strengthens

innovation and optimization. In other words, E 2.0 doesn‘t work

without cultural change, because old knowledge patterns are

completely scrutinized here and – much to the disapproval of

many long-established experts – coupled with the opinions and

assessments of customers with seemingly little or no knowledge.

Once this obstacle has been cleared both internally and externally,

a real and excellent Enterprise 2.0 with substantial knowledge

DER kUNDE ALS kOLLEGE

and application potential can emerge. Andrew McAfee, Professor

at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a leading

thinker in the field of E 2.0, describes change as being essentially

”the use of emergent social software platforms within companies,

or between companies and their partners or customers.“

Networking with customers, in particular, should provide firms

with the impetus to press ahead with development toward E 2.0,

because they can supply valuable opinions on products,

companies and competitors. An additional factor is that a new

form of customer relationship building results.

A possible scenario

The following – fictitious – scenario demonstrates how close

networking with external target groups can be advantageous for

companies: ”The spring of 2014. In the development laboratories

of the Wobble technology company, staff are working feverishly

on the next generation of smartphones. There is an air of

expectancy, because the previous model broke all sales records.

Then there is the company‘s own claim that it is constantly

setting new standards in the fields of usability and functionality.

The goal for the new model is not only increased sales revenues

but, above all else, innovation leadership. Accordingly, the

developers don‘t intend to rely on reviews, focus groups or their

own know-how. They require detailed knowledge about what

prospective buyers are really looking for in a smartphone. They

are able to identify and contact their target groups accurately by

means of a hybrid system that links the internal systems to

external social networks such as Facebook, Weibo, Orkut and

Vkontakte. Within the digital system, the developers open up a

closed domain to which potential customers have access and to

which they can submit their ideas for the new device. The range

of suggestions extends from entirely pragmatic requirements

such as impact resistance, improved resistance to wear and tear,

and model life to utopian requests, such as self-learning

algorithms which adapt themselves to the user. The pool of

knowledge can be applied to the development process with the

aid of the system – and thus ensures a quantum leap in

smartphone development.“

It would of course have been possible for companies to obtain

detailed information about consumers‘ expectations prior to the

introduction of social software. However, this is still a labor-intensive

and therefore expensive process. Thanks to the new capabilities

resulting from ongoing Enterprise 2.0 development, a theoretically

unlimited number of consumers can now play their part in improving

products and solutions. And they can do so more or less ad hoc and

without substantial opportunity costs, since the necessary informa-

tion is already stored in Facebook, Google, etc., and – in this era of

Big Data (http://bigcontext.interone.de/) – the basis is in place for

the specific identification of one‘s target group.

Ready to go

The technical preconditions for the scenario described are already

fulfilled. With the large external social networks we have a commu-

nications infrastructure which facilitates the dialog between custo-

mers and companies. And with the changeover from company to E

2.0, the first tools required for an interchange with the target groups

are also available inhouse. Although the first examples have been

implemented, misgivings with regard to data security, privacy, rights,

motivation and actual usage still predominate.

from customer to colleague

The greatest change which companies will face is the different rela-

tionship with their customers – and consequently the self-concep-

tion of the research and development departments and the inhouse

engineers. The customer is by no means at the end of the value

chain. Now that customers have transformed the traditional sales

processes and marketing calculations thanks to the social networks,

companies‘ entire production chains will have to adapt to them. The

customer thus becomes a development partner, a knowledge

owner, an amateur inventor with equal rights – ”at the desk beside

you“, so to speak. The result: knowledge is partly democratized, but

actual technical implementation and innovation will remain on the

factory floor of companies for quite some time yet. At least until the

3D printer comes into mass production and supersedes the traditio-

nal production mechanisms. //

RefeRence lInks

You can find out more about the fundamental principles of and forecasts for Enterprise 2.0 in the New Year issue of Inspire magazine. An example from our own agency is the creative platform Mindfire (www.ketchum.com/mind-fire), which integrates communications science students all over the world, enabling them to devise creative solutions for communications challenges.

@Rüdiger Maeßenis head of the Düsseldorf Office and advises clients on all matters relating to digital technology and Enterprise 2.0. His Twitter account is @rmaessen.

@Norbert Bremadevelops and manages digital campaigns and projects and could offer some corporations a number of recommendations for their product development...

// 17

THE WIZARD OF MARCOMA trip to the magical world of marketing.

”Toto, I‘ve a feeling we‘re not in Kansas anymore“: these are the first

words Dorothy speaks to her dog in the children‘s classic “The

Wizard of Oz“, after both of them find themselves in completely

strange surroundings. The movie, up to then black and white, sud-

denly switches to color – just like the fantastic world of Oz with all its

exciting possibilities. A London-based B2B service provider chose this

analogy for its marketing manifesto, inspiring us to discuss new

tasks and challenges in modern sales and marketing.

everything is so colorful here!

Today‘s marketing managers may well find their present world of

work totally changed in the same way as Dorothy finds the Land of

Oz; the same applies to communications managers and their press

activities. The fault lies – again – with the internet and the social media

and the mushrooming number of marketing options, coupled with the

simultaneous diversification of target groups. However, the marketing

issues remain the same. Where are there leads and opportunities?

Where could sales be increased? How can I avoid ending up in spam?

Not an easy task, considering the wide range of tools in the digital

marketing toolbox: from e-books, SEOs, email blasts, communities

and widgets to videos, games, tweets, web sessions, podcasts and

WoM. Some of these require very few financial resources and they

lead to the involvement of other (and smaller) enterprises. The really

interesting aspect is not so much the greater diversity of channels

and the larger number of co-players, but rather the changes in the

forms and methods of communications, especially the directness of

customer contact and the transparency of all activities. The latter

applies not only to prospective customers (Where are they? What do

they like? What is their ”digital body language“ like? Have they read

my email and clicked on my banner?) but also to companies (Do we

like what they are doing? Are they honest? Can they be contacted

personally?). Both points lead to a basically more critical consumer

behavior which gives the cold shoulder to marketing speak and dubi-

ous advertising messages.

What does the brave new world mean for the professional image of a

marketing manager? The question here is not the undisputed need for

digital natives, but rather how the tasks of the MarCom (marketing

communications manager) will be expanded. Let‘s take a closer look

at the MarCom: he or she first of all analyzes customers‘ opinions

(which are received via various internal and external channels), the PR

reports, and the feedback from sales & marketing. Then content and

processes are developed for different markets and channels. This

THE wIzARD OF MARCOM

immediately poses an operational challenge, since in many compa-

nies neither the reporting structures nor the PR, marketing and sales

managers are properly coordinated. The real magic trick then follows

when the challenge is to interlink the different activities in a meaning-

ful manner. Back to the prospective customer: on average, a future

customer passes through at least seven points of contact, each one

based on the previous one, until the business transaction is finally

completed. Theoretically, that is – if the customer doesn‘t take cold

feet beforehand. And all too often the borderline to pushiness and

intrusiveness is crossed. Everyone is familiar with the constant flow

of emails, calls to one‘s private mobile, ad stalking shortly after one

has clicked on products: in short, continual contact can quickly have a

very negative effect.

To prevent interested parties from being lost again immediately, or from

being left too soon to the tender mercies of Sales, or from helping to

escalate an ongoing reputation crisis, the challenge here is to see the

bigger picture and to retain one‘s nerve. The new coordination require-

ments have already produced a secondary market which is concerned

with the automation and control of marketing activities; here, terms

such as ”automated marketing“ and ”transactional marketing“ are

enjoying a similar hype to transmedial communications in the PR sec-

tor. This brings us back to the subject of Enterprise 2.0, because here

too the major issue is how social technologies can be effectively used

for organizations, both internally and externally, and how they can sim-

plify work processes. One thing is clear: the good old Excel table has

finally had its day.

Here are some examples of marketing tools: Spredfast or vitrue for

instance, can be used for the scheduling of tweets and posts. In Eloqua,

on the other hand, complete marketing processes can be planned and

are then implemented automatically. When the customer does A, he or

she receives information B. If he/she reads/does not read this informa-

tion, the result is C/D, and so on. The setup is new and the planning

complex – if it is set up wrongly, it is liable to frighten off rather than

attract prospective customers. The investment is chiefly worthwhile for

fragmented, highly complex marketing activities. More important than

ever: in order to get people interested by means of – or in spite of – mar-

keting automation, the content needs to be convincing. And even the

very best coordination software cannot take the place of a fundamental

understanding of communications and knowing when the timing is right

(and when it is wrong). The saving in time must be invested in the com-

pilation of content and monitoring of one‘s own activities.

This leads on to our last point, which also uncovers a paradox in rela-

tion to the marketing development referred to: so-called ”responsive

marketing“ has as its objective the flexibilization of one‘s own com-

munications. No longer is there the one rigid ”prospect funnel“ which

is developed once a year and always used in the same way. Instead,

with this method the marketing activities are adapted flexibly, depen-

ding on users‘ behavior. And also revised and improved, depending on

users‘ feedback. Personally. Based on a dialog. ”Learning“ marketing.

That‘s the idea. The combination of ”database software to overcome

the coordination effort/outlay“ and the claim ”responding flexibly to

customers‘ wishes and modifying activities accordingly“ appears

contradictory. The art of being able to act personally and ”indepen-

dently“ of software, in spite of automation, and especially in the case

of service issues and nascent crisis issues, represents the next major

challenge. When decisions have to be taken which the ”system“

does not offer, personnel are challenged to act on the basis of indivi-

dual responsibility. Each company should establish for itself whether

they will, can and want to do this and on what basis. And that doesn‘t

just apply to marketing.

Home‘s best?

Thus, the duties of the marketing manager have a new layout, with a

diverse range of ”little helpers“ on the technical side. There are

increased expectations with respect to individual know-how and the

ability to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration. The MarCom has to

undertake a balancing act here: maintaining the new (because direct)

contact with the customer, convincing the customer with good

content, while at the same time benefiting from the options which

process automation offers him or her. In many respects the manager

is in new territory and – unlike Dorothy in the ”Wizard of Oz“ – doesn‘t

have the option of clicking the heels of magic slippers to go back

home. It‘s high time, therefore, to face up to the new realities and

break in the shoes, because ”we‘re not in Kansas anymore“ and –

sorry, Dorothy – we‘ll never be returning there. //

RefeRence lInks

Like to find out more? You will find various online marketing ”faux pas“ (including circumvention strategies) here: http://bit.ly/wAF8F6. A study undertaken by FedEx and Ketchum Pleon (http://bit.ly/MjMz3Z) looks at the subject of Social Business, while the Zocalo Group‘s FanRally provides an interesting approach to brand advocacy communications.

@Sven Kleibrinkis a Consultant at our Düsseldorf Office and spends his days plumbing the depths and admiring the miracles of the new world of marketing. He‘d like to go to Oz too some day.

@Anneke Ruschis a Senior Consultant with a primary focus on ”transactional marketing“. Her verdict: the secret is to keep an eye on the ”bigger picture“ – and not to leave everything to automation.

// 19

THE RIGHT SPEEDInterview with Prof. Joachim Klewes about values, change and choosing the right race course.

THE RIGHT SpEED

Professor Klewes, at management level there are frequently

complaints that it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict

future market developments. Forecasts are scrapped, changes

in strategy are called for at regular intervals. This creates the

impression that we are passing through a period of uncertainty

and instability. Do you share this view or is it simply the media

looking for sensational headlines?

There can be doubt that the speed of change nowadays is so great

that companies, managers and employees have to cope with much

more uncertainty. The media has no other choice but to report on

this – for better or for worse. Unfortunately for consultants like our-

selves it often means that the half life of our recommendations is

drastically reduced. Consulting is now much more challenging than

it was twenty or thirty years ago.

So what can companies fall back on in times of instability and

uncertainty? What is particularly important now?

I have never been one of those persons who pop up with a one-size-

fits-all remedy or a simple solution. There is not one single issue

which is all-important. It is like a sailing regatta: if you want to be one

of the first over the line, it‘s not enough just to select the right

course, judge the wind correctly, trim your sails skillfully, make sure

the boat is not too light or too heavy, have a well-trained crew on

board – everything must come together as perfectly as possible.

Staying with this image, every company should also ask itself: Do I

really want to take part in this race? Do I really want to sail or would

I make more headway in some other type of sport? What I mean is

that it‘s not enough for firms to adapt themselves as best they can

during a period of instability: they must try to define the rules of the

game themselves.

How can company management successfully ensure greater

calm and composure in corporate leadership, instead of simply

being driven by changes and change initiatives?

Well, management shouldn‘t take the ”remaining calm“ bit too far.

What I advocate is a high degree of alertness. And the solutions are

different for the different echelons of management. However, there

are a few good concepts which work practically everywhere. These

include having clear fundamental values. A high degree of consensus

among top management and in the teams – that‘s something one

can work on. And an openminded corporate culture that detects and

tackles problems before they can develop. This may all sound simple,

but: if these three aspects are put into practice, management will

have nowhere to hide. This takes a lot of effort – but we communica-

tions consultants can be of assistance!

Are there any recipes for success which have protected compa-

nies against crises in the past and which are still valid today?

Most certainly! The readiness to throw recipes for success over-

board and to keep trying out new ones. In other words, living out the

”love it, change it, leave it“ philosophy as a company.

What has been the secret of success of long-established corpo-

rations such as Bayer, MAN, Carl Zeiss or Siemens, which have

been in existence for more than a century?

Let me answer that with another question: Are these the same com-

panies they were a hundred years ago or even just five years ago?

The answer is obvious. Here, too, the principle applies: if these firms

hadn‘t changed, they would have disappeared years ago.

In what direction will change management/change communica-

tions develop/have to develop in order to keep pace with the

high speed of change? Or is it increasingly the task of change

managers and change communicators to take this speed out of

the processes?

No, that‘s not their job. I don‘t believe in any increase or decrease in

speed. What matters, in my view, is to find the correct pace for each

journey of change and then to decide whether and how this pace

can be maintained. If it‘s not going to work out, then another course

should be chosen. We as consultants should never be satisfied with

the ”how“, but always focus on the ”whether“ and the ”what“.

Otherwise we are not worth the money. //

WeITeRfüHRenDe lInks

@Joachim KlewesTogether with Paul J. Kohtes, Joachim Klewes (59) who founded Kohtes & Klewes, which subsequently became Pleon and is now Ketchum Pleon. He conti-nues to assist the agency by undertaking challenging consulting tasks for both old and new clients. He also manages the ”change centre foundation“, which he

established, and the ”change centre consulting“ for nonprofit clients. He is also an Honorary Professor of Political Communications at the Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf.

@Christin Käpplerworks for the Ketchum Pleon Change Team in Munich. Her verdict: There is simply no template for successful change projects – it‘s the blend of experience and empathy which counts.

// 21

TAKING A STANDAbout the need for a new corporate mindset.An article by Dirk Popp, CEO Ketchum Pleon.

Marissa Mayer of Yahoo is faced with a dilemma. She is arguably the

most modern manager of an exciting online company which deals

with new trends and technologies on a daily basis and is confronted

with the challenge of having to reinvent itself. Or being allowed to.

Marissa Meyer has such an authoritarian management style and

employs such detailed efficiency checks and controversial

assessment systems that it is evident that two different worlds are

on a collision course here. They symbolize the crossroads at which

managers often find themselves nowadays. These managers operate

in an environment full of new technologies, against a backdrop of

greater transparency, new ways of working, and new generations of

employees – an environment where managers are required to take

decisions for which there are no precedents and no instructions. In

many enterprises radical innovations should be on the agenda –

involving budget shifts or modern team structures, for example – but

in my experience most managers prefer instead to revert to long-

established processes and standards which no longer fit the bill. In

order to ensure the support of one‘s employees and to lead the

company forward together, a different approach will be needed in

the future: a clear mindset, a clear stance. Internally, it fosters a

shared communications culture by providing orientation. Externally,

it creates a clearly defined position in relation to stakeholders. And,

thirdly, it furthers the innovativeness of companies and organizations.

Let us take a closer look at each of these three aspects.

1. shared Mindset for the communication culture

For many years, firms sought to harmonize communications content

by way of such concepts as ”one voice policy“, ”binding corporate

guidelines“, or hierarchical information and release/clearance

cascades. With the growth in real-time communications and with

customers consequently expecting more rapid responses from

companies, these concepts have now served their purpose. The

place of ”one voice“ has been taken by ”Polyphonie“, in which all

employees consciously or unconsciously play a pivotal role in

building reputation – among friends and acquaintances and across

22 // pOSITION BEzIEHEN

TAkING A STAND

all channels of professional and private communications (see also

the findings of the Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitor

2013, KLCM). Ideally, the corporate mindset is the new ”cement“

which holds these many-voiced representatives together. It provides

behavioral orientation, challenging and supporting the independence

and individual initiative of personnel. ”Discerning a clear future

through the fog of today“ is how the KLCM, describes this process:

only in this way can at least a sense of safety and security be achieved

in the ”new“ environment. The personal attitude required in order to

enter this new territory is described by Brian Solis of the Alimeter

Group as the ”Lean Forward“ approach. Not adhering to the

traditional and the familiar, but rather looking to the future with an

open mind – without losing one‘s balance. Those managers who

adopt a clear attitude to issues, requirements and collaboration

themselves (see also the article entitled ”And What Do You Stand

For?“) will be in a position to communicate this to their own personnel.

2. Retaining a ”rough edge“ externally

As far as external image is concerned, a clearly defined mindset

shows a difference between communicators and organizations (see

also the ECCOS-Studie). In many places, perfection has found its

way into traditional media activities – and a deadly dullness has been

the result. All the rough edges have been smoothed away, while

communications professionals seem to be ”teflon coated“.

Interviews require triple authorization, with the result that little or

nothing remains of the interviewee‘s personality or standpoints. The

consequence of this is that sooner or later all enterprises will be

communicating in practically the same way (this applies to agencies

as well), unless they summon up the courage to ”do their own thing“.

This doesn‘t mean that every manager should reveal the depths of his

or her soul; rather, they should be able to state their opinion and point

to strengths and weaknesses as they see them. And without

investors, internet trolls or the media immediately rising up in protest.

If there is a clearly defined stance, the external perception of the

organization will be characterized by authenticity and credibility. These

are decisive factors when customers are sizing up the merits of

different companies. The unified presentation of words and deeds on

the part of companies and/or the CEO plays a special role in this

context and has been shown to influence the appraisal of an enterprise

as well as the purchase of products (ECCOS).

3. Mindset as the driving-force for innovations

Thirdly, the adopted stance also affects how the company approaches

the future and how employees deal with resources for developments

and ideas. Viable ideas rarely develop top-down: the middle layer of

the organization needs to be motivated to get involved. Not an easy

matter! Not only the manager but also company employees have to

learn a new mindset, characterized by trust, responsibility and

individual initiative. And how does it work? Here are some examples.

Coke, Apple and Google are often cited as best-practice corporations

for innovative culture, providing their workforces with a time quota

for the development of new ideas. But for more recently established

innovators, progress can be made in smaller steps. For example, one

current trend is the setting up of ”labs“: these are innovation

laboratories designed to stimulate their own personnel‘s thought

processes (for instance the Creation Center or T-labs 2.0). In

addition, institutionalized (and therefore frequently over-complicated)

idea management processes are finding their way into the corporate

sphere. Less complex is the use of inspirational work methods, such

as creative techniques or the concept of Design-Thinking

propagated by Stanford University‘s Institute of Design. Further

sources of inspiration which point in the right direction include

creative workshops, co-creation concepts, and regular out-of-the-

box sessions. The advantage of all these concepts is that they focus

on the development of ideas with the aim of getting skilled

employees involved as they go about their everyday routine.

However, just because employees are issued with running shoes

does not mean that they will start running immediately, nor that they

will necessarily run in the right direction. Ideally, however, thanks to

a mindset which is ”lived out“, it is possible to put in place a new

culture of involvement, clear decision-making and individual

responsibility, in which not everything needs to be discarded and

reinvented, but instead can be reexamined critically and

subsequently optimized.

Conclusion: Companies and organizations need to have a mindset

and to take a stance. This is not a new work directive or a new trend.

A mindset is a ”people thing“. The primary focus is therefore on

supporting and encouraging authentic persons with their own

opinions and clearly held positions. The right mindset can foster the

development of innovations – the next major challenge facing the

economy. But managers and their employees require a great deal of

courage for this. Courage to say ”yes“ or ”no“ to their own colleagues,

to the managing board, to the international board, to journalists and

to critics. There is no room for ”maybe yes, maybe no“ or for

procrastination techniques. This means bad times for opportunists

and bureaucrats. In my view, the return to this ”classic“

entrepreneurial approach symbolizes a revival of genuineness, the

courage to be distinctive, provocative, prickly, not always perfect – yet

surprisingly authentic. And genuine people – and organizations –

generate trust and attract followers. //

RefeRence lInks

The latest findings of the Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitors 2013 are available at http://bit.ly/YtkGgo; the ECCOS-Study is available at: http://slidesha.re/1dnqAN2.

// 23

January 2014

Ketchum Pleon GmbHBahnstrasse 2

40212 Düsseldorf

Concept and execution:Business Development Germany

Final editing:Ulrich Nitsche, Thomas Fischer

Layout:Yasmine Cordes, Mario Föllmer

Photographs and illustrations:Yasmine Cordes

Infographics:Isabel Schaller

Production:Stefanie Strieker