Posts Tagged ‘culture’

  Harvard Business Review’s January issue features an interview about charisma and social signals that people send. Research by MIT’s Alex Pentland who directs the MIT Human Dynamics Lab found that social signals or charisma can be measured and matters (better to have than not). He and fellow researchers found that it’s not what you say but how you say it. High energy and a positive point of view can drive success. “Honest signals” such as people’s gestures, expressions and tone change the receivers of those signals and change their behavior. “The more successful people are more energetic. They talk more, but they also listen more. They spend more face-to-face time with others. They pick up cues from others, draw people out, and get them to be more outgoing. It’s not just what they project that makes them charismatic; it’s what they elicit. The more of these energetic, positive people you put on a team, the better the team’s performance,” says Professor Pentland.

I am a big proponent of more face-to-face communications from CEOs and senior officers. To me, the best reputations are built that way.  After all, aren’t we social creatures? In the HBR interview, a fact jumped out at me which business leaders should think twice about. The professor said that some of their research is showing that being face to face with colleagues is 2.5 times as important to success as additional access to information. In their research with call centers, they are finding a 10% increase in productivity by restructuring the environment to enhance more employee interaction. More positive or employee face to face and social interaction, listening and engagement delivers a higher return on investment. Although I am fairly “social” myself (have a blog, twitter and use email like crazy), I believe that the mix of face to face and electronic needs to find a better balance. CEOs really do need to walk the halls and send the right signals that show that they are listening to what’s on people’s minds. If I recall, there is a CEO who has “office hours” like teachers do. Not a bad idea.

Pentland ‘s research is not saying that charisma and energy alone can change company culture and performance. But he is saying that charisma and positive energy impact others, send positive signals that can charge up people and foster greater cooperation and collaboration. At least, that is how I read it.

 Took a vacation last week in the Berkshires. If you live in the Northeast of the U.S., you know that the weather was gloriously sunny and summery.  I am a lousy vacationer in the traditional sense.  All I wanted to do this vacation was catch up on my mile high reading pile. There are so many distractions and demands at work that I never feel that I am focusing enough on new ideas and insights that come from those random odd moments when a new idea jumps from a page into your head.  So I took my reading pile and dumped it all into a big LLBean canvas bag and got down to work after stocking the house with food and plenty.  I read Jim Collins’ popular new book How the Mighty Fall, several HBRs, BusinessWeeks, Fortunes, Forbes, The Conference Board Review, The Week, and several binder-clipped downloadable presentations and white papers on reputation and leadership that I wanted to review.  I can’t say I read everything but I did glance through what was going on in the world of business performance, reputation, public relations, internal communications, leadership, CEOdom, online everything, and so forth.  I was pleased with my own personal reading performance and think I mayhave hit on a new idea for vacationing – the reading retreat.  I bet there are many people who just want to sit without a laptop or smartphone and kick back with hard print. Maybe I am revealing my age but it sure was easy to concentrate and tumble ideas in my head that might have some sway in the months ahead at home and work.  My own reputation might be damaged from my reclusive behavior but I feel rested and relaxed.

In the June 2009 Harvard Business Review, I found an interesting interview with Alice Waters, founder of  the highly reputable restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.  She has a smart way to retain and motivate staff.  Work cultures are critical to reputation-building and Waters definitely hit the right chord with her recruiting method. “The main chefs downstairs each work six months on and six months off, but I pay them for the whole year.  Not as much as a superstar chef, but pretty well. When they’re not working at Chez Panisse, they’re in France. One teaches in Bordeaux, and the other goes to Paris. They travel and then come back to the restaurant.”  As Waters says, the returning chefs bring back new ideas, new energy and new excitement into the kitchen.  When asked if she would keep this idea going despite the rough economy, she said absolutely yes. 

Most companies could not afford to pay people for taking half the year off but what is important to note is that job flexibility can do wonders in building a company or organizational reputation that benefits everyone – employees, bosses and customers.

I am part of a panel tomorrow in Cambridge talking about our new research on managing reputations online. Since I try to anticipate questions, I thought I would review which CEOs are blogging these days. I expect that someone might ask if CEOs should blog. Our research found that most executives say that less than 50% of corporate blogs are accurate. That may or may not be the case but I would add that any CEO who blogs has put their reputation on the line because it is easy to slip up.

Lately I have been fascinated by Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh. I have bought shoes from the online retailer and have to admit it was a great experience. My daughter is always buying from Zappos which is how I heard about them (word of mouth). The Zappos return policy is perfect for her because she gets 365 days to return shoes. Tony also twitters which is where I usually follow his comings and goings.  Zappos’ culture is all about the best customer service and the CEO says that culture is the brand. I think he has it right. I found this comment about their hiring process which says it all:

“At the end of the first week of training, we make an offer to the entire class. We offer everyone $2000 to quit (in addition to paying them for the time they’ve already worked), and it’s a standing offer until the end of the fourth week of training. We want to make sure that employees are here for more than just a paycheck. We want employees that believe in our long term vision and want to be a part of our culture. As it turns out, on average, less than 1% of people end up taking the offer.”

Reputations are built on many factors. Culture is certainly one and that is evident when reading Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For. Customer excellence is another prime factor. Zappos is a good best practice company for those interested in reputation-building.