Examples of Good Corporate Communication Do Exist

In several previous blogs, we’ve highlighted examples of poor communication. From poorly worded media statements of companies in crisis making horrible word choices to poorly phrased email statements to downright awful corporate announcements which highlighted insensitive, inconsiderate and thoughtless communication by corporate leadership – poor communication is everywhere. However, occasionally, I run across an example of corporate communication done right.

A couple weeks ago, I read about the acquisition of deal-a-day website Woot by the e-commerce giant Amazon. I knew nothing about the Woot brand, their corporate culture or the deals of the acquisition, but the letter to employees written by CEO Matt Rutledge was nothing short of brilliant. He utilizes Cicero’s model of successful communication utilizing three essential ingredients: charm – teach – move.

For the full text, click here.

Throughout the letter, Mr. Rutledge employs Cicero’s model, but let’s look at a few specific things he did right:

1. His style is consistent with the brand and the corporate culture. A quick look at What is Woot? page on the website shows the company is snarky, clever, self-deprecating and uses humor during their customer interactions. Mr. Rutledge’s letter to employees utilizes the same tone in the very first sentence – “I know I say this every time I find a picture of an adorable kitten, but please set aside 20 minutes to carefully read this entire email.” His tone and clever delivery continue throughout the letter until the very last line – “Also, there will be six muffins waiting in the company break room, courtesy of the nice folks at Amazon.com. Welcome to the family!”

2. He directly addresses with employees how this change will impact them. He writes, “We plan to continue to run Woot the way we have always run Woot – with a wall of ideas and a dartboard. From a practical point of view, it will be as if we are simply adding one person to the organizational hierarchy, except that one person will just happen to be a billion-dollar company.”

3. He embraces what he knows will be employees’ “top 5 burning questions” (which really turn out to be only four questions). Nonetheless, the format is clear, concise and demonstrates he knows his employees and what their concerns will be. He outlines that company data forums, staffing, leadership and culture will remain unchanged, therefore quieting restlessness among the ranks about how these changes will impact them and their jobs.

4. He is likeable – his funny, self-deprecating style puts people at ease. He knows this news is big for the company and its employees, but he utilizes language to make the changes relatable to his audience. “This is definitely an emotional day for me. The feelings I’m experiencing are similar to what I felt in college on graduation day: excitement about getting a check from my folks combined with nausea from a hellacious bender the night before.”

While this style of writing would not work for every person, company or audience, the communication lesson is clear. As a communicator, your goal should be to provide your audience with content that grabs and keeps their attention. Integrating your personality, perfecting your tone and utilizing the corporate culture provide a positive experience for the audience and move them to action.

Don’t settle for an ordinary life
due to less than extraordinary communication.

My son failed his freshman rhetoric class this past semester. How is that possible with an expert in communication as a parent? Well, as we all know, whether you parent or not, anything is possible with teenage boys. He also failed chemistry, but who cares? Not me. (Okay so I want him to get A’s in everything, but between chem and rhet, I choose that he go through life not knowing the stability of elements with atomic numbers greater than 82 and instead he learn how to write, speak, use non-verbal behaviors and visual support to show up big in the world.) Being a good, no, a great communicator makes you a better student, employee, boss, spouse, lover, dog owner, father, daughter, okay, you get the idea.

I know how to communicate. Perfectly in fact. That doesn’t stop me from daily communication breakdowns. Sometimes I fail intentionally. Sometimes my emotions take over and I simply can’t help myself. Usually the failure is caused by a dose of mental or physical laziness. You have communication malfunctions too. Probably many more than you recognize or would like to admit. Let’s raise the bar. Come see me, talk to me, tell me your fears and failures. I take odds that most are caused by an inability to excel in areas of talking, writing, emoting, describing, etc. I looked at other blogs on these subjects and what to my wondering eyes did appear, only yesterday? A blog posting dedicated to the effective handshake. Come on people. How many times do you need to hear ‘don’t wear blue eye shadow’? Are you just not listening? It’s not your fault though. We lie to each other so much that one research report claims that as much as 30% of our daily communication is lying to each other. How do you know that your handshake is yucky if no one tells you? We will fix all that from the little things like handshakes to the big things concerning conflict negotiations and marital bliss.

This blog will be about communication; verbal, non-verbal and visual. This is not a grammar class. Please do not send corrections to my split infinitives or improper use of subjunctive clauses. I only recently learned that there was a difference between the words affect and effect. And I have to get my Strunk and White daily to check myself. Grammar is important. It is annoying when advertisers misspell words on billboards or blatantly use our language incorrectly to make a point. I write like I speak and leave the rest to spell check. I do try, however, and on a regular basis pay homage to the (wo)man who gave the grammar/spelling intelligence to the computer and took it away from those of us who are admittedly inadequate. At last I have a role model.

Check in regularly and you will find out why you are not that good at knowing how others perceive you and what to do about it. It’s not that you can’t get by without knowing. You have managed thus far. But you choose – ordinary or extraordinary.

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