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Ruth Sherman

January 31, 2008

Leadership: Ignorant Expertise

Last weekend I purchased a Panasonic DVD recorder. It came with the usual manual and quick-start setup guide. I’m not a techie, but I’m no slouch; I know how to follow directions. Well after 2 hours of following the instructions to the letter, I couldn’t make it work. There was a help-line phone number so I called and got instructions from the rep and within 15 minutes had the machine fully integrated with my other devices and working perfectly. So why weren’t the written and graphic instructions any good and why did they not reflect the setup sequence and connections the phone rep had in her hands?

Back in December, there was a fascinating article in the New York Times that discussed the issue of expertise and how the more expert we become, the harder it is to imagine not knowing what we do and the less we can imagine others not having the knowledge we have. I struggle with it constantly when I speak to or train new groups of people. I’ve been doing what I do so long and my knowledge is so deep, it’s hard for me to imagine they don’t already know it.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 1:11 PM | Add Comment

January 24, 2008

Leadership: Treat Your Customers Well

Just before Christmas, my Canon mini-dv camcorder broke. Not great timing, obviously, but what could I do but try to get it fixed? I knew I wouldn’t have it on the holiday itself and I was under no illusions that I would be able to have it repaired (if it was even fixable) during the 10-day period the family was relaxing and having fun together.

I needn’t have worried. I quickly found Canon online and was able to navigate easily on their superb support pages. At one point, I needed to call them. They were busy but instead of making me hold, the recording asked if I wanted someone to call me back as soon as the next available representative was free. I said yes and 10 minutes later, the phone rang.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:30 AM | 1 Comment

January 18, 2008

Leadership: Directors of First Impressions

A couple of months ago, I was a visitor at the New York headquarters of a big international law firm. When I walked into the firm’s beautiful offices, I was greeted by an impressive woman of years. I handed her my pass, which had my name on it and she smiled and welcomed me by name. She then offered to take my coat and showed me to a comfortable chair in the reception area. She asked if I wanted to visit the rest room. I did and when I returned, she welcomed me back.

I took my seat and picked up something to read. The receptionist came out from behind the large reception desk and walked over to me. Speaking softly, she told me my appointment was running about 15 minutes late and would I like something to drink while I waited? Did I have enough reading material? I felt very relaxed and content sitting and waiting for my appointment. My impression of the law firm? A classy place with, I was sure, classy people. On the way out, I told the receptionist that I thought she was the best I had ever seen.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 9:13 AM | 5 Comments

January 7, 2008

Leadership: In Iowa, The Best Communicators Won!

The results of the Iowa caucuses are in and, no surprise to me, the best communicators won.

Both Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee may have thin resumes, but their ability to inspire, motivate and persuade are unparalleled among the entire field of candidates, Republican and Democratic alike.

This type of oratorical skill is routinely dismissed by officeholder wannabes and their campaigns as not meriting much attention. (It’s also dismissed in the business world.) The only thing that should count, they think, is intellectual skill, political achievements and, perhaps, experience. As we see with the rest of the candidates, especially Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney, they ignore communication skill and style at their peril.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:11 AM | 4 Comments

January 3, 2008

Leadership: Show, Don't Tell -- The Professor v. The Candidates

Happy New Year!

I had a chance to catch up on some reading over the holidays and one thing I had set aside was an article in the New York Times about Professor Walter H.G. Lewin, a physics professor at MIT who has become known for his lively and engaging lectures. Professor Lewin is quite the performer, apparently, rigging cans of water to demonstrate how to make a simple battery, beating a student with cat fur to build up a static electricity charge powerful enough for the student to light a neon light tube just by touching it, and swinging on stage to demonstrate the physics of a pendulum. (You can check out his lectures, available for free at http://ocw.mit.edu/. You can also find a few clips on YouTube.)

As with all great teachers, Professor Lewin knows the best way to engage students is to show them how complex concepts work, not just tell them. This requires some planning including building demos, acquiring props and preparing remarks. Professor Lewin is a spry 71 and owns the stage he occupies. He looks like he’s really enjoying himself and his students are rapt. Lewin says it takes him about 25 hours to prepare one lecture. Assuming the lecture is about an hour and a half or less, that’s about a 20:1 ratio, which is about right. Professor Lewin is the epitome of “show, don’t tell.”

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:20 AM | 3 Comments

December 18, 2007

Leadership: 2007 Communication Successes Hall Of Fame

Last week, I posted my Communication Faux Pas Hall of Fame. This week, it’s the successes that get the ink, profiling those who went the extra mile and communicated well. Unfortunately, to come up with my 11, I really had to look since there are not nearly as many to choose from to induct into the Successes HOF than the Faux Pas HOF. This is no surprise, but disappointing and depressing nonetheless.

So, here goes. As with the last post, if there is someone or some act I overlooked and you think should be included, let me know and I'll see about including it in updates with appropriate attribution.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 6:36 PM | Add Comment

December 13, 2007

Leadership: 2007 Communication Faux Pas Hall Of Fame

As of this post, I will have been a Fast Company blogger for exactly a year. It’s been a great ride, working with the folks at Fast Company, especially Lynne d Johnson, who has been an enormous help from he very beginning. It’s also been fantastic, eye-opening and enlightening to hear from so many readers. This is the kind of dialogue people like me dream about. Thank you all and I’m looking forward to another great year.

Now for my 2007 Communication Faux Pas Hall of Fame. Throughout the year, I tried to be on the lookout for the most egregious errors. There were many, some of which I wrote about and some I did not. Following are my picks:

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:19 AM | Add Comment

December 6, 2007

Leadership: Have Patience

First, an update to my blog post of October 17, “Bear Naked Entrepreneurship,” about Bear Naked Granola’s Kelly Flatley and how she built her company. Kellogg’s just bought Bear Naked for something approaching $120 million! (That was the total for 2 companies; no breakout for Bear Naked alone.) All you techies out there looking to make a killing, this business is about as low tech as you can get. People will always need to eat and they’re looking for products that are not only delicious and nutritious, but cool. Kelly and company made granola, surely an old-fashioned food, way cool. Yay, Kelly!

I am not a patient person. This creates huge problems for me because a lot of the time, business moves at the speed of a glacier. I’ll tell you this, if I didn’t counsel myself to be patient as frequently as I do, I’d be out of business.

Almost everything you have to do in business requires patience. From waiting on suppliers to motivating employees to eliciting responses from clients and customers, to writing this blog, patience is required. The most frustrating aspect of business and the one requiring the most patience, of course, is booking business. Since everything else depends on this, it contains an emotional element, making the passage of time slow down even more.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:28 AM | Add Comment

November 29, 2007

What's In A Name? A Lot, It Turns Out

Back in August, I wrote a post on the re-branding of Washington Mutual as WaMu. I didn’t like the way the new name sounded and still don’t. More recently, there has been a blast of ads from the pharmaceutical industry for new medications whose names sound just awful. And last week, Ad Age columnist Jonah Bloom wrote an interesting and I think on-target column about efforts at naming products and companies.

Lately, naming has stunk. No more are we hearing graceful, even beautiful sounding brand names like Omnicom, Aeron or Zithromax. Today it’s Google (and a slew of “oo” imitators), Aflac or Byetta (it’s a drug even though it sounds more like a small town in the deep south).

According to Dean Crutchfield of London branding agency Wolff-Olins, it’s important to name carefully. Says Crutchfield, “The best names communicate who, what, why or an attitude. They’re critical, a cornerstone of a brand.” He goes on to say that finding just the right name is more difficult than ever and because people don’t want to pay much or have the process take too long. Fees of $2 million used to be common for naming, which gives us an idea of the importance with which it was viewed.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:00 AM | 4 Comments

November 15, 2007

Leadership: Getting Noticed by Giving Thanks

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. It’s always felt to me like the one, true American holiday. Almost everyone celebrates it and for these reasons, it is appropriate to discuss the critical communication skill of saying thank you.

Most people, including myself at times, are guilty of emailing thank yous. It’s understandable. Someone does something nice and the immediate reaction is to thank the person. The quickest way to do it is to fire off an email. Showing gratitude, however, is a key interpersonal skill. I see it as a leadership skill. At the very least, it demonstrates that the thanker has good manners. As such, it takes some thought.

The problems with saying thank you by email, txt or IM, are legion, but chief among them is that such messages get buried in the hundreds of communiqués we all receive every day. In addition, there is something terribly impersonal about emailed thank yous.

So I’m pleased to report there is a better way: A handwritten thank you note.

I have been preaching about handwritten thank you notes for years. A handwritten note rises above the clutter of email so effectively. Think about it: You may not respond to most of the hundreds of emails you get each day. But I’ll wager you immediately open a piece of mail with a handwritten address and that doesn’t come in a #10 envelope. I know I do.

I love getting these thoughtful notes.The act communicates so much: The writer took time, she or he cares, the receiver is important. When was the last time an email made you feel that way?

Marc Halpert of Your Best Interest LLC, has begun to send out handwritten thank you notes to all his clients at Thanksgiving instead of sending Christmas cards. The note is simple:

Dear ____

There is no better time to say thank you to our loyal customers than during this early holiday season.

We appreciate working with you and would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours good health and happiness in the coming year.

Sincerely,
Marc W. Halpert

Last year Mark sent about 110 cards and received 3 new pieces of business. Clients felt so good about him as a result of receiving his note, they referred him to others. This year, he tells me, he sent out 200 – that’s 200 handwritten and addressed notes. It’s time consuming so requires planning. But the results speak for themselves. Marc told me that he dropped in on a client this week and the client said, “Oh, it’s the thank you note man.”

Marc and I agree that sending handwritten notes is so rarely done, it always gets noticed and – this is key – the reaction is always positive.

I don’t do Thanksgiving notes the way Marc does, but I always write a note when someone does something nice for me. I sometimes write them at other times such as when I see someone I know mentioned in the news or, of course, to express sympathy or good wishes when someone is ill. Some people have personalized cards printed with their business logo or initials. My preferred method is to use art cards (I’m currently into the impressionists). I write 2 or 3 sentences, address the envelope including my return address and – this is worth the price of admission – use a nice stamp. They cost exactly the same as the boring stamps. (NEVER use the postage meter – way to ruin the moment.) In certain cases, I include my business card.

Anyway, I would love to hear your stories of sending and receiving thank yous, both handwritten and not.

Ruth Sherman • Ruth Sherman Associates, LLC • Greenwich, CT • www.ruthsherman.com

technorati tags: communication, leadership, Thanksgiving, giving thanks, handwritten notes

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 11:00 AM | 14 Comments

November 8, 2007

Leadership: Does Hillary Play Like A Girl?

Since the Democratic debate on October 30, there has been a veritable media hissy-fit over Hillary Clinton’s purported stumbles as well as her resorting to the gender card when her campaign labeled the attacks by her competitors and the moderators – all men – as “the politics of piling on.”

Pundits male and female, on the left and right cannot seem to stop criticizing and complaining that Hillary is taking it all too personally, that if she wants to fight in that ring, she’s got to be able to take a few on the chin and she shouldn’t whine that the boys are attacking her unfairly.

Welcome to the girls’ club, Hill.

As any woman who has spent time in conference or board rooms populated by men knows, women are attacked more frequently and over less significant issues than the men in the room are. That’s if they’re not ignored entirely or having their ideas co-opted by a more aggressive male colleague or boss. (By the way, men don’t necessarily intend to sabotage women in business nor may they even see such behavior as a barrier to women’s success, if they are conscious of it at all. Of course, this being presidential politics, one can never be certain about such things.)

This all goes to gender differences in communication: Men are socialized to jockey for status, to speak up even when there is little of importance to say –- just to be heard, to stake their claim, to be identified as a player. Women, on the other hand, are socialized to be collaborative, to play nice, to keep things level with everyone on the same plane and to speak up only when there is something really important to say. The result is they speak up less and thus the percentage of times their ideas are shot down is greater. They are also less likely to argue, to fight for what they believe and to stand up for themselves. This is all well and good in social situations around other women, but it doesn’t work at work.

So was Hillary guilty of any of that stereotypical female communication behavior during the debate? I don’t think so. The punditocracy is wrong. She gave a strong performance. She took a lot of punches and remained upright. She didn’t get ruffled and her tone remained measured and even. She had a couple of material stumbles, yes, but not serious enough to warrant the relentless criticism that has resulted. We must be having some slow news days.

Were the men “piling on?” You bet they were. We can argue about whether it was because she is the frontrunner or because she’s a woman. (My opinion? Both.) Her opponents and the moderators, especially Tim Russert, roundly attacked her constantly and without mercy in a way that no male candidate was and usually isn’t.

But she shouldn’t have complained about it and that’s where Clinton and her campaign went wrong. That tactic never has worked very well and women are tired of the victim label, anyway. That’s playing like a girl. Instead, women have quietly, subtly been adapting the rules of the communications game to fit within their stylistic parameters. And what does that look like? I’ll tell you this much, it doesn’t look like the way men do it.

Professional women –- and I suspect even non-professional women –- felt something very unpleasantly familiar while watching this debate unfold. They said to themselves, “Here we go again. Well, guess what, guys, I’m voting for her and aren’t you going to be stunned when she wins. You never saw it coming. We may not complain about this type of treatment, but boy, when I’m alone in that voting booth, the joke’s on you.”

Not playing like a girl. Playing like a woman.

What’s your experience with gender differences in workplace communication?

technorati tags: communication, gender differences, Hillary Clinton

Ruth Sherman • Ruth Sherman Associates, LLC • Greenwich, CT • www.ruthsherman.com

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:20 AM | 7 Comments

November 1, 2007

Leadership: Hillary's Improved Speaking Voice (And So Can You!)

I always watch the presidential candidate debates, both sides, because as an expert in political communication, the press often calls on me to get my take on things. As my long-time readers already know, when it comes to presidential politics, I believe that he – or she – who communicates best, wins!

So when I was Tuesday night, I was struck by the sound of Hillary Clinton’s voice. It sounded good! I’m surprised because although I’ve commented on it before, it’s never been consistent. She’d seem to change it for the better, then revert to her habitual sound, which is generally harsh and unpleasant. (Click here to see Hillary speak in Feb. ’07 and here for samples of her performance on Oct. 31.)

The speaking voice is a powerful communication tool that is usually overlooked. Right now, however, it’s a hot topic among training pros and I’ve certainly noticed increased interest among my clients. Despite our (over)reliance on email, IM and txt, we’re still using our voices an awful lot. Used well, the voice can captivate and hold audiences’ attention; use it poorly, however, and the snoring begins. To prove my point, all we have to do is think about the voices we love to hear: James Earl Jones and Diane Sawyer are great and current examples. So what are some things mere mortals can learn from such mastery? There are 3 things to focus on.

#1: Tone: Beautiful tone is pleasing to the ear. It sounds smooth and rich. There is no strain or hoarseness. It is resonant in the same way a beautiful violin solo is. Expression and volume are parts of tone. And here there is a real virus going around: the corporate monotone. Formerly expressive people get to the job and in a relatively short period of time, all expressiveness is flattened out. If this happens to you, try upping your level of expression just a bit. It won’t go over the top and will help you to make your points more easily. Also, watch your volume. It’s no good if you speak so softly that people must strain to hear you and no good if you’re always shouting. Find a moderate volume level and stick to it. Finally, find your optimum pitch level (OPL). This is a level that is not too high or low in the spectrum, but just right. It never feels pushed or strained. Women often have to lower their voices slightly and men must raise them (sorry, guys, not everyone is a baritone).

#2: Breath: Breathe from the core. If you’re into yoga, you’ll know what I mean. If not, recall that the way we usually breathe is shallow and facilitated for the most part by muscles in the chest and shoulders as evidenced by shoulders and chest heaving. When you breathe from the core, however, your shoulders and chest are still. Deliberately take a core breath and exhale slowly while speaking. Note how your voice feels. It should feel less tense and have more freedom.

#3: Rhythm: Rhythm encompasses the percussive aspects of speech including diction or enunciation, accents, dialects, rate and pace. In our frenzied world, there is a notion that he or she who speaks fastest is smartest. What isn’t often said is that if he or she speaks too fast, it won’t matter how smart they are because they simply won’t be understood. Slow down a bit and crisp up your diction by being sure to put on word endings. For example, in the word “want” should be pronounced “wan-t” with a real focus on the “t.” Other consonants/blends to pay attention to are s, d, sh, ch and k. If you focus on diction, you will automatically slow down. If you have an accent (foreign) or dialect (regional within same language) – and we all have one or the other – that is fine, but only if people can understand you.

Improving your voice takes time, by the way, and practice. In the meantime, watch and listen to other voices. Get a little digital voice recorder (check out the Olympus 300 series) and read aloud focusing on the things above. Be sure to play it back. If you’re diligent about this, you will eventually see changes.

Hillary has made changes relatively fast and if she can do it, so can you.

technorati tags: Hillary Clinton, communication, speaking voice, vocal tone, diction,Diane Sawyer,James Earl Jones

Ruth Sherman • Ruth Sherman Associates, LLC • Greenwich, CT • www.ruthsherman.com

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 5:25 PM | Add Comment

October 23, 2007

Leadership: Emblems of Success

I was driving around my town the other day, one of those upscale places where there are a lot of nice cars. I stopped at the local ice cream place and noticed an unusual car parked on the street in front of me. My husband pointed out that it was a Bentley, the Continental GT, a sporty version of that venerable brand. Apparently it’s the least expensive of the Bentley line, priced at $150,000.

From time to time, we also see the occasional Ferrari or Maserati (usually during the summer, rarely parked and much more expensive than the Bentley) and there are loads of BMWs and Mercedes (they’re parked all over the place). Almost every other car that I haven’t mentioned so far is late model and nice.

Such cars are emblems and increasingly the type of thing we use to delineate and display our status without showing the bank account. And not just the car, but where and even if it gets parked, marks the driver either as someone who is of such sufficient status that a scratch, ding or dent is no big deal or someone who isn’t. Homes are also emblems and clothes are, too. For women, the latest “it” bag or Jimmy Choos or Manolos are emblems. For men, a popular emblem is a wristwatch, which, at a certain level, must be Swiss (think Yo-Yo Ma and his Rolex). Sometimes it’s jewelry, big jewels (I call them “headlights”) – for both men and women, though often it’s the woman wearing the jewels and the man wearing the woman. Or maybe it’s vice-versa. All emblems.

Emblems can certainly be less precious and say even more about us than our level of success. Think about walking down the street with a Starbucks in hand or carrying the latest cell/PDA (iPhone anyone?). What about computers? Are you a Microsoft or Mac person? As a long-time Mac user, I can clearly remember early on when people who owned Macs were viewed as somehow lower-status, less technologically savvy, not to be taken seriously as business people as those who tussled with Windows. Perceptions change (and we Mac fans always knew they would).

Even the field you’re in is an emblem. Think about how you may view people who are in technology and wear jeans and T-shirts to work vs. how you view someone who is in a job that requires they dress in a suit and tie. Do you get your shoes shined? I was up at a New York law firm last week and the shoeshine person actually set up her stand in the hall. So some people do.

What’s on your iPod? Do you even have one? Is it rock, country, alternative, orchestral, opera? Maybe you enjoy them all.

Cars don’t do it for me. I drive a plain-vanilla Toyota Camry with a 4-cylinder engine, comfy, reliable and good on gas. I desperately need a new watch (have you seen the new TX line from Timex?). My engagement ring still has the small diamond that my husband could afford at the time. These are certainly also emblems that say something about me.

I do splurge on clothes and recently bought myself a gorgeous and very expensive Italian suit. I’m planning to wear it this week for the first time and really looking forward to that. What do I hope it communicates about me? Smart, chic, sophisticated, together and, of course, successful would do nicely.

How are you marked? What are your emblems of success?

Ruth Sherman • Ruth Sherman Associates, LLC • Greenwich, CT • www.ruthsherman.com

tag technorati
emblems
communication
Bentley
Mercedes
BMW
Ferrari
Maserati
Jimmy Choo
Manolo Blahnik
Microsoft
Mac
Starbucks
iPhone
Timex TX
Toyota Camry
Yo-Yo Ma
Rolex

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 2:08 PM | 4 Comments

October 17, 2007

Leadership: Bear Naked Entrepreneurship

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of hearing Kelly Flatley, CEO of Bear Naked Granola, speak at an event for the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) of Stamford, CT. I serve on the board of WBDC, which provides education and support for people (mostly, but not entirely women) who want to start and grow businesses. It’s a great organization with a mission I’m passionate about, so I always feel especially proud when we’re able to secure a great speaker and entrepreneur of the caliber of Ms. Flatley.

Mind you, Flatley started this company in 2002 at the tender age of 23 in her kitchen and grew it in 5 short years to a multi-million dollar enterprise with national distribution in thousands of stores coast-to-coast. As she told her story – which is the Bear Naked story – she shared a number of entrepreneurial tidbits that I found very inspirational.

1. Believe. Granola was certainly nothing new and oats are not sexy. Still, Kelly and partner Brendan Synott thought she made a better granola and that they could make it fly.

2. Work really hard. In the early days, 100-hour weeks were the norm. They worked day and night – mostly night when the bakeries whose ovens they leased were available.

3. Take risks. No one would give them start-up money, of course, so they maxed out Kelly’s credit cards (Brendan couldn’t get any) and kept working.

4. Learn constantly and from everyone. Neither Kelly nor Brendan knew anything about the food business. They were given a lot of advice from parents, relatives, friends and customers. Some was not so good, but a lot was great. They took the good advice and ran with it.

5. Go with your gut. Bear Naked comes in cellophane, resealable bags with a transparent window. One time, the owner of a major supermarket took them to the cereal aisle to show them the sea of boxes. He told them that unless they packaged their granola in a box, it wouldn't sell. They felt strongly that part of what they were selling was transparency -- they wanted customers to see and even be able to feel their product. They didn't take his advice.

6. Stick with what you love. Brendan loves marketing. Kelly loves making granola. They've stuck with what they each are good at and grow and grow and grow.

7. Be bold. One time, when playing an endless game of phone tag with a major buyer, Kelly and Brendan decided to show up with breakfast in “bed.” The buyer wasn’t in, but the owner just happened to stroll by. They flagged him down, he invited them into his office for a 2-hour meeting and ordered 50 cases of the granola for the following day.

8. Don’t listen to the naysayers. There were plenty of tough times and times when people – even people close to Kelly and Brendan – told them that the company probably wasn’t going to make it. They ignored them.

9. Connect your work with your passions. Kelly is an avid outdoorswoman and sports enthusiast and looks it. She also a supporter of environmental causes. Today, Bear Naked supports a number of events and organizations that are close to her heart such as cycling and the environment.

By the way, Kelly was dressed beautifully. She may be in her 20s and she may wear jeans and Bear Naked T-shirts when she bakes granola but when she’s the featured guest speaker, she dresses up as the true leader she is.

Ruth Sherman • Ruth Sherman Associates, LLC • Greenwich, CT • www.ruthsherman.com

technorati tags:
Halloween
Kelly Flatley
Bear Naked Granola
granola
cereal
women entrepreneurs
entrepreneurship

P.S.: Halloween is almost here and Bear Naked makes these delicious snack packs.

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 9:24 AM | Add Comment

October 9, 2007

Leadership: Winston Ma's China Dinners - A Communication Master Stroke

Last week I was invited to attend one of Winston Wenyan Ma’s “China Dinners.” I’ve known Winston for several years, having first met him when we had mutual business at the large, white shoe law firm where he practiced. We stayed in touch when Winston left the firm to pursue an MBA at the University of Michigan, then got reacquainted when he returned to New York as an investment banker with a particular expertise in derivatives. In his spare time, Winston has written the best-selling business book, Investing In China: New Opportunities In A Transforming Stock Market (London Books, 2006) and he is planning a new book that addresses China and its global market impact from the opposite P.O.V.

I’ve always appreciated Winston’s tremendous energy and passion for networking and communication. Early on in our relationship, we had great, long conversations about the importance of building relationships and effective self-marketing and I loved being filled in on cultural differences between the U.S. and China. He now tells me that he thinks about these things constantly, believing they are the best methods of bringing people of disparate backgrounds, areas of expertise and points of view together. He's right about that and it's music to my ears.

Winston’s dinners are fashioned on the salons of the early 20th and 19th centuries. Salons originated as a periodic gathering of people of particular social and intellectual distinction. They've always been around, of course. At this dinner, there was a wide range of expertise. In addition to Winston, there were two journalists, an owner of an import/export company, an analyst from a major investment bank and a representative from a federal regulatory agency. Still another member of the group was a partner at a big consulting firm. And me. The nationalities were representative of Asia, the U.S. and a mix of both. 5 of the 8 were fluent in Mandarin in addition to English. Age ranged from 20s to 50s.

Continue reading "Leadership: Winston Ma's China Dinners - A Communication Master Stroke"

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 1:00 PM | 1 Comment

October 2, 2007

Leadership: Hillary’s Laugh and Rudy’s Phone Call – The Inauthenticity Sweepstakes

What are we to make of Hillary Clinton’s recent tendency to laugh loudly and fully when being peppered with questions by the media and Rudolph Giuliani’s acceptance of a cell phone call from his wife, Judith, in the middle of an important speech to the NRA?

When I saw Hillary Clinton on Face The Nation last Sunday and she went off on her laughing bender, seemingly unable to curtail her giggling, I was disturbed. It seemed programmed and unreal but I didn't know for sure. It wasn’t until I watched all 5 of the Sunday morning shows and saw that she did something similar on each program (though Face The Nation was the worst), that I became certain this was a tactic, not the overtired adrenaline rush behavior of someone who may have been up all night preparing.

Continue reading "Leadership: Hillary’s Laugh and Rudy’s Phone Call – The Inauthenticity Sweepstakes"

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 12:30 PM | 1 Comment

September 24, 2007

Leadership: “It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear” - Frank Luntz

I’m in the middle of reading a fabulous book, Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear, by Frank Luntz. Luntz has made his fortune advising Republican politicians on communication strategy and crafting their messages. Luntz is responsible for converting “estate tax” to “death tax,” and “drilling for oil” to “energy exploration.” His handiwork teaches important lessons about the power of language to motivate and persuade.

If you are in the business of persuasion (and if you aren’t, you are not really in business), you MUST read this book. If your politics lean more leftward, don’t let it stop you. Luntz is a master and he lets us in on his many secrets here.

What Luntz writes about so knowledgeably is that to persuade, a number of linguistic issues must be considered. He mentions 10 “musts,” but I’m going to focus on the four that I think are the most important.

Continue reading "Leadership: “It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear” - Frank Luntz"

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 9:09 AM | 2 Comments

September 11, 2007

Leadership: Steve Jobs’s Non-Apology

In the wake of the unprecedented response to last week’s post about Michael Vick’s apology, I thought I’d continue that line of thought with a look at another recent apology by someone on a bit of a different plane – Steve Jobs.

As most readers no doubt know by now, Apple reduced the price of its highly touted, long-awaited iPhone by a third. And they did it only a little over 2 months after the phone first came to market. This is the phone the company spent a year doing an excellent job hyping; so successfully, in fact, that people camped out overnight and waited in lines wrapped around the block for a chance to be one of the first to own one.

Furthermore, this is the company that never discounts its products (they cost the same at the Apple Store as they do online – ok, maybe they’re $2 cheaper online). So customers who had purchased the iPhone for a hefty $599 were correct to feel a sense of betrayal when Apple announced unexpectedly that, effective immediately, the phone would cost $399.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:20 AM | 16 Comments

September 4, 2007

Leadership: Michael Vick - Role Model for Regret

I was struck by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick’s recent statements, which he made last week before and after pleading guilty to felony charges of conspiracy related to running an illegal dogfighting operation.

There are many who think that no matter what Vick says now, there is no way to adequately make up for the horrendous crime he committed: the sickening abuse and killing of dogs in the pursuit of sport and gambling dollars. But they are wrong. Michael Vick can redeem himself and based on my reading and viewing of his statement, he is well on his way. Here are some of the things that Vick did that make his statement especially notable:

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 9:50 AM | 33 Comments

August 28, 2007

Leadership: What's The Matter With WaMu?

I have been struck by the branding effort by Washington Mutual to reduce its name to WaMu. Washington Mutual is the monster financial institution and retail bank. When I was traveling in California recently, my two kids, both teens, had a field day shouting WAAAAMUUUU! as if they were caged animals every time a commercial for it came on. They then would laugh. It does sound like an exotic creature one might find at a zoo. And I don’t think that’s the bank’s intention.

The problem with the word is that it blends two sounds that sound ugly and unpleasant when combined in such a way. It doesn’t sound like English. Washington Mutual actually holds my home mortgage so I’ve been aware of the WaMu thing for some time. It’s been their domain name for years. But now it looks as if it is embarking on an effort to replace what is an elegant sounding pair of words with something much less so.

I suspect this is a result of current thinking in marketing that shorter is better than longer. The words Washington Mutual are a combined six syllables whereas WaMu is only two. Perhaps they were thinking of others who have done it successfully: International Business Machines became IBM, Macintosh became Mac and even Dairy Queen is headed toward the abbreviated DQ. It is also the result of our wish for ease when thumbing those text messages. I mean it would be difficult to type out Washington Mutual each and every time. Maybe WaMu is a result of insiders’ shorthand.

Still, wherever it originates, I don’t like it. It just doesn’t sound right. Why would I want to go to a bank named WaMu when I could go to one named Washington Mutual? Why would anyone go to WaMu when they could go to Fleet or People’s or Chase or Citi? Every single one of those sounds a lot better and more like a place I would like to do business.

What do you think?

Ruth Sherman • Ruth Sherman Associates, LLC • Greenwich, CT • www.ruthsherman.com

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:04 AM | 9 Comments

August 21, 2007

Leadership: Netflix’s New Idea: A Customer Service Call-Center

Netflix, the mail-order film rental giant, has set up a customer service call-center. No longer will customers be relegated to the Internet to get their problems solved. Under competitive pressure from Blockbuster, Netflix executives, including the CEO, Reed Hastings, decided that bringing human beings and their voices back into the mix would be a competitive advantage. That remains to be seen, as the transition to phone-based service is relatively new, but to me, this strategy sounds like a winner.

But there’s more good news. According to an article in the New York Times, Netflix’s web-based customer service has been eliminated. Furthermore, the center is in the U.S., near Portland, Oregon of all places, where Netflix determined people are nicer than in traditional U.S. call-center locations like Phoenix and Las Vegas, even though they have to pay higher salaries. This move is in striking contrast to years of companies not only making it virtually impossible to speak to a human being about problems with the products they sell, but when customers do finally get someone on the horn, the individual is often not a native-speaker, difficult to understand resulting in an unbelievably frustrating experience for the customer with no service in sight.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 9:40 AM | 3 Comments

August 14, 2007

Leadership: Listen Well and They'll Eat Out of Your Hand

It is well-known fact among communication professionals and scholars that listening is the most important and the most neglected communication skill. Of 4 skills that we use to communicate – talking, writing, reading and listening – listening takes the prize for getting the most use. Unfortunately, though it may be widely used, it is poorly used. Business leaders often lament the dearth of listening skills in their employees. They know that deals get done and money gets made when good listening takes place.

It’s understandable, really. Training in communication skills is scarce and when we do receive it, it usually focuses on speaking – how to be heard, how to present, how to give a speech, how to interrupt – the programs and book titles are numerous. So people climb all over each other attempting to be heard. Perhaps you have been in meetings where nothing is accomplished because they devolve into shouting matches with each participant trying to one-up the other. And it gets a little louder with each attempt. No one takes time to consider what has just been said, to pause, to reflect and after hearing differing opinions, offer a response. The competition to be heard overwhelms the meeting. And what passes for listening – which most people have come to believe is simply the absence of speaking – is a poor substitute for the real thing.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 10:02 AM | Add Comment

August 7, 2007

Leadership: What Are You Wearing?

There have been a couple of interesting articles lately in the Wall Street Journal on the topic of dress. One had to do how appropriate business clothing is defined differently in New York and Los Angeles and the other had to do with how Thomas Barrack, CEO of Colony Capital dresses when he’s in deal-making mode.

Choosing the right dress and adornment is a communication skill. If we’re smart, we can use our clothing choices to send important messages. Chief among them is that we fit in, we belong. According to the WSJ article, Mr. Barrack is meticulous when dressing. For example, he wears pocket squares in London but doesn’t wear overcoat in Paris, where men don’t wear them. In New York, he ties a scarf one way and in Italy, another so as not to be seen as an outsider. The article also mentions Donald Trump who tries to mirror what other people in a given situation are likely to be wearing. His aim seems to be to eliminate distractions.

A professor of mine in graduate school characterized dress and adornment as all the things you weren’t born wearing. All the choices we make from the shoes we wear to the color of our hair fit into the category. And it remains so darn confusing. I can remember a time when it was very clear what to wear to work: men wore suits, usually blue with white shirts and a striped tie. Shoes were polished and hair was cropped and neat. Women, as they always have, had many more choices, but suits were de rigueur and the main choice was whether to wear a skirt or pants.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 9:16 AM | 13 Comments

July 3, 2007

Leadership: How Obama Does It

It was widely reported that the Barack Obama for President campaign raised an astonishing $32.5 Million in the second quarter. I am not surprised and here's a little story as to one of the reasons why. A month or two ago, my friend Dave answered the phone of a colleague. Since the colleague was not around, Dave asked if he could take a message. What was that message? "Tell him Senator Obama called to say thank you."

Dave was stunned. Now I don't know how much this fellow contributed to Barack Obama's campaign but I have heard about people who received a call from the senator after having contributed as little as $100. Obama knows that this type of outreach pays back big time because the person who gets the call tells his or her friends, who tell their friends, etc. Soon, that $100 is multiplied exponentially. The result? $32.5 million in the space of three months.

We all know that Obama has charisma and writes soaring oratory that he then delivers beautifully. But he gets all the interpersonal stuff right, too. He seems to have a real instinct for it. It seems effortless. That's the way it's supposed to look. I would bet, however, that the Obama Show is as effortless as an Olympic downhill event. So how does he do it?

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 9:31 PM | Add Comment

June 25, 2007

Leadership: Aretha Knows Her Audience. Do You?

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine called and said she had an extra ticket to go see Aretha Franklin where she was going to be playing at a local theatre. It was a Wednesday night and generally, I don't go to music concerts during the week, but this was too good to pass up. The concert was scheduled to start at 8. Yeah, right, I figured. First were the warm up acts(s), then, if we were lucky after the stage was cleared and reset, Franklin would go on at about 10 p.m. I've been to a few concerts in my day. With a busy workday coming up, I drove my own car, figuring that if the concert went too late, I could leave before the end without inconveniencing anyone else.

So we got there a little before 8. Though I shouldn't have been surprised, the theatre was filled with people like me, baby boomers in middle age, many with white hair and the requisite paunch. It was, after all, the 'burbs. So eight o'clock rolled past, then 8:05, 8:10 and suddenly, the band came out and before any of us knew what was happening, there she was, in all her glory, Ms. Aretha Franklin belting out R-E-S-P-E-C-T. The crowd went wild. It was 8:15 p.m.

Ms. Franklin got all her biggest hits out of the way in the first 30 minutes…Think, Chain of Fools, Freeway of Love, Natural Woman…and 2-3 more of those crowd pleasers. She knew her audience. All great performers do. She talked to us, asked how we were doing, thanked us for coming out on a weeknight. She made a few jokes, bantered with the members of her band who were uniformly fabulous. We ate it up.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 6:40 PM | 1 Comment

June 18, 2007

Leadership: The Immigration Bill--A Failure to Communicate

First, I have no opinion about the just-failed/just-revived immigration bill. Truth is, I didn't understand it well enough to have an opinion. I didn't understand it because it was never properly explained. I wanted to understand it, but did not have the time to research it. And, anyway, who can be trusted to give an unbiased explanation? I was hoping that one of the bill's many champions would take pity on us poor citizens and explain it. That did not happen. This is amazing to me because it seemed that for the month or so leading up to its initial failure, no one was talking about anything else. Now, all we hear is that it's back on, going to happen, but I still know nothing more about it than I did before.

It's odd, really. Because without a proper and easy-to-digest explanation the first time around, the rumor mill went into overdrive until it was impossible to know what was fact and what was fiction. Many citizens thought they did understand it, rose up in protest, made their calls to their representatives in Congress and paralyzed the legislation. But it seems to me that it's déjà vu all over again. The news is the bill has been changed, adjusted to address certain concerns. Maybe it's better and maybe it's worse. I just don't know.

It does not have to be this way. This is what happens when the people responsible for pitching an idea (President Bush and members of Congress) are so immersed in the details of the idea, over such a long period of time, that they forget the people that they are pitching to know virtually nothing about it. Or, they don't care whether we understand or not (I shudder to consider that possibility).

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 7:02 PM | Add Comment

June 11, 2007

Leadership: The Big News About Small Talk

A client was complaining to me about how he hated going to his company’s social events. He felt that nothing substantive was ever discussed, work was pressing, and his time seemed wasted on discussions that centered on sports, leisure activities, or personal matters. This client was like many people who do not understand the enormous value of small talk. This may have something to do with the label. But small talk is anything but. This type of conversation is a rite that we all must pass through to get to the other, “big talk.”

Small talk provides a number of benefits:

• It allows people to feel each other out, with little risk.
• It provides opportunities to find common ground.
• It establishes comfort zones.
• It facilitates the move into “big talk.”

Deborah Tannen, who writes and speaks extensively about small talk, says

Many moments are spent in casual chat that establishes the friendly working environment that is the necessary backdrop to getting work done. It is easier to approach someone with a work-related issue if you are comfortable in each other’s presence and the lines of communication are open. A major way such working relationships are established is through informal, nonwork talk.*

For those of you who claim to "have no time" for small talk, know that that this attitude can be very off-putting. It conveys a level of self-importance that is discouraging and demoralizing.

But such people may just be taking a defensive posture. They may simply not know what to talk about. In that case, a good place to get subject matter is the newspaper and I mean a good, world newspaper. Such papers are filled with interesting information that is not limited to politics and government. They're all available online, too, so there's no excuse.

When we acknowledge how much we learn through small talk, how it helps foster the connection business thrives on, we can begin to imagine how cold and impersonal a workplace or social life would be if there weren’t any.

*Tannen, Deborah, Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work; Harper Paperbacks 1995

Ruth Sherman • Ruth Sherman Associates, LLC • Greenwich, CT • ruth@ruthsherman.com • www.ruthsherman.com

Posted by Ruth Sherman at 9:49 PM | 1 Comment

June 4, 2007

"You're a Movie Star. Be Generous."

I actually had to say this to a client recently. The job was media training an actor who was about to go on a press junket to promote a new feature film. The studio brought me in because they were concerned the actor would not make a good impression. This is a critical issue because the more positively the public feels toward an actor, the more likely it is that they'll go to see the film. It's the job of selling.

Upon meeting this individual, it was not immediately clear to me that my recommendations would be accepted. My first clue was the refusal to be videotaped. This is typical with the Hollywood set. They really don't like to watch themselves. I have some sympathy because as painful as it is for us mortals to look at ourselves on video, it must be 10 times more difficult for people who are filmed for a living. Often, it's not much of a concern because the issues tend to be about what to say rather than how to say it.

In this case, however, I felt videotaping was critical because during my research, I had watched footage of this person's prior interviews. There were many problems including appearing fidgety, nervous, humorless and irritated. Unfortunately, my instincts were correct in that my recommendation to be videotaped was not accepted. So we had to do without.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 7:07 PM | Add Comment

May 29, 2007

What The Arts Teach Us About Business and Life

There is a lot of talk these days about education, what we should be teaching our children so they will be successful. A consensus seems to have arisen that math and science should be more rigorously taught and that the United States stands to lose its business leadership role as a result. There is never, ever any talk about the arts – music, the visual arts, drama, writing – and what their place is in the education of our youth. Maybe that's because knowledge of and prowess in the arts are not included in any of the plethora of standardized tests that schools administer.

As a result, most people have tacitly accepted that if it's not tested, it's not taught or taught very little and never at the expense of another, "academic" subject. In the schools where the arts are a component of a well-rounded education, they tend to be worth only a small fraction of the credits that accumulate toward graduation, relegated to extra-curricular activities, take second-place to other curricula or are delivered privately, paid for by parents, if they can afford it.

According to Elliott W. Eisner, Professor of Education at Stanford, this presents a problem for business:

"The problems of life are much more like the problems encountered in the arts. They are problems that seldom have a single correct solution; they are problems that are often subtle, occasionally ambiguous, and sometimes dilemma-like. One would think that schools that wanted to prepare students for life would employ tasks and problems similar to those found outside of schools. This is hardly the case. Life outside of school is seldom like school assignments--and hardly ever like a multiple-choice test."*

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 7:04 PM | 1 Comment

May 21, 2007

What's Your Shy Q?

I'm in the process of researching a book on shyness. In particular, shyness in the workplace. This is a fascinating topic to me because I consider myself to be shy. According to studies, so does about 48% of the population. With so many shy people out there, we all can be sure that we are working with and around the shy, many of whom you would not suspect as such because they have managed to be successful despite it. These are the people one researcher labels "successfully shy."

Interestingly, despite the fact that our business culture values extroversion and places a low value on shyness, you won't only find shy colleagues in the back offices of America. The successfully shy inhabit every level of the organization including the executive suite. And the news from there is sobering. A CEO who identifies himself as shy has told me that the boasting culture of U.S. business has a significant downside: It reduces potential for global expansion:

"When you deal with other cultures, and you don't understand them and you are not open to how others work, you go in with a one-size-fits-all approach. You are dealing with other people who Americans don't fully know how to approach. I have seen this in our business repeatedly; our competitors have lost deals because they went in with guns blazing. They were not respectful and the people with whom they were hoping to do business just shut them down. They didn't want to do business with these Americans because they did not respect the protocols."

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 7:35 PM | 8 Comments

May 14, 2007

Persistence Persuades: The Lost Art of Follow-Up

Have you ever wondered how some people get ahead in life? I know that I have. These people succeed in careers that they seem to have marginal talent for. They exist in every business, every profession. So how do they do it? They are persistent. They are focused. They don’t let setbacks derail their dreams. They never give up. And this stick-to-itiveness is incredibly persuasive. After a while, if you are still there, still pushing your wares, people begin to believe that you really are good, that you really can deliver, and they will give you a chance to prove it. Now just imagine the heights someone who is persistent and talented could attain.
Follow-up is a process by which you make contact with someone to reinforce and further an end. For instance, if I have just met with a client, I would follow up with a thank-you note or a letter that summarized the conversation and thanked the client for his time. Another type of follow-up is calling on a prospect and continuing to maintain contact, even if there is no need at any given moment. Follow-up is a lost art. It is so lost and so rare that people can stand out merely by doing it. Follow-up serves the following purposes:

• It let’s people know you care.
• It identifies you as responsible for the process.
• It keeps relationships alive and invigorated.
• It provides opportunities for new interactions.
• It plants seeds for new ideas.
• It shows a high level of commitment.
• It demonstrates self-confidence.
• It regularly reminds people you are out there and available.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 7:06 PM | Add Comment

May 7, 2007

Long Term Thinking

Recently, I got a call from a long-time client who had moved to a new position. There was a project that she wanted to bring me in for. It was right up my alley and I was appreciative. I needed info and in particular, to share with my client how I had revamped my business since we had last worked together including my pricing scheme. Although I made attempts to contact her, leaving detailed voice and email messages, I did not hear back. I began the project.

After the first month passed, I made two more attempts to contact my client to discuss billing. There was no response. So I sent a bill. This time, the response was swift.

Needless to say, there was a conflict. No matter how much I explained how I came to the price and that it was fair and competitive, the client wasn't getting it. Clearly she had expected something different, basing it on how it had been done in the past. It did not matter that past was 2 years and a dollar-per-gallon of gasoline lower. That is what she had budgeted for. Work on the project was stopped. That left the question of my bill.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 8:02 PM | Add Comment

April 30, 2007

Everything I Need To Know, I Learned As A Jingle-Singer

Before I started my current career, I was a jingle-singer in New York. My job consisted of going to recording studios and singing commercials and doing voice-overs for advertisers. I sang for Coca-Cola, Ford, Clairol, Hasbro, McDonalds, and hundreds of other top brands. It was the perfect job for me because despite the fact that I had been trained as an opera singer, and thought I would do Broadway, I didn't want to work nights and weekends. Go figure. Jingles and voice-over work, I soon discovered, were recorded during the 5-day workweek and were very lucrative, to boot.

It was a heady time and a lot of fun, but the fun didn't last. Turns out, I entered the business at exactly the time things were beginning to wind down. Until that time, big musical themes for products were the norm and there were always lots of singers on the recording sessions. But fashion and tastes change and advertisers, in an effort to tighten budgets saw this as a good place to cut back. Soon, the work was no longer pouring in and though I had done extremely well, the handwriting was on the wall. I had to find something else to do.

Fortunately, I had the time and the wherewithal to explore other fields. After experimenting in law and much searching of university catalogues -- and my soul -- I settled on communications. I believed that I could parlay all my extensive training and experience into teaching other people to communicate more effectively. After all, I was an expert performer with a trained speaking voice. And what is putting across a song or a jingle anyway but a way to tell a story, to deliver some information, to communicate with an audience.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 6:57 PM | 1 Comment

April 23, 2007

Read The Room

My friend, Amy, told me of a recent experience. She had been working in a fairly high-responsibility position for about 5 years at the same company when she started to get strange vibes. It was difficult to put her finger on it because everything was going so well: The company was doing great, its stock price at record highs, everyone was making good money, getting promoted and generally being treated well. The workforce seemed motivated and happy, as did management. Still, something was not right. So, rather than ignore her feelings, Amy decided to put out feelers to get a read on the employment picture.

After a couple of months of looking, Amy had lined up something new and settled into the idea that she'd be leaving the company. She gave her notice and two weeks later she left. The following month, the news broke that the company had been sold. Headquarters were going to be relocated to another city resulting in significant layoffs including her former boss. Top management was out, new management was taking over. Amy was stunned. At the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief as well as marveled at her prescience.

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Posted by Ruth Sherman at 7:24 PM | Add Comment

April 16, 2007

Professional Presentation Pointers: Part Four – Everything Else

Well, not everything else, exactly. But enough so that if you include the first three installments of this series, you'll have a very good idea of just what it takes to deliver professional presentation with polish and panache. (1st installment here, 2nd here and 3rd here). This time, I will continue the discussion of technique, which consists of all the specialized procedures that are required to really put on a show.

One of the biggest issues having to do with technique, and one my clients constantly struggle with is whether to script out a speech and read it to an audience verbatim, to use notes of some type or to memorize. My experience has shown that the most successful, engaging speakers use notes. But they really know their presentation, though it is not completely memorized. They have practiced and/or done the presentation enough times so that they know what's coming next. They may not say it the same way twice, but they do have it down so whatever way the words come out, it works.

Notes don't work well when a presentation is not truly learned. Of course, neither do the other two techniques. Another question surrounding notes has