By Herbert Lewis, Guest ColumnistTHE RIGHT to know has made the unwritten concept of "private" enterprise obsolete. Not only government but also big business is, today, everybody's business.
The explosion of communication over the last three or so decades has given the media unprecedented power to probe and publicise. This, coupled with Government's interest, has created a climate in which every aspect of corporate existence is vulnerable; a reputation which took years to build can be lost overnight through adverse publicity.
If business is to survive in the forum of public opinion, it must have the capacity to respond effectively. How successfully an organisation meets its communication needs determines not only its public image but also the bottom line on its annual reports. Not very long ago, if a problem or a crisis arose in an organisation, a carefully worded statement could be handed to the press. Or a skilled Public Relations representative would act as the buffer between management and the media. But today, statements filtered through lower channels seem to lack authority; they are less convincing to both media and public.
SERIOUS PROBLEMS
If there are serious problems at organisation X (a high profile organisation) the news media want to talk to the top man of organisation X. In the same way, when there is a crisis in Jamaica they don't want answers second-hand, they are calling to hear from the Prime Minister.
Today people want the word to come from the man at the top. And this is why communication is becoming the number one priority of senior and middle management executives. But many of them don't feel comfortable or effective in the new role.
At a function which I attended recently, I heard a CEO remarking: "I have spent 23 years of my life working night and day to sit in that darn chair, and can you believe that now my staff wants me to learn showbiz."
UNWISE
I gathered that he had been invited to appear on the programme of a certain TV personality and his colleagues felt their chief needed professional advice before tangling on national television with a man famous for putting his 'guests' on the spot. To decline to appear on the programme, in view of certain delicate developments within the organisation would have been unwise.
Politicians have always known how to polish their images. It takes more than telling the truth to be believed. One also has to be perceived as presenting the case fully and fairly. I believe it is a mix of manner, body language, voice, dress and choice of words, and what I call the projection of a mysterious personality and confidence.
At times it is possible to say all the right things but say them the wrong way. Communication experts are strongly of the view that broadcasting (radio and TV) matters more in the long run than what anybody else does because it is more persistently shaping the minds of more people than all the rest of us put together. They also share the view that it can be a merciless medium which only skilled and well-prepared persons should allow themselves to confront.
EYE CONTACT
On TV if a man avoids eye contact with his interviewer or holds tight to the arm of his chair or shifts around a lot, the audience perceives him as unsure of himself and lacking in confidence. The individual sitting at home with his feet up and an Appleton and Coke in his hand is likely to say. "You can't trust him. Or "his tie is too loud and why does he use words which are hard to understand".
CEOs are now recognising that communication today demands the same serious and systematic attention which organisations have always devoted to product planning and capital investment. Successful executives are developing a new awareness of the need for industry to communicate with many more elements of society than ever before. They are also recognising the vital essentially the lubricating role that communication plays in the day-to-day management of an organisation. And there is the widespread recognition of the need for the CEO to communicate effectively to influence the public and political climate in which business operates today.
Herbert Lewis is an industrial relations specialist and past president of the Jamaica Employers Federation.
