Tournament Update
Wednesday, March 30, 2005 – Tournament update: This one is going to be neck-and-neck. In the first quarter of the championship game, McKesson has won 55% of your votes, and Lockheed trails with 45%. Lockheed supporters, your team needs you now more than ever.
As our two finalists duke it out in the polling booth, we thought it’d be good to get to know both teams a little better. Where they come from, what they’re made of, and what they’re all about.
(Cue cheesy montage video here, showing every lay-up, alleyoop and slamdunk of the tournament, interspersed with a generous helping of tear jerking about the coach’s sick kid, and his triumph over a very rare illness).
Our first stop on the communications tour of both companies is a knock on their web doors.
Tomorrow we’ll look at McKesson, but in honor of last night’s episode of The Office, we’ll turn our attention today to Lockheed Martin and its much-touted Diversity Initiative.
The initiative takes center stage in the About Us section of the company’s website with this ethnically balanced senior year-style portrait:
I don't know about you, but as a woman, I’m always finding myself in this position with co-workers!
If you click on this picture, the site takes you to Lockheed’s Total Value booklet, which tells us that:
The problem with this kind of language is that it is insulting. It makes us want to tune out whatever “management” has to say, because it offers no insight, no appreciation for nuance, and no real meaning. It is a sticky wad of cotton candy that tastes good but has no nutritional value. Do we know anything more about the company? Is this information we needed or can act upon? Does it reveal anything at all? It’s what the Authentic Voice blog calls Corporate Drone.
If companies would just have a meaningful conversation with their employees, customers, and shareholders, we might start to like them. But when they talk down to us with this inspired insipidness, it's easier to just tune them out. And this is what's happening in business today: nobody is listening. Executives toil over communications (like The Total Value booklet) that really are designed to make employees feel good. But by the time the piece goes through the various spin cycles of Legal, HR and PR, it comes out saying nothing -- and becomes some of the most expensive four-color glossy printed stuff ever destined for the recycle bin.
Okay, end of rant. We'll be back tomorrow with a peek at some of McKesson's most egregious communications fouls.
'Til then, play ball!
As our two finalists duke it out in the polling booth, we thought it’d be good to get to know both teams a little better. Where they come from, what they’re made of, and what they’re all about.
(Cue cheesy montage video here, showing every lay-up, alleyoop and slamdunk of the tournament, interspersed with a generous helping of tear jerking about the coach’s sick kid, and his triumph over a very rare illness).
Our first stop on the communications tour of both companies is a knock on their web doors.
Tomorrow we’ll look at McKesson, but in honor of last night’s episode of The Office, we’ll turn our attention today to Lockheed Martin and its much-touted Diversity Initiative.
The initiative takes center stage in the About Us section of the company’s website with this ethnically balanced senior year-style portrait:
I don't know about you, but as a woman, I’m always finding myself in this position with co-workers!
If you click on this picture, the site takes you to Lockheed’s Total Value booklet, which tells us that:
Lockheed Martin’s vision is to be the world’s best systems integrator in aerospace, defense and technology services.Okay – not bad. Fairly clear. But it continues:
We pursue this vision as a team. Success comes only with the collective contribution and innovation of employees.Cheese alert! Empty calories coming your way!
People often ask what sets Lockheed apart from its competitors. The answer is people. Our missions extend beyond national boundaries to serve the world’s needs from the depth of the sea to the surface of the Earth and the universe beyond. The Lockheed Martin team enjoys tackling the toughest challenges of the most profound significance.So what’s wrong with this? It passes a few basic tests. Jargon free? Check. Admirable cause? Check.
The problem with this kind of language is that it is insulting. It makes us want to tune out whatever “management” has to say, because it offers no insight, no appreciation for nuance, and no real meaning. It is a sticky wad of cotton candy that tastes good but has no nutritional value. Do we know anything more about the company? Is this information we needed or can act upon? Does it reveal anything at all? It’s what the Authentic Voice blog calls Corporate Drone.
If companies would just have a meaningful conversation with their employees, customers, and shareholders, we might start to like them. But when they talk down to us with this inspired insipidness, it's easier to just tune them out. And this is what's happening in business today: nobody is listening. Executives toil over communications (like The Total Value booklet) that really are designed to make employees feel good. But by the time the piece goes through the various spin cycles of Legal, HR and PR, it comes out saying nothing -- and becomes some of the most expensive four-color glossy printed stuff ever destined for the recycle bin.
Okay, end of rant. We'll be back tomorrow with a peek at some of McKesson's most egregious communications fouls.
'Til then, play ball!
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