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Congratulating the 2008 LEAN Communications Contest Winners
Their Accomplishments Described
LEAN communications means using communications
to do more with less to improve business results. When you adopt
lean methods and principles, you communicate more
effectively and efficiently. Plus, you build more credibility
and trust.
So what are the lean methods?
You need to focus on what you're communicating and how you're
working to deliver that communication. The "how" refers to your
communication organization, including the processes you follow.
In a sense, it's the business of communication. The "what" refers
to the strategies and tactics you use. It's the practice of communication.
The what and how work in tandem to make lean communications powerful
and valuable.
The lean principles that you need to
follow are:
- Add value by meeting your customers' requirements.
- Cut waste in processes and programs.
- Strive for simple improvements.
By practicing lean communications on your
own or with Connect Consulting, you can make your communications
department perform more cost effectively and more efficiently.
As a result, you and the organization will enjoy better results.
Plus, this increased value also will help you build greater credibility
and trust both inside and outside your organization.
The Business Side—What Connect Consulting
Does
On the business side, Connect works with business
leaders, often communication professionals, to build more effective
communication functions in their organizations. This often entails
identifying any gaps that exist today and determining what current
strengths should be reinforced. Then, there's designing new business
models that better fit the company's overall strategy and developing
and introducing new organizational structures. Other steps include
improving processes, building business cases to justify new communication
actions, and increasing communication capabilities and competencies
both inside and outside the communication function.
By focusing on the business of communication,
Connect's clients can cut a lot of waste. This includes streamlining
approvals, eliminating extra steps and other types of gridlock
that no longer add any value, and shortening the time needed for
certain processes. Organizations also can start to perform better
by adopting templates, tools, methodologies and other processes
and using them regularly. They can get more work done better and
faster, and build more credibility both inside and outside their
organizations.
The Practice Side—What Connect Consulting
Does
On the practice side, Connect excels in helping
leaders confirm, clarify and communicate what they want to do.
We then work with them to articulate their vision, goals and case
for change. From there, we help them develop and implement plans
to persuade employees and other key stakeholders to support them.
These actions cut clutter, get rid of information
distortion, and engage people. As a result, everyone gets on the
same page and works together better to achieve tangible business
goals.
Another effective way to practice lean communications
is to link people to nice-to-know/need-to-know information from
experts. These experts can include health care professionals,
disaster groups, financial planners, and others. You serve as
a bridge to credible resources instead of supplying the expertise
yourself. The information is more likely to be up-to-date and
accurate, especially if you're providing links to websites. Plus,
it's less costly for you to make available. In the book, Leading
People Through Disasters, Liz Guthridge of Connect Consulting
and her co-author Kathryn McKee advise organizations to adopt
this approach. It's very effective for dealing with disasters,
especially disaster preparedness and trauma.
The Lean Communicator
The Lean Communicator is a monthly
online e-zine designed for communication professionals who want
to practice lean communications. Liz Guthridge writes and edits
The Lean Communicator, which Ragan Communications, www.ragan.com,
publishes. Sign up and view this free
e-zine.
The e-zine's primary audience is individuals
in small internal communication functions (1-4 people). These
individuals have no choice but to practice lean communications
if they want to be effective and efficient.
The secondary audience is individuals in larger
departments who are short of time, money and other resources.
They feel pressured to deliver all the communication services
their internal clients are requesting. These communication professionals
are interested in maximizing their communication budgets while
providing exceptional value to leaders, employees and all other
key audience members.
Origins of Lean Communications
Lean communications is based on the model
of lean thinking and manufacturing. With lean thinking, you are
continually working to meet customer requirements. At the same
time, you also are carefully managing costs, quality and consistency
of results.
This contrasts with traditional thinking
in which you assume that higher costs are a natural by-product
of more and better services and features. As many manufacturers
have demonstrated over the past decades, you can make major improvements
in your processes that reduce costs yet still keep your customers
happy. The same is possible with communications.
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