Overlay
Let's talk

Hello!

Part 13: The Meaningful Workplace – Going Beyond Selling

Part 13: The Meaningful Workplace – Going Beyond Selling

 

Going beyond sending “messages”

 

“The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences.” – Saint Augustine

It was earlier noted that people today – including employees and prospective recruits – are looking for more meaning in their lives. This shift has not only prompted companies to reconsider their business models, product offerings and workplaces, it has made them rethink the terms on which they engage people.

This is especially true when trying to build a meaningful workplace. It becomes far more involved than simply sending a PDF of the master plan to every employee or hanging posters in the cafeteria. Indeed, every aspect of the master plan’s deployment needs to be done in a highly sensitive and respectful way.

It has been said that “messaging is dead”, meaning that the idea of simply creating and broadcasting a bank of words – no matter how charmingly poetic they may be – simply doesn’t cut it any more. Such “business transmissions” smack of “company speak”, and worse, of “marketing”. Eyes glass over. Defensive shields are erected. Pure “messaging” attempts fails.

The goal, after all, is a meaningful outcome that seeks to bring the employer and the employee closer together. This is not to say messaging doesn’t play a role in the development of a meaningful workplace. What it says is that it cannot be the primary tool for instilling a sense of ambition, for evoking feelings and for creating a meaningful culture.

 

20 September 2011 Jerry Holtaway

Top Posts

  • Market Insights That Come from the Heart

    Read more
  • Infusing a Brand with Big Heart Begins with Big Thinking: How Small Design Cues Can Generate Great Big Feels

    Read more
  • How Do You Orient Your Team When Everything Seems Uncertain?

    Read more
  • Telling Your Story of Growth: The Power of a Strategic Narrative

    Read more

Explore other
in-depth content.

Read Whitepapers

Recent Posts

A side view of an open hand with a ball hovering over the palm. A bar graph sits inside the ball representing the positive possibilities of transformation.

The Business of Transformation is Human

link
The Unstoppable Rise of Emotion

The Unstoppable Rise of Emotion: Why Leading with Feeling is the Rational Choice

link

Feel the Shift: The Rational Strategy for Emotional Transformation

link