Communications advice from Shania Twain.

Communications advice from Shania Twain.

Communicate not to impress, communicate to inform.

Okay, so what do you think, you're Elvis or something?

That don't impress me much

Oh no

That don't impress me much

Oh no

— That Don't Impress Me Much by Shania Twain

When describing a business challenge, it is super easy to fall into talking with verbosity, jargon, inside baseball, and three-letter agencies.

Such easy talk fails to connect and fails to capture.

Such easy talk fails to inform.

Such easy talk fails.

Communicating all is about informing, not impressing.

Communicating is all about bringing the listener, the viewer, and the reader with you.

Communicating is all about the listener, the viewer, and the reader taking the next step, watching longer, or reading the next page.

Communicating is all about helping the listener, the viewer, and the reader understand the business challenge.

Communicating is all about the listener, the viewer, and the reader helping you solve the business challenge.

Weighty-sounding but little-known words or expressions constitute much of today's business communications.

Check this example:

"For us, the business model in the metaverse is commerce-led. Clearly, ads play a part in that." -- Nick Clegg, Meta's head of global affairs told the FT during a recent interview.

Understand?

Same, me either.

And this quote is at the start of Meta's rollout to disrupt their current business model.

Pledging to spend $10bn a year over the next decade, you would think Meta's top government relations executive would speak to inform, not to impress.

Clegg missed an opportunity with this FT interview to help Meta's numerous stakeholders understand the company's shift and not just those comfortable with an immersive virtual world filled with avatars.

At the start of your communications effort, identify how you are helping the listener, the viewer, the reader get informed.

Unless your Elvis, communicate not to impress, communicate to inform.

***

Need help with your communications?

Caracal is available for solo executive advisory sessions, leading a team workshop, or conducting an organizational audit.

Happy to help.

Contact us here.

***

Caracal Daily | Jan. 26

WATCHING TODAY:

1. This is the real story of the Afghan biometric databases abandoned to the Taliban: Eileen Guo + Hikmat Noori write by capturing 40 pieces of data per person—from iris scans and family links to their favorite fruit—a system meant to cut fraud in the Afghan security forces may actually aid the Taliban.

2. Why is Silicon Valley still waiting for the next big thing? NYT reports the tech industry has grown ever more rich off big ideas that were developed more than a decade ago. New things like quantum computing and self-driving cars could take a while.

3. A new Pew Research poll finds that just 41% of adults approve of President Biden’s job performance, which is down slightly from September (44%) and substantially lower than last April (59%).

+ Just 21% of the public is satisfied with the way things are going in the US.

4. ‘Bob wouldn’t be Bob without Rita’: Ziggy Marley on his mother and father: Rob Walker writes with an exhibition featuring unseen photos of the singer opening in London, his son talks about his father’s passion for sport – and the night he was shot.

5. Abby Roque is poised to make history in Beijing, in more ways than one: SI reports with several Team USA fixtures now retired, the center will lead a new generation’s quest for glory while breaking new ground in her sport as an Indigenous player.

When 2022 is actually 2018

Here's a guest lecture I made at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School back in Spring 2018.

You can see the corresponding deck here: Public Policy Consequences of Retail Distribution

Frankly, the world of 2018 very much resembles the world of 2022.

For example - this slide:

Distrust 2018

Nobody trusts government

Nobody trusts media

Nobody trusts institutions

If presenting today, I would offer the same slide.

One more example - this slide:

Empowerment 2018

Everyone is a witness

Everyone is a publisher

Everyone is an activist

If presenting today, I would offer the same slide.

One more example - this slide:

Future 2018

Autonomous vehicles

AR + VR

Gene editing

Internet of Things

Artificial intelligence

Blockchain

Robots + Automations

Droids + Drones

If presenting today, I would offer the same slide.

And one more example - this slide:

New leaders to fill vacuum

Innovators

Celebrities

Foreign Leaders

NGOs + Pressure Groups

Thought Leaders

CEOs

The avatar leaders selected in 2018 were:

Jeff Bezos

Oprah Winfrey

Emanuel Macron

Youth-driven Activists

Scott Galloway

Jamie Dimon

If presenting today, I would offer the same slide and avatars.

As for the predictions, well, 3 out of 5 is pretty, pretty good.

Predictions

Amazon buys Carrefour

Pro-consumer loses to pro-competition

Brick and mortar is less but better

Experiences, education, and entertainment win

Supply chains and sourcing stressed

So you are now asking, "Great. What does this mean, Marc?"

Well, I will tell you.

Four things:

1. Even though culture follows power, culture is slow to move and expensive to change. Change culture takes fortitude, patience, and big bucks. A good idea is one thing, but the execution of a good idea is in another.

Distrust of government, media, and institutions will continue.

2. Good politics rarely makes good economics. Easy solutions sound good on the campaign trail, but the reality is we are living in an age of hyper politics and well-organized stakeholder democracy.

Extreme political operators will continue to dominate media coverage and draw buzz but will do little to advance their causes.

3. The scalability potential of business today was previously unknown.

We have moved business from the city to the county. From a country business to a proper cosmopolitan business where your customer is anywhere there is an internet connection. This global business model stresses CEO-to-typical-worker compensation but allows for a swing-for-the-fences shot at wealth.

Otherworldly compensation will continue as the corporate world hasn't decided how much one person's work is worth relative to everyone else's.

Just last week JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon will get a 9.5% rise in annual pay, bringing his total compensation for 2021 to $34.5 million.

4. Amazon will buy Carrefour. Amazon needs a proper business operation in Europe, and Carrefour desires the technology know-how.

Consolidation of retail will continue, seeing global mergers and acquisitions.

So, 2022 is 2018, no?

Need help on how to communicate in this environment?

Book Caracal for a solo executive advisory session to discuss your world, or hire us to lead your team on a workshop that focuses on global business issues at the intersection of globalization, disruption, and politics.

Happy to help.

Contact us here.