With the corporate lifespan of a CEO reduced to 3.5 years, the pressure is on for close advisors to demonstrate worth beyond the cloistered confines of the Board room and into the darker recesses of the business. For decades, communication and PR professionals have fought for their place at the Board, garnering trust and necessarily close rapport with their CEOs. Rightly so. It is a place I defended rigorously during my career as a Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 corporate communications director.

However, a precarious situation arises in that intimate rapport between a senior communicator and their CEO as career fortunes become intertwined; the term departure of a CEO can mean the shunning and corporate isolation, if not sometimes dismissal, of a communications chief for no apparent reason other than their perceived over-association with the 'ancien régime'. Unfair, yes. But internal perception often prevails over business logic.

Yet bright prospects beckon. With PR professionals placed fortuitously at the ever-narrowing intersection between traditional and emergent social media, and with an increasingly volatile issues and advocacy environment that business must contend with, stars in the communications industry may be re-aligning.

In true Darwinian style, those PR agencies and individuals who flex, who broaden their skills, who actively apply their accumulated past wisdom and sate their knowledge are those most likely to outlive the short CEO life-cycle; those least disposed to change simply risk dropping out of the PR gene pool altogether.

So, with market turbulence still in prospect, what are the key attributes that will determine survival of the fittest among in-house PR executives - and agencies?

This summer, we advised Dr. John A. Caslione on the launch of his business book, 'Chaotics', written in association with global marketing guru Philip Kotler. Their case study based premise is that an era of turbulence, with chaos, risk and uncertainty, will characterize the future business landscape. Corporate communicators will correspondingly need to fine-tune their agility, composure and strength in handling the 'material' issues facing industry. Acquisitions, divestments, increased activism and the need for ever broader community engagement will test the commercial, leadership and predictive strengths of the communicator charged with bringing the outside world in to corporate strategy.

A contributive understanding of what constitutes good corporate governance, an acquired intuitive sense of consequences of corporate action, of the process and rules of engagement in exchanging meaningful dialogue with mobilising influencers are essential in this recession and post-recession environment. It will force supreme skills in building collaborative networks, in leadership and tactical diplomacy.

Communicators will need to emerge as a new breed of innovator, leading organisations through new social pathways.Too many still underestimate the need to upskill beyond their traditional media understanding. But arguably the train is already leaving the station: Twitter is establishing itself as potent social media platform among Fortune 100s and over 61 Fortune 500 CEOs are penning blogs.

Attributes such as penetrative media contacts, razor-sharp written and verbal communication skills, a motivational presence and an aesthetic eye will no longer stand out as key differentiators. In Maslow's terms, these once-lauded skills have become simple hygiene factors, though they certainly credit the evolution of the PR industry thus far. Foresight and ongoing evolution are necessary here.

For communication agencies, acquiring in-house levels of client and commercial insight will be essential. It is where I have found my reverse transition from in-house to consultancy extremely valuable. De-layering, driving economy, transparency and accountability will remain essential in these straitened times. Breaking down protectionism and forging strategic partnerships with social media, marketing and technology companies will drive integrated client solutions. Out-sourcing specialist skills and improving the short-term project offering will enhance agility.

For organisations, only those willing to attract and empower strong communications talent will see their own prospects transform, whilst resistant ones will certainly continue to require application of the communicator's more traditional powers; those of persuasion, endurance - and staunch optimism!

Labels: business, Change management, Chaotics, John A. Caslione, management, Maslow, Philip Kotler, PR, reputation, Twitter

This week I went to the Hexagon Theatre in Reading to hear The Soweto Gospel Choir. The music was powerful, authentic - and spiritually moving. Now, I recognize that I risk contention by bringing religion into my blog. I'm not sure it's appropriate. Should I even tackle it in a business context? As the evening progressed, my twin-tracking mind convinced me I must. For it was in that cocoon of kinship and celebration where I realized there is room - and necessity - for spirituality at work.

The irony of me initiating an evening to hear South African churchfolk sing divine praise was not lost on my oldest friend whom I had invited. For over 20 years she and I have sparred over our beliefs: she, a staunch Christian and avid defender of the faith, me rather on the agnostic side, finding my inspiration less in a single omnipotent entity but more in the wonder of nature that surrounds us (cif: William Wordsworth, Tintern Abbey)

I am also a Myers Briggs ENTJ type. I tend to rely on tangible evidence and facts to reach conviction and judgement and this rather disposes me towards Darwinian Theory versus monotheism.

Faith, in whichever form it takes, presents a further conundrum alongside corporate practice. Many would argue (not least in the current economic climate) that the demon of wealth acquisition cannot be reconciled easily with the virtues of religion and spirituality; that the fervour with which enterprise leaders have worshipped at the altar of personal profit has irreversibly corrupted the heart and reputation of private enterprise at the expense of its people. Examples are too numerous to include here. Think Robert Maxwell, the Guinness four, fraud scandals at Enron and Parmalat, Robert Madoff. Some might argue the entire global banking hierarchy.

According to the 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer which surveyed 4,500 upper income, highly educated people across 20 countries, nearly two thirds (62%) said they trust corporations less than they did a year ago.

Yet the soul of corporate enterprise is redeemed by shining examples of other business leaders whose religious grounding has moulded the spirit and direction of their companies, the successful stewardship of their people and of the communities in which they operate. Here I am not referring to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which is, in any case, a reporting requirement. No. This is about the intimate religious conviction of business leaders whose core values and behaviours present no moral compatibility issue with wealth generation.

For instance Gary Grant, owner of The Entertainer - Britain's largest independent chain of toy stores - became a Christian in 1991. He refuses to open his 48 stores on Sundays recognizing it as a sacred day. Yet, whilst banning "occultist" Harry Potter and Halloween products from shelf probably contributed to the collapse of pre-tax profits last year, sales in the first half of this year have rocketed to 33% with record annual profits anticipated.

World-leading food giants Kelloggs and £10bn UK confectioner Cadburys (a recent take-over target of Kraft Foods) each trace their present day success to their strong Quaker origins. While Reverend Graham Cracker, wishing to supplant sexual appetite with the creation of a bland food diet back in 1829, invented the namesake cracker which remains a staple food today - mercifully with little known side-effect!

Whilst heading EMEA communications at imaging monolith, Kodak, I had the privilege to be mentored by a  Board member. He was a very spiritual person, a man with massive empathy but no less efficient at work; a supreme facilitator and arbiter always keen to share knowledge and nurture others' growth. He exuded calm and serenity and regularly took time out in monastic retreats. Likewise, I have witnessed the galvanising charm of a Fortune 500 leader of a profitable, multi-billion dollar business division lead change and motivate people to follow. He was also a lay preacher.

The skill leaders need to inspire people to embrace change and perform against all odds appears to be the fine business art of persuasion. Aristotle attributed this to the three key elements of Ethos (credibility, trust), Pathos (empathy) and Logos (logic/words) [1].  Yet beyond words, how can empathy be achieved - and therefore trust - without a fundamental understanding of the human condition? How can business leaders understand the motivational needs of employees facing workplace uncertainty unless they first reconnect with themselves as a fellow human creation?

Sometimes, to get to that place, we must make room for silent contemplation; to gain perspective on the personal and professional constraints, pressures and acquired (mal)practices that skew our everyday judgement and pollute our social interactions.

With that in mind, I asked a community of Linked In professionals from hedge fund management, commodity and currency markets, right through to organisational change and development, how they sought spiritual balance in the workplace. The response I got from 40 separate individuals was revealing. Whilst there was plenty of lively commentary around the carnal delights of chocolate, the spiritual importance of family and friends, the need for hobbies and exercise and the satisfaction of voluntary work, over 50% of respondents directly referenced their reliance on prayer, religious faith and meditation. Indeed I was moved to receive many personal prayers.

And whilst some pioneering companies like Google, Vodafone and Virgin Atlantic are offering employees the chance for "sleep pod" or prayer room meditation in the workplace, they remain a minority. Beyond simple work:life policy measures, perhaps organisations should be more creative to integrate the spiritual and faith needs of employees within the actual workplace; to unlock the innate potential and wellbeing of many people who, it seems, find additional motivation beyond the simple lure of material reward.

In the event it seems religion and the workplace may, after all, be an ideal union.

Labels: Business. Management, Cadbury's, Change management, CSR, Gary Grant, Kelloggs, religion, reputation, The Soweto Gospel Choir