Digital Doesn’t Matter

Yes, we’re in the midst of the digital revolution. If you know me, you know I’m totally into it (and have been for a long time).

We made a slow but steady move toward taking our training and marketing and communications, and migrating them to digital formats and platforms. Learning Management Systems. Content Management platforms. iPads. YouTube. Closed-loop Marketing programs. On and on.

That’s not what’s primary, however. It’s inevitable that we evolve into using these new tools. But digital conversion is not enough.

The conversation should not primarily be about digital. When delivering information to any audience, these three things should be at the forefront, driving every format and delivery decision:

• Clarity
• Relevance
• Timeliness

Whether it’s 1954 or 2014; whether it’s print or .pdf or television or Twitter; whether it’s sales or marketing or training; these three issues are our primary concerns.

> Is it clear? Whatever you’re trying to convey has to be understood by your audience, not just put in front of their eyeballs. Even the Golden Gate Bridge cannot be appreciated when it is buried in fog.

> Is it relevant? The most wonderfully formatted and expressed information will not move any needle strategically, if it is delivered to an audience that doesn’t see a WIIFM.

> Is it timely? Communications of any sort have to reach people at the point of felt need. Digital may – or may not – be an important part of the timeliness equation.

We (and our vendors) often think about tactics and programs in terms of deliverables; e.g., this is going to be blended learning module on A&P and disease state which will be compatible with iPad delivery. That’s fine, but it’s a layer below the top-tier concerns. How will the information design be incorporated to achieve maximum clarity? How can the most prominence be given to the most relevant information? How can ensure that our audience can access what they most need when they most need it?

Format isn’t the focus. Utility is primary. If it’s not clear, relevant, and timely, it’s not useful.

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On Writing Well

Anyone that knows me well knows that I have a passion for writing – in fact, it’s really a passion for all things communication (including speaking, video, social media, etc.)

Writing clearly and succinctly is crucial to work effectiveness. And it’s a rarely-trained skill. It doesn’t matter what position people occupy in their profession. Everyone from the newly-hired salesperson to the CEO needs to sharpen communication skills.

If people are spending an average of 28% of their time dealing with e-mail – then just improving that one area of business writing can return a lot of potential productivity gains!

In the past month, I’ve sat down with a couple of great providers who do corporate training on communications/writing skills. I found myself nodding so vigorously during discussions that it’s a wonder I didn’t end up at the chiropractor’s office. As I underscore in my Vendor/Project Success workshops, the basic principles of project and vendor management will be used in all future career areas – just like learning to drive a car, it’s an “evergreen” skill set. Writing and communicating clearly? –even more so!

Clear communications lead to clear actions. Foggy communications lead to misunderstandings, back-and-forth clarifications, and frustration.

Let’s train our people how to effectively move thoughts to the keyboard and beyond (and if you need a vendor/provider recommendation, just let me know – stevew [at] impactiviti dot com). It can never be wrong to sharpen this skill!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Successful Vendor Management – Define Your Terms

One of the keys to communication between two parties (say, client project manager –> vendor project manager) is realizing that words carry baggage. And I do not speak of “baggage” here pejoratively, as we often do, but simply descriptively.

There is the dictionary definition of a word or phrase. Then, there is the meaning and significance embedded in our individual minds, which is attached to subjective ideas, past experiences, images, people, issues, etc. That is the internal definition or metadata (metadata means “information about information”).

These meanings may have quite a bit of emotional freight, or conceptual misunderstanding, attached to them. So in dealing with business communications, NEVER assume that everyone understands words the same way. Define. Discuss. Put it in writing. Do not leave it in the verbal ether, and discover 3 weeks down the road that even though it sounded like there was agreement when words were spoken – there clearly wasn’t.

So, in any business setting, it is vital to define your terms – to agree on the metadata. Here’s my 1-minute take on it:

Assume nothing. Clarify everything. It’ll save an awful lot of grief down the road if you have the metadata sync’ed up at the beginning!

Other one-minute videos:

Successful Vendor Management – Be Realistic

Successful Vendor Management – Communications

 Successful Vendor Management – Work for Hire

Successful Vendor Management – One Sentence

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Impactiviti is the Pharmaceutical Connection Agency. As the eHarmony of sales/training/marketing, we help our pharma/biotech clients find optimal outsource vendors through our unique trusted referral network. Need something? Ask Steve.

Learn more about us here.

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Successful Vendor Management – Communications

I give a full-day public Successful Vendor Management workshop quarterly for my pharmaceutical audience. These principles, however, are universal for all client-vendor relationships. So, for my readers, I’ve decided to capture some of these practices in one-minute videos.

Here is the second principle: Spell out, up front, what your communication style and expectations are:

Give it a listen:

Never assume that people have the same needs and desires for project communications. Talking about it up front can save a lot of irritation and aggravation downstream!

(First principle: Be Realistic)

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Impactiviti is the Pharmaceutical Connection Agency. As the eHarmony of sales/training/marketing, we help our pharma/biotech clients find optimal outsource vendors through our unique trusted referral network. Need something? Ask Steve.

Learn more about us here.

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