Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com June 22, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 21 BIZ BOOKS Changing company culture can have bottom-line impact "B eyond Measure — The Big Impact of Small Changes" by Margaret Heffernan (Simon & Schuster, $16.99). When it comes to measuring results at work, we look to numbers (e.g. revenue, expenses, profit, ROI, turnover, etc.). But what really drives the numbers? The actions, habits, behaviors and egos of the CEO down the line to the low-level staff. The firm's culture plays a huge role, too, because it frames choices, which affect organi- zational decisions. Heffernan's "just culture" encourages ideas, question- ing, listening, while knowl- edge-sharing connects per- sonal goals to organizational goals through collaboration. In such an environment, lead- ership at all levels has "the courage to think and speak for oneself and on behalf of others." Those not in leadership positions learn to lead themselves based upon their leaders' examples. A just culture seeks conflict resolution by looking at conflict constructively. It relies on three I's — information, intelligence and insight — to guide the decision-making pro- cess. Only from questioning can "better ideas emerge, honed by the clash of disciplines and the friction of divergent minds." Heffernan believes that the devil's advo- cate (DA) role can be a valuable one in the process. By taking the negative, the DA gets others thinking deeply about the three I's. She advises that the DA's role should be a revolving one because it's "an experience everyone needs to refresh his or hers thinking." A just culture capitalizes on social capital (i.e. trust, respect, reciprocity) to make things happen. When peo- ple know each other, they become connected team- mates. She cites a situation where coffee breaks at a call center produced $15 mil- lion in productivity gains. By requiring teammates to take a coffee break at the same time, the team came together because it built social capital. Just cultures recognize that no one can be "on" 24/7. Everyone needs time to relax. A short walk does more for productivity than staying late at work. Five minutes of periodic silence/meditation can do the same. Volkswa- gen turns off email during non-business hours; Huffington Post urges employees not to check company email when not in the office. Question to answer: "What small change can make a big impact on my work and that of others?" • • • "Relevance: The Power to Change Minds and Behavior and Stay Ahead of the Competition" by Andrea Coville with Paul B. Brown (Bibliomotion, $26.95). When it comes to marketing, eyeballs, likes, tags, clicks, etc. don't matter. When your message doesn't resonate with a spe- cific target, it's irrelevant. Coville outlines the three intertwined dimensions of relevance: 1. Segment — Trying to be all things to all consumers means you're nothing to no one. Focus on satisfying core consumers — the ones that will be brand-loy- al. Coke drinkers won't switch to Pepsi and vice versa. When expanding, don't ignore underserved niches within large, well-established markets. Initially, TOMS carved out a sizable niche in shoes with its unique "helping others" message. It expanded into eyewear and coffee with the same mes- sage; customers have fol- lowed because they believe in the TOMS message. 2. Intangibles — People must believe they're receiving value when they purchase. While the perception of value differs among consumers, the principle applies to all. Part of that perception involves appearance, not only of the product but also its packaging and the service. The opinions of family, friends and other users play a value role, too. Social media has made it easy to find out what they think. You can ask questions and read product reviews. 3. Circumstances — This deals with the content (words and pictures that attract and explain), context (time and space where people are apt to pay attention), and contact method (demographic communication source). Things to do Monday morn- ing: Rate your product/service on the relevance of its message. Ask clients and prospects to rate it. Compare the connects and disconnects. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak TALKING POINTS Twitter impersonators: a new kind of crisis By Andrea Obston I have a client who's got something in com- mon with Bill Murray, Kanye West, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the BP oil compa- ny. She's been the victim of a Twitter imperson- ator. And, unlike Bill Murray's Twitter Dopple- ganger, her impersonator was not telling jokes. In fact, he or she was saying hateful things about people who my client would never dream of offending. The irony is that my client doesn't even use social media and when word of these tweets got back to her, she was at a loss to know what to do. Wel- come to a new kind of crisis — the Twitter impersonation. Twitter imposters are not new. Even as far back as 2009, public figures as diverse as the Dalai Lama and Shaquille O'Neal were find- ing themselves victims of this phenomenon. A 2013 study by Barracuda Labs, for example, uncovered 99,000 fake Twitter accounts on the web. Given the increased popularity of Twitter, you can expect this number to esca- late exponentially. So, what should you do if you're a victim of a Twitter impersonator? Squawk. Squawk to your clients and squawk to Twitter. Unlike other crises — where you aim for a low-key response that generates little or no exposure — this one demands a lot of noise. But before you start making all that noise, you need to know the difference between a parody account and imperson- ation. Parody accounts are fully protected on Twitter. If they are upfront that they aren't the real you (and they aren't using your image or any copyrighted materials of yours), there is probably very little you can do about it. Impersonation, on the other hand, is against Twitter rules, which state: "Twitter accounts portraying another per- son in a confusing or deceptive manner may be permanently suspended under the Twit- ter Impersonation Policy." For that reason, when you report this to Twitter, make sure to fill out their form completely and be clear about how your Twit is impersonating you or your organization. If you are, indeed, the victim of a Twitter impersonator, here are the steps to take: Step 1: Reach out to your entire contact list via email. Yes, we're going old school here, but it's the safest way to let them know that you've been the victim of a Twitter imposter. Ask them not to accept a follower request if your Twit reaches out to them and to stop following your imposter to decrease the visibility of his or her tweets. If you are active in associations, local government, higher education or other high-profile organiza- tions, contact their administrators as well to let them know that you are not your Twit. If you're active on Twitter and have built your own community there, use that too to get the word out to call out your impersonator. Step 2: Get in touch with Twitter to report the situation. The good news is that Twitter makes it easy to report violations. The bad news is that it's going to take a while. My Twit- ter guru, Morgan Flagg, tells me that Twitter's folks are the most aggressive against imper- sonators of accounts with a million or so fol- lowers, like those of celebrities. That's why you need to start with step one to proactively take the wind out of your Twit's sails. Nevertheless, you do want to get the account taken down. So go to the help section of Twitter. Search for "Impersonator" in the box in the top right corner. From there, click on "Reporting Impersonation Accounts." You'll get the details on how to submit a ticket to get your Twitter impersonation resolved. A few other tips: • File the complaint from your company's email address. Filing it from a third-party email (like your personal Gmail account) provider means Twitter has to take anoth- er step to verify that you are the real you. • Be specific on the part of the form that asks "How is this account pretending to be your brand, company or organization?" Don't just click every box. Checking every box will increase your chances of being ignored, while choosing even just one box may get the other account removed. • Be patient. You're not alone, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't speak up for yourself. If you haven't heard back in a week or so, go back to support (or tweet to @Support if you're on Twitter) and ask for an update. It can take some time, but be politely persistent. n Andrea Obston is president of Andrea Obston Marketing Communications in Bloomfield. Andrea Obston ▶ ▶ Only from questioning can 'better ideas emerge, honed by the clash of disciplines and the friction of divergent minds.' ▶ ▶ So, what should you do if you're a victim of a Twitter impersonator? Squawk.

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