The longer this crisis goes on, the less a crisis communications response feels appropriate. In the new ‘normal’, the successful companies will be those that really understand their customers, communicate in a way that engages them and ensure their messages are lived in all aspects of what they do.
CEOs: Lose the agile-speak if you want to deliver change
Lots of organisations have been swept up in the fascination with agility, rushing to restructure their teams and transform how they work. My issue is not with the theory of agility. Many organisations desperately need to change how they work, to reduce silos, and to be able to respond more directly to their customer needs.
My concern is with the language used to promote agility in businesses. Advocates of agile thinking are undermining the very idea they seek to promote by spouting business jargon that often isn’t credible with employees, is seen as code for cutbacks and fails to explain the real employee benefits of agile working.