Communication Ammo, by Sean Williams

John Chambers has a terrific reputation as a CEO who “gets” communication. The Cisco Systems chairman and CEO once spoke at a KeyCorp senior management retreat that I attended and wow’d the crowd with his openness, honesty and frankness.  In Sunday’s New York Times, Chambers talked about how his leadership style has changed with the advent of Web. 2.0 tools.

I’m a command-and-control person. I like being able to say turn right, and we truly have 67,000 people turn right. But that’s the style of the past. Today’s world requires a different leadership style — more collaboration and teamwork, including Web. 2.0 technologies. If you had told me I’d be video blogging and blogging, I would have said no way. And yet our 20-somethings pushed me to use that more.

When I heard him speak some years ago, Chambers talked a lot about communication as a critical competency for leaders, recounting how he left voicemail messages, sometimes 100 per day, for various members of his team. Sometimes he was responding to inquiries or comments from leaders, sometimes he was dishing out praise to individual contributors.  He focused on the personal nature of voicemail, the individual tailoring of the message and the need to “touch” employees in a human way.

There’s no doubt that social media tools can be effective in some ways in that context, but I’m certainly not going to be as motivated or appreciative of a video blog as I am a personal message, even on voicemail.

I don’t know whether Chambers’ video blogging and other blogging has replaced his use of voicemail. I hope not. I like Web 2.0 tools as additional vehicles for mass communication and some kind of interaction, not as a replacement for personal contact.

I’m also concerned about the effective measurement of these tools. Many of my colleagues in the Institute for PR Measurement Commission have very strong opinions about that.  There’s been spirited discussion on that topic.  There certainly is some clarity on the value of social media, but what’s not clear thus far is the financial return on investment in social media in a general sense.

Social media acolytes want every company and organization to engage with their various stakeholders in social media, but I’m not yet convinced that it’s a good fit for everyone. I do believe that every organization should explore the use of social media, and monitor what’s being said about them there; it’s foolish to do otherwise, as several companies have learned to their peril. For certain organizations, this will represent a game-changing shift, particularly for large consumer brands and universities.

Customer service alone is fertile ground for exploiting social media — imagine reduced call center traffic, fewer email complaints, etc.

Cisco’s Chambers told the Times he finally asked, “why do you want me to do this? And they said, ‘John, if you don’t do it our company won’t learn how to do this. It won’t be built into our DNA for the way we interface with customers, our employees. The top has to walk the talk.’” Chambers’ willingness to “walk the talk” says a lot more about him, as a leader, and Cisco as a company than the specific tools employed. And that’s the reason he and his company are worthy of my admiration.

Chambers, near the end of the interview, lists the attributes he looks for when evaluating a potential new hire. “And I look at their communication skills, and one of the largest parts of communications is…” He pauses for dramatic affect, letting the reporter fill in the blank with, “listening?”

“You betcha. Seeing how they listen, and are they willing to challenge you?”

It’s not about social media, it’s about finding the right tools to interact with customers and employees and demonstrating commitment to communication. Social media certainly can help organizations listen, but it’s not going to replace every other mode of communication at our disposal.

Or am I wrong?