Companies: Get real before it’s too late
Exposing reality is is big business. Turn on your television and flip around. 90% of programming is reality television, not
high-budget, scripted productions. Or take a walk to a video rental store (do those still exist?) and inspect the movie packaging–yep, packed with behind the scenes featurettes.
“DVD consumers increasingly demand special features that extend and enhance the experience of a movie or TV show,” says Universal’s Ken Graffeo.
Or you could also walk into the grocery store and pick up a bottle of ketchup and look at the back. Whoa! Right there on the label are the ingredients. Packaged goods show exactly what’s inside (yes, they have to, we demand it).
What does all this have in common? Transparency.
There’s a huge demand for it. We don’t like products or companies who hide behind their glossy logos or control their communication. Well, except for Apple but they kick-ass at making us believe they’re not doing that.
Why is it so hard for companies to open up? Because they don’t know how. The small number who are at least trying to do something about it are still wrestling with how to do this publicly. Internal transparency is an even more foreign object.
Yes, it’s scary to be exposed. Yes, tons of middle-managers continue to hoard information as leverage. For sure, it’s safer to just ignore this and hope it will go away. Maybe your company will somehow avoid this trend. But make no mistake, this “reality wave” is competitive and only those companies embracing being transparent both internally and with the outside world, are the ones competing to win.
The funny thing about being transparent is that there shouldn’t be anything to be scared of. This whole thing is about people, honesty and trust. If you’re scared of that, something’s very wrong.
Let’s go back to ketchup. Even though ketchup ingredients are right there on the label, they don’t tell you the process or amounts. And even if they did, candidly, you couldn’t make it the same way, anyway. Ever try to mimic your Grandmother’s biscuits? It’s really the people behind the product that are the secret sauce.
So, the first step is to just put it out there. Share what’s happening. Tell people what you’re thinking, what you’re making. What that process has been like. Involve them. You won’t be giving anything away, it’s not like you’ll be handing over the instructions or your people. And if it’s not interesting to you, that’s a problem. Once you begin a dialog, you’ll be shocked at the response. I found this quote in an article on reality television from Psychology Today and it perfectly frames the power of being open.
We think we are important if others pay attention to us and unimportant if ignored.–Psychology Today
The longer that management protects information with their employees or the outside world, the more they’re going to get left in the dust. Your competitors are figuring this out and they’ll be the ones poised to earn the respect and connections unless you do something, too. No, I’m not just talking about starting a company blog. 
The question from companies always is, “how much should I share?” and since it’s never clear to them, the default position is to share nothing. But, with few exceptions (like lawyers), that approach will increasingly leave you curbed. Highly produced communications are as relevant as highly produced television–so, not relevant at all.
The fear of disclosure is a hurdle companies–and employees–have to get past. As contrived as it sounds, I think companies can study the strategies used by reality television to learn how to open up. The two most successful themes in reality television are “the competition” (American Idol, Project Runway) and “slice of life” (Cops, American Chopper). Within companies, both strategies should be used. Be transparent with competition, not just external competitors but even the “competitiveness” that occurs between issues. And slice of life internally is the most needed. What is everyone doing? We need to know. 
Of course, reality television is phony. It’s a manipulated and edited unreality. But even when participants are playing to the camera and having their comments taken out of context, contestants on reality shows are revealing something of themselves, and they’re giving us at home a chance to be involved and imagine how we’d behave under the same circumstances.
Embracing a transparent culture and commitment to communication within and beyond your company sheds a light on something that is real and often that exposure brings about some kind of change. And unless you have a reason to hide, that change is unquestionably for the better.
Things people have said about this post
This is a fantastic analysis of the dynamic of ‘transparency’ in the work place. Far too often in my experience managers have used information to hold over heads, or simply control it as a means to control their own position, recognition, and tasks within the company.
Exposing the ‘details’ and ‘behind the scene’ is part of brand image, equity, and brand goodwill, things that (as the author puts very well)are warped by ‘highly produced communications’. In this age consumers can recognize what’s been scripted or angled, and just the effort a company puts into that is enough to make that consumer wary.
I wish more professionals were seriously recognizing not just the marketing benefits but the need for this kind of shift in business perspective!
Thanks for the insight & analysis.
Sam, an interesting follow on question is how to manage this transparency. Let’s assume a company makes a decision to expose some of its internal deliberations to the outside world, details that were previously hidden. What level of effort should it then put into managing this transparency?
You can’t expect an interested public just to silently watch any interesting goings-on, they’ll want to have their say. So that means now that, as a manager, I need to justify allocating resources (staff time, etc.) to overseeing, interacting with, responding to, and moderating — to some extent — an added volume of conversations with members of the public who are now interested in getting “the inside scoop” as it develops.
This all makes sense to me, of course, seeing as how I’m a booster of networking and collaboration practices. But I’m also reminded of a Chinese restaurant I visited several years ago that had a huge window running the length of its front hallway that opened onto the kitchen. This appeared to be a perfect example of “transparency,” but the longer I stood there and watched the chefs perform, the more I realized that some were acting, going through the motions of busy work that made them appear to be busy. The overall effect, though, was one of great industry.
I suppose if companies were to “open up” some of their internal deliberations that there might evolve the same level of performance. As you suggest, though, the public can tell when it’s being told a story.
@Dennis: Bingo. It’s time to take this seriously and invest in the dialog. That means culture change, it means enabling software *and* it means a commitment to resources (both people to help mange as well as a commitment to act on the feedback). But again, this isn’t about just opening up to the outside world, it should start in your own messy yard. It would be dishonest to “pretend” to be transparent or listening and all of this is about honesty and trust.
Your Chinese restaurant window is a perfect example. Once people hold a mirror/window up for us all to see, we can then *do* something about it. Whether that’s to walk away, whether that’s to fix what’s not genuine or put attention on what’s not productive.
Fear will be the divider of those who win and those who lose. This edict should come from the top, otherwise it will never happen. This is the new CEO’s mission and they have to lead by example.
Sam, your last three words are the key.
[…] specific, passionate people at your company but other people like us who share the same interests. There’s no question that exposing reality is big business. And your company has no reason it can’t offer us new […]