Case in Point: General Electric Company
Different organizations apply different methods in the way
they construct their stories. General Electric (GE) exemplifies
how a business’s story evolves in the context of rapid
change. Former GE chairman and CEO Jack Welch coined the idea
of change management some two decades ago. When he did, he
stood his organization on its head—to say nothing of
how it discombobulated both his internal and external audiences.
Over time, while he bought and sold hundreds of businesses,
people inside and outside the company came to gain respect
for Welch’s ability to run a company at breakneck speed,
constantly evolving its story. Welch went from being scorned
by the business world to being hailed as a great visionary.
He was running the business like a mutual fund. At certain
times, he would expose the company to more risk. He correctly
sensed the direction of GE’s various markets, spotting
opportunities often before anyone else did and moving quickly
to capitalize on them.
In the late 1990s, a CNBC commentator who was on tour to
promote his book of investment advice was asked about his
own portfolio by a radio interviewer. He sheepishly admitted
to owning the stock of CNBC’s parent company, GE, almost
exclusively. He explained his rationale for doing so by describing
Jack Welch as “essentially a mutual fund portfolio manager—one
of the best.” In saying so, this investment guru identified
the strength of GE and its leader, and underscored GE’s
story.
Welch demonstrated strong leadership by repeating what he
was doing, why and how he was doing it, inviting GE’s
constituents along for the ride. He excelled in evolving and
shaping GE’s story, and retelling it consistently no
matter the venue: shareholder meetings, TV interviews, management
meetings, books, at GE’s famous Crotonville training
center, etc.
Case in Point: Apple Computer, Inc.
Over the years, Apple Computer has constantly broken new ground
with exciting products like the iMac, eMac, PowerBook, Mac
OS X and two later versions of the iMac, each more daring
than the previous one.
With the invention of the iPod digital music player and the
iTunes Music Store, Apple created a revolution. Again, it
reinvented itself and changed the game for at least two industries,
drawing itself into competition with companies like Sony,
Dell, Microsoft, Time Warner and Yahoo, among others.
 The
key to Apple’s success has been the vision of its founder
and CEO, Steve Jobs. He tells his Apple story and invites
people to come along for the ride with cutting-edge products
that define and enhance their “digital lifestyle,”
while putting Apple at the forefront of a new lifestyle trend.
In fact, the genius of Apple is its unique ability to communicate
Jobs’ vision—Apple’s story—effectively
to its many constituents, including customers, investors,
employees and the media.
Evolving Your Story
Shaping an organization’s story and confronting business
challenges requires clear answers to the questions below:
- How do you view your business?
- How do you view your brand? Does it set trends, or continually
unfolding and evolving?
- How do your customers view your brand? Is there a gap
between their perceptions and yours?
- What’s your organization’s story? Does it
faithfully reflect your business strategy and help drive
your organization towards long-term goals?
- Do you ensure that your story unfolds consistently across
multiple venues? Are messages succinct, well understood
across the organization, and told in a consistent manner
regardless of the audience?
Integrated communication is not a one-time exercise but an
ongoing effort to keep the business aligned with changing
realities of the marketplace, much as one would steer a ship
through shifting currents, storms and winds.
It is indeed a substantial challenge to define yourself and
your story given the shifting vagaries of the marketplace,
competition and the changing company culture. Communicators
must practice integrated communication in this increasingly
unpredictable business climate of the 21st century.
Gary F. Grates is Vice President, Corporate Communications
at General Motors/North America.
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