Does Transparency Mean An Open Kimono?
Time 12:48
A misnomer of social media is how some interpret the definition of transparency of information. It doesn’t mean opening your kimono for all to see your company’s warts. (For some this can be an unpleasant experience both on the opening end and on the viewing end) Transparency does mean to give insight, context, and comment on company strategy, industry trends, global events, internal personalities, and other topics of interest to your stakeholders and audiences.
Shel Holtz and John C. Havens thoroughly explore this topic in their new book Tactical Transparency: how leaders can leverage social media to maximize value and build their brand. Social media allows for deeper discussions about a wide range of topics. I liken transparency to a sports color commentator.
Let’s take football for example. Forty years ago when I watched football with my dad, it was a Sunday afternoon event. I grew up in New York so it started around noon. Today football has become a daily stream of information, from game day strategy, nickel packages, and counter treys to injury reports, weather impact, and nutrition regimes. Teams are not giving away their plays, signals, or secret weapons, but they are providing or allowing insights to the game that has made it more engaging for the fan.
Bottom line, transparency gives more for your stakeholders, customers, and other potentially interested parties to engage your company. You become a more interesting party with which to have a relationship, and business is all about the relationship.
Note: If you are interested in buying the book, Havens has created a super deal for Tactical Transparency. www.ttoffer.com – read this first, then make your purchase.
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Tags: Holtz, John C Havens, social media and business, transparency
This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 10:13 am and is filed under marketing.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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November 18th, 2008 at 5:23 am
Domo origato, Albert!
November 20th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Albert, this was a really useful interview and discussion. I will definitely buy the book. I was listening mainly with my condo association board president hat on, thinking of the opportunities for gaining the trust and involvement of homeowners through more transparency, especially in matters of the budget and major expenditures. The Board in the past operated on the philosophy that it held all the power and responsibility, and that homeowners who bothered to attend the Board meetings were merely “audience.” That led to a coup attempt by a group of dissidents, and much needless conflict. My main tactic as the new president has been to invite homeowners into an ongoing conversation. I posted my cell phone number in the elevator and have engaged in fascinating email dialogs with individual owners. This is very doable with just 224 units in the building, but still requires a commitment to respond quickly and fully to all messages.
Thanks for a great episode; I’m glad to see your podcasts arriving more frequently than they did a while back.
Len
December 12th, 2008 at 10:22 am
I’ve been thinking a lot about where you draw the line between transparency and, as you say, “opening the kimono.” And I think it is possible to be real, authentic and engaging without exposing everything. Good sports analogy.