13 December 2007
Jim Shaffer speaks out about his new book
Author of The Leadership Solution reveals forthcoming title mixes the hard with the soft.
Renowned leadership guru, and pioneer of the say/do gap theory of communications, Jim Shaffer (pictured right), has spoken exclusively to the Hub about the focus of his new book.
In his follow-up to 2000's hugely successful overview and guide to leadership communication, The Leadership Solution, Shaffer will help
business leaders blend the "hard" and "soft" aspects
of business to create and sustain necessary
performance improvements.
Create a culture of engagement
"There's no working title as yet," Shaffer reveals to the Hub,
"but, one of my conclusions over the past seven
years since The Leadership Solution was published
is that most companies don't appreciate the need
to blend the 'hard' and 'soft' sides of a business
to create and, even more importantly, to sustain
performance improvements. They generally take one
approach or another.
Most companies don't appreciate the need to blend the 'hard' and 'soft' sides of a business.
"Our work has been focused on blending the measures, mechanics and formulas generally associated with the hard operational aspects of an organization’s performance, with the leadership and people performance aspects of the business – all to create a culture that engages people, and achieves and sustains long-term performance improvement," Shaffer says.
Concentrate on formulas, measures and relationships
"I'm a strong advocate of Six Sigma and Lean, but
the purist's approach to implementing these two
powerful concepts often neglects the need to
create the high levels of engagement that's needed
to build workforce capability over the long term," says Shaffer.
"Recent criticism of Six Sigma application at 3M, for instance, focused on the negative impact it's believed to have had on innovation at this highly innovative company. This may have come about because people were too focused on the hard side of business without an appreciation that hard and soft need to be blended to achieve sustainable change," he continues.
"Many organizations frankly don't get this. They believe hard is hard and soft is soft. Frankly, I think hard is easier and soft is harder. Hard is about formulas and measures. Soft is about relationships. And we all know from personal experience which one is the more difficult to manage," Shaffer comments.
Read all about it
Although unable to reveal too much more about the book's contents at this early stage, Shaffer will share in the forthcoming February 2008 issue of the printed Internal Comms Hub Monthly Member Bulletin (available to all full Hub members) his advice about how communicators and managers can communicate sensitive company information, for example major layoffs, in the face of the predicted imminent economic downturn in the US.
If you'd like to pose your question to Shaffer via the Hub, please contact the editor.
Listen out also for Shaffer's appearance on the Melcrum podcast series early in the new year, when he'll be discussing this article and taking on a selection of questions from the Hub team.
If you'd like to pose your question to Shaffer via the Hub, please contact the editor, Annie Waite by December 31 2007.
About Jim Shaffer
Since 2000, Shaffer has led the Jim Shaffer Group, a consultancy which helps companies and leaders during times of significant change and stress as well as when they need to take already strong performance higher.
Prior to launching the Jim Shaffer Group in 2000, Shaffer was a principal, senior consultant and leader of a Towers Perrin center of excellence. He was one of the architects and leading practitioners of the firm's global change management consulting practice.
Shaffer has also received the International Association of Business Communicators’ (IABC) prestigious Fellow award.
Have your say
Are you concerned about the prospect of communicating layoffs to employees as a result of US economic downturn? Get advice from peers in similar situations by joining the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.
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