Listening: A Strategy and Change Blog | Hosfeld & Associates

By Kathleen M. Hosfeld, President

Once a year or so, my mentor and former professor, Cliff Rowe, asks me to return to Pacific Lutheran University to speak to one of his classes about communication ethics. I sit in front of a classroom of about 20 students who have varying degrees of interest in how I apply ethics to my work. Most are polite. Some fall asleep.

In recent years, the students have started asking if I use the TARES test in my work. I always have to say I don’t, because I didn’t learn the TARES test, which was published in 2001, when I was in school. But, in fact, the philosophy of the TARES test is reflected in everything we do at Hosfeld & Associates.

What is the TARES test? It’s a five-point test for what the authors call “ethical persuasion.” Published by Sherry Baker, a professor at Brigham Young University, and David L Martinson, of Florida International University, the TARES test seeks to establish robust principles for ethics in action and to support the creation of a more ethical approach to persuasion – particularly commercial persuasion such as takes place in the marketing process.

The TARES test consists of five principles: Truthfulness (of the message), Authenticity (of the persuader), Respect (for the persuadee), Equity (of the persuasive appeal) and Social Responsibility (for the common good). The authors offer checklists of questions for each of the five principles that help the practitioner explore their implications:

Truthfulness examples:

• Is this communication factually accurate and true..? Does it lead people to believe what I myself do not believe?
• Has this appeal downplayed relevant evidence?

Authenticity examples:

• Does this action compromise my integrity?
• Do I feel good about being involved in this action?
• Do I truly think and believe that the persuadees will benefit…?

Respect examples:

• Is the persuasive appeal made to persuadees as rational, self-determining human beings?
• Does this action promote raw self-interest at the unfair expense of or to the detriment of persuadees?
• Am I doing to others what I would not want done to me or to people I care about?
• Do the receivers of the message know that they are being persuaded rather than informed?

Social Responsibility examples:

• Does this action take responsibility to promote and create the kind of world and society in which persuaders themselves would like to live with their families and loved ones?
• Have I unfairly stereotyped constituent groups of society in this promotion/communications campaign?

There are many facets of the TARES test worth exploring. One of the first that strikes me is that ethical persuasion begins with the realization that our choices create the world we ourselves live in. This is not a new insight; it’s been part of mainstream marketing thinking for a while. One of my first positions in marketing communications was with an Ogilvy & Mather division where I was introduced to the philosophy of advertising pioneer David Ogilvy. A prolific author, Ogilvy once wrote in a treatise to young advertising executives: “The customer is not an idiot; she is your wife.”

I was startled the first time I read it. It took a moment to sink in. Ogilvy was speaking at the time when most of the industry was populated by white males. We can pardon him some 1960s sexism because he got the basic idea right. He may have gone on to say “Or your mother, or your daughter.” He was trying to tap the innate empathy we have for people we love, for whom we want the world to be a good, safe and equitable place. He was trying to make the connection between what we do as persuaders and how that affects the world.

The TARES test is described as five principles of ethical persuasion. It’s been my experience that discussions of ethics and what is ethical can be interpreted from the perspective of compliance. We set ethical codes in order to define the minimum standard of acceptable behavior. One of the things I like about the TARES test is that it flips this into a creative discussion. Instead of setting a minimum standard it sets one of the highest possible. It asks the questions: “What kind of world do I want to create for myself and people I care about? How can my marketing choices help create that world?”

So, consider the TARES test and how it applies to your advertising, sales materials, media relations – in short, all marketing speech. Let it spark your imagination as to the kind of world you’d like to create with your work. To learn more, you can order the original scholarly paper (an easy read that includes all the questions), from Lauren Erhlbaum Associates Online: http://www.leaonline.com Title: The TARES Test: Five Principles for Ethical Persuasion.

By Kathleen M. Hosfeld, President

A McKinsey Company study, commissioned by The Marketing Society, recently found most CEOs believe that although marketing has a vital role to play in addressing business challenges, they question marketing’s overall contribution to financial results. The potential of marketing’s possible contribution is not fulfilled.

In some situations, the perception is caused by a lack of measurement. The organization hasn’t measured the “before” and “after” pictures of an otherwise good program, and just can’t tell what part of the mix is working or not. But in many instances this perception points to an underlying weakness in either strategy formulation or execution. “Marketers are the heart of the business but not the head,” said one CEO interviewed. Head and heart must work together.

What this involves is building clear definition of the business model, collaboration between marketing and finance, widespread understanding and support for the business model, and alignment of individuals’ goals and objectives with the key components of the business model relevant to their jobs. Here are three questions that help determine where each organization can start:

Do you have a strategy? A plan is not necessarily a strategy. A strategy would be an actual business model that shows how activity will overcome challenges and lead to financial return. Too often the concept of “marketing” is interpreted only as marketing communications – which can be thought to include advertising, public relations and brand-logo development. A business model includes product or service design, distribution strategy, sales strategy, customer and account management, pricing and more. This careens dangerously into the area of “finance” which is considered a weakness of marketers, according to the McKinsey study. One way to bring head and heart together is to forge a collaborative relationship between marketing and finance that reflects a holistic sense of the organization.

Do people understand and support the strategy? “Understand” would mean they get the rationale of it, how the strategy “works”, what it will accomplish. “Support” means they agree with the strategy and reflect that with their actions. Everyone knows what it’s like when our own head and heart are not in agreement. It’s painful when the head doesn’t support what the heart wants to do and vice versa. While it’s often impossible to get 100% understanding and support of a strategy, each organization needs to do the work to engage the right people. Many employees will say they don’t want to be involved in strategy education or engagement. “Just tell us what you want.” This is often a mask for cynicism about whether the organization is really committed. “Why buy in when the wind is going to blow in a different direction six weeks or six months from now?” they ask. Employees measure management support for a strategy by the extent to which they “stay the course.” For full return on investment (ROI), then, the marketing strategy must manage and renew the engagement and support of the company for a sustained period of time.

Does everyone know what it means for their job? The head and heart are willing, but the flesh is…well..confused. Strategies are often crafted by highly intuitive people who think the implications of the strategy are clear and obvious. Many people however need help to determine what a strategy means for their job or their department. Organizations that fail to do this translation create a disconnect between the strategy and how members of the organization interact with the world. Often, some type of training or staff development is necessary to make sure all employees are living the strategy, including how they demonstrate brand values and promises in their day-to-day activities.

One of my colleagues, Hans Carstensen III, created broad participation in his company?s business model through creation of a companywide budgeting/planning system that tied goals and objectives in a clear way to the desired performance of a part of their business model. Each goal or objective for the $7.0 billion-in-assets insurance company had a “key performance indicator” (KPI) selected by the unit manager and the position-holder; these were monitored throughout the year. Bonus compensation was tied to performance. “The result,? says Carstensen, “was that everyone had a stake in and a sense of how their position was contributing to the business model’s overall success.”

Strategic management tools the “balanced scorecard,” systems thinking, integral theory, learning organizations — reflected in the three points above are all great ways to see the organization the way your customers see it, to tear down the barriers between head and heart to create a more aligned, successful organization.

Another important step in bringing head and heart together is aligning the business model with values and purpose, and our design to make the world a better place. We?ll save that enormous subject for another article.

By Kathleen M. Hosfeld, President

Three questions can help organizations connect their strategies and brands to The Great Story, the important work of our time. I first realized the value of the “great story” more than a decade ago, in listening to my retired father and a colleague reminisce about their days in the aluminum industry. At a dinner together I heard the two former executives wax nostalgic.

“It’s not the same as when we were there, Bob,” his friend Clay said. “All these young guys care about is their careers. You and I, what we cared about was aluminum.”

The reverence with which he said the word aluminum went beyond the value of excellence, beyond the pride of creating quality. Mass production of aluminum changed everything – from airplanes (once made of wood and fabric), to rail cars, to building construction materials, to medical tools, to food storage. Aluminum was the metal that would carry us to the moon.

The power of aluminum to create a better world was the kind of purpose that called for service beyond self-interest. It was clear in the way Clay said the word aluminum that to him it meant a brighter future for his children and grandchildren. That future was worth his dedication and creativity.

Whether we work in a for-profit or a non-profit, for government or private enterprise, the larger story of our work makes it worth the best we have to give.

The Three Questions

In strategy work with clients, I’ve found that defining the organization’s purpose around something compelling to people both inside and outside the organization depends on answering three questions:

• What is the change we want to see in the world because of our work (shared vision)?
• What are the means we will use to create this change (shared means)?
• How do we want to be together as we do this work (shared values)?

Seeing the Change

When we ask the question, “What is the change we want to see in the world because of our work?” we assume that we have a degree (if small) of influence over a vast system. The question implies we’re looking for a point of leverage in the system. Another way to ask the question is “Why make a change at all? What is the need?” Sometimes, we already know the change we want to create in the world – more home ownership, greater fuel efficiency, healthier kids, engaged citizens. We can look around us and see that others care about this same change because they too are working in their own way to address this need. This gives us a sense of who our partners, collaborators or competitors might be. Most of us are unaccustomed to thinking about our work in terms of our impact on the world. Some entrepreneurs respond to this question by realizing they’ve lost track of their original goals for their business.

Creating the Change

The next question, “What are the means we will use to create this change” defines the day-to-day tasks and methods you use to achieve your goal. A technology support division of a local city government might have a goal to become an essential resource to the entire city system. But there might be many roads to get to this shared destination. Is it through superior help-desk solutions? Is it through catalyzing technology upgrades? Defining shared means is an agreement about strategy.  Clarifying “shared means” results in focus, and thus creates greater return on investment of learning and capital. It often requires sifting through what others (competitors or collaborators) are already doing, what your organization does best or most successfully. It also means listening to what customers or other constituents validate as meaningful. This validation can be purchases and customer loyalty in a for-profit venture. In a non-profit it can be expressed through grants and donations that support the work.

Being The Change

How we create the change is very often influenced by asking “How do we want to be together as we do this work?” This speaks to something very different than the values statements senior managers post on bulletin boards for everyone’s compliance.  This question gets at the underlying values that reflect how we want to be treated or how we (the people) agree to treat each other in the workplace even when there’s no external reward. Creating alignment between the goals and organizational culture creates integrity; it says “we walk our talk.”  For many employees, agreements about how we want to be together can be as important as the change we want to see in the world. Positive social networks, being a valued member of a productive team, and the ability to take pride in their work create meaning for many employees that brings out their best contribution. These agreements can create stability at times when the larger strategic vision is shifting.

Answering these three questions benefits an organization in several ways. It:

• Creates efficiency through clear focus and alignment resulting in faster progress and fewer wasted resources;
• Articulates a compelling foundation for brands and other marketing messages;
• Fosters productive social connections among employees who then share the same goals; and
• Establishes a positive purpose for the organization in the context of a larger, dynamic system.

These questions and their answers lead us back to that place of the great story of our work. We’re not just telling a good story about our company and work as many corporate storytellers do. Rather we are seeing the Great Story of our time, finding our place in a story that is bigger than us, bigger than the place we work, and committing ourselves to work that is worthy of our passion and service. This is living a great story.

(This article was originally published in March of 2005.  My father, Bob Hosfeld, an Alcoa executive, contributed significantly to the original version. Its continued publication is dedicated to his memory and his legacy as a “spiritual advisor” to his colleagues.)