Beyond Spin

Discover a new, strategic brand of corporate communication that cuts through today's Dilbert-esque cynicism to engage workforces, manage constant change, and align organizations. In Beyond Spin, three experts detail the techniques of corporate journalism--an ingenious communications model that hinges on open, accurate, and strategically weighted reporting inside a corporation. With practical guidelines and real-world examples from SGI, Microsoft, J.P. Morgan, and other corporations, Beyond Spin helps you equip your company with this powerful new standard of communication--one that makes the most of every communications vehicle to keep your company aligned, nimble, innovative, and fiercely competitive.Dieses Buch demonstriert anhand der fesselnden Geschichte von Silicon Graphics (SGI), wie ein Unternehmen mit dem neuen "Corporate Journalism" plötzliche PR Schocks überwinden kann und dabei offen, flexibel und innovativ bleibt. Die gleichzeitige Bekanntgabe der ersten Quartalsverluste und der Ausscheidungsabsicht des visionären SGI-Gründers und CEOs stürzte dieses äußerst erfolgreiche Computerunternehmen in eine tiefe Krise. Doch SGI meisterte diese Krise und schaffte es, die Arbeitsmoral und Motivation seiner Mitarbeiter aufrechtzuerhalten. Aber wie? "Beyond Spin" beschreibt das innerbetriebliche Kommunikationssystem, die Strategie und Philosophie, mit deren Hilfe das Unternehmen die Krise überwunden hat. SGI und auch andere Unternehmen wie z.B. Boeing und Charles Schwab nutzen Intranets, Voicemail und traditionelle Infoblätter, um ihre Mitarbeiter umfassend und umgehend über Neuerungen im Unternehmen zu informieren. Dieses Buch zeigt Ihnen, wie Sie effektive innerbetriebliche Kommunikationssysteme aufbauen, die sich an den Prinzipien des professionellen Journalismus orientieren. Foreword Preface: The Power of Strategic Corporate Jounalism Prelude: "Headless Body in Topless Boardroom!"
1. THE NEW WORLD Taylorism Macro Sociotechnological Factors Summary
2. COMMUNICATIONS UNPLUGGED Aligned Communications Elements of an Effective Organizational Communication Strategy Considering the Organizational Landscape Summary
3. JOURNALISM IN THE REAL WORLD Why Journalism? Get It First--But Get It Right Openness and a Free Press Weighing News Value Intrinsic Credibility Challenges Corporations Resemble Socity
4. STRATEGIC CORPORATE JOURNALISM Timeliness Accuracy Free Press Weighing News Value The New Corporation Strategic Corporate Journalism
5. CORPORATE JOUNALISM IN ACTION Brief History Examples of Corporate Journalism Progress--and Room to Grow
6. CORPORATE JOURNALISM: A CASE STUDY Stages in the History of SGI (formerly Silicon Graphics) Endnotes: Worldwide Employee Communications FAQ
7. FUTURE WORLD Macro Sociotechnological Trends The Knowledge Economy Communications Trends Legal Trends Societal Journalism and Strategic Corporate Journalism Some Closing Thoughts
Appendix 1: A Guide to Corporate Journalism Appendix 2. Glossary
References The Authors Acknowledgements Index "This book shows how to do 'corporate journalism' with sensitivity, realism and humor. It delivers a tone of practical hope, including specific actions you can take right now to make your company a better place and a better space." --Robert Johansen, president, Institute for the Future

"Finally, a precise step-by-step guide for America's flacks that explains how to do business better--and surprise--by telling the truth. This timely book should be on every CEO's desk and in every corporate PR department." --Peter Laufer, author and producer, Omnipoint Business Minute radio feature, and former German correspondent for Public Radio International's (PRI) Marketplace

"Beyond Spin shatters long held and traditional views about how a successful company communicates with its employees. It defines, with real examples, how a company's communication organization can either dramatically undermine or bolster its success." --Tamar Elkeles, vice president, Learning and Communications, Qualcomm MARKOS KOUNALAKIS, a veteran print and network broadcast journalist, has covered wars and revolutions, both civil and technological, and written for Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of Defying Gravity: The Making of Newton (1993) and lives in San Francisco. email: NewsScribe@aol.com DREW BANKS, SGI's director of employee communications and integrated performance support, has blAnded his engineering, arts, and business background to architect technology solutions that enable human potential. Drew speaks regularly at professional forums on various intranet-related topics. He lives in San Francisco. email: dbanks@alum.mit.edu KIM DAUS, a former newspaper and magazine publisher, manages worldwide intranet operations and communications strategies at SGI, including Junction, the company's intranet portal site. She speaks internationally on topics such as communication strategies, intranet development, and knowledge management. She lives in Sausalito, California. Engaging a knowledge workforce. Operating globally in Internet time. Protecting confidentiality and intellectual property in a boundaryless, networked world. How do can communications best serve the new business environment? Beyond Spin suggests that today's organizations can learn from the powerful role journalism has played in transforming societies from controlled political structures to democracies.Strategic corporate journalism is open, accurate, timely, and strategically weighted news. Organizational communicators are beginning to understand how damaging "spun" information can be to a knowledge workforce. Some have begun to blAnd journalism with corporate communication strategies and have seen organizational effectiveness improve as a result of the increased trust and credibility that combination can engAnder.In a fast-paced, engaging style, authors Markos Kounalakis, Drew Banks, and Kim Daus draw on personal experience with SGI to showcase strategic corporate journalism as the cornerstone of an internal communications model that company has used to keep employees informed throughout a traumatic business and cultural transition. The authors also highlight other companies--such as Microsoft, Arco, J.P. Morgan, and Qualcomm-to demonstrate how they have successfully integrated elements of corporate journalism into their communication practices. Beyond Spin is an indispensable guide that demonstrates how corporate journalism works strategically and tactically to help companies build an impassioned workforce, weather sudden shocks, manage constant change, and thrive in the long term. By retooling the content, distribution, and style of their communications, companies can create a continuous, credible flow of information and knowledge that keeps them aligned, nimble, innovative, and competitive. Engaging a knowledge workforce. Operating globally in Internet time. Protecting confidentiality and intellectual property in a boundaryless, networked world. How do can communications best serve the new business environment? Beyond Spin suggests that today's organizations can learn from the powerful role journalism has played in transforming societies from controlled political structures to democracies.
Strategic corporate journalism is open, accurate, timely, and strategically weighted news. Organizational communicators are beginning to understand how damaging "spun" information can be to a knowledge workforce. Some have begun to blend journalism with corporate communication strategies and have seen organizational effectiveness improve as a result of the increased trust and credibility that combination can engender.
In a fast-paced, engaging style, authors Markos Kounalakis, Drew Banks, and Kim Daus draw on personal experience with SGI to showcase strategic corporate journalism as the cornerstone of an internal communications model that company has used to keep employees informed throughout a traumatic business and cultural transition. The authors also highlight other companies--such as Microsoft, Arco, J.P. Morgan, and Qualcomm-to demonstrate how they have successfully integrated elements of corporate journalism into their communication practices.
Beyond Spin is an indispensable guide that demonstrates how corporate journalism works strategically and tactically to help companies build an impassioned workforce, weather sudden shocks, manage constant change, and thrive in the long term. By retooling the content, distribution, and style of their communications, companies can create a continuous, credible flow of information and knowledge that keeps them aligned, nimble, innovative, and competitive.