How not to connect

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One evening many years ago I was standing in line at the train station in Maebashi, Japan. A middle-aged man came up and started practicing his limited English with a rapid-fire series of unrelated questions.

I answered in fluent Japanese, so he knew conversation was possible. But that wasn’t what he was after; he finished his half dozen questions and disappeared down the boulevard; mission accomplished.

For years I laughed at the memory. How could anyone confuse irrelevant, unsolicited phrases with meaningful engagement?

I’ve stopped laughing. Millions of social media users do the same thing and think they’ve accomplished something. The internet has come to resemble an enormous room full of strangers busily talking over each other, and believing they’re maintaining real relationships or selling teeth whitener.

The latter group even thinks they’re trembling on the brink of money for nothing. No really, nothing.

Yet this is how engagement doesn’t happen–it’s “empty calories.”

As our traditional safety nets and sources of recognition evaporate, we all need more personal validation and growth. And belonging to a supportive new culture or “tribe” is what most Americans are seeking. Always have, always will.

The internet is history’s greatest engagement tool. It will also help businesses tap into the greatest asset we could dream of: our internal and external customers. We just need to use it better.

Every tool you need to make authentic engagement your business‘s hallmark is available and waiting. But to paraphrase the Zen saying, you must stop confusing the tools that point toward real engagement with engagement itself.

Stop being unwelcome and irrelevant like that guy in Maebashi. Get in touch.

Introducing the Viral Quality Process

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On Thursday I’ll be speaking at a monthly meeting of local quality engineers (ASQ).

I will discuss how any team of managers, technical/methodology experts, or other stakeholders can quickly implement a new process to create a culture of quality so inclusive and vibrant, your quality or service programs will be unnecessary (one startup software company has already taken the first steps).

Here’s the two-stage process of quality culture development:

Create a DIY Mantra for the whole business, followed by key departments or teams. Then create content wonderful enough to carry the company’s new messages far and wide–and to every employee.

I call this approach to creating a new vision of quality for the social media age a “viral quality process.”

What do you think?

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From HR Professional to Social Media Leader

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1. An original discussion topic posted to Linked:HR (#1 Human Resources Group) on LinkedIn:

In the social media age, the new priority for individual employees outside the workplace is “authentic engagement.”

How are HR professionals dealing with dynamic changes in employee expectations and perception, as technical or operational expertise becomes a “given,” and the focus increasingly shifts to an applicant’s intangible qualities such as attitude, approach and intent?

2. Comment from Patrick Mulroy, HR Leader and Life Coach:

I believe successful HR Leaders are approachable, have a “can do positive attitude” and flexibility regarding intent as HR transcends all industries. Our authenticity comes with “DNA‘ deeply integrated in our responsibility and accountability. We have to hold ourselves to high standards of integrity and confidentiality and trustworthiness or we will not be successful in building relationships with credibility. We must walk our talk and deliver on our word. We are not perfect, but we strive for excellence otherwise we do a disservice to our profession. I believe we must put the “human’ in human resources and balance the role of business partner, employee advocate, and defender of the company’s assets by doing the right things as well as doing things right.

3. My public response to his comment:

Great comment, Patrick! It proves that social media thought leaders are merely “reinventing” what the best HR professionals do in every interview.

HR Leaders are in a unique position to help the world hold social media to the high standards you’ve mentioned. Using social media tools, you can easily move your acquired wisdom out of the HR office and into mass circulation.

Digital communication techniques and “apps” can only stay pertinent to their users if they help convey your vision accurately to huge numbers of people–who will never see each other in person!–so it can be put to good use.

Then every online conversation or forum comment will gain new relevance, proof and value. That’s the day social media will finally grow up.