The Brilliant Blog

As we work with our clients in developing communications strategies and messages to keep employees engaged in their jobs, we often find ourselves coming back to a common theme, regardless of the industry or project we are working on. That theme is meaningful purpose. It’s the answer to “why should I care about working here?”

Sure, people come to a job every day because they receive a paycheck, but it’s the purpose behind the job that keeps them coming back day after day, and it’s often the difference between an employee loving his job – or leaving it.

Finding a clear purpose that people can connect with on a human level is incredibly important. For some companies, this is more apparent – for example, if you’re a pharmaceutical company, the medicine you make can help make sick people well. Despite this, employees can become wrapped up in their daily activities and lose sight of the larger purpose of their work. Continually reconnecting them with the real, human stories of the patients that benefit from their hard work can be very powerful.

In cases where the connection isn’t as obvious, we encourage our clients to seek them out. It’s usually not that hard – simply ask employees the question and chances are you’ll get some amazing replies about what customers are doing with your product. For instance, tech companies who create cool gadgets may discover that those gadgets are actually being used for something really important – like creating models for scientific research or being used by underprivileged kids. Or maybe it’s the philanthropic work that a company does, or what fellow employees are doing in their own volunteer efforts that makes a workplace fulfilling – or perhaps even inspiring.

We’ve found that it’s definitely worth the time to seek these stories out, and then to invest some time retelling the stories to a broader employee audience. To get you going, I’ll offer my personal reason for working at Brilliant Ink. I work here because I get inspired by finding creative ways to tell those very stories I’m talking about, working with lots of different clients from lots of different industries. So what keeps you going at work? Please leave your comments about what inspires you – or the people you work with – below.

@janni10

With Valentine’s Day just behind us, it reminds me of how many of us “share the love” in the workplace – that is, through corporate recognition programs.

Over time, the simple act of saying thank you seems to have become rather complicated in the corporate workplace. There are big, yearlong recognition programs with points and websites and Caribbean cruises. There are different levels of recognition with certificates that can be redeemed for cash and prizes. While there are certainly benefits to these more formal programs, I think some of the best – and most effective – recognition programs are the simplest.

We recently helped a client with a peer-to-peer recognition program that made it super easy for one employee to say thanks to another employee. While there was a good amount of work on the back end to make all of this fabulous simplicity happen, the program was designed so that all an employee had to do was go to a website, type in a name, select from a checklist of positive attributes that described the person, add a few comments, and hit submit. With lightning speed, an e-card was then sent off to the much-appreciated individual, featuring a cool design suitable for printing and display (plus a copy was sent to his or her manager).

Another good idea is to return to one of the oldest – and I think best – methods of recognition that I learned from my mom at an early age. That is, when someone does something nice for you, you send a handwritten thank you note. One client I worked with made this super easier by having a stack of postcard style thank you notes delivered to company managers. We were able to make the process of figuring out what to write in the note easy by including a simple, fun headline (like “You Rock!”) and including checkboxes listing common reasons why someone might be thanked (meeting a deadline, achieving great results, etc.). So all a manager had to do was grab a card, check a box or two, sign it, and drop it on an employee’s desk.

Unfortunately in tough economic times, companies may try to save money by cutting budgets for recognition programs. But making a one-time, upfront investment in a simple recognition program like one of these will garner big participation numbers from employees, and have lasting results with only minimal refreshing.

Sometimes all people really need is a personal expression of gratitude letting them know that they are appreciated – or perhaps even loved – by the people they work with.

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day!

@janni10

Everybody loves a good story. As a kid, I became obsessed with reading early on. In fact, one of my earliest memories is waking up before dawn to read to myself while the rest of my family was still sleeping. And while I don’t necessarily set the alarm clock to read these days, I can still get sucked into a book and the rest of the world fades away. When I was in graduate school, I read The Prince of Tides in one day. I started reading over a cup of coffee in my pajamas one morning – by the time I finished, it was nighttime and I was still wearing the same pajamas. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good story.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of narrative. For example, we’ve been speaking with a couple of prospective clients about developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and how building a cohesive story can make the difference between a report being read or tossed in the recycling bin. Around the same time, I came across this video of Dan Heath, co-author of Made to Stick, using the example of the fast food chain Subway to illustrate the power of the story. When we think of Subway, he says, we think of Jared – not a turkey sub with mustard and mayo. That’s because the story of Jared is memorable and resonates with people.

Last week, I participated in a workshop with a client and an outside consultant brought in to coach the organization on how to use storytelling as a device in conveying its strengths. There were two key takeaways for me:

• When you get stuck on a communications challenge, take a step back and start with “Once upon a time…” In doing so, you can tap into your imagination and begin to see the narrative unfolding before you.
• Next, focus on the end of your story. What do you want your audience to say about you a year from now? Then work backwards to make sure your communication efforts are helping you tell the right story.

 That’s enough for now. I’m off to read the latest story I’m obsessed with – that of the 2008 election, as told in Game Change. I can’t put it down!

 @lizkelly

Are you still reading? Unfortunately, those opening words often cause readers’ eyes to glaze over.

This time of year, many companies are working on their annual reports, one important element of which is the “Dear Shareholder” letter. The purpose of this letter is to summarize the past year, highlight key milestones and preview what’s ahead. The challenge is to tell a story that is compelling, engaging and most importantly, inspires confidence in the organization. Not an easy task, but keeping a few important best practices in mind can greatly improve your “Dear Shareholder” letter:

• Be concise – This seems to be a huge challenge for many companies. Yes, it’s tough to summarize an entire year’s performance in a brief letter. But remember – let the letter serve as a summary of performance, and get into more detail in later sections of your annual report. Although there’s no hard and fast rule, the best examples we’ve seen keep their letter to approximately 1,000 – 1,500 words. Take a look at Genentech’s shareholder letter – the company conveyed its story in two pages and went into greater detail in other sections of the annual report.
• Provide guideposts along the way – Even 1,000 words is a LOT of content. Break it up with bolded headlines that help guide the reader through your story. A nice summary paragraph or pull quotes can also help carry the reader along and ensure they are absorbing the content. Gilead included a summary paragraph right off the bat, so even if a reader went no further, they would leave with a sense of the company’s progress.
• Use a conversational tone and clear language – Yes, most of your readers are investors, but keep in mind that lots of other stakeholders will be reading this – including consumers, the media and anyone who is interested in learning more about your company. Pfizer did a great job of capturing their CEO’s voice and telling the company’s story in clear language.
• Design matters – Generous use of whitespace, graphics, pull quotes and paragraph breaks can make a big difference. Trust your designers to create a layout that will draw in readers. And take advantage of those graphics and pull quotes to reinforce your most important messages. Both Gilead and Pfizer did a nice job of balancing text with white space, graphics and pull quotes.
• Don’t be afraid to get creative – No, we can’t all be Warren Buffet. But as communicators, it’s our responsibility to push for a bit creativity, even in something as classically corporate as a shareholder letter. Rather than a traditional “Dear Shareholder” letter, Adidas included a Q&A-style interview with their CEO. It was a great way to keep the letter light and reflect the CEO’s voice.

Are you working on your company’s annual shareholder letter? What challenges have you run into? What are you doing differently this year? Let us know in the comments below.

@annmelinger

What do pirates have to do with writing skills? Everything, if you’re an organization known as 826 Valencia. Founded by author Dave Eggers (one of my favorites) and educator Nínive Calegari in 2002, 826 Valencia is a San Francisco-based nonprofit that helps advance kids’ literacy skills by providing after school tutoring, workshops and writing-based field trips.

826 Valencia’s writing lab is located, appropriately enough, at 826 Valencia Street in San Francisco, and here’s where the pirates get involved: to access the lab, you enter through a pirate supply store. What does one find in such a store? Everything you’d need to be a working pirate, of course, like peg legs, ropes, lard, eye patches, glass eyes and messages in bottles. It may sound silly, but the pirate supply store actually makes money, 100 percent of which benefits 826 Valencia. It also provides a fun, inviting atmosphere where kids can relax, get creative and enjoy the process of writing.

Brilliant Ink is a proud supporter of the work 826 Valencia is doing in the San Francisco community. In addition to sponsoring events, we’ll also be volunteering with the organization throughout 2010, and will provide updates about our experiences on the Brilliant Blog.

Are you interested in getting involved? Visit www.826valencia.org to find out how you can donate time or money. If you’re not in the San Francisco area, check out 826 National, which operates similar programs in Ann Arbor, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle.     

In the meantime, here’s an inside look at 826 Valencia: 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-S2ee9fNBk

@lizkelly

After a restful holiday break, everyone is back to work (hooray, I think). With that in mind, doesn’t it sometimes seem like Friday is taking forever to arrive? Here’s a little something that we usually do on Fridays to inspire you to finish the week strong – a bunch of our favorite words. As always, don’t hesitate to send us some of your favorite words in the comments section below. And don’t worry; Friday will be here before you know it!

@janni10

braggadocious – overly proud, bragging in excess
taciturn – inclined to silence
voluble – characterized by a ready and continuous flow of words, talkative
mephitic – offensive to the smell
vim – lively or energetic spirit
multifarious – having many different parts, elements, forms
pugnacious – inclined to quarrel or fight readily
milquetoast – a very timid, unassertive, spineless person
vicissitude – regular change or succession from one thing to another
panacea –  a remedy for all diseases, problems, or evils; a cure-all

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice.” – T.S. Eliot

Happy Friday and Happy New Year, y’all! Here’s to the words, language and voices of 2010.

@lizkelly

Happy 2010! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season as much as I did. I got a few cool “word nerd” gifts for the holidays this year, and I thought it would be fun to share them with you. This probably would have been more helpful before the holidays, but maybe they can inspire some future gift ideas for your favorite word nerds (or just entertain you for a few minutes).

Poetry for Your Table

This desk toy lets you create “poems” by using blocks printed with various words. Check out one of my very first tabletop poems above – and yes, I know it’s not very good. There’s a reason I’m not a poet.

Pictorial Webster’s

The entries in this dictionary are all drawings, which gives it a great old school feeling. Plus it’s just fun to look at, and it’s educational. Did you know bacon comes from this part of the pig? I didn’t.

Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country

This compilation of kids’ letters to President Obama was compiled by McSweeney’s literary journal and 826 Valencia, a San Francisco nonprofit that teaches literacy skills to children. There are some fantastic quotes throughout this little book. Here’s a sample from Catherine, age 6: “If I were president, I would tell people to not talk too much. It wastes time.” We’ll be partnering with 826 Valencia throughout the year to volunteer and sponsor some local events – more on this later.

New Anthology of Modern Poetry

My brother-in-law received this, not me, but I had to include it because I thought it was so cool. This is a 1938 edition that originally belonged to his step-grandmother, and it’s full of her handwritten notes and check marks beside all the poems she read.

Did you get any fun word-nerdy gifts this holiday season that you’d like to share? Leave us a comment below. Here’s to a brilliant 2010!

@lizkelly

In case you couldn’t already tell, we’re taking a bit of a hiatus from the Brilliant Blog while we enjoy the holiday season.  Here’s to a brilliant 2010!

The Brilliant Ink team – Liz, Janice, Ann and Tom

Astra Women’s Business Alliance is a network of women-owned businesses, corporate and government agency supplier diversity professionals and other partner organizations dedicated to advancing women in business. The name “Astra” comes from the Latin motto “ad astra per aspera,” which means “rising to the stars through difficulties.”

Astra offers a wealth of resources to women-owned businesses and companies who are looking for diverse suppliers, but their web site was outdated and in need of a makeover. That’s where we stepped in. Brilliant Ink provided a soup-to-nuts overhaul of the web site content, while web design partner Kennedy Consulting Services gave the site a sleek, new look.

From a content perspective, the revamped web site now includes member success stories, videos, a reading center, details about the many resources and events Astra offers, plus a whole lot more. Most importantly, the site now includes a consistent narrative about the value Astra provides to its members.

As a certified women-owned business, we’re proud to be an Astra member, and even prouder of the ways in which they’re helping women succeed. We’re also looking forward to continuing work with the organization next year as official editors of their new member e-zine, Capella. You can learn more about Astra at their brand-spanking new web site, www.astrawba.org.

@lizkelly