CRA Inc

13 May 05 @ 12:43 pm

More For The “What Not To Do” File

Also of note at Fast Company Now is this FC blog entry about an email CNBC sent to staffers earlier this week announcing the cancellation of Dennis Miller’s show (be sure to read the deconstruction … it’s funny, sad, and spot-on). This entry is eerily reminiscent of examples we use in our consulting practice (our favorite: this memo at InternalMemos.com.

The problem here is medium, not message, and as we’ve written before, it’s a function of media richness. CNBC made a classic mistake: pushing a rich message through a lean channel. When that happens the message is always misconstrued … in this instance, as being relationally insensitive, and surely for some, cowardly.

(CNBC also made another mistake: waiting until the fifth sentence to deliver the bad news. If you have a hammer to drop, drop it right away. It makes you look candid rather than cowardly. “Folks, I’m writing to tell you some bad news: This Friday’s Dennis Miller Show will be the last. Now let me explain why.” … that’s the way.)

CNBC’s missive reflects the rub of extremely cost-efficient channels like email. They’re fast, easy, and most of all, inexpensive. But unless the content is lean, they’re also a primary cause for misunderstanding at best, and for damaged leadership credibility at worst.

At least they didn’t text “U R Fired :-(” …

posted in category(s): Emerging Case Studies