Do you and your employer or employees speak simple English when it comes to the company’s philosophy? Are you a company speaking English as one when you talk about the company’s values, products, performance, or service to the outside world?
An employee and company that follow a particular speaking philosophy give those entities a backbone of values and reality to follow in work.
The talking philosophy starts with the company. It needs one that runs deeper than “we want to make as much money as possible” if it expects to survive.
The company speaking English as one philosophy allows a company to recruit talent that already speaks the same language. It is much easier to integrate someone who already believes in what you do than to try to convince someone who doesn’t.
Major companies like Apple and Google have simple philosophies that drive their success.
Apple wants to create technology to make people’s lives simpler while Google believes happy employees increase productivity and creativity.
Those two giant companies can then go out and find people who fit those philosophical bents. This reciprocal relationship between company and employee fuels excellence.
The company speaking English as one mindset trickles down to how management and employees talk to customers and business partners about shared beliefs.
Company troubles begin to brew when employee and management words don’t match up. The management and contracts say one thing while the employees talk about a different reality.
My just-released book, Seeking Balance: The ultimate guide to English-speaking excellence for the shy, foreign, or frustrated, discusses the importance of acceptance, balance, and change when developing a speaking philosophy. I call this the ABC philosophy.
A company speaking English as one
1. Acceptance: Effective communicators accept who they are as an individual and the world where they exist. A company and its employees must all accept who they are, what they stand for, and how to best talk about a shared vision to customers.
2. Balance: Effective communicators balance words, thoughts, ideas, and emotions in any situation. Maintaining an emotional balance through all business cycles requires a steady hand by management. An imbalanced management team creates an unsteady atmosphere that encourages communication chaos, especially in vulnerable times.
3. Change: Effective communicators seek change through building excellence not success. Adopting positive change leads to improved acceptance and balance. Management words need to back up decision. A company that builds change on excellence over success encourages all employees to personally improve thereby increasing their individual and company value. This is a superior atmosphere compared to a morally bankrupt “have or have not” world where only some share in company success.
The ABC philosophy’s simple strategy encourages a balanced “we” instead of a scattered “me” approach to business communication.
If you are not a company speaking English as one then you are destined for failure. A shared communication philosophy assures employers and employees tell customers a consistent, positive message which leads to success for all.