For Your Approval

Your Master's Voice

Most CEOs don't write everything they say. They don't always have time, and some are not good writers. So they turn to us communicators, and we draft things for them. 

We fabricate quotes for news releases. We write speeches. For internal audiences, we draft the annual Christmas message, the CEO column in the newsletter, the town hall speech, the downsizing memo.

As long as the CEO is engaged in the process and cares about what he or she is communicating, this is not a bad thing. Some of the most fulfilling moments of my career have been when I'm helping a CEO be a better leader. "Shewchuk, you wrote the best words anyone has ever put in my mouth," said one CEO to me. That was a good day.

Putting words in CEOs mouths is a huge responsibility. With every word he or she says, employee trust is on the line. If for one second a leader sounds phony, disingenuous or bureaucratic, that trust begins to erode. Employees have extremely sensitive b.s. detectors, and when the alarm goes off, all ears are closed.

So it was with great interest that I read the quote of the day in today's New York Times. It's about 9/11, of course:

"For all Americans, this date will be forever entwined with sadness. But the memory of those we lost can burn with a softening brightness."
      - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

NOT. That was finely pureed b.s. coming from the overpaid fingertips of the Mayor's speechwriter. It's a 'thousand points of light' for our time. And it's a little reminder that speechwriters should try to write things that their speaker might actually  say. Not only does it not sound like Bloomberg, it's just bad writing.

Don't get me wrong. A great speech can contain unusual and profound language that one would not hear in everyday conversation. JFK would never had said to his son, "Ask not what your mother can do for you. Ask what you can do for your mother." But it worked well in a speech.

But I digress. The point is, when you're writing for someone, write in his or her voice, not your own.

 

Wal-Mart CEO's Internal Web site Exposed

Big story in the New York Times this morning about Lee's Garage, Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott Jr.'s internal Web site. "While Mr. Scott's postings are usually written in a careful, even guarded manner, they can often be revealing," writes the Times. The postings show "a defensiveness and testiness with critics that Mr. Scott normally keeps under wraps."

The site was made public by Wal-Mart Watch, an activist group trying to get Wal-Mart to improve its wages and benefits. The Times article provides an overview of responses by Scott to managers' questions and concerns about all kinds of issues.  There are no smoking guns in the answers, which pretty much reflect what Scott has said in public speeches, but, the article points out, "in these confidential e-mail messages to managers, he delivers far blunter insights in much greater detail."

We also learn how Scott's responses are generated. A company spokesperson explained that a public relations assistant screened the questions and Mr. Scott dictated responses to an aide. Which means the responses aren't drafted by a ghost writer, but instead they represent the actual words coming out of the actual CEO's mouth.

Whatever you think of Wal-Mart, it sounds like good executive communications to me.