If You Want to Lead, Blog
Many senior executives at Sun, including me, have blogs that can be read by anyone, anywhere in the world. We discuss everything from business strategy to product development to company values. We host open letters from the outside, and we openly respond to them. We talk about our successes—and our mistakes. (If you don't believe me, go to www.blogs.sun.com/roller/page/jonathan?entry=dear_john.)
That may seem risky. But it's riskier not to have a blog. Remember when, not long ago, CEOs would ask their assistants to print out their e-mails for them, and they'd dictate responses to be typewritten and sent via snail mail? Where are those leaders now? (The last of my contacts of that breed just retired.) In ten years, most of us will communicate directly with customers, employees, and the broader business community through blogs. For executives, having a blog is not going to be a matter of choice, any more than using e-mail is today. If you're not part of the conversation, others will speak on your behalf—and I'm not talking about your employees.
Blogging lets you participate in communities you want to cultivate—whether it's your employees, potential employees, customers, or anyone else—and leverage your corporate culture competitively. Here's a good example: Sun, like every organization, receives e-mails from happy customers lauding one employee or another for good work. The idea came up that we should post these e-mails on a "wall of fame" on our intranet. But we realized that this venue would profoundly limit the number of readers, so someone suggested putting the wall of fame up on my external blog. Immediately, people raised the concern that by identifying our best employees, we'd make them recruitment targets. Well, of course that could happen. But it cuts both ways. The upside is the positive ripple effect on workers' morale and on the public's perception of the company. What's more, my competitors' employees could see what I'm saying about my team and could decide whether I'm more compelling than their own leaders. So rather than being a threat to Sun, blogging about my best employees can build loyalty and be a recruitment tool to boot.
How do you get started on a blog? I suggest clearly defining a blogging strategy and guidelines. (Or go ahead and use ours at www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/blogs/policy.html. Just make sure to change the company name.) Then find your voice. Be honest and open. Be respectful of your audiences. Don't treat blogging like advertising—it's not. Use humor. Link to those who interest and influence you.
Once you get going, don't micromanage the process. Your legal and corporate communications teams do not have to be involved in every post—after all, they're not involved in every e-mail you send or telephone call you make. Once in a while, you may need to add some clarifying language. (For example, a 14A filing was required for my blog posting about acquisition intentions, just as it would be for many other forms of communication.)
But the rule of thumb is simple: Know the guidelines, then let loose. If you're unclear about your company's policy on something, ask around. Maybe it needs to be more carefully defined.
Be sure to listen to feedback and respond to legitimate ideas—from inside and outside. And, most important, write the blog yourself. Authenticity is paramount. Some senior executives hire people to write their blogs. Don't bother. It's like hiring someone to write your e-mail. It's not going to work.
Trust me, your market and your employees are clamoring for executive engagement and insight. They will value and remember your candor. And you'll be surprised by how much you learn from them.
Reprint: F0511J