Well thank you very much for joining us.

Always before we start the leg.

I deliver a few words about
what is the content of

the presentation Who is our lectern so.

As you know these semester.

We are extending outward lecture
series in nature in this sign and

tonight Michael Seder
a SAN Atlanta based these Tyner

will share with us HOW TO THIS TIME FOR
SUSTAINABLE communications and systems.

So he sees caution would examine
the entire relationship between

communication Embryon.

And as he states companies is
trying to become more socially and

environmentally responsible.

So therefore he questions.

How can communications best best be
implemented as both a tactical tool and

a strategical component.

What communication system best serves
the needs of the organization and

how those communications feeds into
a company integrated to strategy and

impact its over old ground.

So nature provides many clues to be
various systems that can teach us how

to improve our communication
with one another and

how those systems can transmit
the cultural and institutional values we

have to convey to our employees
partners stakeholder and customers.

So that's the overview of his talk but let
me introduce you to Michael's expertise.

So he's an expert in creating and
implementing

global brand management strategies the
sign to communicate the unique value of

Cope corporate responsibility and
sustainability initiatives for companies.

So now the Sion he's the visionary and yet

common sense business approach enables
companies to improve their public

perception among a number of audiences
including shareholders and customers.

Well farther in economic opportunities.

So he's currently principle.

More good.

Which is the company to leverage
sustainability strategies ignored or

to reduce cost at the brand value on a T.
bottom line growth.

So combining common sense strategy and
assessment with brown communications more

good provides a holistic business
solutions to numerous environmental

social and governance issues companies
that they must address today.

So as I said they have these
companies basing that plan time.

And also he's worked with bottling Giant

team in two thousand and seven Golden
Peacock a war from Day World Council for

Corporate Governance at the Center for
sustainability and excellence.

I think it's a very important.

You know award and we should applaud him
for that he has the broad experience.

He's brought experience also includes
supper vice in the corporate

communications team said
Jones where he signed

on that plant of a six time
environmental communications fair.

And while a Jones were lead he
developed brand initiatives for

De Kalb County Georgia merit
system on Fulton County.

And he has also had a senior positions
that charge Baxter communications and

lead an integrated communications
fair with a focus on technology and

the technology sector.

A finally did list me just state that this
eight are hopelessly bachelor's degree of

Fine Arts in graphic this time from
Washington University of state.

And he has served on the board of the
Atlanta top two hundred American Institute

of the graphic arts.

So as usual I would like to ask you to

turn off your phones are put them in
style and go be there respectful.

Listen welcome Michael
would have beat up close to

my heart.

I don't know about that one.

OK we'll work with this one.

Good evening everyone.

Claudia thank you for the warm welcome.

All right.
So we're going to talk a little bit about

nature and what I find really interesting
about nature in communications.

There are so many ways in which we can
draw from to communicate our ideas and

communications takes hold in business and
several different manners.

You can think of communications within
the business in the management system

the way in which employees
are understood in your valued but

also communication in its rawest form.

What is a product look like and

what is it conveyed to its consumers
who are what does the company do to

convey a change in brand or
brand position to all the employees so

that they're representing the company's
values in a smart inherent way and

when I was looking at biology and nature
in and of itself to express this idea.

It came down quickly enough to
me as the birds and the bees.

So that's probably a classic
way of addressing business in

American business is the pecking order and
the pecking order

is all about one person's in charge and
as you go down the list.

Everyone knows their place.

So there's always a top chicken and
a bottom chicken and

everyone else kind of falls and in between
and when you look at this from a natural

standpoint it allows for all a greater
degree of efficiency so those lost.

Wasted energy because if there's
infighting amongst all the chickens.

They're not focusing on finding food we're
finding mates they're focused on fighting

which really isn't the best way for work
a chicken coop to interact not an expert

on chickens but that's what I have come
to discover one of the other ways beyond

the chickens is is something that
we'll talk about a little later but

I have experience pecking order and
I think that as he.

If you were out of the workforce you.

You've probably experienced
a pecking order as well.

Picking order to me when I
worked at a previous agency

sure it showcased itself where the office
building was two stories tall.

So every day without fail management was
up stairs and all the designers were

working downstairs whether they were
industrial designers or environmental

designers of corporate communicators and
without fail at least once a day.

The boss would walk down those stairs and
step behind each of us and ask us

what we were doing sort of critiquing
us along the way in essence pecking

at us to let us know that she was the head
chicken and that we were beneath her.

I think in that manner because
in this particular management

structure there was not
the greatest degree of respect.

Not that there wasn't any but not the
greatest of respect for the knowledge and

experience that each one of us was
hired to bring to the table both

our past didn't realize when she went up
stairs that all of us would talk amongst

ourselves where the creative director and
the senior designer and

the in turn as well as people across
the hallway throw ideas back and

forth with each other to try to figure
out what's the best solution but

prior to that point really questioning
the underlying problem and

it's that strategic thinking that is so
important to bring to the table.

You'll see that strategic collaboration in
beehives when I started thinking of bees.

I think most of us tend to think of
the queen bee and we as humans try

to personalize animals here friends
say my dog is looking at me so sad.

We're look how happy they
are when I arrive and

that may be somewhat of the case
that they're happy to see you.

But that facial expression
is really something that

we as humans have more
than any other organism.

And beehives we call them.

Ween B.S. because we probably think of it
like a monarchy like here's the queen who

comes along with the queen of England
telling everybody what to do but

that's really not the case the queen is
more of a biological mother in a beehive

and the most predominant way in which
that shows itself is that a queen bee

does not tell tens of thousands of these
in the beehive what to do every day to

manage them they inherently and eventually
and instinctively know their place

the greatest degree of the greatest amount
of B.S. of the tens of thousands of worker

bees in a chain to fit the four major
categories nurturing cleaning feeding and

defending but that segmentation of
the workforce isn't divided in quarters.

So if there's a group of bees on
the outside looking for a threat.

What will happen is that
threat will arrive and they'll

basically communicate through movement and
pheromones but they need help.

No you don't end up with a bunch of
the cleaning bees turn around and

say that's not my job or
I'm not a coffee break.

They step up and
collaborate in a really dynamic way and

I think that as we look to the way
in which humans are starting to use

technology that collaboration is
really starting to show itself.

I think of things from the way in which

I started my life I think
we've all encountered groups.

Here's me with a full head of hair.

So hopefully these lights don't make my
head look shiny but the group of thirty

kids hanging out in class would interact
and we'd all use our imagination and

we know find our place and
work our way through the day but

where many people tend to see a group
as a single or singular unit.

I tend to prefer to think of the group as
subgroups the groups within the groups and

when I'm looking at a group and trying
to move them along to a different point

of view and transform them
in some way shape or manner.

I often have to question.

How they interact because it's
that interaction whether it's

a pecking order or strategic
collaboration or some mesh of the two

that is very powerful
in any state of change.

So as we're going through today we're
going to be looking at not only the types

of groups what types of
communications that we have

we'll talk a little bit more
about strategic collaboration and

then we'll talk about communicating the
brand not only with consumers outsiders

from that core group and
also communicating the brand internally.

How do you motivate your own people.

So I was thinking about the lecture and

that there would be a lot of students
here today and the real goal for

me is to improve communications and
to do work that makes a difference.

So for were the architects the industrial
designers and you're trying to apply your

skills and
knowledge you want to do you want to work.

That's meaningful you don't
want to wake up one day and

say I really didn't feel like I
accomplished much in my career or

I didn't discover something new or
I really didn't enjoy that that

experience but the way in which we will
improve those communications is truly

through collaboration through gaining
clarity and through communication and

all the three of these elements
are going to work very well together.

So what works in strategic
collaboration in communication

works is strategic collaboration
communication really reaching

across the aisle breaking down the silos
and finding ways to work together and

thereby simply sparking
change what will often

see we're talking about that as I
mentioned earlier is the type of group and

we all think of the types of
groups we have we also start to

think of the types of groups and
there are levels of communication.

So each of us is an individual
arriving at the scene and

we're all within some
sort of an institution.

So an example of
an institution is a school.

A city or a workforce and
because in general the size and

scale of that institution can be so large
there automatically are subgroups and

there is this group dynamic that can
change the way each individual behaves.

So what you end up with is my sense of
individual participation will be crafted

in changed based upon what the company
says its values are actually spoken and

unspoken as well as that group dynamic
that the people I click with or

I bond with or that I work with.

So if you were working with a group
of scientists in in a major R.

and D. facility there.

The way in which they work the habits
that they have are going to be imparted

within you as well as what the company
says its overarching values are but

you cannot forget that that institution is
really driving each of those groups really

guiding them with what it allows and what
it doesn't allow in regards to habits.

So let's think of all the groups that
we're all familiar with you've been on

a playground and you arrive there with
your mother and father brought you there.

You're young and the real core question
I think comes comes out from seeing and

observing a group in a playground or
a school setting is who's the natural

leader is that leader
leading through open hand or

a closed fist and what you may see
as the leader on the playground.

This kid who may have all the charisma in
the world who are maybe bowling everyone

to accomplish whatever they may want
that child may also be guided by what

the leaders above him are allowing

the school system who
are the teacher who's nearby.

Because if that child is bullying and
intimidating and

working through control to accomplish his
goals whatever they may be it may also be

that what the school is allowing is really
not healthy for that group and that.

Environment.

So if a child's ability on a playground
and the teacher waits not five minutes but

five days or
five weeks before they intervene.

They're creating a certain type of culture
a culture of control a culture of fear but

there are opportunities where groups can
come together and work together a smaller

teams and then engage extremal teams and
we'll see that in sports and

competition where the leader's job is
to find commonality among that team and

let them figure out how to
compete against another group and

you'll see that in as I
mentioned in sports but

the workplace is a really dynamic
way of recognizing that change.

We tend to see that the world
has moved very quickly and

the technology and
Twitter didn't always exist.

The way which the work force in Iraq's is
changing because walls are breaking down

there's a lot more transparency expected
by consumers expected by employee groups

expected by non-government organizations
and also stakeholders and other types of

partners and when you look at the way
in which those workforces interact.

They can be driven forward by the types
of communication both verbal and

nonverbal coffee.

We we all tend to enjoy it and you'll
see today that people are going beyond

having conversations having a cup of
coffee or hanging out the water cooler but

they're blogging they are I am
ing they are texting and if you

are working within a group you're working
at an office of ten thousand people.

You're also having conversations with
your friends outside of the office.

You're having conversations perhaps with
other consumers whether it's your job or

not your job and that can affect the way
in which that company is being perceived.

So when we look at
the organization overall all

these different types of communication and

dynamics are going to affect
the productivity of that organization.

We've seen this kind of boss before some
people control an organization through.

Command back to that pecking
order where they use of fear and

intimidation to accomplish what they wish
and when you think of a boss like this.

What can really be fearful is
the leadership above them might not be

aware of it.

So when we come back to strategic
collaboration there's an opportunity to

even if you're not empowered to
to reach across the hall and

ask those important questions.

Companies are really being pushed to
do this so though there may be very

aggressive leadership within a company you
can change that communication with your in

your own your own pod within
your own group and that leads

back to strategic collaboration there
are really three powerful points that I'd

like you to take away about strategic
collaboration what it allows you to do.

And here is are our short list.

It allows you to be more flexible and

adaptable with decisions because I'm not
bringing only my ideas to the table.

I am listening to other people's ideas.

So I am not locked in to my own
sense of what path I will take

some will make Question me
some may challenge me and

one that really allows us to do is sit
on tape with short term and long term

improvements where you're not focusing
on fighting that immediate fire but

focusing on how does this fit into
the greater values of the company and

that accounts for a business change so
when companies are pushing themselves they

can use those tribes to engage in
different and more dynamic matters.

And when I start to think of strategic
collaboration via communication

in management we can talk about
emphasizing people first.

You'll hear that companies care
about their employees whether

they show it or not.

That may be the message
that they're using but

I also think this ties into
corporate communication.

Whether that is a new reports messages
value systems the brand the reputation.

Talking to your audience is extremely
important probably an industrial design in

in the architecture classes.

You're talking about what's its intended
use how how will people interact with it

but what also comes out of that strategic
collaboration is you can work smarter

not harder.

I'll often meet with a client who
will say this is what I need to

make make me this brochure and
unless they are really thinking about

how that brochure is fitting outside of
their little silo they may be working

cross purposes with other
communications throughout the company.

So the opportunity to work at a higher
level becomes extremely critical and

out of that comes clarity of strategic
collaboration allows you to question

willingly and
purposefully she went with a simple

message that in essence everyone can
kind of wrap their heads around and

agree to it becomes the sounding board for
every piece of communication.

So a good example of this is Johnson and
Johnson a couple of years ago

they changed the way they interact and
brought design to a higher level.

Now I will only be talking about
they are a way of communicating with

your audience which is
consumers was interesting.

Johnson and Johnson products show
up in stores like Target and

a couple of years ago.

Even though target is portrayed as a very
visual very consumer friendly brand.

They have these kinds of
sustainable conversations with

the businesses that bring products
to the table and with Johnson and

Johnson the question was if you don't get
your design game together you're going to

be eventually kicked out your products
will no longer be highlighted in our

in our company when we look at
sustainability sustainability isn't

it's the idea of making
things last longer.

But in business that's managing risk

the way in which you make
your company sustainable.

If you sell more product.

Hopefully it's an ethical product.

Hopefully it understands
the issues of human capital.

But in the end business is only
purpose is to stay in business.

So when you're communicating
with consumers.

The goal is to sell again as
much product as possible.

So when Johnson and
Johnson was faced with this challenge.

They started to look at where the way in
which their product was being perceived on

the shelf the interesting thing about
products that that we know and we love

is we have a it has a rich history from
which to draw from in this simple case.

Johnson and Johnson is known for its baby
shampoo It's as American as apple pie.

When I add hair I'm sure my mom washed
my hair with it but when they engaged in

the rebranding they were challenging
the system itself the way in which

they used to engage was designed was kind
of put off in a corner and managed by

lower level employees who truly did not
understand that brand and its values.

So when the ideas were brought
from the outside consultants

through the conduit of this junior
level person through marketing and

marketing only job is to take the task and
get it done.

The results was usually somewhat
disastrous in this case they

started to move the whole product forward
redesigning it in a way that felt more

modern felt more appropriate and really
was able to compete on the shelf and

in the end all it matters is R O Y
the return on that investment was great.

They were able to reinvigorate the brand.

Now there are instances where you will
find companies that are asking you

to revisit a product and it ends up being
not so successful in this case Johnson and

Johnson decided to repackage their
Rembrandt toothpaste product and

what they created was
beautiful quite simple and

had a great deal of hierarchy but
the mistake that they made.

Even though they were having those
higher level conversations was

that they remarks the product with a great
deal of advertising with a great deal of

excitement around it but
what they didn't do for

the consumer was revisit
the product blend.

So here the consumer was grabbing this
new pop this product new and improved.

Even though it wasn't new and improved
got the shelf and it tasted the same so

they ended up being extremely disappointed
with that interaction in the company learn

from that they recognize if we're having
these conversations at a higher level.

We also need to look at all levels.

Everything should be on the table and a
first scientific group such as Johnson and

Johnson sometimes looking back as is
often the best way to look forward and

they developed a product years ago as
a scientific company K.-Y. jelly and

its original purpose was for doctors in
a rubber glove and you can kind of fill in

the gaps from there and what they were
really wise in doing so many years ago was

figuring out that probably one day the
nurses and the doctors got into a room and

there was K.-Y. jelly on the shelf and
you can usually imagination and

what they started to do was rebranding
repurpose that product beyond its original

intended use by adding different qualities
to it so they added a warming warming or

tingling sensation and
we all know that wasn't for the doctors.

It was for the consumers.

So they really stepped
out into this space and

started on a market saying what
they needed to without really

saying it which is one of the hardest
things to do hardest things to accomplish.

But as they were having
success with this and

trying to branch it out into other
packages and other consumer markets they

thought about the way in which
the consumer again uses that product and

thought of the way that
Cosmetics has really taken hold.

Consumers are very brand focused.

They want to belong to something but
they also want to have a little.

Intrigue around the products
that they use so

they created this slightly higher level
product called intrigue which sells for

about a five dollar premium over their
original brand were able to sell more

what's intriguing about this is all
of these examples are ways in which

the company used designed to look
outward to change the habits and

to really engage more consumers and

breathe life into it but when you're
communicating with a brand internally.

You really communicating with a different
type of trike so many employees

talk to their bosses with
hopefully some level of respect.

They know that they're the people
who have been there for

a long as probably have the greatest
sense of what the company is all about.

But when a company wants to move
from where they are to someplace

that they project they wish to be one of
biggest challenges is taking all those

employees along with them because if you
don't have the buy in from the employees

they don't understand what the mission
is they know that they were supposed to

create a product or deliver a product but
now they're just tag line.

So if the secretary just
sees a new love new logo.

That may not mean something to them.

So the key is to recognize that there are
sustainable systems within communication.

When we were engaged to work
with Coca-Cola Enterprises.

They looked at their entire system
when companies are stepping

forward to bring forth corporate
sponsor ability and sustainability.

As I mentioned earlier.

They're doing so because they're being
challenged by consumers we as consumers

and also as employees expect a lot
companies can't just make products

they have to kind of sell them because any
product on a shelf is just a commodity.

But if there's something
that bonds me to it.

It's that much more powerful in this
case when we're dealing with corporate

responsibility and
sustainability within C C E they're.

As that of fifty five thousand employees.

Everyone had their own way of thinking and
by drawing from the best thinkers within

each company and then bringing them
together in a structured manner they could

change the direction of the company making
brands and making sustainable values

something that they could hang their hat
on at the same time that had a new C.E.O.

who truly believed that this was
important and they were getting a lot

of pressure from institutional
investors telling them you know what.

There are risks that are coming with the
way in which you're doing business today.

How are you going to change for
tomorrow and those are important factors

we were engaged with
Coca-Cola Enterprises corporate C.R.S.

reports just cut to the chase and

a firm number of years they were
talking about being on this journey to

be something different and one of the
challenges with sustainability when people

talk about being green and
you're seeing all these commercials.

They're talking about one
segment one factor one point and

they're talking about it as if they have
arrived but in truth when you're trying to

become a more sustainable company when
you're approaching your business from that

point of view you have to
recognize there is no perfection.

You have a circumstance where you've
accomplished a modest school but

then the next hurdle is down the road.

You have to think of it more of
a marathon than a sprint and

with Coca-Cola Enterprises

structure an architecture was important
to convey those pieces of information.

My team recognise that these
pieces would be approached by

a wide variety of audiences again we
talked about internal and external but

everyone has a different hot button.

And if that architecture is
approachable to people who want to read

a particular subject in-depth or

want to just skim it or they're
looking at from an investment point.

If you.

It's important that they feel like
they are being listened to and

also targeting your company toward
strategic goals is extremely valuable and

important those audiences
can shut you down

as easily as they can be turned on when
you're out in the world as a consumer.

You probably find as many reasons to
dislike a brand or dislike as a company as

reasons to like a company you find
something that speaks to you.

And when companies are collaborating
they're thinking of those audiences and

this particular instance the company
wanted to talk about politics and

where they were spending money probably
one of the most boring things you can talk

about but when we challenge them
about why they were communicating.

We really started to under oath
pieces of information that could be

accessed by different groups one
piece doesn't have one purpose for

one group one piece can have one purpose
for different purposes for many groups.

So we talked a little bit about strategic
collaboration having this lack of

having these three points but
it's most important remember that

companies trying to incorporate biology
sustainability within their business

can't do it all as easily as as they
would like the biggest overriding factor

is that nature guides us through so many
ways in which we can work together and

accomplish more and resting on our
laurels as a business is not the best

way to move forward in fact companies
that don't engage and recognize that

there is this huge tidal wave of change
not only with being more sustainable.

But the way in which people communicate
the way in which they interact

are going to be left behind and
in business if you're left behind.

You may as well be bankrupt.

I appreciate your time and open to any.

The questions were

so how does each of you engage in

different kinds of groups
when you walked in today.

There aren't as many people
as I would have liked

you probably knew some
people in the audience.

You may have just recognized them or
came in with others.

Did you pass them by
did you bump into them.

Did you smile and say hello.

There's different types of interaction or
our biological way of communicating.

I mean the bees communicate
with her moans and movement.

How are you communicating with others in
our business is saying things unintended

Lee to their audiences.

I think is important things for
you to consider.

Yes

yes

yes yes yes.

If I understand

your current your question correctly
looking at the way in which your touch.

How does that how does that
work with us as humans.

Well

that's not my though the animal
companion is not me or expertise.

We all see that when managers
are trying to motivate employees.

We often talk about in
practice you can walk and

you can talk and
it's important to be able to do both.

You can say you're going to do
something but you have to show it.

If that idea of a picture means that
a picture is worth a thousand words.

And when we look at each
other's facial expressions.

Sometimes that can say
more than you intend.

It's the poker face that can
really help you or hinder you.

And in communication and in business and
I think there's a lot of science behind

managing our expectations and

our emotions and
recognizing that in any conversation.

There is easily what you bring to the
table and what I bring to the table but

there's also what someone may
observe having not the knowledge and

experience of inside.

What's inside your head and
that can color.

What's being said that
someone answered question.

Yes

well

within the way the way
in which we work and

the way in which I think I've ever
heard of meetings for meeting sake.

The problem with that is people
get together because they think

they're supposed to get together.

We're supposed to solve a problem but
they may not prepare or

we're bringing the right ideas to
the table and when we see a strategy and

system thinking which As designers
we should all be familiar with.

Into the.

Workplace moves it to a greater degree and

a greater purpose it elevates
the conversation beyond

where the ten people in a room and
we're trying to hash out the idea.

We're looking at it from
all the business drivers

all the corporate culture and my intent
of talking about it from a strategic

standpoint is collaboration to me
can merely be a conversation and

I want to make certain it's
elevated in the right way.

Yes

All right

well and
we talk about that with authenticity.

We all here in the branding and

communications arena that
that's an inauthentic brand.

You know it doesn't have
the sense of history but

often to city can be built it
can be built upon values and

shared behavior and to your point
we are a lot more sophisticated.

As consumers than supposedly we have
been in the past but we look for

those opportunities to bond and
connect and

step forward and engage in more important
conversations and you're right.

As a survival technique for
business is important to tap into that

I

see the majority of my son

working just like you sometimes

and without

that you have twenty people that they
think about this because I thought you

know.

Thank

you

so.

You hear people

like that.

You know

when you when you write

your brain

like a

way to quantify the way which every
breath you take up whether they're

saying that you don't really hear or
read the story and it wasn't for

the ability to something when you're
dealing with upper management.

You know the funniest.

They tend to look for this is the next.

As I've done something for
the approach that we

were using so you know you yes

there are no guarantees but
the important thing would make a mistake

and that's why they have histories and
they think because you

would rather know something

and you don't

write this I would love to hear

you want to

hear.

Well yes well but in the workplace

with a place where you are I say

this is far more than the system

which some are opportunities.

So if you just think you're using.

Great another

that's what

this is yeah.