Communication is more than just talk - Forbes

It is arguable that these days the role of the leader in many organizations is as much as anything about creating change and communicating its character and ramifications to those likely to be affected by it. The evidence is abundant. Look, for instance, at the much-discussed departure of David Moyes from Manchester United Football Club. As has been set out elsewhere, the communication issues were almost as important as the performance problems. On the other hand, much of the success at the UK retailer J Sainsbury enjoyed by soon-to-depart CEO Justin King has been attributed to his ability not just to steer through change but to communicate what he was doing – both inside and outside the business.

Of course, there will be those that believe that natural leaders and communicators have been around for as long as there have been organizations for them to lead and people with which to communicate. But it is difficult to escape the notion that “the internet of things” appears to have the potential to provide something of a helpful hand to those who are struggling in the increasingly complex world in which they find themselves, whether it is leading a set of sporting heroes or just trying to sell more carrots than the next guy.

With apologies to those who are more up to date with technology trends, a couple of examples spring to mind. First, RingCentral, a California-based provider of business communications that, as CEO Vlad Shmunis says, focuses on connecting people rather than devices. It has been around for more than a decade, but has only recently become established in the UK. Essentially, it uses the cloud to support systems that enable all an organization’s employees to be connected seamlessly, wherever they are and whatever device they are using. Second, Prezi, an online presentation service that was founded in Hungary and operates from Budapest and San Francisco.

Both Shmunis and Prezi’s CEO and co-founder, Peter Arvai, have clear views on where their offerings fit into the current business environment. Although technology plays a key part in what each does, both are adamant about the importance of people and ideas.


RingCentral serves about 300,000 companies of all sizes and in a variety of sectors around the world. What unites them is the need to have their people communicating with each other, on the grounds that, even in an age of ever smarter and more connected devices, people are still the most important asset. As Shmunis says, “Connecting people offers far greater advantages than any network of connected devices ever will.”

Clearly, there are great potential advantages in terms of costs saved through not having to introduce hardware-based systems each time a business opens a different office or takes on extra employees. Not to mention the increased productivity and improved customer service resulting from connecting employees in this way. But Shmunis also argues that this better management of “bring your own device” gives employees the freedom to use their own mobile devices for both business and personal use without interference and security risks, while also allowing them to work how and where they want - at the office, at home or in the field. “All devices that people use are now connected through the cloud. When you are dialling a person the call will be routed to all devices at the same time. It’s pretty powerful,” he says.


The power of having people connected is also high in Arvai’s thinking. Pointing out that it would have been almost unthinkable just a few years ago for a company founded in Hungary to have achieved the international success it has, he believes that companies are “transforming to really be centred around ideas”. At the heart of this notion is the sense that the trend for outsourcing “non-key” aspects is forcing organizations to change more than people might realise. If they do not essentially become collections of “people focused on creating ideas they will be caught out,” he says. “If you want to be relevant you have to be adaptable.”

Prezi – which enables users to enhance the presentations they make to colleagues, customers and others by using ready-made templates or utilising tools to create their own – is a prime example of the sort of collaboration that Arvai sees as vital for success in an era when the life expectancy of companies has fallen sharply in recent years. “If you limit collaboration to everyone sitting next to you, you are not taking advantage of all your opportunities,” he says.

Indeed, it could be said that companies like Prezi become skilled long-distance collaborators because they are relatively isolated compared with counterparts in places such as California. Equally, though, they have easier access to people who may have the skills they need and yet are more determined because of their circumstances and cheaper than those who might be more readily available in traditional start-up hotspots. Either way, the connectivity provided by the internet means that physical location may become increasingly less important than has traditionally been the case.

Prezi, says Arvai, is traditionally introduced to organizations by people who want to change things. They see its easy-to-use facility for making compelling presentations as vital for making an impact – “whether it’s an executive wanting to introduce a new business direction or a new recruit trying to stand out”. But, while marketers and sales people, as well as teachers, have been early adopters, Arvai expects others in management to become converts. After all, as he says, “the challenge for managers is to incentivise creativity”.

Who knows? Maybe such tools could become as ubiquitous on sports teams’ training pitches as in corporate conference rooms.