Village Secrecy Creates Angry Citizens

The citizens of a nearby village, we'll call it Anytown, are about to vote on a very hot topic: whether or not to save a crumbling relic that was the original high school. For several years, a committee attempted to raise money to buy it from the school district and rehab it into a community center. They haven't been successful. That should have said something to the committee but it forged on, pushing the village board for support.

A neighboring town broadcasts its board meetings on local cable.  While the discussions are hardly on par with a new episode of NCIS, most citizens are interested in the new businesses that come to town, what the mayor has planned for the 4th of July celebration, and how the budget looks. Citizens feel knowledgeable when they go into the voting booth. They know exactly who stands for what because everything is in the open.

Anytown does not televise its meetings.  The mayor claims there's no money in the budget for it. I suppose those in charge fear what the citizens might hear in an unguarded or heated discussion moment. Certainly if their citizenry had known about any consideration to fund the building rehab, the board would have heard an outcry two years ago. Anytown could have saved itself a lot of expense.

The voters made their position clear when they did not attend the fundraisers or donate to the committee. Low participation was a visible demonstration of the lack of support.  Sometimes silence says more than an entire speech. 

Now Anytown is holding informational meetings and the politicians see how angry the voters are. Apparently the village board members were taken by surprise; something that would not have happened if Anytown broadcast its meetings.  It's all about communication and, in this case, important ears haven't been listening. It could be a costly mistake in more ways than one.  This is an election year.

Ralph - Did You Listen?

Much has been said and written about the Ralph Lauren uniforms for the US Olympic team. The Internet is abuzz with comments about the poor design and where the clothing was manufactured.  Suffice it to say, there has been little said in support of either.

The decisions about design and manufacturing were ill-conceived, as Mr. Lauren now knows.  My question - where were his advisers?  Lauren did not make these decisions in a vacuum.  Did no one in his organization have concerns? 

My guess - someone or several someones thought this was a bad idea.  I also guess they kept quiet because they wanted to keep their jobs.  It's too bad.  All the bad feelings about Ralph Lauren and his company could have been avoided if there had been some real and open communication. 

For a brief period, I worked in retail. I watched meetings in which the buyers laid out the monthly ad and the operations people picked those ads apart. Because the ops attendees were counted on to find the problems, they felt comfortable voicing their concerns and opinions. Many a snafu was avoided because the ops manager questioned the lack of an expiration date on a coupon or pointed out a potential delivery problem.  Apparently the Ralph Lauren company does not have the same open forum.

If I am wrong and someone did point out the issues with the uniforms, how and why was that person overruled?  Communication is critical to the success of any venture.  The lack of communication can cause unforeseen problems that can take years for a company or a person to overcome. 

Ralph Lauren - Listen to your people.  That's why you have them, isn't it?  If they don't feel comfortable saying what they think, then look at yourself and your management style.  Now that we live and work in an environment where things go viral in seconds, having negative comments about your product be a lead story on national news is not the way to go.  Is it?