M Power is a Melbourne based public relations company that believes communication empowers. Karen Morath is the founder and Managing Director of M Power. M Power provides consulting, training and communication services to organisations largely in the locality of Melbourne

This is m-news, M Power's monthly e-newsletter. We hope you enjoy reading it. Feel free to forward it to friends or colleagues who may find it useful.

M Power is a communication and events company. m-news includes information about related themes - six quick snippets about business, organisational and individual effectiveness, communication and public relations.

Communication empowers.

Karen Morath, managing director, M Power

The ‘quick six’ for March are

1. Brand values
2. A quote we like
3. Tips for effective delegating
4. Gratuitous plug
5. How well do you receive bad news?
6. This month's book review

1. Brand values

Profitable is a corporate value not a brand value, according to brand guru and author Scott Bedbury. He says brand values are moral codes. They are the powerful and positive things that you want your customers and employees to feel when they think about your brand. He believes most brands have over-promised and under-delivered in the last 20-30 years.

Source: Tom Peters Times Vol 3, No 7

2. A quote we like

“To get new ideas into your business bring different people into your organisation.”

Source – Professor Tom McKaskill of Swinburne University’s Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, speaking at Hume City Council’s March Business Breakfast.

Tom is available for speaking engagements, please contact M Power on 03 9510 2592 for details.

3. Tips for delegating

These delegating tips will save you time and get you the help you need

Ask for help. Don’t demand it.
Make sure you have communicated the purpose of any delegated work.
Remember it’s not just about what needs to be done, but why it needs to be done.
Make sure the person has everything they need to do the job and that you have agreed a sensible deadline.
Give the person the opportunity to do it their way, using initiative and imagination, (if it needs to be done your way, do it yourself!)
Remember that it is your responsibility to ensure all delegated tasks are completed – you can’t just delegate and forget about it.
When the project is completed, be generous with your feedback.

4. Gratuitous plug

This issue we’re sharing our spotlight with new women’s fashion label grace under fire.

grace under fire is the label for women who are happy with who they are and where they fit in the world, who keep up with fashion but make their own choices and who know from experience that the ultimate life goal is to maintain their grace under fire.

grace under fire’s launch range features luxurious pashminas hand made in Nepal from 70 per cent pashmina and 30 per cent silk – without the city prices. www.graceunderfire.com.au

5. How well do you receive bad news? Take the Titanic test

Some people are so focused on achieving an outcome that they dismiss anything they perceive as negative or destructive. Or they mutter management speak like ‘don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions’. As a result, the people around them avoid being the bearers of bad news. But you can’t fix problems you don’t know about so if there is bad news out there, you need to know. Would your crew tell you that your beloved Titanic was about to hit an iceberg?

If people take you up on your ‘open door policy’ are you likely to snap at them, feel confronted by them or make them regret they challenged you? Y/N

If bad news does reach you, do you assume it is an isolated problem? Y/N

Do you rely on your direct reports (the people whose careers you influence) for your information about what is going on in the company? Y/N

Rather than getting out and asking questions of customers and staff, do you spend most of your time in meetings and on the phone? Y/N

Do you insist on slick PowerPoint based rehearsed presentations from your direct reports? Y/N

Having received bad news, do you think it is best to do as little as possible and just ‘wait and see’ what develops? Y/N

How well did you do? The more times you answered yes to these questions, the faster your Titanic will sink.

Source: quiz inspired by an article by Scott Kirsner in Fast Company.

6. This month's book review

Death sentence by Don Watson

This book is porn for pedants and popcorn for anyone puzzled by the corporate speak which has overtaken our language.

More than any other I have read, I wish I wrote this book.

The sheer beauty of the way Don Watson uses language is as moving as the revelations he makes are insightful.

This book has been out for a couple of years but I encourage anyone who hasn't read it to pick it up. The more people who read it, the more will understand the size of the communication problem we have developed (for a variety of reasons including intellectual snobbery) and the better shape we will be in as a society to re-learn how to communicate with each other.

To buy Death sentence from Amazon click here.

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