Webinar Wire

Webcast Love From The CEO

Posted by Ken Molay April 12 2009 3:06 AM EDT

Sunday's New York Times ran an interview with Terry Lundgren, the CEO of Macy's. In the online version the interview spans three web pages. But right on the first page, Lundgren points out the high value of company webcasts for him and his employees:

And when I do these webcasts, I say: “Look, it’s only 30 minutes. I’m busy, you’re busy. I’ll find 30 minutes every single month to talk to you guys. But here’s my plan, I’ll speak for 15 minutes about current events, what’s the most important things that are happening that you need to know about, and then I’m going to take your questions for the next 15. And you just e-mail me your questions, and I’ll give you an instant response.” And I always get more than I have time to answer.

Lundgren says he reaches 55,000 of the 170,000 Macy's employees...  Every month.

If you are an executive officer of a company, are you communicating with your employees that personally and that regularly? If you are a director or second-level officer, are you engaging in interactive dialogs with the people you have responsibility for? If you are a lower-level manager with remote employees, are you using technology to keep you in touch with their concerns and to keep them updated?

Conversation is more powerful and more effective than mass emails, newsletters, or posted bulletins. If you aren't talking to and listening to your employees yourself, maybe you should ask yourself why not.