Tina’s take…
Hello!
Welcome to my first newsletter since launching my new website (do check it out if you haven’t already).
The main reason I’ve decided to start this, is to try and help our understanding of what’s driving distrust of organisations, institutions and leaders, so we’re better equipped to turn things around.
My plan is to keep this newsletter relatively short and to send it no more than once a fortnight. I’ll highlight anything I’ve seen, heard or read which has some relevance to earning trust or bridging divides, or to just making things work better. And I’ll throw in one or two recommendations of TV programmes, podcasts, articles, etc – which might be relevant to my main aim, or just something I’ve enjoyed or found interesting and think you might too.
Feedback and comments will be great, as this is very much work-in-progress.
Anyway, let’s see how we get on…. Here goes for Newsletter No.1!
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Lessons from the BBC 💡
I’ve been busy commenting on the BBC of late. I won’t rehearse here all that I’ve said on several media outlets over the last fortnight. But the BBC’s current situation does provide lessons for other institutions losing trust and whose leaders are struggling to regain it. My fundamental point – whether it’s the BBC or any universal service-provider found wanting by some people we exist to serve and/or whose support we rely on to survive and thrive – is that we can’t be ‘the solution’ if we don’t acknowledge and address ‘the problem’ we’ve helped to create that’s pushing those people away. (For more on this, see my Telegraph article of 14th November – pasted below.)
Who’s in charge? 🧑✈️
Like most people, I love great customer service: a smile, impressive efficiency, or going the extra mile can make a big difference to how I feel about a business or service. But never mind the extras, if service doesn’t meet basic standards and can’t be relied upon to deliver in line with reasonable expectations, its effect on people’s trust is real. This can be recovered if ‘putting it right’ is done well. But the problem gets worse if it isn’t. And becomes really serious if – as the customer – the human being you finally reach is powerless to help and does nothing but explain why they can’t.
I suspect ‘Who’s in charge?’ will become a regular theme of this newsletter. The lack of staff within easy reach of the customer who have the authority or discretion to exercise judgement and make decisions on small matters that make a big difference is an underlying cause of a lot of angst. I’ll keep my eye out for examples to help illustrate how damaging this is and where or how a bad experience could be remedied. And do share any examples of your own.
Tips and Recommendations: 📺 👩💻🎧
Website to visit: 👩💻
“Going Viral” – Socially Speaking is worth a look if you want to learn how ‘going viral’ works – though it’s the business founder’s understanding of audiences and communication strategies that really interested me. In her mid-20s, Vicky Owens has had phenomenal success and acquired some impressive clients. She’s also just won a “Super Speaker Showcase” event organised by Michelle Mills-Porter (which is how I heard of her), so is clearly making an impact.
Podcast to listen: 🎧
“Rahm Emanuel on ‘Honestly’, talking to Bari Weiss” – the former mayor of Chicago, and chief of staff to President Obama is lining himself up to run for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. In this pod, he seeks to explain Trump’s electoral success and why people voted for him without validating him; where the Democrats went wrong without apologising for the errors; and focus on the future without litigating the past. I’m not sure he does enough to illustrate the part Democrats have played in creating the problem to make him a viable solution in the eyes of American voters, but it’s an interesting listen nonetheless.
Speech to watch: 🎤📺
“A.A. Gill @ 5×15 – The meaning of food” – I have Ian Leslie to thank (via his ‘The Ruffian Substack) for leading me to this speech by the late A.A. Gill. As part of developing my own skills as a keynote speaker, I watch a lot of other people’s speeches, and this one is fascinating in its style and skill.
Drama to enjoy: 🎭 📺
“Task” – on Sky Atlantic. I really enjoyed this crime-drama starring Mark Ruffalo, created by Brad Ingelsby (who also brought us Mare of Easttown, the one starring Kate Winslet). No particular reason for highlighting, except that it’s a great watch!
Thanks again for reading. I’ll post this on LinkedIn too – and look forward to your comments there, or if you sign-up to receive the newsletter straight to your inbox, you can reply directly by email. But if you’re reading on LinkedIn, do sign up for the newsletter HERE (just scroll down to the bottom of the page), because then you can be sure it will arrive direct into your inbox. And by the time I distribute Newsletter No.2, I’ll fix it so that the email sender shows as me in your inbox, rather than the anonymous ‘info’ (sorry – just haven’t been able to find how to do that…).
Best wishes,
Tina
