In my post, Isn't the Corporate Library due for Disruption, I emphasized on the makeover of Corporate Library and how it can help the Company achieve its goals.
In this post, I will go a step further and talk about what literature should be a part of the Library. To appreciate the link of literature with the success of the company, we have to look at the mental make-up of the basic resource of company i.e the manpower. Let's start...
The Perception problem
Enterprises are driven by people and people are driven by their perceptions (the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted).
A company will be successful if it delivers on its promises. If it's agile enough to adapt to market conditions. If it's bold enough to take risks. And the manpower of the company is working hard to transform the "if" into "is". i.e the company keeps its promises, the company is agile and the company takes risks. This transformation is dependent on the culture (the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society) of the company. And culture and perceptions are interlinked.
So, for the success of the company, it is inevitable to ensure that the culture and people perceptions are aligned with the company mission.
The gaps in Employee communication process
The corporates have known this fact for long. And so the companies do spend effort in aligning people perceptions through induction programs, through training, through mission statements, through the frequent messages from the leadership team, through newsletters and blogs.
The key challenge of this approach is that the employees do not have control on the frequency and content of the message.
Typically, the newsletters and blogs of leaders are one way. They talk about what they want and employees are expected to follow.
Every employee has his own perceptions based on the experiences he has had. For an individual, it is impossible to experience everything. Hence he might not be able to relate to the message from the leadership team. And so the purpose of communication from leadership is not fully served.
So how do we fill this gap? How does a company build the perceptions aligned to its vision?
This is where the corporate library and the books come into the picture.
How do books help change the perceptions?
One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.
Books are treasures of others experiences, others thought process. Books let you experience things beyond the boundaries of physical boundaries of location and time. If you want to understand the challenges of climbing Mount Everest, the second best way to do is to read a book written by a climber. Of course, the first option is to try climbing.
Align perceptions to company mission through Company literature
The Company literature is basically a collection of books that every employee is encouraged to read.
The collection of Company literature is composed of
the books the leaders are reading,
the books that have inspired the leaders,
The books that the leaders want to read
With the company literature, the communication channel between the leaders and the employees with a context set by the books. It opens up discussion threads between leaders and the employees about the content of the book. Connections among the readers are established which otherwise wouldn't have been possible due to different skills or projects.
Do share your feedback about Corporate literature. Do you see a value in this approach? As always, comments are most welcome.
References
Quote courtesy - http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/books
Research links on Culture and perception - http://cognitionandculture.net/blog/simons-blog/culture-and-perception
