It’s a much scarier thought for me than it is for Jenna Fischer
I was reading the most current issue of Wired the other day and was struck by something they called “radical transparency” — the notion of being totally open and honest with your customers as a way of inspiring loyalty. (It is very much an extension of the kind of bottom-up hierarchy that I discovered in the books Out of Control and The Cluetrain Manifesto, both of which I wrote about a good two years ago.)
As an example of the idea, they used a guy who started an online real estate business called Redfin whose model was to cut costs by operating largely virtually and passing those savings on to customers in the form of refunds of large portions of the commissions generally paid to real estate agents. Said agents, to be kind, were less than pleased. They started boycotting the new company by refusing to sell to a buyer who was using them, which put a big crimp in the new company’s plans.
Existential Angst, Corporate Style
But the CEO took a huge leap of faith, and instead of trying to cut a backroom deal or hide his company’s problems (and they were close to going under), he started blogging about the business and revealing all of the things most real estate agents would prefer to keep quiet. He even took shots at himself when he sat at a jobfair all day and had not a single student even stop at his booth. What resulted was not as simple as a “Voila! Everything is better now” deal, but things did begin to improve. By the beginning of this year, Redfin n had gone from struggling to close any deals to closing several deals a day for clients who came to them because of this “radical transparency.”
It is a trend that is starting to get legs, and an increasing number of large companies have gone from issuing press releases that have been approved by five levels of management to allowing — and even encouraging — its employees to post uncensored text and even video discussing projects they are working on and all kinds of other things. Southwest Airlines has an online “water cooler” where 30 employees from up and down the org chart post regularly about their jobs and their personal lives.
Shedding Light on Audio
These are all good ideas, especially since — let’s face it — if there’s an industry that needs some transparency, pro audio is it.
As many of you have already seen, we have recently done a full-on revamping of the www.fohonline.com Web site, including a few regular blogs that readers can comment on. We also need to recruit you for a couple things we’re starting — our own versions of some great stuff I have seen others doing online. (I may not be very original, but I know a good idea when I see it. Other pro audio mags have borrowed stuff from us, and I hope they will continue to if they find something worthwhile that they can put their own spin on. I figure that makes it OK for me to do likewise.)
The first is our own version of that online water cooler called “In the Back of the Bus.” I am looking to recruit a dozen or so live audio pros as volunteers (as in you don’t get paid) to post once a week about the business and whatever else is on their minds. This is open to anyone working in the biz — from a lowly stagehand to a soundco owner to an engineer or exec working for a manufacturer. The only people not eligible are PR types (both internal and freelance) working in any capacity in the pro audio business.
The catch is that you can’t use this area to shamelessly plug your own products or services. This is a place for FOH readers to hang out and dish about the biz and life in general. (By the way, if you do go down the self-promotion road, we will kill the post. Do it twice and we’ll ask you not to return, either to post or to comment. And if we find anyone using a ringer — a PR type operating under another name — we will not only drop them, but we will out the company that pulled the stunt. Just full disclosure.)
Somewhere, a place for us. . .
On the other hand, we are creating a space where we want contributions from the industry. In fact, we need the industry’s support. It’s an idea I am fl at out stealing from someone who I admire a lot. I have been reading Craig Anderton’s stuff since I was a teenager and was fortunate enough to get to know him a little at another company. In fact, FOH columnist Mark Amundson was introduced to me by Craig.
I recently discovered something Craig is doing on Harmony Central called “Pro Reviews,” which are basically product reviews done as a kind of forum. Craig takes a piece of gear and starts to write about it a little at a time as he uses it and learns more about it. As he does so, readers pop in with questions and comments. That’s where we need you, and here’s where the industry comes in: In these reviews, manufacturers even chime in with explanations and clarifications on features and operation. It is — hands down — the most useful format I have ever seen for product reviews. And we are taking the concept to the live event audio world. This one is going to take some time to get off the ground, so it may not be up and going by the time you read this, but we are working on it and will have it soon.
Let’s be very clear here (oh, that was a bad pun), the whole idea of secrecy these days is kind of a joke. A few months back FOH broke some news that one company had wished we had not found out. But we got internal memos forwarded to us within 15 minutes of them being issued.
This is a huge shift not just in business, but in the overall culture of things. These additions are just an extension of the FOH commitment to really telling our readers what is happening in the business. While disrobed sound guys may not be the most attractive idea around, the idea of an unclothed business environment and transparent communication is very attractive. It’s time to get naked.
Better transparency through bevans@fohonline.com.
