One of the key benefits of social media is that your messages can reach more people faster.

But this also means that your mistakes can too.

Whether you accidentally tweet an insensitive message or a customer posts a disparaging video about your product, don’t panic.

The key is to leverage the misstep to your advantage. The same medium that made your mistake wildly visible can help broadcast your apology.

If you face negative publicity in new media, there is zero chance of turning it around with old media techniques.

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Today’s leaders are confronted with a world that is in transformation:

• With new economies that are emerging
• With markets that are rapidly changing
• With new technologies that generate new products, services, communication means
• With revolutionary changes in connectivity (between societies, market places, companies, and people).

All of it has a strong impact on companies and their leaders. But many companies and leaders struggle with this reality. Whether they are involved in mergers and acquisitions, or in global expansion and are coping with other cultural behaviors, rules and values. Whether they are dealing with customers that are becoming much more informed, aware and demanding with respect to topics like customer service, quality, corporate responsibility and sustainability. Whether they are confronted with new generations of talented employees that have totally different views on job, workplace, and work/life balance.

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The best-performing companies know that an employee engagement improvement strategy linked to the achievement of corporate goals will help them win in the marketplace.

But if managers want to build high-performing organizations, they need to address culture change.

High-performance organizations do not take their culture for granted. They plan it, monitor it and manage it so that it remains aligned with they want to achieve. Do remember the famous words of Peter Drucker: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast“.

A lack of employee engagement is fatal says Geoffrey Moore, venture partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures and author of “Escape Velocity.” He spoke at a Churchill Club event called Igniting Innovation and Mastering Change:

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Many corporate communication plans fail to convey something fundamental to a company’s operations: its values. This is a missed opportunity to influence and energize employees. Here are three ways to communicate values in a meaningful way:

• Establish values across the company – If everyone doesn’t feel ownership over them, the values lose meaning quickly
• Ask employees to help – Seek their input on how well the company is living up to its values. Involve them in keeping the company accountable
• Live your values – Actions speak louder than words. Be mindful of the values in every decision you make and use them to explain your motivations.

Storytelling can be a powerful tool when you want to communicate your company’s values. Internally, storytelling is what motivates and engages your employees, and helps them to buy in to the values of your company.

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