Product Description

While exposing the risks inherent in maintaining a nontransparent relationship with customers, Tactical Transparency provides a methodology that will help your organization create its unique plan to bring greater authenticity to your company and your brands. Drawn largely from interviews with leaders in companies that have achieved measurable success in this arena, authors Shel Holtz and John C. Havens provide step–by–step details on how executives and professional communicators can create a transparency strategy that will keep their organization competitive in the twenty–first century. The authors show how organizations can evaluate their readiness for transparency, what they need to do to get ready, and how to effectively communicate their transparency strategy to their customers and employees. They also identify aspects of blog/new media "netiquette" an important but often misunderstood part of engaging in transparency.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #594005 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

From the Inside Flap

tactical transparency

Organizations are under a microscope as never before, and thanks to the Internet and the growing use of high–speed connections, word of misdeeds and mistakes can spread to millions with unprecedented speed, causing untold damage to an organization′s reputation and share price. No longer just a "nice–to–know" concept, transparency has become a state of mind for thousands of CEOs, managers, employees, and customers around the globe. The flood of social media has brought in an age of digital transparency that is?putting the power to create or destroy a reputation into the hands of consumers. Every business today must speak the language and meet the expectations of a new digital population.

While exposing the risks inherent in maintaining a nontransparent relationship with customers, Tactical Transparency provides a methodology that will help organizations create their own unique plans to bring greater authenticity to their companies and brands. Drawn largely from interviews with leaders in companies that have achieved measurable success in this arena, authors Shel Holtz and John C. Havens provide step–by–step details on how executives and professional communicators can create a transparency strategy that will keep their organizations competitive in the twenty–first century. The authors show how organizations can evaluate their readiness for transparency, what they need to do to get ready, and how?to effectively communicate their transparency strategy to their customers and employees. They also identify aspects of blog/new media "netiquette"—an important but often misunderstood part of engaging in transparency.

From the Back Cover
Praise for Tactical Transparency

"I think this book spells out this new form of online communication in an extremely clear and valuable way. It drives home the point that social networking and blogging are only as useful and effective as the energy you put forth. As CEO, if you are sincere in your belief that the consumer of today deserves an opportunity to be heard, and you believe in your mission and direction for the company you lead, then this kind of communication is appropriate and necessary for future success!"
—Cindi Bigelow, president, Bigelow Tea

"Being better engaged with the marketplace than your competition is an advantage; transparency and authenticity are vital to that engagement. Engaging in an authentic conversation with the markets you serve brings nothing but opportunity."
—Jonathan Schwartz, CEO and president, Sun Microsystems

"Social media is transforming our culture. Smart companies value social media as a cultural pathway to creating more trustworthy relationships with customers. Holtz and Havens have crafted an impressive blueprint on how to be successful in this new age."
—Jackie Huba, coauthor, Citizen Marketers and Creating Customer Evangelists

"Using effective scenarios and real examples, this book will help corporate leaders visualize and practically achieve the positive results coming from embracing authenticity in communicating to customers, partners, and internal employees."
—Paolo Tosolini, new media business manager, Microsoft Corp.

"In a world of transparency, consumers cut through the bull, the fluff, the noise, and the decoys to see what′s really at the unvarnished core. This excellent book—written by two experts who have never taken off their own transparency goggles—is part warning shot and part blueprint for the future."
—Pete Blackshaw, EVP, Nielsen Online, and author, Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000

About the Author
Shel Holtz, an accredited business communicator, is a principal of Holtz Communication + Technology. His clients have included Intel, Sears, PepsiCo, Aetna, John Deere, General Mills, USAA, Applied Materials, Symantec, Raytheon, World Bank, Petrobras, Disney, FedEx, Freescale Semiconductor, and more. He is the author of five communication–related books.

John C. Havens is vice president of business development for BlogTalkRadio.com. His About.com Guide to Podcasting show has featured interviews with hundreds of new media′s leading minds. Previously, he was a professional actor, appearing in such films and TV shows as The Thomas Crown Affair, Law & Order, and Spin City.

Customer Reviews

Insightful look at social media and transparency in business
Shel Holtz and John C. Havens have tremendous experience with a range of social media, and both this experience and their zest for its possibilities come through clearly. This lively, timely book's core message is simple: In the digital age, transparency is a requirement, not a choice, and so business leaders must decide how to manage it. Your choices are complex, and fraught with emotion and risk. Transparency issues concerning openness and how much data to divulge often unfold in real time, so business readers need every bit of the guidance and preparation the authors provide. Holtz and Havens acknowledge that some of their specific suggestions will become dated quickly; however, their general principles and case studies will be useful for quite some time. (Actually, more pertinent than the fear that their pointers will become dated is the concern that the authors are overly enthusiastic about their topic.) getAbstract recommends this to readers interested in social media, and to leaders trying to shape a communication strategy in today's shifting landscape.

A lesson for senior management
As a fan of Shel Holtz work and understanding of the significance of the internet and how it affects modern management, my expectations were high. At last, I have read the book and can only say that this is a seminal work for management schools and should change their approach to management studies.
Transparency affects the way markets work and when it is not well managed we end up with Credit crunches and dot.com bubbles bursting.
For this reason, the book is an absolute must if we want businesses to survive and economies to flourish.