Talking about transparency

I WAS interviewed for 45 minutes last Friday by well-known communications consultant Shel Holz for a book he is co-authoring on the topic of “practical transparency.”

Shel is one of the thought leaders on the topic of communications and technology. He has written and spoken about it extensively over the years, in various books, reports, a podcast series and on his blog.

I’m embedding a replay of the interview below or you can listen to it on the BlogTalkRadio website.

During the interview, I covered a lot of different topics, from blogs to news releases to transcripts of conference calls to corporate access departments at sell-side firms. I mentioned a number of different companies, including General Electric Co., Siemens AG, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Exxon Mobil, Berkshire Hathaway and Expeditors International.

I made the point several times that, for me, the root of transparency is empathy. Transparent companies are those that understand their audiences, who are able to relate to the people they are talking to because they are good listeners.

Shel asked what the risks are for companies that lack transparency and I mentioned two things — misaligned expectations between management and investors, and a lack of a “license to operate,” which I think is a major risk for multinational corporations, particularly those in industries sensitive to public sentiment.

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