Sometimes Uncle Sam sounds like he has marbles in his mouth.
Read, if you can, the accompanying excerpt from an Education Department regulation, which was printed in Wednesday’s Federal Register. This one sentence has more than 220 words, nearly the equivalent of a typed page, double-spaced. It’s typical of impenetrable fedspeak that produces more indigestion than information.
Click here to read the full article.
By Dona Wong
Strategy Director, Simplification
In today’s data-driven world, we are constantly bombarded by graphics—charts, maps, stock indexes, and PowerPoint presentations—that try to convey valuable information. Whether we are in business, marketing, medicine, or law, we need to know how to read and interpret this onslaught of graphics, as well as how to express ourselves in the language of graphics eloquently and effectively.
Today, project plans, budget illustrations, and progress reports are vital tools we use to communicate across the board and persuade decision makers. And with computer technology, anyone can create graphics. However, technology doesn’t stop us from making bad graphics. It can’t answer such essential questions as:
+ What material is worth putting into a chart?
+ What kind of chart should we use to present the data?
+ How can we organize the data and optimize the medium to convey our message best?
Examples of confusing, misleading, and ineffective graphics are everywhere, which doesn’t surprise me. Unlike, say, grammar, the subject of information graphics isn’t taught in schools, nor is it the focus of on-the-job-training, leaving professionals in every industry scrambling to express themselves graphically. It is painfully obvious. I have made it my business to note good and bad graphics in publications, annual reports, presentations and even street signage.
Generally bad charts fall into two categories. This first category consists of charts that don’t even have the basics down, and for example use the wrong scale, an invalid data set, or a bad color scheme. This is somewhat expected since the majority of charts in presentations are done by professionals who are not information designers. The other category of bad charts is the elaborate, highly designed graphics that turn out incomprehensible and esoteric. These are the worst offenders because these graphics are just a self-indulgent exercise by “professional” information designers. They have no value to the reader. They completely miss the main objective of graphics, which is to communicate a message.
Content is what ultimately makes graphics interesting. When a graphical piece of information is done right, you can’t tell that there is “design” behind it. When you strike an equilibrium between substance and design in a graphic, information just flows to the viewer in the clearest and most efficient way.
At the Center for Plain Language Symposium in Washington D.C. on October 30, I’ll be introducing these concepts to a group of business and government professionals with an interest in simplified communications.
The bottom line is, once you connect with your audience, you can start to have influence!
New York, NY – October 27, 2009 – More than 500 friends, alumni, current employees, and clients turned out to celebrate Siegel+Gale’s 40th Anniversary on Saturday, October 17 at the New York Public Library’s Astor Hall.
A highlight of the evening was the presentation by Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting, of Mayor Bloomberg’s official proclamation marking Friday, October 16, 2009 as “Siegel+Gale Day in the City of New York.” The honor was accepted by Siegel+Gale’s founder and CEO Alan Siegel, accompanied by Siegel+Gale’s Co-Presidents David Srere and Howard Belk.
During the festivities Mr. Belk commented on the past as well as the future direction of the venerable branding firm:
“What’s ahead for Siegel+Gale? Where will we be after the next 40 years? Tough question. But I am certain of this – Siegel+Gale will remain a champion for clarity and intelligence. This firm has weathered bulls and bears, bubbles and bursts, insurrections and rebellions, and it will continue to do so. Our central premise, ‘Simple is Smart,’ is made of extremely durable stuff.”
Pro Bono Publico Award Given for Rebranding The Society “Making the Case for Humanity
New York – October 26, 2009 – Tonight, Alan Siegel, Founder and CEO of pioneering strategic brand consultancy Siegel+Gale, will receive a Pro Bono Publico Award from The Legal Aid Society. The Honorable Jonathan Lippman, Chief Justice of the State of New York, will be presiding over the October 26, 2009 event, which honors law firms and individuals for public service.
Mr. Siegel is being recognized for his pro bono services in the rebranding of The Legal Aid Society, “Making the Case for Humanity,” which was http://www.legal-aid.org/en/mediaandpublicinformation/inthenews/thelegalaidsocietygetsanewlook.aspx unveiled in May, 2009 on the organization’s Website.
“Alan Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale, was the prime mover in the creation of the rebrand of The Legal Aid Society,” said the Society in making the award. “He was an integral part of the team he established to refine the Society’s message about the essential client services provided in the City of New York by The Legal Aid Society in its three Practice Areas and the unique role the Society plays in the social fabric of New York City.”
The Legal Aid Society, founded in 1876, is the oldest and largest not-for-profit organization in the United States providing free legal services for clients who cannot afford to pay for counsel.
In unveiling the rebranding and new logo, the Society said, “The message is clear and crisp: The Legal Aid Society is more than a law firm for low income New Yorkers. It is an indispensable component of the legal, social, and economic fabric of New York – passionately advocating for individuals across a variety of civil, criminal, and juvenile rights matters, while also fighting for legal reform. No other organization in New York City or in the country takes on more cases for more clients than The Legal Aid Society and brings a depth and breadth of perspective from its experienced, capable staff that is unmatched in the legal profession.”
About Alan Siegel
A pioneer of the branding industry and founder of brand strategy firm Siegel+Gale, Alan Siegel is also a well-known photographer (“One Man’s Eye: Photographs from the Alan Siegel Collection,” Harry N. Abrams), and author (“The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Markets,” Lightbulb Press). As consultant, teacher, and commentator, Mr. Siegel’s influence extends to creating strategic branding programs for organizations such as 3M, American Express, AARP, the National Basketball Association, Caterpillar, The Girl Scouts, The New School, and CBS. He also serves on the boards of numerous business and cultural organizations, including the Museum of Arts and Design, American Institute of Graphic Arts, Design Management Institute, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Girls Inc., the Authors Guild Foundation, and the American Theater Wing, where he is a TONY Awards voter.
“Wings of Hope” for Individuals “Rising Above Addiction”
New York, New York – October 22, 2009 – Siegel+Gale, one of the world’s premier strategic branding companies, has completed a brand revitalization project for Phoenix House, one of the country’s leading non-profit drug and alcohol addiction, prevention, and treatment organizations. The new identity debuted on the Website www.phoenixhouse.org on October 21. Siegel+Gale designed a new “Wings of Hope” logo to depict the Phoenix House mission, “Rising Above Addiction.” The logo was unveiled at the A&E Recovery Rally in New York on September 12.
“The new Phoenix House visual identity sends a message that is both aspirational and real,” says Alan Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale, which did the visual identity design on a pro bono basis. “It showcases the Phoenix House values of compassion, commitment, optimism, expertise, and collaboration.”
“We are doing difficult and important work helping individuals recover and remove the stigma of addiction,” says Howard Meitiner, President and CEO of Phoenix House. “Siegel+Gale’s beautiful design and their grounding in simplified communications and real language help immeasurably in conveying our message to people who need our help.”
The logo consists of three components: “Wings of Hope” highlight strength and responsibility, support, and freedom – the layering of the wings and their warm, positive colors symbolize the compassion and caring that lead to recovery in the Phoenix House community. The Phoenix House name, in Rotis Serif typeface, is the foundation from which the wings take flight above the tagline “Rising Above Addiction.”
“‘Rising Above Addiction’ communicates the essence of Phoenix House in a distinctive and effective way,” says Mr. Siegel. “It fuses values, messaging, and identity to convey the Phoenix House personality, culture, and value proposition.”
The new identity also transforms the Phoenix House Phoenix House Website ( www.phoenixhouse.org), newly rebuilt to encompass the full scope of the organization’s programs in 10 states, and improve access to information and tools for individuals suffering from addiction and their families, former program participants, and the broader addiction community of professionals, researchers, and treatment providers.
Phoenix House serves close to 7,500 men, women (including women with children), and teens each day at more than 150 drug and alcohol treatment prevention programs in 10 states.
New York and Bridgehampton, NY – October 14, 2009 – When Bridgehampton-based real estate brokerage startup Saunders & Associates hired leading global strategic branding consultancy Siegel+Gale a year ago, the goal was to create a brand for the highest level, concierge real estate experience in this internationally known luxury real estate market. The result is “A Higher Form of Realty,” the brand promise that drives every Saunders & Associates branding touchpoint – advertising, online experiences, and new business initiatives.
Now, Saunders & Associates has received the Phoenix Award for “Most Outstanding Brand of 2009” from Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate, the global network of the world’s top 1,500 luxury real estate brokerages.
“Our firm was designed from a blank canvas to provide a higher form of real estate service for customers, clients, and especially the brokers,” says Gary Nolan, Saunders & Associates Director of Brand Fulfillment. “With Siegel+Gale, every internal system and possible brand experience was considered to bring that vision to reality.”
The Website, www.SaundersAssociates.com, is a cinematic, user-friendly, internationally promoted, luxury-minded destination for individuals and other real estate brokers who may be interested in buying or renting Hamptons properties. Brokers are supported with elegantly produced brand-amplifying selling tools – traditional stationery, property signs and maps, as well as a vivid brand brochure and postcard-sized sales and rental booklet published several times a year.
“The key for Saunders was empowering brokers in every way possible,” says Alan Siegel, Founder and CEO of Siegel+Gale. “The real estate sector, particularly in the Hamptons, has been consolidated and corporatized, and brokers have been marginalized as the corporate parents try to cut costs. Saunders & Associates is now a model for best practices in the entire industry.”
If you would like to speak with Alan Siegel, or for more information about Siegel+Gale, please contact Gail Nelson of Siegel+Gale at 212-453-1468 or gnelson@siegelgale.com.
Listen in as Howard Belk joins “Dubai Eye” to discuss how Siegel+Gale works to address “jargon and gobbledygook” in organizations and government. The interview touches on President Obama’s communications regarding the current health care reform, what simplification really is and what it does, as well as a sampling of the work Siegel+Gale is currently working on for the IRS.
“Our mission is to conduct all of our businesses with four key values in mind: respect, integrity, communication, and excellence. All business dealings must be conducted in an environment that is open and fair.”
Does this sound familiar to you? Feel like you’ve read it before? No wonder. It sounds like just about every corporate mission statement (or is it vision statement?) ever written.
I for one have had enough…and not just because I can’t remember, much less explain, the difference between mission and vision. No, what’s got me riled is the flood of generic mission/vision statements that declare an organization’s intent to “be the best at everything” rather than to achieve something specific and meaningful. I’ve read one too many bloated statements that masquerade as powerful motivators for employees, but either fall on deaf ears (ever know of an employee who could tell you what his organization’s mission/vision is?), or even worse, are contradicted by the organization’s actions (the example cited above was from Enron). Finally, I’ve had enough of the business world accepting so little from something that could—and should—do so much more to drive an organization’s success.
It’s time to bury mission/vision and replace it with something better. Something that’s worth more than the paper it’s written on. Something that inspires employees to genuinely believe in, care about, and commit to the organizations whose success depends on them. Something that motivates them to work smarter, to innovate every day, and to constantly seek ways to contribute to the enterprise.
It’s time for a new standard…it’s time for Purpose.
Purpose is a definitive statement of the difference an organization seeks to make in the world. It is a clear, credible, compelling response to a fundamental question: “Why do we do what we do?” Many of the world’s most successful organizations have unified and activated their employees around Purpose, including Toyota (“grow harmoniously and be a contributing member of the world’s local communities”), 3M (“use science-based innovation to solve real-world needs”), BMW (“engineer sheer driving pleasure”), and Google (“organize the world’s information to make it universally accessible and useful”).
Why have great companies like these embraced Purpose? Because it drives their organizations forward. Specifically, organizations like those mentioned above realize that Purpose can inspire and motivate employees, and that turbo-charged employees…who genuinely believe in what the organization is trying to do…will be unstoppable in contributing to the success of the enterprise. This is not hypothesis. This is fact. Numerous quantitative studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between Purpose and business success. It is more than a feel-good statement of corporate responsibility. Purpose is grounded in the realities of the business: how the organization makes money, what makes it competitive, and what truly inspires its people. If it’s powerfully articulated, and brought to life in word and deed in a way that employees understand and believe in, Purpose will drive businesses forward.
You might think “What about salaries, bonuses, and benefits? Isn’t that more than enough motivation for employees?” While these tangible incentives are certainly valuable, they are limited in their ability to create true long-term commitment and motivation. The greater effectiveness of intrinsic motivators like Purpose—that focus on “the desire to do things because they matter, because we like it, because they’re part of something important”—is well documented. (For an enlightening look at the power of intrinsic motivators, go to www.ted.com and watch Dan Pink’s presentation on the subject at the 2009 TED conference). Furthermore, when tangible incentives become less compelling—as they have during the most recent global economic meltdown—enduring motivators like Purpose become even more powerful.
The bottom line on the power of Purpose is this: It’s in our nature to be a part of something that’s not only bigger than ourselves, but that we genuinely believe in. If we can satisfy this intrinsic need in our jobs, we will be happier and more productive…and the organizations we work for will benefit. Purpose is where all this can begin…and business leaders in organizations of all shapes and sizes would be well served to find theirs. But first they ought to bury their mission statement.
Or is it their vision statement?
NEW YORK, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ — Siegel+Gale, one of the world’s premier strategic branding companies, has completed a major rebranding project for Care Support of America, a national family care manager service formerly known as Your Support Nurse. Care Support of America, which is staffed by registered nurses with at least 10 years of experience in eldercare, provides practical guidance and compassionate support to family members coordinating care for their aging parents or spouses — from finding in-home aides, nurses, and equipment for aging safely at home to organizing a parent’s return home from hospitals to understanding doctors’ treatment plans and insurance benefits.
The new Care Support of America identity and “Trusted Guidance as Your Parents Age(TM)” tagline reflect CSA’s national scope and commitment to helping families. A new logo of stylized stars symbolizes the changing relationship of adult children becoming caregivers for their parents, as well as the guidance that Care Support of America offers to its clients.
“Everyone involved in caring for aging parents needs to know about Care Support of America,” says Alan Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale. “CSA has a particular challenge in the eldercare space. We all discover as we begin to become involved in our parents’ care that eldercare is an intricate web of services that are national, regional, statewide, and local; for-profit and non-profit; medical and non-medical; and for the most part well-meaning but also with the potential for elder abuse or fraud.”
Care Support of America is unique. Its approach to family caregiving has been published in respected peer-review and trade publications, and has been proven in clinical research to extend aging at home, improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, and reduce time in nursing homes.
Siegel+Gale redesigned Care Support of America’s robust new Website
(www.caresupportofamerica.com), which launched on October 5 and now includes expanded information, tools, insights, and checklists for family caregivers who are coordinating care, with professional help or on their own.
“Siegel+Gale really understands the Care Support of America brand promise,” says Dan Tobin, M.D., Founder and CEO. “It’s in our DNA at Care Support of America to help our clients solve eldercare problems so that they can focus on spending positive, meaningful, quality time with their aging parents.”
To speak with Alan Siegel, or learn more about Siegel+Gale, please contact Gail Nelson of Siegel+Gale at 212-453-1468 or gnelson@siegelgale.com.