Where are your business jewels?

It's said that a good quality watch will contain at least 17 jewels - this is considered 'fully jewelled'.

In mechanically wound watches the concept of adding jewels within the watch was first seen in the early 1700’s, but due to the expense of including ‘real’ jewels, the practice didn’t become common into the early 20th century when synthetic jewels were more readily available.

The fully jewelled watch will contain 17 jewels which are spread in several areas from the balance wheel and all the way to the center wheel pivot. Other watch movements have additional jewels to reduce positional errors. Modern watches with their automatic self-winding mechanisms will typically have 25-27 jewels.

What are watch jewels for?

These jewels are hardly for decoration - indeed, they're many areactually hidden away from view deep inside the mechanism of the watch.

So, if these jewels aren't designed for admiration then what is their purpose?

They're important for a number of reasons:

• They reduce friction in the mechanical parts of the watch and keep things running smoothly.

• They increases durability/longevity of an expensive, quality timepiece

• The protects the watch from damage and external shocks such as knocks and drops

To put it simply, watch jewels function as aids to reduce friction in the watch movement so that it works smoothly and may even preserve lifespan.

Where are the jewels in your business?

This is a business blog where we talk business… so what's all the fuss about jewels and watches? I want to draw a parallel between watch jewels - which are designed to reduce friction, increases durability and protects from external shock - and the parts of a business which perform a similar function.

What are the internal parts of an organisation that help to reduce friction and to protect from external knocks and shocks?

Here's my list:

1) Strong Internal Comms

An organisation with a strong understanding and application of internal comms will find that these specialists can help to reduce the friction between teams. They bring focus on the business strategy and help to bring alignment so that employees are working towards the same goal. A good internal comms business partner can help teams to work together and bring understanding. And finally, strong internal comms can help to steer a company through crisis.

I could be biased here, but I suspect that IC is the underpinning for many of the other jewels in my list.

2) Line Manager Training

In the world of Internal Comms, the line manager conundrum is often raised. How do we help line managers to become effective communicators?

More widely though, what is the training that we give when someone steps into management for the first time? There's a vast difference between being a 'worker' responsible for delivering a widget and a manager who is responsible for helping others to do the work. It's a different skillset and yet, so often we expect someone to become a good manager simply because they have a job title.

A good line manager sets the tone for the team and they translate company culture. They protect the team from friction, and help to keep the team moving forwards.

3) Data protocols and training (GDPR)

In a modern world, we simply cannot afford overlook how we use data. Getting it wrong can have severe impact - to our repuation, to our finances. Having strong understanding of data-use filtered throughout the business, and ensuring that every person who uses data has an understanding of why it's important to manage data correctly can protect the business from data breaches and penalties.

4) Strong finance protocols

Similar to data protocols, finance protocols can reduce exposure to fraud and risk. A small financial problem caught early by the flags of a strong protocol can avert many a crisis.

(I should point out here that Internal communicators can help to reduce friction around tricky finance people helping other teams to understand why protocols are important.)

5) Visible and connected leadership

One of the principles of 'The Toyota way' is to go and see. I like this because it means that leadership is connected and visible. Similarly, the practice of MBWA - management by wandering around - brings connection between management and the frontline. When a company is facing a crisis, relationship with management comes to the fore. When we have relationship with someone, we are more likely to trust them. Building trust takes time, and it means being present, visible and connected.

6) Mentorship

When we cultivate the next generation, we strenghten the future of our business. We are also transferring the culture of our business to an individual. I believe we should give with an open hand without expection of return and that when we do this, we will reap the benefits. Yes, we may lose our talent to other businesses of course, but the risk of not investing in our up and coming managers is much greater than the cost of promoting unprepared and untrained people to leadership where they have an unsavoury influence over others.

In conclusion, within every business there are functions which are designed to reduce internal friction, to increase the longevity of a business and to protect from external shock. I've outlined some thoughts about what those 'business jewels' could be.

Do you agree - what other jewels would you add? And, what do you think should be the minimum jewel count for a good business?

(I suspect there’s probably a book in this somewhere - “How to build a 10 jewel business”.?)

Get in touch if you need help to build your Internal Comms jewel.

Cover image by Silke from Pixabay