When it comes to creating policy, most companies share a philosophy made famous by Ron Popeil, inventor and infomercial marketer of many products, including the Showtime Rotisserie about which he said: “Set it, and forget it!”
But in an age where every company is looking for a competitive edge and striving to use the rapid technological advancements coming to light each and every day, I would submit to you that “set it and forget it” is simply not a rational approach.
There is no reason policy should lag behind product development in keeping up with the times.
Here are three things that were probably not on your company’s radar screen the last time you looked at operations and contracts with a critical eye:
- IT policies that restrict access to your company’s most valuable information, taking into account flash drives, mobile devices and administrative privileges.
- Rational guidance and an ongoing dialogue with managers and employees on the responsible use of social media, on company and on personal sites, to insulate the company from risk and preserve the company’s goodwill.
- A culture and habit of procuring customer testimonials in order to showcase your business in the variety of forums and media available, from recommendations on LinkedIn to short videos for use on both your website and your YouTube channel.
Given the increased connectivity brought on by social media and virtual networks, each of these becomes more essential daily.
Key Takeaway: Management’s failure to look inward while striving to enable the outward-facing facets of the business to keep pace, can prove to be a critical, and even fatal, mistake.