Listen like a global business leader - Karen Borg outlines who to listen across cultures, countries and companies

Mar 20, 2018

Most organizations, which are groups of people led by someone, are poor at listening. But the tone at the top drives it all. As a leader, if you don’t listen to both verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as proactively engage others, then your approach or method of listening will not cascade through your organization and down to customers. Create a connection that is powerful and deep. Karen Borg is a commercial businessperson who discusses the role of market research in commercial organizations and how money is wasted by repeating research and ignoring what customers are saying.

Karen brings many different perspectives on how to listen to different opinions to reach a great outcome. What are the roles involved with listening? As a result, you may have to change what you are saying.

While in boarding school in Germany, teachers taught Karen about listening. In the German language, there is a formal and informal use of “you.” The language and the culture is more of a formal way of communicating. Therefore, listening is predicated on whether you are being addressed formally or informally.

Concessions are made for people who have not grown up in such a culture. But you should consider certain things when interacting with someone from another culture. Such as, appreciate any effort someone has made to understand your culture. If they don’t put forth effort, then others may view their engagement style as insulting and inappropriate. Karen describes the importance of appreciating and respecting different cultures and demonstrating that you want to learn more.

Tune in to Learn

• Karen describes the difference in commerce cultures in the East and elsewhere, such as whether to shake hands or not.
• In Japan, Karen went to a supermarket and thought she bought some kind of dried fish. She shared it with others, which made meetings with them much easier because they had shared something together.
• Karen attended boarding school in Germany, in a culture where she knew nothing about it. She was very much a foreigner. Eventually, she could listen to others who were speaking German and understand everything they were saying. Her experience in Germany, though, helped her to become independent and adaptable.
• Karen was born in Australia, and eventually moved back there. When she returned to Australia, she discovered how much more informal and acknowledging teachers were in schools.
• Karen moved from academic learning into commerce, which took her to some amazing far and away places. She wanted to experience the intersection of commerce and creativity, so she first got into advertising.
• Business is about the delivery of outcomes. Ultimately, you have to deliver results. Customers, shareholders, and others expect that.
• Briefing Process: To write a good brief is an art. Language, when well used, can tell a very clear story about the objective you are trying to achieve. When briefs are done poorly, the outcomes can be diabolical. People are not well-trained in how to articulate their thoughts and structure briefs.
• A common element across all great briefs is when you start out with the end in sight - what you are trying to achieve. Develop the structure of the objective first, and then fill around it.
• Karen decided to move away from advertising to become a client instead, where she could experience owning everything - from making decisions to handling budgets. She went to a chocolate company to learn how to build and maintain a business.
• Money is often wasted on market research. Hear what the customer said and do what the customer asked. Customers are usually emotionally attached to specific brands and products. Determine whether research results have changed or not and how people view the packaging and products - do they find them tiring or not. It’s the trusted and the loved that keeps customers coming back.
• Nobody has bad memories, only good, about confectionary - sunny times and good feelings.
• Karen shares an experience with a dissatisfied customer in a hospital in Japan about a sterilization product and a lightbulb malfunctioning in it. In Japanese culture, a product must work the same way, every time. When it does not work the way it should, a customer’s anger becomes intense. In response, Karen was sincere, apologized, and expressed that she would try to solve the problem. She listened to the customer and acknowledged their frustration. It comes down to cultural norms.
• Organizations are typically poor at listening and engaging others, and that approach comes from the top. The leader of an organization setting up metrics around customers and their needs that need to be followed, measured, and responded to quickly via dialogue.  
• Leaders are listeners who consider what others say and offer support. Trust that the other person has heard you and is willing to respond in some way. Judge by action, not words.
• Set up an engagement model that works for everyone. Acknowledge that something needs to be addressed, but not calling it out or identifying the “elephant in the room.” So that in ends positively and resolves issues.

Links and Resources:

Karen Borg

Rowntree Hoadley Factory; Nestlé

Haribo Gummy Bears

Volkswagen

Mars and Coke

Johnson & Johnson

Quotes:

“By opening yourself up and demonstrating you want to learn more, people want to share more.” - Karen Borg

“It’s an art to say just enough, not too much, not too little.” - Karen Borg

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