Rule 1. “If you don’t like what is being said then change the conversation”
In business we sometimes need to change the conversation to be truly heard. Like it or not, in some boardrooms or workplaces the word ‘safety’ provokes negative reaction which makes selling it difficult. If using the word ‘safety’ throws up roadblocks, don’t use it in conversation! Next time in the boardroom try something like “This strategy will improve our profit through sustainable production". Don would tip his glass.
Rule 2. "People tell you who they are, but we ignore it because we want them to be who WE want them to be”
Don understood that you must put the customer needs first, which logically meant understanding their needs & challenges prior to going to market. Unfortunately, in business or safety we are guilty of doing it ass about face by developing strategies in the boardroom without the consultation of those doing the work. Any safety plan must be co-designed with those doing the work. This requires you to listen and learn from the workers, without any preconceived ideas of how to fix it. So, do as Don does: Know Your Market!
Rule 3. “Advertising is based on one thing, Emotion”
Time and time again, Don sells through emotion rather than facts and figures. In H&S we rely on facts and figures to sell safety. “78% people have back injuries from manual handling”. They are ineffective and don’t stick in our minds.
Stories create 'sticky' memories by attaching emotions to things that happen. Research has shown that your audiences are more likely to engage with and adopt messages that make them feel personally involved by triggering an emotional response. We can still use facts and figures, but as support to personal stories
Rule 4. “Make it Simple but Significant”
Significant: Identify the biggest risk in your workplace which is effecting your safety performance, the 80/20 Rule is a great methodology for this.
Make It Simple: When rolling out change to the workers, David Ogilvy, the father of advertising sums up the key requirements perfectly when he wrote
“I don’t know the rules of grammar…If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think”
For more insight please watch Mad Men or alternatively follow K4 Consultancy Ltd