Using your history to communicate the future

Everyday whether it feels like it or not, we make history; a project completed, a relationship over, a new job or a milestone birthday. Often when these events take place we only get a few moments to reflect on how we got there, what the chain of events were that led to that point in time.

Friends are great repositories of our history (well sometimes at least) but even if the details are exaggerated (think wedding speeches) our stories reveal important shared values. For example; we were all there sharing a birthday; respect was shown in a misunderstanding, support was expressed during a break-up.

However, in our working lives tapping into the history of the place that you work may be harder. Do you know how where you work started? Do you only know the stories that come out at the Christmas party? What do they say about the company?

Companies record their histories in numerous accidental ways such as financial records, client experiences and staff sharing tales at the water fountain. However, there are benefits to recording the history of the organisation and many ways of doing it.

The traditional way is to write the history for an upcoming anniversary. This is good if you have the budget but the question begs to be asked, who will actually read it? Compiling a chronological history of the order of events might be informative and a great website filler, but it’s unimaginative. It doesn’t reveal the thinking behind ‘Changed company name: 1968’ or the lessons learnt from ‘Merged with Company X: 1989’.

Finding ways to record the company’s history needs to be relevant to what you do. For example, if your work is project related, can you write case studies? Are there photos labelled and stored in hard copy and electronically? Are they of the work and the people? Do you ask for and collate testimonials? Is there a media file for clippings and advertising? Do you store the staff newsletter and other communication products together? Where are all the awards?

The benefits for having all these things are numerous. The obvious one is to use the material to promote the company’s work via website content, presentation footage etc. However, it is more valuable than that. These artefacts can be strategies to encourage future employees, suppliers and industry colleagues to have a greater understanding of the ‘personalities, values and turning points’* that created the company today.

These artefacts can reveal the core values and aspirations of the company’s foundations and perhaps some things that have been lost along the way. For example, was there a strong team feel? Was being the best or the most creative the most important thing to everyone? Were the relationships based on respect or loyalty? Did humour play a big part? How did people socialise? Who has been influential and what legacy did they leave? How have relationships between founders and managers changed?

New staff enter a process of acculturation; they have to learn the stories, personalities and history to really understand what is going on or ‘how things work around here’, in other terms the culture of the organisation. What better way to communicate these things consistently than with company history?

Further still, the purposeful recording of history helps to keep the essence of the company strong; something very important in riding out tough times.

However, it can also bring commercial gain. ‘A company that documents its history gains significant competitive advantage. Your legacy reminds the world that your business is built on enduring values and that it is here to stay’*. Everyone loves it when a waiter can explain the history of the restaurant or building, a sales person the product and company – it enriches the client’s experience.

So what does your company’s history say about its future?

Does it say, ‘we value excellence in everything we do’, ‘we are here to stay’, ‘we are great at customer service’? Or does it say ‘we react rather than plan’, ‘we need to be better at strategic planning’, ‘we need to be clearer about staff expectations’, ‘we need to get better at OH&S’, ‘managing our reputation is now a priority’ or ‘we need to laugh more’?

Whatever your history says about your future, it is worth listening to. Share the story and see what others think it says; and most importantly act on it – in some cases history repeating itself is not a good thing.

…and always remember to keep friends away from new partners, sometimes our history is better left in the past!

Zadro specialises in creating strategic communications plans. For more details, visit: www.zadroagency.com.au

*http://www.corporatehistory.net/index.html [210307]