Work (damn it!) prevented me from listening to and commenting on Bob Lutz's first Fastlane Podcast, which appeared last Thursday. We'll fix that right now. (Isn't the photo a hoot! Damn, these big company PR machines are good!!)
Lutz was interviewed by a fellow who competently took him through about 15 minutes of OK car stuff before getting to the heart of the matter (at least for us bloggers): "why did you start to blog?" Lutz's answers demonstrated two things: 1) he's really enjoyed blogging, and, 2) the power of podcasts to capture personality.
Lutz cited two main reasons for blogging. First, he wanted to open a channel on which he could get unfiltered feedback. Listen:
If you get feedback through the corporate organization, obviously it's going to be somewhat filtered out. Because, obviously, nobody likes to say, "well, we got ten emails today from people who absolutely hate the cars and think you're a total idiot." Nobody's going to bring in that stack of emails.
But, if you blog, you're going to get a certain percentage of those.
[Snip]
And I like those; I just love getting the direct, unfiltered feedback.
Second, Lutz says he started blogging because, "On the other hand, I love radiating my personal opinion." OK, shrink mode: on. Who else do you know who actually speaks about "radiating" his/her own opinions? Thought so. Lesson: many (most? all?) successful senior executives sport competence-based large egos. Now, combine that with the willingness to hear/listen to unfiltered feedback and maybe you can surmise that this large ego might actually be strong/healthy, instead of weak/inadequate. Alright, shrink mode: off.
Bob then goes on to say that one of the major frustrations in his career has been that, "the media has a voice, and you don't." Well, with blogging, now he does. The blog both both helps him effectively "set the record straight" on factual matters (like the number of cars that actually have rear wheel drum brakes), and makes him feel better for having expressed (sorry, radiated!) his opinions.
The interviewer then asked Lutz, "who's the audience for your blog?" Without hesitation he said, "other bloggers and the media." Bloggers influence others, he says, so getting them to pay attention is a good way to spread the word about GM's products. As for the media, it both gives them a way to see how "we react to them," and announces to them that commication is, "not a one-way street anymore."
That was it. Short, to the point, smart, authentic, credible. Just like the blog's been.
In ten years, anybody who cares to look at the history of corporate communication will look back at Bob Lutz's use of the new direct-to-world methods as a significant milestone. It'd be even more impressive if GM were to succeed by consistently using Lutz's design principles.
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