It’s funny you would pick the “our people are our most important asset” corporate value as an example. It was the paradox that results from the collision of this and the other tenet, “our customers are always right” that I was thinking about when I said that it was stories that enabled us to deal with paradoxes in a way that rules and policies never would. Given those two values, how is the employee supposed to react and respond when the customer goes off on him or her? Story, as opposed to rules and regulations, is much more likely to provide guidance and inspiration in that scenario.

That’s the point, exactly. If you need a policy to force your people to communicate in the “right” way, I sincerely hope you’re not touting corporate values like “our people are our most important asset”.

It’s always struck me as slightly odd that companies are going through a lot of trouble trying to manage their employees’ online behavior during work hours. If company policies and the work atmosphere stink, there’s no way you can prevent disgruntled employees from giving vent to their feelings on their free time. So what’s the use?

To answer your question, I think stories and one-to-one communication are definitely the solution. A well-run company has employees who instinctively and voluntarily follow the corporate line while interacting with their customers in a personalized way. If they don’t, it’s a C-suite and HR problem. Keyword: Motivate (not “force”).