Don’t be despondent. There are some business leaders who recognise how vital effective communication is, says James Bennett managing online editor at internal communications research and training company Melcrum Publishing

I often ask myself how seriously high-profile executives take communications. On one side are those business owners whose complete lack of awareness and communication skills has brought their company to the verge of collapse. Take Gerald Ratner, former chief executive of the now renamed British jewellery company Ratners Group, who achieved fame after making a speech in which he remarked that some of the earrings he then sold were “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long”. Ratner then watched open-mouthed in horror as his business’s value plummeted by £500 million.

Fortunately, on the opposite side, sit those execs that have learned from others’ mistakes and have the foresight and vision to realise that a breakdown in internal communication can lead to disastrous consequences. Stephen Martin, CEO of UK construction company Clugstons and guest speaker at the recent SCM summit in October, for example, knew he had to take evasive action to stop his business from declining. Employee morale was at rock bottom, management simply weren’t listening and, as a result, contracts were not being won and the money wasn’t coming in. So he put his professional reputation on the line and decided to go undercover and find out what the real issues were, all of which was documented on the recent Channel 4 series the Undercover Boss

I met another of this new breed of comms savvy execs at the launch of the new Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 business phone last week night. And she, along with Martin assured me that communication is “the most important element there is in business”.

“Always being the last to know and not being guided or communicated to when there are huge changes going on can be one of the worst things to happen if you’re an employee,” says Karen Brady, the recently departed managing director of Birmingham City Football Club and now non-executive director of Sport England and chief advisory for the England 2018 World Cup bid, Mothercare and, ironically Channel 4 television. “On some occasions, when the press broke a story, my staff were the last to know at Birmingham City,” she added.

From her early career at advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, Brady moved to the London Broadcasting Company (LBC) where she managed an account for publisher David Sullivan, who following encouragement by Brady, spent more than £2m on advertising in just six months. Aged just 23 Brady then famously spotted an advert for the sale of the football club and persuaded Sullivan to buy it and let her run it. Her business acumen has made her a wealthy woman, however she says it has been her belief in “talking and communicating openly and honestly” that has got her to where she is today.

Her communication mantra as well as her skills will soon be put to the public test in the forthcoming sixth series of the BBC’s Apprentice where she has recently replaced Margaret Mountford as one of Sir Alan Sugar’s two advisers. But will the next series of The Apprentice be as “backstabbing” as the last?
“We are really trying to get across to the contestants that communication between the two teams is crucial in learning how to manage and become a good manager,” she says.

I’m sure there are more executives like Brady and Martin out there. Now all I have to do is find them.