Diligence Schmiligence

If you're a lawyer or any kind of businessman, you'll understand the term 'due diligence' - it's a process of care a reasonable person must complete before entering into any agreement or transaction with another party, usually in a financial arrangement.

Now due diligence is a pretty fine thing, applied properly and in my thinking, it's a process we can all apply to one of the most frequent transactions we make - and that's in our daily communication.

Like a financial transaction, communication in its true form involves an exchange: one party gives a piece of information to another party and in processing it, there's due diligence required on both sides to ensure the transaction is effected to the mutual benefit of all parties.

It seems fairly straightforward to me but I'm often amazed at how frequently communication is despatched without enough of the due diligence required.

In my world of public relations in fact, there are often 'whoopsies' that can sometimes necessitate damage control and usually are the result of over-worked and exhausted practitioners juggling too many balls,

That, of course, is no excuse!

Every one of us can benefit from taking some extra time to ensure we conduct good due diligence on both our private and public communications.

SOME DUE DILIGENCE TIPS

For written communication

• Check the accuracy of your facts including names and titles
• Check dates if relevant (it's a common mistake to have the right date but the wrong day of the week, for example)
• Check the appropriateness of your language (especially, approach the use of humour with care)
• Check your spelling - and no, do not rely on a spell checker. In Commonwealth countries, the Oxford English is preferred while Microsoft relies on the Webster.
• Check your punctuation and grammar.
• Check the overall presentation of your document. Sloppy layouts can deter your reader.
• Avoid typo-ventillation!

For spoken communication

• If it's an important meeting, practice what you'll say. It is amazing how much this process helps you clarify thinking.
• Make notes if you must.
• Check your facts.
• Moderate your tone throughout the interchange.
• Be aware of your language. Avoid using qualifers like "absolutely" or "definitely" as they often give an impression of insincerity or uncertainty.
• Be aware of eye contact, posture, proximity and so on.

Due diligence is especially important in our time of increasingly globalisation. Companies seeking to diversify into global markets should be aware of the importance of due diligence in terms of cross-cultural communication.

We can learn from the mistakes of big brands. Here are some I've found. Enjoy!


Coca-Cola
When Coca-Cola moved into China, the famous brand was rendered in Chinese characters.   Regrettably, these translated to "bite the wax tadpole" in one dialect, which sounds very sexy don't you think?  In another dialect it meant "female horse stuffed with wax".  Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, Ko-Kou-Ko-Le which could be loosely translated as "happiness in the mouth" - aah, much better!


Pepsi Cola
Coke's nemesis, Pepsi also decided to launch in China and discovered too late that its catch 'Pepsi give you zest for life' slogan translated to 'Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave'.  Yoiks!  Now that's one way to cure a soft-drink addiction!


Zube Throat Sweets
This successful British throat lozenge was launched into the North African Arab Market - alas, 'Zube' is a slang term for a large horse's penis, apparently.  
Nestle Baby Milk
In Central Africa, the local people are used to labelling that depicts the food that is inside the tin because many people cannot read English.  When Nestle imported its tins of baby food into the region, the graphic on the label included a smiling baby.  


Vauxhull
Vauxhall launched its small car the Nova model into Spain - but 'no va' in the lingo means 'won't go'.  The care was later renamed the Caribe.


Triumph
Over to Germany, where a British car maker launghed its Triump Acclaim model.  The brand 'Triumph Acclaim' in German translates to 'Sieg Heil'.  One assumes it ran on gas.


Sunmaid Californian Raisins
The British are known to be a bit bawdy at times but Sunmaid Raisins might have done their homework a little better.  On the back of the packaging of this product, Sunmaid suggested:  "Why not try tossing over your favourite breakfast cereal?"  In the UK, 'tossing' is a slang word for masturbation.  Perhaps a good meal for Onan the Barbarian


Coors
Coors ads did not run well in the Spanish market when their otherwise successful slogan 'Turn it Loose' translated into the Spanish 'Get Diarrhoea'... the beer must've been crap.


Starbucks
Starbucks executives must have got themselves into a right froth when thousands of posters were printed in Germany encouraging their Teutonic customers to 'Enjoy your morning Latte'.  In German, 'Latte' is slang for an erection.  Oops.