Esemplastic: The tag word of 21st century business

Esemplastic ~ that’s a big word that most can’t define and many think is made up. So, what the heck does it mean and how can it be the tag word of 21^st century business? 

Es-em-plas-tic: adjective ~ having the ability to shape diverse elements or concepts into a unified whole: the esemplastic power of a great mind to simplify the difficult. (Random House, 2014) Isn’t shaping diversity into unity a primary challenge, perhaps the primary challenge, for modern businesses and isn’t it a dilemma that affects every facet of operations from policy to personnel? How do you reconcile differing ethnic styles and standards with your company’s traditionally professional image? Or the differences that often crop-up between departments like marketing and communications?

Helen Dunne of CorpsComm magazine asks this question in “Can Marketing and Communications ever live in harmony?” Her first three paragraphs define the issues; she writes,

‘The trouble with marketing and communications is that it is a little like Americans and the British,’ comments one director of communications at a FTSE 100 organization. ‘They are separated by a common language.’

It is a view shared by many communications professionals. They see the role of a marketer as nebulous, worrying about branding, taglines, and ‘fluffy stuff,’ while their work is more hard-hitting, defending corporate reputations against a 24/7 barrage of media, stakeholder, and government scrutiny.

Marketers, on the other hand, often find it hard to grasp the necessity for corporate communicators and PR teams. After all, their objectives are clearly defined; they are there to lift sales, boost bookings, or drive traffic to websites, generating a real return on their investments. To them, PR represents a huge cost – often carved from their budgets – with a seemingly impossible-to-calculate return.

According to Dunne, these departments use the same words to speak different languages and do not value each other’s efforts and contributions. Let’s examine how an esemplastic approach can help bridge the chasm. Both departments are solely focused on the company’s reputation, which makes it (reputation) an excellent foundation for establishing common ground. If we expand the definition to encompass both perspectives, perhaps something like: Reputation is the public reflection of our company culture and values, which must be both communicated and protected. The marketing communications team is responsible for increasing market share and insulating that growth against outside onslaught. We have eliminated the language barrier and merged the goals of both departments by providing a framework in which they can easily see/appreciate the other’s value and become mutually supportive.  

So, yes Ms. Dunne, marketing and communications can live in harmony with a bit of esemplastic strategy. If you are struggling to establish harmony between diverse concepts, perspectives and/or goals, you too need Esemplastisitee.