A single sentence about your intranet that says it all

Can you state the essence about your intranet in a single sentence? You should, because then you have a chance to make the intranet stick in the minds of your executive board.

A declaration that says something like “Our intranet is mainly for solving […] and providing […] with a broad selection of […]. The main target groups are […] and […]. Our goal is to give the key users a […], reflect the company values, […] and an excellent user experience.” is simply too long. The executive board will have stopped listen halfway. No one listens to a babbling fool.

Often the intranet team feels it has to use a lot of different keywords in the intranet statement. Sometimes the team does not want to anger a department or executive, and therefore keywords like “news”, “communication system”, “it tools” has to be used, because every department wants to make their mark on the intranet. Sometimes the team is afraid the intranet will be diminished and sidestepped if the team does not constantly remind everyone how many target groups have demands and how many goals there are to meet.

But this is the wrong way. Actually, the intranet will be stronger the fewer words are used. Fewer words give a clearer focus. Fewer words show you can prioritize.

Therefore you should cut the number of keywords associated with the intranet. Ideally you should have three or less. A method for finding the keywords is using the Microsoft Reaction Card model and making the intranet board choose some words, then reduce them in iterations. (In the process you can make them understand why e.g. “fun” is not the best single keyword and nudge them to a common view about which words are most important.) Another is asking the end-users about one word they would like the intranet to be. (Not what it is TODAY, you are bound to get answers like “boring” and “insufficient”.)

In the end, when you have only one, two or three keywords (City of Malmö’s keywords: “support” and “efficiency”), put them in a sentence: “The intranet gives the employee support and enhance our efficiency.”

And there you have it – a single sentence that says it all, that tells everyone why the intranet exists, what the focus is—and why you, intranet manager, deserve your pay.