The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication: A Guide to Internal Communication, Public Relations, Marketing, and Leadership

Engagement as a Soft Issue

Those of us who think seriously about issues like engagement are often frustrated by the tendency to label them as soft, as though they were not worth discussing or so squishy that they are impossible to define or manage.

The word soft in the corporate lexicon is usually a derogatory term. We tend to think of soft people as weaklings. We speak of the soft-hearted, for example, as opposed to the hard-nosed or the tough-minded among us. Or we talk of soft numbers when we really mean numbers that are hard to come by or difficult to manage. Or we talk of someone who speaks softly. It is usually not a compliment. The connotation is timidity or uncertainty—qualities that in corporate life are generally not admired.

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