The Next Next Common Sense creates coherence without requiring rigid standardization that would un- dermine the authentic characteristics of different communication contexts. Linguistic Alignment Across Stakeholders Beyond managing internal communication channels, today’s organi- zations must create linguistic coherence across increasingly diverse stake- holder ecosystems. Employees, customers, partners, regulators, investors, and communities all participate in organizational communication, each bringing their own language patterns, priorities, and perspectives. Creating alignment across these diverse stakeholders doesn’t mean speaking identically to everyone—an approach that would inevitably sound inauthentic and fail to address different stakeholder needs. Instead, effective organizations develop what linguist Mikhail Bakhtin called “het- eroglossia”—the ability to speak in different voices while maintaining underlying coherence in values and meaning. Salesforce demonstrates this capacity through communication that varies appropriately across stakeholder groups while maintaining core linguistic alignment. Their technical documentation speaks directly to developers using precise coding terminology. Their customer materials emphasize business benefits with relevant industry terminology. Their in- vestor communications address financial metrics and market positioning. Yet across these variations, consistent language about customer success, innovation, and social responsibility creates underlying coherence that different stakeholders can recognize despite surface differences. Creating this alignment requires organizations to identify core lan- guage elements that should remain consistent across all stakeholder com- munication while allowing appropriate variation in other dimensions. These core elements typically include: Purpose Language that articulates why the organization exists be- yond profit generation. This foundational language establishes the organi- zation’s reason for being in ways that diverse stakeholders can recognize and connect with.
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