A useful parallel for thinking about the value of strategic planning for communications is to consider the world of construction. If an organization wants to commission a building project, it would be irresponsible for the tradespeople to just start digging holes or stacking bricks randomly or putting in pipes here and there. Yet the cold […]
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A simple but highly effective way to remain focused on strategic value is to be attentive to doing the right things and doing them right. Step 1 – Do the Right Things: Check in with yourself and your colleagues making sure that the tasks you’re working on are actually the ones that are most strategic […]
The word “strategic” is one of the most over-used and poorly understood terms in organizations today. Everyone wants to hire a “strategic” contributor and it’s become shorthand for complaining about a task that’s not up to par (as in “Well, the blog post is fine but it’s really not strategic”). The first thing about stepping […]
As a change agent, you play a vital role in contributing to effective change execution. Given that working with change is high in both opportunity and risk, it’s important to be very precise in defining and executing your role. Setting You Up for Success One of the most constructive and positive steps you can take […]
For the last dozen years, I’ve devoted my career to strategic communications planning, including developing the Results Map methodology. I’ve had the opportunity to work on hundreds of strategic plans – large and small, for the public and private sectors, all focused on aligning internal and external communications to organizational goals. From the vantage point […]
One of the easiest ways you can immediately enhance your strategic value as a communicator is to make a shift in the way you think about your function. Communicators generally are in the business of producing “stuff” – their focus is on the very real day-to-day challenges of writing press releases, developing key messages or […]
Here are the questions I recommend as arsenal for every strategic communicator heading into a tough meeting or assignment: What does success look like? Why this, why now? What are the project or corporate objectives? What are the communications objectives? How can effective communications help advance the project objective? What are the main risks/opportunities? Thinking […]
A simple way to add value to your audience segmentation efforts is to deliberately consider types of audience groups. While some audiences may be simply constructed as receivers of information, most often as communicators we impart a role to audience segments. For example, in an internal communications plan, we might identify Managers/Supervisors as an audience […]
Most change requires training support to ensure effective implementation. A focused, comprehensive approach to training and development is a key component of supporting people through a change, providing a deeper learning experience which can be important in mitigating against risks. The Change Agent’s Toolkit provides a suite of tools that connects the phases pf transformation, […]
The business of government has changed dramatically in recent years. So it’s no surprise that the transformation of government operations, coupled with an unprecedented rise in citizen expectations have created extraordinary demands on government communicators. Here’s a round up of the top 8 best practices in government communications to emerge – many originate from the […]
Over the last few years, we have had the distinct honour and privilege of working with several leaders on driving organizational change. I often think of my role in helping clients move through change as that of a midwife – it’s not my baby, but I have a front row seat to the pain, blood […]
After working through the Results Map process with thousands of communicators across Canada, and around the world, there is one remarkably consistent trait that pops up in our community – a shared frustration that is absolutely universal to communicators whether their organization is big or small, public or private sector. It is the feeling of confinement. […]
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