Do You Have A Producer's Mind?

???????? ????????? Understanding the “Perfect Fit’

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????????????????????????????? How do you think??? Do you view things separately?? Or do you see things in unison?? Choreographed to elicit a story?? Actions that ladder up to a point?

????????????????????????????? If it’s the latter, you possess a producer’s mind.

????????????????????????????? One that calibrates a series of activities, decisions, policies, to answer a question or solve a problem.?? As communicators, it is now essential to think like a producer maximizing talent, resources, themes, and efforts for full effect.?? Especially in a time where there is more content than attention.? Breaking through today requires a full, comprehensive array of language, programs, synergy, and connectivity.? Melding all of these things into a coherent story line produces clarity, consistency, and above all, trust.

????????????????????????????? An example of this recently is a global organization that announced a new strategic direction under a new CEO and over a six-month period:

-??????????? Announced an acquisition to fill out its portfolio

-??????????? Made several key executive appointments

-??????????? Introduced a customer-oriented marketing effort directed at new pathways

-??????????? Secured major editorial coverage via the CEO in business and financial media to discuss the organization’s new direction

-??????????? Redesigned employee engagement practices including training tens of thousands of managers to better communication and nurture relationships with the workforce

-??????????? Better employing social platforms to convey its policies across stakeholders

????????????????????? ??????????????This euphonic combination of words and deeds unleashed a set of critical milestones and messages encapsulating the company’s narrative, purpose, and mission.? All of the above was designed with total impact in mind.? A producer’s mindset synchronizes important initiatives to tell a story about the future.? It positioned the new CEO as strictly in charge and his agenda as noteworthy.

????????? ?What’s needed for a producer’s mind?

-??????????? Ability to connect disparate events or actions

-??????????? Gift of storytelling through activities

-??????????? Understanding of stakeholder expectations

-??????????? Able to choreograph how an organization’s story line unfolds

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What is the “Perfect Fit?”

The “Perfect Fit” is what an organization needs to be communicating at a specific moment for its story to unfold properly. Communicators are often blessed (or plagued) with multiple choices to communicate to the world that are plucked from myriad business functions, processes and geographic areas.

At the senior-most levels of the company where there’s often an eagerness to build momentum, executives want to tell a variety of stories at once—often a Hodge-podge of news about products, services, technologies, environmental initiatives and investments, among other things. What’s often missing is the apparent linkage among the stories.

As chief storyteller, however, the communicator must identify the Perfect Fit – the next chapter in the organization’s evolution that both strategy and logic dictate deserves to be told now in order to build or sustain organizational momentum. And it’s important that the communicator know how to identify each successive chapter.

Identifying the Perfect Fit

Knowing that you need to create the Perfect Fit is different from knowing how to identify it. Sometimes it’s easy: if your industry’s leading trade publications or national business media claim you’re the best at what you do, you’ll probably want to build on that reputation. But for most organizations, the Perfect Fit is harder to come by. Particularly in transformational or change efforts when all bets are off with regard to past practice, brand image or corporate reputation. Fortunately, identifying the Perfect Fit requires the same skills and strategies that many corporate communicators leverage every day.

An integral objective to achieving alignment in narrative is the ability to view and manage communications – both internal and external – in a synergistic manner.? The approach demands a frequent coming together of all communication areas comprising internal and external stakeholders.?? It is here that a disciplined, yet fluid methodology is employed to guide discussion and inform decisions regarding the business and the right sequence, channel, and cadence for communications.? The purpose: a coherent, clear and believable story that allows people to follow the organization, increasing both interest and affinity to its success.

??????????? Having a Producers’ Mind is fast becoming a critical strategic capability for Chief Communications Officers.

Gary ???????? ???