Don’t Move the Target Without Telling Those Trying to Hit It

by Frank L. Williams

Over the years, I’ve served on a number of boards. Several years ago, another member of one of those boards chastised a contractor in a meeting because they thought the contractor’s efforts were misdirected.

Here’s the problem: the things the board member thought the contractor should be doing were not part of the agreed-upon scope of work.

That’s right: the board member publicly lambasted the contractor for not doing something that, in reality, wasn’t even what they were hired to do.

Sounds like a bad way to do business, doesn’t it?

For my fellow Star Wars junkies, we all remember the scene in The Empire Strikes Back when Lando Calrissian protested Darth Vader’s directive to “take the princess and the Wookie to my ship.” Vader’s response to Calrissian’s protest was simply “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

While fairness was likely not high on Darth Vader’s priority list, those of us in the real world generally agree that it’s unfair to change the rules in the middle of a game. 

Let’s apply this to the world of public relations, communication and marketing.

Imagine that you were hired to do a project and given a clear set of strategic priorities. You execute the campaign in alignment with those priorities. Then, once it’s over, the client complains that you didn’t accomplish a completely different set of goals – ones you had not previously been told about.

Sometimes circumstances dictate a change in strategy, and skilled communicators are able to adapt better than most. When circumstances dictate a change, communication among all parties is critical. You cannot expect your communicators to hit your target if you keep moving it without telling them.

This brings me to another point: far too many organizational leaders view their communication teams as nothing more than technicians who write and design things. If they work with an outside firm, they view them as a mere vendor, not a strategic partner.

Effective communication is always strategic in nature. That’s why we adopt a “strategy first” approach at Pioneer Strategies. That’s also why it is imperative that organizational leaders view – and treat – their communication team as a strategic partner and trusted advisor, not simply as on-demand creative technicians. 

True strategic partners are at the table from the outset. They are part of your circle of decision-makers. They aren’t surprised when the target moves because they were part of the discussions about moving it. Their advice and counsel help shape strategic changes and ensure that they are grounded in reality and based on solid strategy.

Is your communication partner blind-sided when the target moves? Or were they at the table helping decide where to move it?

Need help establishing your communication goals? Drop us a line!