We've all heard the familiar quotes: "He who fails to plan, plans to fail," and "Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." Then there's my personal favorite, "Don't let the perfect get in the way of the doable."
All of these quips have at their foundation a critique of the planning process gone wrong. So if failure to plan, bad planning or the search for the perfect plan are all examples of how not to do it, what does a good plan look like and how do we do it?
Through the course of a career, every professional has no doubt learned several methods of planning -- some of which have made a lot of sense and some which seemed way too cumbersome. In real world communication, one can boil down much of the planning process into a few questions. The level to which one answers those questions will vary based upon the severity of the problem or the risk associated with it and upon the resources or time available to respond.
In most cases, one would/should/could have an annual communications plan in place that outlines the business drivers for the organization and the communications objectives aligned with those business drivers. It describes key audiences and what is known about them, lays out the primary messages to those audiences and then what strategies and tactics will be used to communicate with each. There will be a general or detailed budget and timetable outlined and, lastly, a stated way to measure the overall success of the communications efforts or at least tactical implementation.
When one is faced with a problem that doesn't fit into the plan, or when it is found that the environment has altered significantly, what is the most effective way to respond?
This may sound like a never-ending loop, but: Start with a plan.
Take a few minutes to outline the same basic information:
- First, describe the problem in concise terms. What is the risk to the business if the problem is not resolved or if the resolution is not handled appropriately?
- Who is impacted by this problem? What is their direct connection to the problem? What do you know about the audience? Who are the opinion leaders within the audience group? Where are they getting their information?
- Who are the other stakeholders, policymakers or influential parties who will be watching and evaluating the response? Do they have a say in the response?
- What information is needed before proceeding?
- What is the timeframe for response? Will this issue have a long life, with several weeks or months until it peaks? Or is an immediate response needed?
- What resources are available for response?
The answers to these questions will drive decisions around strategies and tactics. With quality input from the management team and communications professionals and the time to adequately frame the issue, the answer to "what do we do about this?" becomes much clearer and much more manageable.
The value in taking the time to plan can be summed up in words my mother, and probably many others, often said, "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to fix it?"
