Home
>
Strategic Planning
>
Communication Strategy During A Time Of Strategic Planning

Communication Strategy During A Time Of Strategic Planning

"Rubbish!" shouted the large, aggressive man in the red-striped shirt (we had to pay attention to him because he owned the company).

"The staff don't need to be told anything. When we've sorted out all the details and have the adverts ready to run, then we'll tell them. They don't need to know beforehand, it'll only stop them working" he went on to loudly proclaim.

It's hard to ignore the wishes of your client, especially when he's paying you so well and has browbeaten every other consultant, as well as his management team, into submission.

Yet my experience, again and again, is this:

If you don't tell them what's going on, they'll make it up anyway.

Employees not present at strategic planning offsite meetings aren't dumb; they're just not present. They know you're away (they think probably planning the future of the company, their jobs and their salary cuts), so they will gossip and rumour-monger to their heart's discontent while you are not 'minding the store'.

So planning your internal communication is an essential prerequisite to effective and committed implementation of any business strategy. It also goes a long way towards problem minimisation.

In order to minimise the internal and external risks of gossip and rumours, therefore, you should have it very firmly set in your mind that a communication outlining the outcome of the planning should arrive with all due speed, consistency and completeness.

The following guidelines have been tested by experience and found useful:

1. Design and agree
The communication strategy should be designed and agreed by all as part of the planning process, not an adjunct activity delegated to a junior manager who, in all probability, wasn't even at the planning meeting.

2. Tell everyone ASAP
Feedback to all those affected should take place at the earliest possible opportunity-preferably first thing next morning, before the rumour mill has had too much time to gear up. A useful strategy is to have planning meetings on weekends, with the staff briefing occuring first thing Monday morning.

3. One meeting to bind them all
Aim for one single briefing or feedback session, rather than multiple sessions where watering down or distortion of the original message might occur. Thankfully, technology largely allows such a single session to occur, even across multiple timezones. In such an instance, scripting of the communication would prove a valuable tool to consistency, especially where the text of the session will appear on a company intranet.

4. Follow up and re-purpose
A follow-up message (via audio, video or even simple written) to all from the CEO, emphasing the key points, is very useful. It too can be re-purposed to appear on the company intranet, or as a briefing to investors and the marketplace.

All of this might seem like overkill, a tremendous amount of effort for very little gain. But such a view must be evaluated against the fact that the long-term strategic plan will drive the company for anything from the next five to fifteen years.

Investing time at the beginning to 'get it right' will pay massive dividends over the longer term.

When you match consumer psychology with effective communication styles you get a powerful combination. Lee Hopkins can show you how to communicate better for better business results. At hopkins-business-communication-training.com you can find the secrets to communication success.

disinfecting cleaning services Winnetka ..

In The News:

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.