Is it an internal or external communication? In the age of the internet, stakeholders and audiences are indivisible. Customers are shareholders. Employees are married to journalists. Legislators and regulators are customers. If you are still running separate internal and external communications organizations, there is risk to strong integrated communications. No organization model is completely foolproof, however. If you have communicators who are not natural integrators, a divided internal and external communications model can fail you. Strong risk management models recognize that communications and communicators across the spectrum-customer, employee, shareholder, regulatory, legislative and community- must be highly integrated. It may not feasible to combine all these disciplines in one organization, but you can ensure you have the best integrators in each of these seats. You can instill processes and mindsets to make sure every communication has comprehended all potential stakeholders, well before it is launched. Strong integrators and great processes recognize that no message to any one stakeholder group is complete without considering implications for all stakeholders. This is not just true during a crisis when command and control requirements normally anoint one communications lead, integration is necessary across all messengers, every minute of every day.

Is your 2024 political cross hairs crisis playbook ready? In the past year, we have seen the largest brands serve as targets for candidates seeking higher office. Candidates stand ready to exploit a political divide for headlines and at your company’s expense. You are trying to do the right things but it appears as if there is no winning path. Your company is charged with doing the wrong thing when all you thought you were doing was ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace or addressing the economic impacts of climate change. The largest brands are prime targets to drive campaign headlines. Companies and organizations of any size are vulnerable. This trend will only continue to increase between now and the 2024 election. Many company responses have been confusing or flatfooted. One possible reason why is that while they have “crisis playbooks” for most every other sort of major crisis, they may not have had playbooks and deep earnest internal discussions about their positions in advance of a politician’s challenge. The issues, the cross hairs, and the willingness of politicians to use big companies and organizations to gain headlines are all predictable. Just as a company needs a good philosophical conversation about whether to pay ransom in a cyber-attack before a cyber-attack ever occurs, these same conversations about how to respond to national political discussions should be happening right now. Scenarios and responses are predictable. No battle plan goes unchanged, but deciding to fight a war without one, is folly. Public relations and government relations leaders need to step back and reassess. Maintaining alignment between what you message to your employees and to external stakeholders is critical. It’s time to update your playbooks to recognize your company’s need to anticipate cross hairs. Hoping you will be left alone is a bad risk management practice. You might still need to weather the storm, but at least you will have decided upon a path.

I asked ChatGPT to make up CEO corporate gobbledygook statements. There seems to be some fear that AI may replace us as communicators. Based upon this first generation of statements, I believe the fear somewhat founded. I’ve written some of this. You have too. Much of this wording is meaningless and looks like every other corporate statement. The only notable phrase I see missing is “our culture is our secret sauce”. Let’s resolve to write and speak in clear, unvarnished language, be specific and provide examples. Sign-up to be a champion of clarity.

“We are dedicated to leveraging our synergies and optimizing our core competencies to achieve best-in-class results.” Translation: We’re going to work together and do what we’re good at to be the best.

“Our innovative solutions provide a paradigm shift in the market, disrupting traditional models and delivering unprecedented value.” Translation: Our new ideas are changing the industry and making things better.

“Our team is committed to driving a culture of excellence and exceeding expectations in everything we do.” Translation: We’re really good at what we do and we’re always trying to do better.

“We are focused on enhancing stakeholder value by leveraging our strategic partnerships and delivering sustainable growth.” Translation: We want to make our investors happy by working with others and growing in a way that lasts.

“Our cutting-edge technology solutions enable seamless integration and drive efficiencies across our entire ecosystem.” Translation: Our fancy technology helps us work better together.

“We strive to be a market leader by delivering innovative, customer-centric solutions that provide value-added benefits.” Translation: We want to be the best by coming up with new ideas that make our customers happy.

“We are committed to driving operational excellence and delivering world-class results through continuous improvement and optimization.” Translation: We’re always trying to get better at what we do and be the best.

“Our core values of integrity, respect, and collaboration are the foundation of our success and drive our daily operations.” Translation: We’re good at working together because we believe in honesty, treating each other well, and working together.

“Our forward-thinking approach and customer-first mindset enable us to anticipate market trends and provide best-in-class solutions.” Translation: We’re always thinking ahead and focusing on what our customers need to be the best.

“We prioritize innovation, agility, and adaptability in all aspects of our business to stay ahead of the curve and drive sustainable growth.” Translation: We’re really good at being creative, flexible, and adapting to change so we can keep growing.

The excitement in any acquisition or merger is frankly, often misplaced. Deal announcements are followed by press conferences, headlines, analyst meetings, high fives, and bankers counting. In reality, it is not the announcement of the deal that can require the most effort or bring the greatest excitement.  Of course, due diligence in all of its forms, not just financial, is critically important. The structure of the deal must work. I would argue though that the actual integration of companies and organizations is where the most difficult work takes place. Large or small, every piece of pipe and wiring in two organizations must be managed. Decisions must be made crisply and quickly and above all cultures and power structures combined, clearly. Cultures are not just values statements or leadership models. Cultures are really the way an organization gets work done. Merger agreements and integration decisions have longer term, and sometimes unforeseen consequences. Political leverage given to one side or the other must be understood. Speed to synergies must be understood. In the end, integration decisions make the deal successful or not. It is integration decisions that have long lasting impact. Talent, process, culture, technology must all be integrated (or not). In short, the real value and excitement in a deal is realized in making it happen, fulfilling the promise of the merger announcement,  not in the announcement itself.

Never manage your own crisis. My wife and I had been separated for two years when she drowned in a kayaking accident while paddling in the Intracoastal Waterway on vacation with our sons. I wrote the obituary and ferried drafts back and forth between our sons and her brothers. We were in shock, but I felt confident we had created the right epitaph for an extraordinary life. It was a meaningful, strong reflection of her values, and paid homage to her dry wit and love for her sons. Some months later, I realized I had completely failed to mention the central role dogs, particularly dachshunds, had in her life. Her grandfather had bred them. We always had two. I had missed a central part of her life story.

I missed this important detail seven years ago because I was not emotionally able to deal with all that needed to be processed in the face of this crisis, the worst tragedy my family has ever endured. This loss has made any work crisis I have ever led seem trivial in comparison. But work-related crisis response does have at least one significant parallel. Those closest to the epicenter of a crisis should never lead the response. They are there to provide data, facts, and information. In our family example, finding a skilled writer to gather and pull information from us would have been a better decision. More emotionally removed crisis leaders help to ensure clear thinking, important details are covered, and appropriate, effective responses are created. I knew this but chose to ignore my own advice. Every detail matters in a crisis and none are too small when remembering a life or resolving the crisis in front of you.

This post was edited by my extraordinary sons Will Clement and Walker Clement. We agreed this Wednesday post could be a bit longer. Their resilience and ability to deal with crisis amazes me every day. It is personal experience that forges us.

There is a popular axiom among leaders that we should “assume positive intent”. This approach comes with inherent risk. It is better management practice to assume intent. Most individuals do have a rationale behind their thinking, but not all work for common or key stakeholder good. There are people, too many headlines to count, that do not lead with positive intent vs. personal intent and ambition. Use your experience, data, knowledge as you would in any business decision to determine intent. Over time, even the motivations of trusted confidants, mentors, etc. can change. Use analysis over blind trust. Trusted relationships can be built and maintained, but we should always be vigilant. Your interests and the interests of your stakeholders will be better served.