In the rough-and-tumble world of corporate America, senior PR
execs should consider themselves fortunate if they can win that
proverbial seat at the table. But with many CEOs still skeptical as
to PR's inherent value, communication execs often have a tough time
keeping their seats. Gaining media exposure is one thing, but the
real hook for PR managers is to show C-level executives that you
can speak -- without hesitation -- their language of dollars and
cents. Speaking CEOs' language is probably not something that was
taught to you in communications courses but the current climate
(and jobless economic recovery) demands that PR execs change their
verbiage when it comes to dealing with the boss. For some pointers,
PR NEWS asked contributing editor and management consultant James
Lukaszewski to weigh in on this growing aspect of corporate
communications.
At a recent meeting I attended where CEOs were presenting their
management strategies for the coming decade, one CEO made a
particularly candid observation. She said, "What I need from those
around me are ideas that can make money, keep money, or save
money...otherwise they're wasting my time."
The question for the communicator is, "Where does what I do fit
into the spectrum of finding, keeping, or saving revenue?"
Management's expectations of us:
- Valuable, useful, applicable advice beyond what they already
know - Well-timed, truly significant insights (the ability to distill
wisdom and useful conclusions from contrasting - even seemingly
unrelated - information and facts) - Advance warning plus options for solving, or at least managing
trouble or opportunity, and the unintended consequences both often
bring - Information and intelligence about what's going to happen
(something the news media can never provide since news is always
about yesterday) - Supporting evidence, usually through behavior of their
peers - Your instincts and gut feelings, the real lessons of your
experience
Diana Fusco, of Cleveland, told the story (at a PRSA Counselors
Academy meeting) of how her agency and her practice were
dramatically changed when acquired by a regional management
consulting firm. She described the impact on her as a practitioner
and how her business thinking and strategy were transformed. The
first thing that changed was the vocabulary. The revised list of
client service descriptions for her new Management Communications
and Strategic Communication Counsel function speak for
themselves:
- Customer/loyalty management
- Strategic planning
- Customer-centered reengineering
- Executive and management development
- Staff development
- Team/employee loyalty building
- Organizational operation review and analysis
- Corporate marketing and communication
- Crisis consulting
- Issue/exposure forecasting
Notice the word, "communication" appears in the list only once.
This is an operationally oriented presentation of communication
concepts. If you want the attention of those who run the business
or organization, and who are almost totally operationally focused,
learn to speak their language and make recommendations within their
frame of reference.
PR vocabulary, techniques, and approaches are well known to
management. Use them and you're wasting top management's time. My
advice: learn to talk like a manager, act like a manager, and focus
on the management context of issues. This is the way you make,
keep, or save money. Believe me, start doing this and you'll be
invited back to meetings time and again for your advice.
Contact: James E. Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA;
914.681.0000; [email protected] ,
http://www.e911.com ; Copyright
c2004, James E. Lukaszewski. All rights reserved.