Tiger by the Tale

Communication is a powerful force. It causes people to change their mind. It inspires action. It builds a person's self esteem. It energizes entire populations. It unites. It divides. It triggers emotion. It clarifies. It confuses. The list of its capabilities is limitless. Its potential for having direct and tangible impact on individuals and entities is also limitless. Because of its power, persons considered to be good at communicating are viewed as having power as well. This is because of a perception they are are able to influence others. Whether the influence is positive or negative, the effective communicator is a recognized potential gamer changer, a person who can actually control a tiger - in the guise of communication - by its tale. As a result, they are viewed in ways other are not.

One interesting characteristic of what we communicate is that it is not always visible. At times, what message we give out occurs without being seen, announced or even recognized. While effective communicators know this to be true, not even they are always aware that communication happens when it does. Take the public relations executive who launches a massive advertising campaign that focuses on a key aspect of an organization. This may thrill that one part of the organization is being given visibility, but others who were not highlighted may take offense. They may feel slighted for not being featured in the ad campaign. Thus, the communication they received from the PR executive's actions was not expected or foreseen. Thus, one lesson from this is that not only is communication powerful, it is also unpredictable.

Communication is our constant companion, our eternal flame. We are never not communicating whether we are alone or with others. This, then, is all the more reason we need to take our own actions, words and signals seriously. If it is true that we as individuals are defined by our actions, then a significant part of that definition lies in what and how we communicate with others. The two cannot be separated. Thus, the powerful force that is communication is found in all of us, not just the so-called professionals. Given that we all have our own personal tiger that we try to control each day, is it any wonder why connecting with others on a constant basis remains a constant challenge?

Preparing for the Best and Worst

The great thing about a new day is that with it comes new opportunities and the possibility of good things happening such as making new connections, acquiring a winning lottery ticket, having new experiences or even making life for those around you a bit better. I know. I know. This sounds nothing if not Polly-Annish. But this is the way we glass-is-half-full people think. I realize new days also bring the possibility of problems, unwanted situations, and risks of disappointment. That reality cannot and should not be ignored. But whether we are glass-half-full or glass-half-empty people, the trick for all of us is to do what we can to prepare ourselves for negative or even positive occurrences should they come along. Strategic and crisis communication can play a role in that.

Assuming most people enter each day with at least a general notion of either what they will be doing or what they hope to do, by definition, they have a rough outline of a road map in-mind as to how, when and even with whom they will be attempting to carry out their day's activities. If you throw in criteria to measure your level of success on a given day, then one has the primary ingredients of a strategic communication plan in-place. The crisis communication planning piece of this involves formulating contingent plans should something unexpected arise that gets in the way of you trying to carry out your initial objectives.

Looking at strategic and crisis communication from the lens of an individual living through a routine day, the compatibility of the two seems logical: a game plan supported by a back-up plan. It is clear they can be quite complementary because each impacts the other. If the strategic communication plan goes smoothly, then the crisis communication plan is not necessary. But if the strategic communication plan is derailed by a sudden, unexpected turn of events, then the crisis is geared to help one deal with the new situation. To be most effective, the goals of the crisis communication should at least touch on the goals of the overriding strategic communication plan. What makes this all the more interesting that organizations normally do not link the two plans. Why? Because they have not thought of it. My suggestion is organizations would be better served if they did take new look at the two. Maybe they should overlap. It would help the organization as well as any individuals who seek to fulfill their daily objectives. This way, there is better preparation for the best and worst that a new day brings.

What to do About Our Flaws

Everybody has problems. Everybody has flaws. Everybody has weaknesses. Everybody has things they are not very good at. With all that in common, it is hard at times to understand why people do not get along better than they do. Instead, it seems many of us spend so much time trying to cover up these commonalities or pretend we really do have our total acts together. Why is that? Why do we, for instance, laugh along with everyone else at a joke that we do not think is particularly funny or that we do not understand? Why not say, "I don't get it" even if everyone else does? Are our egos so fragile that, given the choice, we deny having doubts, imperfections and limits? It would seem so.

This is too bad, of course, because sharing and being open about our-less-than strongest qualities can lead to honest communicating between people. The great thing about being open over not knowing all the answers or not having solutions to every challenge is that it can lead to honest and effective collaboration. And the best thing about collaboration is that it creates ties that bind. Think of the old expression: "two heads are better than one." Taken literally, not only does this often lead to meaningful solutions, it also helps establish shared trust and better understanding between people. Even if complete solutions are not produced, the mere act of sharing an experience with others is a good thing all by itself.

Granted, not all collaborations are positive. Not all unions work. Some can even create deep-seated problems. But if approached openly, honestly and respectfully, then even unsuccessful or misguided collaborations can leave people better off than they were before such an experience. It is no coincidence the most effective communication plans are based on openness, honesty and respect. As these same qualities are found in the best collaborations - even ones where successful solutions are not found - then good communication is the way to go for all of us when we with our strengths and weaknesses join forces with others and their strengths and weaknesses.

Milestones

How many milestones or important events do any of us have in our lives? How many events occur that actually turn out to be true turning points, that lead to permanent changes of attitude or behavior? My guess is not many even though things that do happen from time to time may seem at the moment to be very important. The reality is that they rarely are so noteworthy to the point of being true milestones or transformative events. When I played little league baseball many years ago and pitched a no-hitter, that was exciting and felt as if it were going to change my life forever. It didn't. I remember one of the games I pitched shortly after that found me getting clobbered by the other team. Fortunately, that turned out not to be a milestone either even though it was as memorable in a negative way as the no-hitter.

My pitching experiences reflect the ups and downs of life itself. We all have them and, consequently, are presented with the challenge of keeping these moments in proper perspective so as to assign them their proper level of significance. One of the great functions of communication is that it serves as a tool to be used to help determine whether something is a genuine milestone as opposed to whether it is something of only fleeting significance. Specifically, communication is a factor in collecting, comparing and articulating information. It helps add shape to efforts to assess an occurrence and then, ultimately, explain it to ourselves and others. Bottom line: it helps us understand a circumstance or event as well as our own feelings toward it.

To be fair, not everyone agrees as to what is a milestone or transformative event. An example can be found at Northern Illinois Illinois. In February, 2008, a terrible thing happened: a graduate student walked into a lecture hall, pulled out a weapon and killed five people, wounded 19 others and then committed suicide. Looking back, administrators as recently as this year still disagree as to whether this event was a milestone. While certainly the tragedy is viewed as being significant in the institution's history, whether it has actually led to tangible changes in university policy or in how the institution carries out its policies, remains a point of debate. Communication is helping those who worked at NIU that day process its meaning and level of significance.

Continuity and Change

Any notable act of communication has dual, built-in features. On the one hand it represents a continuation of what has transpired before it. And, secondly, by its very nature, it represents change. A new communication expands what has come before it. It is one more star in a universe of messages received. A communication is an add-on to what has been put forth previously. Whether people are exchanging information or opinions or reading or listening to new messages, they are building on to what they have read, heard or collected up to when that new communique comes along. This add-on, then, whether slight or dramatic, represents a new layer or a continuation of what has been transmitted before. And, because of its newness, the communication triggers some time of change: a new thought, action, reaction, or response.

The dual features are continuity and change, no small things for any of us. This is particularly intriguing when one considers the great majority of us are creatures of habit. We like routine. We gravitate toward the familiar. We take comfort in what we like. We may not mind exposing ourselves to new thoughts or new experiences, but once that happens we tend to incorporate them into our what we know rather than the other way around. Consequently, we tend to advance or evolve at what we view as our own pace, one at which we are comfortable. Communication, with its elements of continuity and change, keeps us in this constant state of adjustment even if we may not always realize it.

The result for us and our world is that communication ensures never-ending change. Between now and the day when our sun finally burns itself out, we will never not be undergoing some time of change. Perhaps as much as anything, then, this is why communication matters. Without it, continuity and change would in all likelihood still occur, only we would not be aware of it, be able to acknowledge it, be able to respond to it, or, ideally, be able to build on it. But we are blessed with intellect, the powers of reasoning and deduction, and the potential to think critically. These abilities give us the capacity to recognize the constant continuity and change that define our lives. They are also enable us to manage our actions as much as we wish and communicate with each other as effectively as we desire. Communication is the vehicle on which we carry out those blessings.

Sea Turtles

Communication is not all that different than sea turtles. Perhaps a big reason for that is they are such underdogs. Thousands of them hatch out of eggs on an ocean beach. Because they are instinctively compelled to crawl to the ocean waters and into the sea, that is exactly what they start doing the moment they free themselves from their eggs. As newborns, their gait is tentative and shaky. Their journey is several hundred yards in length and across hot, uneven sand. It is also incredibly dangerous. Just above them are scores of sea gulls who enjoy nothing more than chowing down on defenseless newborn sea turtles. And that is exactly what they do, with great success. About one out of every 1,000 newborn sea turtles actually makes it to the ocean waters. While that is enough to ensure the existence of the species, the odds against making it successfully to the ocean waters sure do not bode well for any individual sea turtle.

The odds of individual communication messages being successful are not all that great either. In fact, the majority of them end up much like newly-hatched sea turtles: gone moments after being launched. They may not be eaten by flying predators, but the obstacles they do face are just as uncompromising. One fierce hurdle is another message or a number of them. This obstacle comes in many forms, shapes, colors and level of quality. Its purpose is to either distract, overwhelm, over shadow, contradict, challenge, or a variation of each. Another obstacle is the message itself. It may be weak, poorly crafted, misguided, vague of purpose, and without a specific goal. A third key obstacle is the environment in which the newly-crafted message is expected to survive. It may not be ready for it or even want it. People may not want or be ready to hear messages about climate change, for example, because they are too focused on making enough money to pay their bills or, even more fundamentally, hang onto their jobs.

So, the journey of a communication effort is not easy. While such a reality should not discourage those wishing to pursue careers in the communication field, it should be enough to ensure they do so with their eyes wide open. Communication is not easy much of the time. Further, even the best of strategies or messages have more than their fair share of obstacles designed to either slow them down or stop them all together.

Something to Brag About

I wish to devote this entry to bragging about myself. As some in my life know, I recently completed and successfully defended my dissertation and, as a result, earned a PhD in communication. Yes, this is exciting, a proud moment, and the culmination of a dream I have had for nearly thirty years. Bottom line: it feels great. But that is not what I wish to brag about. Far from it. In the "morning after" glow of this time in my life, more and more I am struck by the reality that so many people played a vital role in helping me cross the finish line on this all-consuming effort. In some cases, a number of these people were paid to do so as they were my instructors. All were good, engaging, stimulating, and vital to this journey. But there were also a number of people who weren't paid for their efforts but nevertheless pitched in with their time, expertise and moral support. All were inspiring, extremely kind and patience, generous with their time, and equally vital.

Because of all these men and women, my dissertation was a group effort. These people suggested ideas on how I might pursue my topic. They gave me guidance on the best ways to package the data I collected. They gave me help on how best this information should be organized. They led me through the formatting challenges of the overall paper. They reviewed my data to see if the conclusions I drew from it were logical. They read my document as it evolved and gave me invaluable feedback and insights on the entire work. All did this more than once. And as I crossed the finish line, they all cheered as if this was my accomplishment and my accomplishment alone. Nothing could be more wrong. I may be listed as the author but their fingerprints are on my dissertation and, for that matter, the degree itself.

What I wish to brag about is how blessed I am to be part of such a group of wonderful people. If we are judged by the company we keep, then, at least in this situation, I am as lucky as I am special. I had a dream and so many others - some I did not even know until the journey was underway - helped make it a reality. This realization is humbling. It also leads me struggling for words that adequately represent the depth of my gratitude. As I write this entry, my struggle continues. I close with this thought: as I move forward in and outside the field of communication, I will do my best to live up to the ideals all of these people communicated to me.

The Century's Great Challenge

A report was released recently projecting the world's population by the end of this century will increase to 10 billion. This number is so high that it is difficult to really grasp. At present, the world's population totals 6.8 billion. Even that number, of course, is hard to appreciate, especially
when many of us on a day-to-day basis do not travel far beyond our own neighborhoods, townships or state borders. The limited perspective that represents the world to many of us stifles our ability to fully appreciate the struggles that many have each day in terms of sharing space, competing for resources, and trying to establish their own niche. Unless we actually experience or witness the challenges faced by others on this heavily-populated planet of ours, then the struggles of others remains little more than a vague reference. It is my sense that unless the struggles of others impacts us directly, then we generally give little thought to those that exist beyond our own landscapes.

This is not all that dissimilar to how it is with people within large organizations that continue to grow in numbers of employees. We are vaguely aware of the challenges of our fellow workers in another building or plant, for example, but unless what they are doing affects us directly, then the hoops they jump through each day, though similar to the ones we ourselves have to navigate, are not of much concern. Presently, the place at which I work boasts nearly 6,000 employees. Because of the growing size of my institution, periodically I hear people lament the fact they no longer know or engage with as many co-workers as they used to. Also, it is not uncommon in many of these conversation to hear comments that managers no longer seem to care as much as they used to be about the welfare of their workers and others throughout the organization. Is this true? Are today's organizational or corporate leaders actually less caring than their predecessors?

I don't think so. What I believe is happening to managers is what we as individuals in this ever-growing world of ours are experiencing. They and we are becoming more insular - perhaps without even realizing it - as a way of better coping with the vast and expanding world around us. By focusing more on what we directly see and experience, we feel more in-control of our own lives. Additionally, this helps us feel as if we still have the potential to actually influence that world around us. From a communication stand point, the challenge is two-fold: how best to help keep us more aware of and connected with the world that is beyond our day-to-day landscape and how best to help keep us adequately engaged with those with whom we do interact and potentially influence. This dual challenge represents and will continue to represent the great communication struggle of our century. It is a challenge in which both leaders or managers and workers and individuals must be involved as collaborators.