What Good Communicators Know

If there is one phrase that should not part of a communicator's vocabulary it is "status quo." Such a phrase speaks to holding fast, maintaining, standing still or passing time but without movement.  People may say things like, "We have to maintain the status quo" or "Let's just stay as we are" and feel as if such goals represent the best way to remain secure and/or safe. This is false. Not moving or freezing in position is, at best, doing just that or, more, realistically, a guarantee to fall behind. Good communicators know this. In a world where change is a constant occurrence, good communicators know that to stay ahead of the curve or, at the very least, keep up demands constant adjustment.

In the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin introduced the theory of evolution. For a species to have any chance of surviving, he said, they must continue to adapt to their ever-changing environment. To not do so puts them on a direct path toward eventual extinction. Survival is not a matter of being the fittest. Rather, the secret is in one's ability to adapt. For instance, when a new boss is hired, how well workers adjust to this person's new style, vision and set of priorities will often determine how secure their own jobs remain. Sure, they may be great workers, but that has little to do with how compatible they are with the new boss.

This reality is a primary reason why communicators are constantly coming up with different strategies to promote a product, program or service that has existed for many years. Good communicators know they do this not because they are bored and want change just for the sake of doing something different. Instead, they know that changes of this kind must be done if what they promote is going to have any chance of remaining viable. One remains strong in the present only when they have first made the necessary adjustments to enjoy such status. Good communicators know thy are not in the status quo business.