FOCO X META

Todo mundo tem um plano até tomar o primeiro soco na cara (Mike Tyson), ou ainda, nenhum plano sobrevive ao campo de batalha. Isso não quer dizer que não devamos planejar ou ter objetivos, pelo contrário. Mas o maior e mais comum erro cometido por aqueles que planejam e têm objetivos é querer “abraçar o mundo” quando ainda só conseguem segurar apenas uma bola. Não estou querendo dizer também que devamos sonhar pequeno, claro que não. O fato é que possuímos um “ato falho” (natural do ser humano) de querer visualizar o resultado final lá na frente sem perceber ou lembrar que pra atingir esse resultado, mil outras etapas menores, porém não menos importantes, deverão ser minunciosamente planejadas e executadas passo a passo. Por isso, muitos planos caem em terra ou são deixados de lado diante das primeiras dificuldades.

Outro fato importante é saber e estar preparado para possíveis e eventuais mudanças nos planos, sem que isso altere o propósito final. Isso ocorre porque, no meio do caminho nos deparamos com situações que fogem ao nosso controle, às nossas forças e às vezes, até mesmo à nossa capacidade de lidar com inúmeras e inesperadas situações. Tudo isso sem mencionar fatores físicos e psicológicos, como a preguiça, o cansaço, o desânimo e a procrastinação. Mas deixemos pra falar sobre isso em outro momento. O foco aqui é a vontade grande de realizar objetivos sem o devido planejamento, aquela vontade a abraçar o mundo só com nossos braços.

É comum, e eu diria até que é natural, as pessoas quererem ter resultados expressivos em qualquer área da sua vida. É natural do ser humano querer ser mais e melhor que o outro e de querer superar a si próprio. Não há nada de errado em fazer isso, na verdade, precisamos fazer isso. Mas volto a lembrar: o problema não está no fim, no resultado, mas sim nos meios para esse fim. David Allen estava certíssimo quando disse que “o poder de uma meta não é o futuro que ela descreve e sim a mudança no presente que ela acarreta”. E uma das coisas mais difíceis, na minha opinião, diante de todo esse processo, é manter o foco e a motivação. É saber que vai cair e se levantar inúmeras vezes, desviar, destruir obstáculos, contornar problemas, e mesmo assim, persistir. E o primeiro pensamento que vem á mente diante do primeiro obstáculo, muitas vezes não planejado, é “será que vale a pena?” Será que isso será mesmo importante?

Sendo assim, planeje e almeje tudo que quer, mas planeje também – e esteja preparado para – os pequenos obstáculos. Tenha uma meta grande, mas tenha também metas menores. A conclusão e realização dessas pequenas metas nos dão o ânimo que precisamos para continuar. Comemoremos a cada pequena vitória pra que no final possamos comemorar a grande e esperada conquista. Tenha como base a construção de um prédio. Imagine todos os passos necessários para a construção desse prédio, que vão desde o designe arquitetônico, fundação, alicerce, estruturas, parte elétrica, hidráulica, pessoal (trabalhadores e parceiros), acabamentos… E na maioria das vezes, VOCÊ estará sozinho nessa empreitada.

Portanto, não se apresse, não se afobe, não se desespere, faça uma coisa de cada vez. A pressa aqui é sua inimiga número 1. Faça tudo ao seu tempo. Aqui não tem velocidade. Não cometa esse erro básico e comum a 90 das pessoas que planejam e querem realizar alguma coisa. Você não só estará se perdendo no meio do caminho, mas prejudicando sua vida, seu trabalho e claro, pessoas com quem convive. Quantidade não significa qualidade e o resultado é essencialmente o esquecimento. Esquecimento de promessas, de compromissos, de si próprio e o que é pior: de pessoas. Pessoas que contam com você, que confiam em você, que esperam de você o que lhes foi prometido e garantido e acabam se frustrando e se decepcionando com você. Saiba que são essas mesmas pessoas que o ajudarão e o apoiarão no seu planejamento e objetivo, e mais: o ajudarão a se manter no novo patamar em que se encontrar. Essas pessoas fazem parte da sua base, elas são a sua base. Nesse momento há pessoas que ainda estão te aguardando. Nunca esqueça delas. Muitas delas dependem de você e são elas que o ajudarão quando você mais precisar.

Sonhe, planeje e trabalhe pra isso, mas o faça com cautela, serenidade, paciência e persistência. Você não estará sozinho, nunca.

WHAT SEPARATES THE SUCCESSFUL FROM THE UNSUCCESSFUL

http://agn-business.blogspot.com/2018/08/what-separates-successful-from.html?spref=tw

EIGHT KEY ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT LAUNCH

We are constantly launching our products/services, and quite often it goes extremely well, but not every launch works, and sometimes we’re left wondering, “Why went wrong?”

A friend recently commented on his product launch fail. He used a good and proven launch tool, one I’ve used myself, but he didn’t get a single order or call, not even a single lead. Most of us in business have been there at one time or another.

After hearing from my friend, I went back through some strategies and came up with a framework to analyze eight different key elements of a successful product launch.

When a launch fails – barring external events we have no control over – it’s usually for one or more of these eight reasons. But the good news is that you don’t have to wait for failure to use this framework. It doubles as a pre-launch checklist to ensure we get things right on the front end.

1. People – Have you targeted the right prospects? It doesn’t matter how good your product is if you’re offering it to the wrong potential customers. If you’re trying to sell snow in Siberia, don’t be surprised if it’s tough sledding.
2. Problem – Have you clearly articulated the prospect’s problem using the language they would use? Having the right prospect is only part of it. Can you connect your product to their needs, fears, or wants? All the better if you can articulate something they need your help to understand. No one knew their reliance on the Walkman was a problem until Steve Jobs introduced us to the iPod.
3. Promise – Have you painted a vivid picture of a desired future state – the transformation your product can bring? This is all about connecting the dots. Do the work for the prospect. Will your product solve their problem? Then show them what their life looks like after they’ve used your product.
4. Position – Have you positioned yourself as an authoritative guide who can help them get to their destination? It doesn’t matter if you’ve communicated the promise to the right people about their problem if they’re unsure you can solve it. Trust is crucial to any product launch. Endorsements can help, but nothing beats winning people’s confidence directly.
5. Plan – Have you shared a plan they can follow that will lead them to their destination? Sometimes this is simple. Buy product, use it, voila! Other times the transformation is more nebulous. A clearly articulated plan will help the prospect see how your product can help them.
6. Pitch – Have you created an irresistible, no-brainer offer? Problem, promise, position, and plan form the content of your offer, but your pitch represent style and approach you take. Some pitches are inappropriate for some audiences and undermine your credibility. Think of it this way: A pitch is not only an offer, it’s a musical note. Hit a sour note, and you might lose the sale.
7. Price – Is your product priced right for your market? Pricing can be very mysterious. What people won’t buy for $10, they’ll buy for $99. One thing is for sure, nailing the right price is crucial for success. Price communicates more than mere monetary value. Before you go to market it’s critical that you get this right – even if that means relearning everything you think you know about what your product is worth.
8. Place – Are your marketing efforts reaching prospects at the right place? Nothing is more wasteful than advertising that never connects or affiliates that can’t reach your people. Make sure you’ve got this eighth element working for you or it can undermine all the rest of your efforts.

We can’t predict anything about launch, but my team and I have been hyper engaged at every step, calibrating and recalibrating our messaging, frequency, and more. It is like running with the bowling ball down the lane to make sure we hit all the pins.

Whatever you’re launching next, try them! You ain’t got nothing to lose, only to win!

BREAKING FREE FROM YOUR DAY JOB AND LIVING YOUR PASSION

You might be familiar with The Shawshank Redemption. Remember the storyline? Andy Dufresne, innocent of any crime, is saddled with a life sentence in Shawshank Prison. The experience nearly kills him and his hope for freedom.

I filtered the movie through my own experience. Stuck in my day job, I felt imprisoned from my potential. Although I loved the people I served and worked with, I felt captive from my creativity. Slowly over the years, I accepted my own life sentence. I thought it was easier to let my dreams die than to keep hoping for freedom. But that’s not what Andy did. He escaped. And eventually I did, too.

Watching Andy’s escape, I saw an interesting three-stage pattern emerge. He went from prison to plan to payoff. Studies show 86 percent of us feel stuck in our day jobs. If we want to go from day job to dream job and turn our passion into a full-time gig, we can learn from this pattern.

Stage 1: Prison

Many of Andy’s friends didn’t want to escape their situation. Initially they hated Shawshank Prison, but they grew to accept it. Similarly, many people accept the harmful side effects of their day jobs. Those side effects, according to Dan Miller’s 48 Days to the Work You Love, include:

• Stress – Seventy percent of American workers experience stress-related illnesses.
• Burnout – Thirty-four percent think they will burn out on the job in the next two years.
• Heart attacks – There is a 33 percent increase in heart attacks on Monday mornings, according to the Los Angeles Times.
• Injury – There is a 25 percent increase in work-related injuries on Mondays, according to Entrepreneur magazine.
• Death – According to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more people die at 9 a.m. on Monday than at any other time.
• Suicide – Male suicides are highest on Sunday nights with men realizing their careers are not where they want them.

The lesson of this stage is obvious: Day jobs kill people, and most don’t care. It’s time to get serious about breaking free.

Stage 2: Plan

To break free from prison you need a plan. Andy didn’t just jump over the barbed wire fence. He escaped because he utilized his team, his tools, and his time:

• Team – Andy didn’t do it alone and neither will you. In my own escape, I relied on a physical team and a virtual one. I found support in people like my wife Kelly and my friend David. I also found wisdom from my colleagues and mentors, many within Platform University.
• Tools – Andy didn’t simply use his bare hands to break out. Instead, he relied upon a tool, his handy rock hammer. In Day Job to Dream Job, I share the Dream Jobber Plan, the tool I used to escape my day job. This is the same nine-step framework I teach my Dream Job Bootcamp students to help them escape theirs.
• Time – Andy used time and pressure. Each day he invested a little energy into his dream. Don’t discount a little energy invested over a long period of time.

With the right team, tools, and timeline, the Dream Jobber Plan works.

Stage 3: Payoff

Andy tells his friend, Red, about a little Mexican town right on the Pacific called Zihuatanejo. If he escapes, he says, he’ll buy a worthless old boat and fix it up like new and take guests out charter fishing. At the end of the movie – with Andy and Red embracing – we see his dream come true.

By breaking free from my day job I created my own Zihuatanejo. Though, thankfully, it doesn’t involve charter fishing – I know my limits. Regardless, my wife and kids will tell you we’ve designed a new life, igniting souls full-time.

The benefits can’t be beat:

• Freedom, to go as we please.
• Finances, to earn as we wish.
• Fulfillment, to live as we like.

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really,” Andy tells Red in a classic line from the movie. “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

If you’re one of the 86 percent stuck in your day job, you have that same choice – living or dying. Which will you choose? What could happen in your life if you broke free? Is your team in place? Do you have the tools?

Think about it…

WHO SAYS NICE GUYS ALWAYS FINISH LAST?

We’ve all read the stories about successful and iconic CEOs with volatile personalities – about leaders who use fear to drive performance, like Mr. Burns in The Simpsons, ruling over the Springfield power plant with an iron fist.

A few of these executives are better known for their bad behavior than their business achievements. And while in some cases their antics may be their downfall, many others go unpunished by their boards and shareholders as long as they’re delivering results.

The theatrics of badly behaved business leaders provide a constant stream of headlines for the media, so you couldn’t blame people for thinking that such aggressive behavior is a routine part of being a successful CEO. Sadly, we seldom read about the many mild-mannered but equally – if not more – effective executives. About those who foster commitment, loyalty, and inspiration. Maybe they’re not as newsworthy, but they’re certainly the ones we should be taking notes from.

So what can they teach us? In my 30 year career, I’ve known many kinds of executives, from the most outrageous to the most gracious and I keep coming back to five traits, which, in my view, are shared by the most inspirational and most effective among them:

1. Inclusive leaders commit to diversity

They use the insights brought by different people from different walks of life to spark discussion and create innovative solutions. They seek to build consensus and commitment, yet they don’t shy away from making the tough decisions.

Forget any notion that inclusion is simply a Human Resource initiative: a survey of executives conducted by Forbes identified workplace diversity as a major driver of internal innovation and business growth.

2. Creative leaders encourage employees to take risks

Their companies place a high value on innovation and often lead their industries as a result. Creative leaders cut through hierarchy and empower even the most junior team members to speak their mind. They create a culture which is energizing to be part of.

Innovative businesses are the most sought after by potential recruits. According to a survey of Millennials by Deloitte, 78% consider how innovative a company is when deciding if they want to work there.

3. Ethical leaders have the highest standards

They lead by example and serve as role models for transparency and openness. The companies they lead have a clear and defined societal purpose beyond profit. Their employees feel they’re making a difference in the world.

Ethical leadership is possibly the most important of all the five traits, as it underpins all the others. A leader can spend decades building their career and reputation only to have it destroyed by one scandal or lapse in judgment.

4. Balanced leaders don’t keep employees chained to their desks

They know long hours don’t necessarily improve productivity and profitability, and in fact can be counterproductive. They embrace the flexibility technology has provided the workplace, despite its ability to keep us connected 24/7. Balanced leaders aren’t afraid to unplug for a few hours or even a few days.

I believe it’s really important for a leader to take time to disconnect. For example, I might travel to three countries in a week, but I’ll block out the weekend to spend time with my two sons and my wife. Or an evening for dinner with friends, or an event for the nonprofits I work with.

5. Grateful leaders are never too busy to say “thank you”

They remain grounded, stay human, and never forget where they came from. These leaders create a culture where people are recognized and valued for their contribution. They don’t just acknowledge the department heads or top sales people, but also those unassuming people behind the scenes, maybe the ones who make their coffee, or deliver their packages, or record their videos.

Gratitude is something that’s very important to me personally. In the past I’ve found many small but meaningful ways to say thank you, including personal letters and company awards.

Every CEO is different, and none of us are perfect, but the most effective and inspiring fall into one, several, or all of these groupings.

By a wide margin, these leaders will get the least press, even though they far exceed in numbers their peers with volatile personalities. Regardless, through the strong example they’re setting, they’re increasing customer loyalty, attracting the brightest talent to their companies, and inspiring the next generation of leaders.

FOUR EMOTIONS DERAILING YOUR GOALS

Emotions are powerful, especially if we let them work in our lives without paying full attention. They can derail our goals if we let them.

In my experience there are four emotions that usually come mixed in a powerful cocktail, sure to undermine our goals: fear, uncertainty, doubt, and shame. Most of us succumb to these from one time to another. I certainly do.

Early in my career, I used to suffer from social anxiety. I couldn’t go an office party without getting clammy hands. I’d sweat like crazy. It was embarrassing. My only defense was to avoid going. But of course that avoidance meant I missed opportunities to advance my career. Later, when I was made CEO of AGN Schools, I was hammered by pretty intense feelings of inadequacy, which is just another name for that dangerous cocktail. It’s only a matter of time before they find me out, I thought.

It’s a universal challenge. As it turns out, most leaders are like that. Whenever I speak on this topic, they admit it. It’s a universal affliction. And it’s natural. There’s no playbook for leaders, no manual. We’re all making it up as we go. Under those circumstances, who wouldn’t feel like they might blow it?

To this day I feel it every time we start a new product. It’s the most natural feeling in the world. The truth is that any leader that doesn’t feel that way should probably get fired. They’re obviously self-deluded. But just because I wrestle with these four emotions doesn’t mean I have to succumb to them. Two realizations have helped me develop some immunity to this deadly cocktail.

Two Powerful Realizations

The first is something my mother always said: “Nobody is thinking about you as much as you’re thinking about you.” It’s a simple but powerful statement. It takes the teeth out of any fear I feel because I realize everyone is probably just as nervous as me. And if that’s true, they’re thinking about themselves, not me.

Once you get that everyone’s thinking about themselves and wondering how they’re coming off you can stop worrying. It actually makes the whole thing seem kind of comical.

The second realization is that nothing good ever happens when I’m tucked in my comfort zone. If I’m not struggling with all these emotions, I’m probably in my comfort zone – and I’ve learned that’s an unprofitable place to be. Going outside my comfort zone stretches me. It causes me to grow and be more creative. I might hatch an idea in my comfort zone, but to bring it to reality requires the bravery of stepping out.

Fear, uncertainty, doubt, and shame can sink our dreams and derail our goals. But they don’t have to. It’s up to us how we respond. If we’re aware how they’re working inside us, we can face them down and overcome their negative influence.

Do you ever face these four emotions? What do you do to combat them?

DO NOT QUIT BEFORE THE FINAL WHISTLE

What do you do when you find yourself down on the track while the race goes on without you? We all trip and fall. The question is what comes next?

How often do we use our setbacks as an excuse to check out? We walk off the field before the whistle blows because it’s easier on our bruised egos and depleted resources than getting back in the race.

Here’s a recent example from my own business. A few years ago I ran a campaign for my own school. It was a start up then. The initial response was far below my projections, but I was tempted to let it go. The results wouldn’t have been stellar, but they weren’t terrible either.

Then my coach challenged me. Was I quitting before the whistle sounded? There was still time to reboot the campaign and change the outcome, he said. And he was right. I rolled up my sleeves, retooled the campaign, and drastically changed the results. In the end I actually beat my projections.

1. Our response builds our character. Very often in those moments where we are tempted to bail, our character is a stake. Character isn’t fixed. As Oscar Wilde said, it’s made and unmade by our decisions. When we push through difficulty and see things to the end, we’re developing our character in a positive way. When the urge to walk off the field comes – and it will – ask yourself what kind of person you want to be.
2. Our response tests our true abilities. Whatever we think about ourselves or the future, if we walk off the track, we never really know what we’re capable of or what was truly possible.
3. Our response impacts others. I wasn’t just running for myself. I was running for my team, for my school, for my family and community. The impact of my decision was far-reaching – even down to us discussing it today.

There’s something at stake in every decision to stay in the game that goes well beyond ourselves. Quitting not only robs ourselves of needed character development and a deeper understanding of ourselves, it has an immeasurable impact on those around us.

The issue in all of this isn’t wining or losing, but whether we’re willing to play full out. There are real things at stake – personal, professional, and beyond. We can’t afford to cheat ourselves or the people counting on us buy walking off the filed before the end of the game.

Have you faced a moment recently where walking off was easier than staying in the game? How did you convince yourself to stay in and see it through? 

WHAT NO ONE EVER TOLD YOU ABOUT WORK-LIFE BALANCE

When it comes to work and life, most of us know what it feels like to be out of balance. But do we know what it feels like to be in balance? It’s not a trick question – even if it seems so at first.

A few months ago I took my mentoring group on a ropes course. For one of the challenges, we walked a long stretch of rope that wound around several trees. We had to hold onto each other as we worked our way across the line.

Here’s what I remember most of all: when we were balanced, it never really felt like we were. Our legs constantly moved and wobbled, and we strained to grip each other and the nearest tree. But we stayed on that line a long time, making little corrections, adjusting our weight, and trying to stay upright. It didn’t feel like balance, but it was.

That’s exactly how life is, right?

We’ve been speaking the last week about the symphonic life – the idea of allowing all the parts of our life to play at the right pace and volume. It’s a metaphor for balance. But what about the people that say work-life balance is a myth, an unattainable condition we all hope for but need to forget about?

It’s only a myth if we misunderstand what balance means. Here are three vital aspects of balance we need to keep in mind, especially as we apply the concept to our work and life:

1. Balance is not the same as rest. If we think that attaining balance means finally getting a much-needed break, then we’re missing something important. It’s not about rest, though it does include it. Balance is about distributing demands so we can stay on track. And sometimes that takes a lot of work. If that’s where you’re at right now, don’t be discouraged. It’s just part of the challenge.
2. Balance is dynamic. “Life is like riding a bicycle,” Albert Einstein said. “In order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.” We’ve all experienced this. The slower you go, the more trouble it is to keep your bike up. Momentum helps us stay on course. It’s the same for all the corrections and adjustments we make along the way. Balance requires tweaking our schedule, task lists, and more. If you have it right one week, it still requires attention the next – which lead us to No. 3.
3. Balance is intentional. Our bodies are programmed to stay upright, but it takes a bit more focus when it comes to the complex responsibilities and relationships that make up our lives. We have to make purposeful decisions and actions if we want balance. It’s not accidental. Those decisions and actions will look different for each of us, but they’re essential for all of us just the same.

If we’ve bought the myth of fun, fast, and easy, then we might be tempted to look at work-life balance as a sort of get-out-of-jail-free card. If we just get the right combination of job, family, rest, and hobbies going in our favor, then we’re home free. But that’s just magical thinking.

Balance isn’t easy, fast, or always fun. It requires constant movement, constant attention. That’s why it can feel like we’re not truly balanced even when we are. Sometimes when we’re doing exactly what is required to keep our balance, we feel the most unbalanced. That’s only because we’ve misunderstood balance and expect it to do something for our lives that it can’t.

But once we adjust our perspective, we can see it for what it is – a difficult but necessary way to approach our lives. Rather than be discouraged when the challenge becomes hard, we can recognize the difficulty as just part of the course.

What do you think about the possibility of work-life balance?

HOW TO UNPLUG WHILE YOU ARE ON VACATION

For the last few years I’ve taken a short sabbatical each summer. I’m looking to rest and focus on intense relational time with my family. The challenge is unplugging from the office.

Anyone who’s attempted it can relate to the difficulty. I’m at the computer or on another device a large portion of the day, every day. I’m reading, interacting on social media, dealing with email, building my business. Plugging in is second nature. Unplugging is hard.

People use many different solutions with varying degrees of success. Some try hiding apps on their mobile devices. Others use parental controls. I read an article a while ago about a writer who actually locks his phone in a safe. And then there’s this idea, a walk-in Faraday cage to block digital signals.

That might go a little far for me. The good news is that I’ve learned a few things about unplugging since starting my sabbatical tradition. These five steps work for me:

1. I enable a special emergency email that I only use while on sabbatical. Only my family and teammates have this email. I check this once a day.
2. I disable all other email accounts on my desktop and mobile devices. I’m using an auto-responder to explain my absence along with Gmail’s filter function to delete all messages as they arrive. Details on the auto-responder and filter below.
3. I delete Slack and TweetDeck on my desktop and mobile devices so I’m not tempted to check them. I will reinstall them when I return.
4. I view Facebook via my browser, but I will only use my personal account to stay connected with family and close friends. This is entertainment for me not work. I’ll keep Instagram on my phone for the same reason.
5. I set up a voicemail message for my phone that mirrors the auto-responder message I’m using for my email accounts.

Here’s the text of that auto-responder message. You might find it useful. I also explain how to set up the Gmail filter to remove all messages from your inbox as they arrive. It’s not quite the same thing as deleting them, but it’s close.

To set up the filter, go to your Gmail settings and select filters. When you go to add a new filter, you’ll see a window like the one below. In the “From” field, type “.” This mean the filter applies to ever message.

You will get an error message on this, but you can ignore it. Once you set the parameters, click “Create filter with this search.” You’ll see a window like this one.

Make the selections you see above. You can’t actually delete the message and also trigger the vacation message. Instead, mark it as read and skip the inbox. The message won’t be deleted, but it will be automatically archived so you don’t see it when you return to your inbox.

These steps allow me to get my head out of my work and my heart into my rest. In my experience these steps allow me to get my head out of my work and my heart into my rest.

What steps to you take to unplug? How much rest do you get if you don’t?

HOW TO MAKE A BIG CHANGE WITHOUT BLOWING UP YOUR BUSINESS

Whenever an organization rolls out a major change, clarity and alignment are essential. Without those two things all the best intentions amount to little more than heartburn and headaches.

As a leader responsible for a medium company, I have experienced the difficulty of getting clarity and creating alignment with my team. In one instance, we shuttered more than a dozen division of our publishing operation and restructured the entire business. But I’ve also found myself on the other side of things – outside of the leadership seat and in the role of observer. Only in this case people were making decisions about my brand!

As an example, I remember when the National Speakers Association announced a significant change to their name (about 2 years ago). They announced that they would adopt the name ‟Platform”.

They noted that their members do a lot more than public speaking and their initials are far from popular right now. I sympathized. “NSA” was tarnished brand, regardless of what you think of the federal government’s operations. Within a ten days they’d reversed course and abandoned the name. As the whole situation played out, I was reminded of five key steps for any organization before rolling out a major initiative. Each of these steps is designed to achieve either clarity or alignment. Both are essential if an organization wants to avoid a backlash to its proposed changes.

These apply to the NSA, of course, but they also apply to all of us seeking to lead in the world of social media, where everyone has a microphone and everyone is connected to everyone else.

1. Determine what you need to communicate. This is the single most important step. You need to get crystal clear on your message. Distill it down to one sentence. What’s the headline? That’s all most people will take away anyway. Part of this step requires answering the why question. You need to provide the rationale. This where NSA got it right and wrong. They did a great job of communicating why their brand needed an update, and I’m sure we could all agree. But they didn’t explain why taking platform was the right course for their organization.
2. Commit your message to writing – in advance. My introduction to the NSA rebrand came through watching a video recording of a public address, so I’m not sure how this worked beforehand inside their shop. But I always start by writing a press release, talking points, and FAQ document. Not only does this step bring tremendous clarity to my own thinking, it also enables me to enlist others and keeps me from having to formulate communication in the midst of a public relations storm.
3. Secure alignment with your leadership team. It’s crucial that you give your key team members information, time to process, and space to discuss. It’s hard to overemphasize this step, and the importance increases with the magnitude of the change. Individuals may express disagreement, but they can still get behind the change if they feel like they’ve been heard. If they feel ignored, however, they may well work against the new initiative.
4. Contact key stakeholders – personally. You cannot afford to surprise your key constituents. This is another area where NSA might have stumbled. In the blowback of the initial decision, it seemed as if there were key people in the dark about the change. It’s essential to enroll your key stakeholders, determine who will contact whom, and then start making visits or calls – in advance of the public announcement. The information should quietly cascade within the organization. Then take it to select VIPs outside the company before the public revelation. You’re doing more than communicating about the change. You’re also conveying your respect by informing your VIPs before you go public. Then, once you go public, they are able to say, ‟Yes, I knew about that change. They contacted me in advance of the announcement.”
5. Go public through all available media channels. Now take it to the world via press releases, blog posts, and social media. This ensures you control the narrative. Without a narrative, critics will create their own. And that’s when things begin to unwind. Part of going public is staying public. Keep the channels open for public dialogue. Interviews, blog conversations, Twitter exchanges – they’re all key for managing the public response. The NSA did this well. When the backlash came, the leadership owned the problem, solicited responses, and were quick to respond.

No change is easy, especially big organizational changes like a restructure or a rebrand. But clarity and alignment through good communication are critical components of initiating major change without blowing up your business.

I was eager to see what the NSA leadership was to develop for their new brand. I wanted them to succeed. Though they stumbled on this recent initiative, I think they had the opportunity to achieve even greater clarity and alignment within their organization. This would serve them well as they serve their members and the world at large.

What good and bad experiences have you had with major organizational change?