Re-Assess the Mess

DAY 45

I'm now more than six weeks in to this new job. I thought I'd be farther along through "The First 100 Days" checklist than #11 -- Assess the Mess. Actually, I have gone further than this several times but I keep circling back to #11. Each time I think of a new initiative or one of the staff comes up with a great idea, it quickly loses steam because we realize that actually carrying out the new idea is probably unfeasible.

Why is it so hard to do something new here? Because the communications situation is a mess. I can't find images when I need them. I can't revise flyers or design ads. I can't organize info packs. It is all a mess. What I'm realizing is that I shouldn't have skipped item #12 -- Deal With The Mess.


I skipped it for two reasons. First, I wanted to jump into revising and producing actual things, mostly so the directors and the staff would now that I'm worth something, that I can do this job, that I'm a good part of the team. Second, I figured the organization had been limping along with this jerry-rigged communications "system" (basically an electronic version of dozens of semi-labeled cardboard boxes in a back room) for years -- overhauling this system would take significant energy and time so let's put it off until I find my footing in this new world.

Well, the time has come to Deal With The Mess. There's no getting around the need for a functional system to find files, images, text, products, etc. There's no getting around the need for basic info materials. There's no going anywhere near the world of Web 2.0 when our communications department is operating on Planet 0.5. (I say "0.5" to emphasize that from a communications perspective, our organization is not even at a level of legitimacy. Certainly they are known and well-regarded for their actual work. But they barely crack the level of ramshackle in their public profile.)

You can see from the image that I've done some brainstorming about how to attack this mess. I figured coming into this job that my first strategic plan would be all about how we are going to change the way people think about our core issues (social equity, affordable housing, community re-development) and all about the innovative ways to use Web 2.0 to build support and understanding. Instead my first strategic plan is about plumbing -- how to get the water flowing, the electricity hooked up, the phones turned on; how to raise four walls and put a roof over our heads; how to properly hang out our shingle in the competitive world of social betterment.

'Nuf said. Time to get to work.

Back To Basics

When I took this job, I didn't realize it would be so hard. I didn't realize that it would take so much work to get the organization up to speed on basic communications activities. I didn't realize there was so little happening on the communications front. I didn't realize that this organization was only ready to take baby steps into the 21st century and not leaps and bounds into Web 2.0.


Now I know. After six weeks on the job and two long discussions with staff over the past week, the picture is becoming clear to me... and it's not a pretty one. The organization does not have a record of attending relevant conferences, even locally based ones. They do not have a regular packet of information for potential funders. They do not have a clear path to relevant information on the web site. The web site itself is outdated, clunky, and irrelevant. A local organization has asked us to have a info table at a public event and we don't have any materials ready to pass out -- and the organization banner is all crinkled and folded, sitting in a dusty corner!


Now I know. When I interviewed for this job (and even in the first week or two) I talked about my ambitions to get us involved in social media -- blogging, Twitter, Facebook. It seemed like a natural direction for our work and our desire to mobilize people around our issue. But now I see we are not even at Web 1.0. We are not even at Communications 1.0. We are in the Stone Age.


I can see that before moving forward on any ambitious outreach, we have to build the infrastructure. This will take time and it means we will keep missing good opportunities for outreach (such as that public event I mentioned). This is especially frustrating because I sat in these discussions with staff and heard energy, enthusiasm, ideas, and excitement for telling our story to the public. Especially among the twenty-somethings on staff, there is an abundance of innovative ideas and get-up-and-go that I love to see -- but I don't know what to do with it. I hate to think that their energy will dissipate into frustration because they will have to wait so long for their cool ideas to occur. Most of their ideas will have to wait for the basic communications infrastructure to be built -- public mission statement and vision, program descriptions, program images, program graphics, promotional materials, basic web pages, etc. It may be quite awhile before we can do the "cool" things of blogging, v-casting, using Slideshare, building a network of supporters. It will take patience on my part and their part.


My task in the next week or two should be laying out a strategic plan for how this is going to happen. Show them how we can do their ideas (to keep their enthusiasm alive) by doing the basic building blocks first.


Is this a common situation for new communications director's to walk into? I came in with all these strategic and tactical ambitions, but they will all have to wait. I won't have a chance to flex my strategic or visionary muscles for a while because what this organization needs right now is simply a leg to stand on.


Comments? Thoughts? Advice? Commiserations?

Opening a Can of Worms

DAY 38

In my last post, I wrote that I'm not sure how to convince my managers about the need for a second go-round of rebranding. Since then, other events have intruded and I have made no progress on this conversation, though I think that will change later today.

This afternoon, I will present my reflections on the NTC to the whole staff, including the directors, in an informal conversation about the future of the organization's mission. I'll present the ideas I took away from the conference about the need to define ourselves clearly and connect in compelling ways with our audiences. And I will raise questions about what the staff thinks our mission is and how we should frame that mission to various audiences. I will ask them how they describe their work to their friends and family. I will ask them what they think is the most unique or important aspect of the work we do. I will raise the question of whether our programs are the most effective way to bring about the change we want to bring or should our mission/goal be more clearly stated than 'change the world for the better.'

If nothing else this conversation will get the staff thinking about these issues and alert the directors that I am approaching this work from square one -- I am questioning the assumptions behind the organization and asking for a rationale for choices that have been made. I may be opening a can of worms, but I believe that is what I am supposed to do if I am going to be any good at my job and make a valuable contribution to this organization.

Stay tuned for a report on the meeting!