Need a clear course of action? A starting point? With an outsider’s perspective and proven methodologies, Deb can get you there and beyond.

THE SNAPSHOT – Let Deb capture and categorize all your communications – who’s talking, to whom, how often and why? You may just be surprised by what your snapshot reveals.

Timeframe: 2-4 weeks
Benefits: Measure it, and you can manage it.

THE LISTENING POST – Are your communications effective? Ask the folks on the receiving end. Deb uses best practices in survey design, focus groups and one-on-one interviews to uncover what audiences really think and need. Especially potent, and critical, when measured against a baseline Listening Post.

Timeframe: 4-10 weeks
Benefits: Know who you’re talking to, and more easily influence their behavior.

THE TREASURE MAP – View results from the Snapshot and Listening Post plotted on a four-quadrant perception map of your communications. See clearly how you’re spending time and resources. Coded overlays show even more data, including gems like audience ratings.

Timeframe: 2-3 weeks
Benefits: Treasure maps leads to riches.

TWITTERWIKIBLOGTUBE – It may sometimes seem like one big mishmash, but it’s not for any of the millennials on your teams, or any of the major tech firms that use social media to facilitate information exchange (and win the war for young talent). Experts predict social networking platforms to be an inevitable corporate must-have, so let Deb assess and advise you on how these tools can advance your goals.

Timeframe: 2-6 months
Benefits: Achieving goals becomes easier and more engaging, people like their jobs more and the boss is finally cool.

THE HEAT-SEEKING, GOAL-ACHIEVING STRATEGIC PLANNER – Stop putting out fires and get ahead of the game with proactive communications laser-focused on your business goals.

• Annual Communications Planning – Who says you can’t predict the future? Every business has an annual cycle around which to plan. Then add regular communications that reinforce your key business goals, explain their importance and facilitate their achievement. Focus, enable and rally your teams to get the job done. Adjust over time in response to feedback. Voila.

Timeframe: 6-10 weeks + ongoing (assumes reasonable start state)
Benefits: Significantly increased control (control!) of messages, information and outcomes; communications become your friend.
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• If You Build It, Tell People You Built It And Maybe They Will Come – You’ve invested big time resources in a new initiative. Now put the same effort into telling people about it: who needs to know what, how and when? Promote it top-down, bottom-up or both? And how best to explain the incentives? (You remembered the incentives, right?)

Timeframe: 2-4 months plus lead time
Benefits: Faster, more successful adoption of new initiatives, with greater stakeholder support. In short: they will come. You may even need to save seats.

THE FIRE(ME UP)WORKS – A comprehensive evaluation and reengineering of your communications including all of the above, beginning with the Snapshot and ending by preparing to launch your new Heat-seeking, Goal-achieving Strategic Planner.

Timeframe: 4-8 months + ongoing
Benefits: Increased efficiency, productivity and achievement of key
business goals; eliminated waste of time, resources and team good will;
enhanced reputation and influence; reduced stress for you and your
team(s). R-E-L-I-E-F.
SEE CASE STUDY