Feeding the beast

Duke of Wellington's Desk - Whitehall

This might seem a rather baffling statement, in the context of event planning; but, in my experience ‘feeding the beast’ means making sure you are communicating in a timely and effective manner with the media, the public, senior leadership, stakeholders and your staff with respect to operational progress and major developments (whether adverse or positive). The voracious and ever evolving communications environment , with the growth of social media and citizen journalism, has translated into leaders reprioritising timely, transparent and authoritative messaging as critical within any operational environment.

Sometimes issues emerge and things go awry! Thus, of particular relevance in today’s world is managing the velocity of crisis management, which has increased exponentially with the growth of instant social media messaging. Social media postings spread more rapidly than traditional communication platforms and can be more ‘credible’ than your own version of events with respect to what has actually happened! This carries a significant risk of disseminating harmful disinformation, which is plausible and may have a long lasting resonance on reputation and shaping public perceptions.

I always prioritise having an effective internal and external communication strategy in place, based on the key principles of Integrity, Trust, Transparency and Timeliness within any operational planning environment. A ‘Comms Strategy’ is no longer a ‘nice to have’ secondary consideration but integral to any event.

Having your Boss find out on Sky News, rather than from you, that you have a problem in your operation can be a very, very painful experience!