Strategic Communication Plans

My team and I once tried to hand-wave our way past Jeff Bezos with a large headcount request. He asked one question, was disappointed by the answer, and dug deeper. After a weak answer to question two, it was game over. Jeff declared that he trusted NONE of our proposal and sent us back, telling us, "Break down your requests to no more than 2 or 3 heads, tops, per line item. Then explain exactly what these small buckets will do." Once we did this, he went through the request line by line, telling us what we could and could not have. Overall, it was probably the most brutal experience I had with him in my 15 years at Amazon. While some people will read this and feel it was micromanagement, he was entirely right. We thought we had a blank check, so we made a big, broad funding request. We learned very quickly that while Jeff supported our mission, he expected us to spend "his" money carefully. Most people think executive influence happens in the room, by talking slick or having the right alliances. While communication and connections are hugely important, most of your influence is built before the meeting starts. Getting executive buy-in comes from understanding your executives, anticipating their concerns, and structuring your message around what they value. Here are two quick specifics: 1. Preparation If you walk into a key stakeholder meeting without preparing, like I did, you’ve already lost. The first step in preparation is clarity: What are you trying to achieve, by when, and why now? Then, define exactly what you’re asking for: a decision, resources, or permission to move forward. Finally, decode the humans. What does each stakeholder care about? What do they fear? How do they make decisions? Build your case in their language and plan your approach with intention. 2. Focus on Facts Executives are moved by accurate, outcome-driven facts. Shortly after this disastrous headcount audit, I was asked to lead the global expansion of the Kindle Appstore. This required taking 55 engineers away from other executive leaders to staff our rush effort. Our team won support by anchoring on three facts: (1) Kindle’s success in the U.S. was undeniable (2) The holiday deadline couldn’t move (3) Leadership had already approved a one-year draft to make it happen. Those facts aligned perfectly with what executives valued most: growth, timing, and company priority. If you master these skills, you’ll earn trust and support from senior leaders. In large organizations, this translates to success in your projects and success in your career. I've written a much more in depth Newsletter that covers these skills and more: https://lnkd.in/geEBPazP When have you either fallen into hand-waving or had to call your team on it?

Whether you are creating performance creatives or creatives for an ATL campaign, while writing briefs you must always understand the current awareness state of your consumers At any point of time, a potential consumer who is in-market for your category can be classified under one of the following -         Not Problem Aware -         Problem Aware -         Solution Aware And each of these will warrant a different creative If you have a truly innovative product and trying to solve a problem which most people aren’t even aware of, most of the time will have to go in making people aware of the problem and then link your solution to the problem If most of your potential consumers are problem aware but don’t know what the solution is, you have to start a bit with the problem and then introduce your brand/product as the solution. For new innovations, the best place to start is if a good chunk of the consumers are already problem aware If there are already existing solutions in the market and most of your potential consumers are already solution aware, your focus must be on highlighting why your solution is better than everything else in the market. It might mean lot of product comparisons and answering all potential barriers to purchase When we started selling BLDC fans in 2015, most people were problem aware. High electricity bills was a problem. The inconvenience of getting up to change speeds was a problem. But they didn’t know that BLDC fans could solve it. So, a lot of our focus was around highlighting that BLDC fans save electricity and bring a lot of convenience with remotes But over the last 3-4 years, more than 10 brands entered the category. And all of them were also heavily advertising. By now, a good chunk of people were solution aware and knew that BLDC fans can solve their problems of high electricity bills. And so a lot of our digital communication moved to highlight how our BLDC fans were better, and also on things which are over and above just energy efficiency. We started highlighting our smart features, innovative designs etc. as plain vanilla BLDC was now a commodity This is a very simple yet strong framework that can guide communication strategy for brands and products of all sizes

Roadmaps are not one-size-fits-all. They should be tailored to each team. Why? Because roadmaps aren’t just timelines, they’re communication tools. And what you communicate depends on your audience. Consider these examples: - Product Development Teams need detailed, execution-focused roadmaps. Think engineering commitments by quarter, discovery vs. delivery status, and alignment on what’s coming next. - Sales Teams are looking for big-picture stories. They need to know which features will excite customers and when they might expect them. These roadmaps focus on value propositions rather than granular details. - Leadership needs a strategic view. Roadmaps for them focus on initiatives and capacity planning, linking back to the company's broader vision and goals. To create all these roadmap versions effectively, we need collaboration between product operations and product teams. That way, each roadmap serves its specific purpose and audience. Take Rebecca’s example from my Product Operations book with Denise Tilles. By keeping these roadmaps aligned with business rationale, she was able to bridge the gap between sales expectations and product realities, building trust and transparency across the organization. She also introduced a clear framework for sharing feature status across teams. This included stages like Discovery, Alpha, Beta, and GA. Understanding these phases ensures that everyone, from sales to engineering, knows the real status of a product feature and can communicate that clearly to customers. The magic happens when product operations steps up to support these efforts. By providing tools and frameworks, ProductOps help teams to align their roadmaps with strategic intents and prevent the kind of overselling that happens when teams aren’t on the same page. In short, roadmaps aren't just plans, they’re how you build alignment. How are you tailoring roadmaps for different departments in your organization? Let me know in the comments!

Good communication informs. Emotional intelligence transforms. The words you choose shape the emotional tone of every conversation. The right sentence can lower tension faster than the right argument. People remember less of what you said than how safe they felt saying things back. Keep these 3 things in mind... 1. Emotionally intelligent language lowers defensiveness before it raises clarity. Many of these phrases work not because they’re “nice,” but because they reduce emotional threat. Once people feel less attacked, they become more open to truth, accountability, and collaboration. 2. High-EQ communication often sounds slower than low-EQ communication. Phrases like “Walk me through what happened,” “Tell me more,” and “Let’s take a breather” all create space. Emotional intelligence often shows up as a refusal to rush the emotional pace of a conversation. 3. A lot of trust is built through ordinary, low-drama moments. Something like “How was your kid’s birthday?” may look small, but it signals something powerful: I see you as a person, not just a function. That’s how relational trust gets built over time. Now read it one more time with these insights in mind... Speak With Emotional Intelligence “We’ll get through this together” Stand with others when the going gets rough “Here’s what I heard you say” Listen actively and confirm understanding “Let’s put our heads together” Work collaboratively with others “Tell me more about your concerns” Lead with mutual respect and seek common ground “Let’s talk about this” Lean into conflict, looking for a path forward “I was wrong” Role model ownership and growth “Thank you” Give appreciation liberally “How are you feeling?” Check in on others when you sense something’s up “Walk me through what happened” Seek to understand, not blame “We better change course” Be adaptable when circumstances change “Here’s why I made that decision” Work to bring others along — even when difficult “How was your kid’s birthday?” See and care about others as human beings “I’m sorry” Recognize when you’ve caused hurt and own it “Let’s take a breather” Notice charged situations and take a step back “I’m proud of my effort” Prioritize self-love, not external validation “Great job!” Praise others frequently “I feel…” Work to see and name your feelings “I’d love your input” Ask for feedback regularly “How can I help?” Offer support often ---- ♻️ Like, follow, and repost if this resonates. ➕ Follow Travis Bradberry for more and sign up for my weekly newsletter at TravisBradberry.com Thanks to George Stern for the graphic. Do you want more like this? 👇 📖 My #1 bestselling new book, "The New Emotional Intelligence" is now discounted on Amazon.

I was Wrong about Influence. Early in my career, I believed influence in a decision-making meeting was the direct outcome of a strong artifact presented and the ensuing discussion. However, with more leadership experience, I have come to realize that while these are important, there is something far more important at play. Influence, for a given decision, largely happens outside of and before decision-making meetings. Here's my 3 step approach you can follow to maximize your influence: (#3 is often missed yet most important) 1. Obsess over Knowing your Audience Why: Understanding your audience in-depth allows you to tailor your communication, approach and positioning. How: ↳ Research their backgrounds, how they think, what their goals are etc. ↳ Attend other meetings where they are present to learn about their priorities, how they think and what questions they ask. Take note of the topics that energize them or cause concern. ↳ Engage with others who frequently interact with them to gain additional insights. Ask about their preferences, hot buttons, and any subtle cues that could be useful in understanding their perspective. 2. Tailor your Communication Why: This ensures that your message is not just heard but also understood and valued. How: ↳ Seek inspiration from existing artifacts and pickup queues on terminologies, context and background on the give topic. ↳ Reflect on their goals and priorities, and integrate these elements into your communication. For instance, if they prioritize efficiency, highlight how your proposal enhances productivity. ↳Ask yourself "So what?" or "Why should they care" as a litmus test for relatability of your proposal. 3. Pre-socialize for support Why: It allows you to refine your approach, address potential objections, and build a coalition of support (ahead of and during the meeting). How: ↳ Schedule informal discussions or small group meetings with key stakeholders or their team members to discuss your idea(s). A casual coffee or a brief virtual call can be effective. Lead with curiosity vs. an intent to respond. ↳ Ask targeted questions to gather feedback and gauge reactions to your ideas. Examples: What are your initial thoughts on this draft proposal? What challenges do you foresee with this approach? How does this align with our current priorities? ↳ Acknowledge, incorporate and highlight the insights from these pre-meetings into the main meeting, treating them as an integral part of the decision-making process. What would you add? PS: BONUS - Following these steps also expands your understanding of the business and your internal network - both of which make you more effective. --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

Land of the Disengaged? Or just unheard?   Employee engagement in #Germany has hit an all-time low. According to the Gallup Engagement Index 2024, the number of highly engaged employees has dropped to single digits—while 78% are emotionally uninvested, doing just enough to get by.   Even more striking: • 50% don’t see themselves with their employer in a year • Only 34% plan to stay for at least three years   This isn’t just a leadership issue—it’s a communications one. Because in times of uncertainty, people don’t just need direction. They need connection.   Too often, we try to prevent disengagement instead of actively building motivation and belonging. But what’s the cost of that passivity? A culture where people feel unseen, unheard, and ultimately, uncommitted.   As internal communicators and leaders, we can’t afford to let silence fill the gaps. What makes the biggest difference?   ✅ Communicate openly—even when the message is tough ✅ Create consistent touchpoints that invite dialogue, not just updates ✅ Show people their feedback matters—then act on it ✅ Celebrate wins, recognize contributions, and make purpose visible   Engagement isn’t just about retention. It’s about trust, meaning, and making people feel they’re part of something worth showing up for.   Especially now, leadership and internal comms must work hand in hand. It’s time to step up. #engagement #connection #deloitte Deloitte

Let’s face it - current headlines spell a recipe for employee stress. Raging inflation, recession worries, international strife, social justice issues, and overall uncertainty pile onto already full work plates. As business leaders, keeping teams motivated despite swirling fears matters more than ever. Here are 5 strategies I lean into to curb burnout and boost morale during turbulent times: 1. Overcommunicate Context and Vision: Proactively address concerns through radical transparency and big picture framing. Our SOP is to hold quarterly all hands and monthly meetings grouped by level cohort and ramp up fireside chats and written memos when there are big changes happening. 2. Enable Flexibility and Choice: Where Possible Empower work-life balance and self-care priorities based on individuals’ needs. This includes our remote work policy and implementing employee engagement tools like Lattice to track feedback loops. 3. Spotlight Impact Through Community Stories: Connect employees to end customers and purpose beyond daily tasks. We leveled up on this over the past 2 years. We provide paid volunteer days to our employees and our People Operations team actively connects our employees with opportunities in their region or remotely to get involved monthly. Recently we added highlighting the social impact by our employees into our internal communications plan. 4. Incentivize Cross-Collaboration: Reduce silos by rewarding team-wide contributions outside core roles. We’ve increased cross team retreats and trainings to spark fresh connections as our employee base grows. 5. Celebrate the Humanity: Profile your employee’s talents beyond work through content spotlight segments. We can’t control the market we operate in, but as leaders we can make an impact on how we foster better collaboration to tackle the headwinds. Keeping spirits and productivity intact requires acknowledging modern anxieties directly while sustaining focus on goals ahead. Reminding your teams why the work matters and that they are valued beyond output unlocks loyalty despite swirling worries. What tactics succeeded at boosting team morale and preventing burnout spikes within your company amidst current volatility?

“My customer doesn’t want to talk about their goals.” I hear this from CSMs all the time. But when you listen to those calls, here’s what’s actually happening: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗦𝗠 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲, “𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴... 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘱 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴.” Guess which topic the customer jumps to? Of course they choose the shiny new roadmap updates. Not because they don’t care about their goals… But because we gave them an easy out from a harder, more vulnerable conversation. The truth is: Your customer 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 want to talk about strategy. They just need two things from you first:  1. A reason to trust you with their goals.  2. A clear and confident setup for the conversation. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱: “𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 10 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳.  𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰’𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” You don’t need to beg for goal alignment. You need to earn it with clarity and confidence teaching the customer why it is valuable for them to share that information with you. Stop asking if they want to talk strategy. Start leading the conversation in a way that makes it a no-brainer. What’s helped you unlock goal-setting conversations with customers? #customersuccess

When it comes to social media my goal has always been to focus on my audience and adopt a client-centric mindset. Every post is intended to provide value to you. Every post is designed to help you while I share some stories along the way. Shifting to a client-centric mindset has been the key to my social media growth. And it’s often why others fail to grow. They make their posts all about them or they are boring and provide information that you can easily google. Adopting this mindset is important because it transforms the way you post and ensures your content provides real value to others. Here are some best practices to maintain the client-centric approach on social media: 1. Adopt a Client-Centric Mindset: Focus on what benefits your audience rather than showcasing your achievements. 2. Avoid Self-Promotion: Refrain from posting about awards or personal accolades. If you do post these, tell a story and make it about others. 3. Provide Value: Only share content that is helpful and relevant to your audience. 4. Show Rather Than Tell: Demonstrate your expertise through valuable insights and actionable advice. 5. High-Quality Content: Consistently post well-crafted and informative content. 6. Be Present: Regularly engage with your audience to remain top of mind with them. 7. Ask Key Questions: Before you post, ask yourself, “What's in it for my audience?" and "How can I provide value?" 8. Rethink and Rewrite: If a post doesn't answer these questions, reconsider its value. 9. Reinforce Expertise: Focus on content that highlights your knowledge without directly stating it. 10. Engage and Interact: Actively respond to comments and messages to build stronger relationships. Following these best practices will help you transform your social media presence and effectively engage with your audience. Let me know what you think of these tips in the comments! #linkedinexpert #linkedintips #linkedinmarketing #socialmediamarketing #personalbranding

Until you embed sustainability into every single aspect of your marketing, you are going to constantly be at risk of greenwashing, purposewashing or socialwashing, depending on your stance! And the reason being - you need to practice what you preach and that means marketing itself needs to align with its company's wider sustainability stance. But first you must understand how your marketing is working for or against sustainability and that means a deep dive into 11 core areas: 1. Target audience - who are your customers? Do you have people in your marketing team that reflect your audience? Do you make additional considerations around whether your audience actually 'need' your product or service? What kind of data do you collect on them? 2. Product/Service - does society or the environment improve the more product or service you sell? Where do your products end up at end of life? What do you do with the products you cannot sell? 3. Price - How do you set your price? Are there variations in price depending on who you are targeting? 4. Place - Where do you sell your products / services? Can you list all the websites that your digital advertising strategy currently funds? If you sponsor events, what criteria do you have in place when sponsoring them? 5. Promotion - Does your product/service rely heavily on impulse buying? Does your marketing depict a sustainable lifestyle? What advertising approaches do you use to persuade your customers to buy from you? 6. Growth strategy - How often do you encourage customers to repurchase? Do you have sales on your products / services and if so, why? 7. Governance - Do you have policies and processes in place to prevent certain things from happening? Do you have a full breakdown of where your advertising spend is being spent? 8. Suppliers - Which agencies do you use? Are they on the Clean Creatives F-list? What criteria do you consider when choosing a supplier? 9. Team - Is there a gender pay gap? Does your team accurately represent your audiences and the society within which you operate? Is there a fair representation of DE&I throughout the senior marketing structure? 10. Performance - What are your metrics for success? What factors do you consider when trying to improve your success rates? 11. Operations - How many events do you attend in person? Do you travel abroad to get footage for your marketing? How much marketing material goes to landfill each year in terms of event stands, brochures, merchandise etc? To do a proper deep dive, we list all the questions for each section in our book! Only once you have this analysis done, can you start to understand how and where you need to change how you operate in order to ensure that you are embedding sustainability into every single aspect of your marketing and thus reducing the risk of diving into the greenwashing etc camp! #marketing #advertising #sustainablemarketing