You Are Going The Wrong Way! How Would He Know Where We Are Going?

Thomas Whitehead

This quote and scene from John Hughes’ 1980s classic Planes, Trains & Automobiles is one of my favorite examples of how miscommunication can create more problems than resolutions when everyone is not on the same page.

I was recently reminded of this scene when I had lunch with a friend and he was sharing some of his frustrations with his current job. Relatively new to the position, he was stressed out that his bosses were asking him to do more and more tasks that were outside the original scope of what his job responsibilities were. More stressful for my friend was the issue that these new requests were delaying the chance to achieve the original goals.

As I listened more and more, I asked him one simple question – “Did you create a communication and marketing plan for the organization?” To this, he said he didn’t.

To me, this was the root of his frustration and stress. Without sitting down and taking the time to develop a comprehensive communication plan for at least the first quarter, if not whole year, the organization could be easily driven off course and distracted from the original goals that were set forth with his hire.

A communication plan includes, but isn’t limited to, a situation analysis, audiences, key messages, goals, objectives, strategies, tactics and a timeline. This document is always dynamic and can be adjusted at any time according to the needs arise. 

The beauty of it for my friend would be that as his bosses create new duties, he can cite the communication plan that everyone would have agreed upon and use that as leverage to have a clear course in accomplishing what needs to be done.

The communication plan is the foundation of any true successful publicity campaign. You have to start at the beginning by knowing what has worked and failed in the past. That perspective will quickly allow you to identify what direction your path should take.

Otherwise, if you don’t have a direction, there is a good chance you might have to pass through two trucks coming right at you.

Sometimes, simpler is just plain better.

Courtney Liebenrood Ellett

 We’ve all been guilty of it at some point – getting distracted while driving, whether looking at our phone, grabbing something out of the passenger seat or stealing a glance into the back to see why the kids are squealing.

But we also know that distracted driving is dangerous. And thanks to a simple strategy by the Tennessee Department of Transportation, we are now privy to how many lives are lost every single day on the roadways of our home state.

This spring, TDOT began posting the fatality count on electronic message boards along interstates and highways. I remember the first day I saw that count; it was near the beginning of May. I believe the number was circling 300. I thought to myself how high that seemed so early in the year. As a Collierville resident who drives Downtown every weekday, I can’t help but pay close attention as that count inches up.

With each increase, I think about how old the person might have been. I wonder what led to the accident. I ask myself could it have been a child. And then I think of my own children. It’s the daily reminder that I need to stay focused on driving and not on attempting to retain my crown as the queen of multi-tasking.  

My PR point is this: The State of Tennessee was experiencing an alarming rise in traffic fatalities in the first three months of this year, up about 28 percent from the first quarter of 2011, despite the state enjoying record-setting declines for the previous seven years. In 2011, 946 deaths was the lowest number recorded since 1962. 

Something needed to be done to drive the safety message home. While TDOT may be involved in other efforts (both operationally and communication-focused in nature) to curb that increasing total, what I see is that number on the electric sign creeping up – and sometimes spiking – every day. And it makes an impact.

This message is simple, free to execute through existing technology and infrastructure and is always up-to-date. It is more effective than any traditional PSA campaign or news story could be. Most importantly, it keeps my eyes on the road so I’m not the next statistic on that board for someone to see and quietly lament.