Recently I had the opportunity to test a creative idea in the realm of public relations strategy and the idea – although I wanted to do it and thought is was a good idea – didn’t fit in the plan. I was headed towards that ever embracing Oooo Shiny moment.
An organization that I volunteer my talents and time wanted to run a special promotion in the hopes to attract media. The event (actually, series of events) would have been great, but there was the problem with it. It didn’t meet the business objectives of the organization. Ultimately what we were trying to accomplish might have created a buzz, but it wouldn’t make a dent in the business direction for which the organization is heading.
Approaching the idea from the business angle gave me the ability to counsel the organization’s leader and illustrate the public relations need to reside at the c-suite level.
Did we end up doing nothing, you ask? Nope, we focused our efforts and spent what little precious time we had on staying the course. Call it being efficient; call it being effective, but really it’s just following a predetermined plan.
The great part… I get to actually evaluate the plan based on the communications objectives to see what worked and what didn’t; then building on the corrective actions if necessary.
Have you been pulled from the tasks at hand because of a great idea? When did you realize it was an Oooo Shiny moment? Next time try these easy 10 steps:
- breathe deeply
- focus your inner-eye on the prize
- exhale
- repeat Row, Row, Row Your Boat twice aloud.
- smack yourself
- smack again – harder
- cruise the Internet for funny videos
- take a drink of milk
- laugh so hard said milk comes out of your nose
All kidding aside. Number 10, ask yourself, “What business objective does this achieve?” Also you’ll get better results if you can start a round of step four with your coworkers.