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Q2 Chaos and the 90 Day Review · Communication Breakdown

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Welcome back to Communication Breakdown, a weekly podcast from the Observatory on Corporate
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Reputation.
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Thanks for joining us.
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I'm Steve Dowling on the road this week.
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And I'm Craig Carroll in New York City.
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Each week Steve and I take a look at strategies companies are using to shape headlines and
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sometimes save their skins.
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It's a post game show for PR Pros.
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As we turn the calendar page from March to April, we're putting the first quarter of 2025
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in the books and it's an understatement to say the world looks a lot different this April
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than it did last December.
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So this week we bring you a new page from the OCR Playbook for Chief Communications Officers.
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A framework Craig has developed that's a new twist on the old quarterly review process.
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Time was 90 day reviews were about settling in.
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One time corporate onboarding ritual where human resources checks in to see how you're doing,
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getting along with your boss and making sure you hadn't burned down the office.
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But it's not just for HR anymore.
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Craig, you're telling CCOs they should be running their own 90 day reviews every quarter.
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Is that right?
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What's the thinking here?
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Yeah.
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Well, the thinking is this too many CCOs are running on momentum instead of strategy.
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They're so deep into the day to day, reacting to headlines, managing internal fires, adjusting
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to the latest regulatory curveball.
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So much crisis in chaos going on that they're not stepping back to ask, did we actually
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shape anything this quarter?
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Did we just kind of manage through it?
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Are we headed the next shift or are we playing catch up again?
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And do we even know what's working or are we just making assumptions?
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That's huge, right?
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But I would say a 90 day review is sent about looking back.
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It's about resetting forward.
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If you don't stop, take stock and real line the next 90 days are going to do nothing but
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look a lot like the last 90 days.
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Okay, so let's break this down.
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The 90 day reset isn't just a review.
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It's a way to make sure that corporate communications isn't just keeping up but actually setting
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the pace.
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And to do that, you need five core pillars.
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These aren't just theoretical, they're practical, it's a structured process to make sure that
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your next 90 days don't look like a repeat of the last 90 days.
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Okay, so there's five pillars.
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First up is a strategic reset before we do anything else.
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You've got to figure out, okay, what's changed or the leadership priority shifting is the
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external environment throwing a curveball to us.
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And then ask yourself, okay, what's non-negotiable here and what needs to evolve?
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Some things need to stay the same.
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But others, you know, your messaging, your focus, even your team's role might need some type
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of adjusting.
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And if you don't take time to do this, you're operating a last quarter's playbook and in
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this environment, that's just a losing strategy.
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So number two, the second piece is influence mapping.
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Well, let's be honest, the power landscape shifts pretty quickly.
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And the mistake that a lot of CCS makers is assuming that the same stakeholders from
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last quarter are still the same one to matter most this quarter and that might not necessarily
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be the case.
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So what's actually shaping decisions now?
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Well, regulators, policymakers, activist groups have some input.
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The point is that sometimes the biggest voices aren't necessarily the ones that you're tracking.
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So you ask yourself, okay, you know, who's gained power, you know, who's lost power?
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And are you still engaging the right people?
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Or are you overindexing on relationships that just aren't as relevant as much, at least
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for this next 90 days?
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And this is big, you know, the question is, does our company narrative still hold up?
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Because if the conversation has moved on or you're, you know, you're still running last quarter's
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talking points, so you're out of, you know, you're out of sync before you open your mouth.
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And so this is a good time to pressure test your messaging, not just what you're saying,
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but how you bring it to life.
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The third is prioritization, or I would say operational reprioritization.
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You got to be ruthless about where you're spending your time and resources.
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A lot of times CCOs and our teams are running on autopilot, doing work that might have mattered
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three months ago, but isn't exactly moving the needle today.
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So here's what you ask.
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You ask what's driving attention away from what really matters, where some wasted energy,
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working communications actually drives the highest return.
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Not everything deserves your time.
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And then, you know, the question is, are you still fighting last quarter's battles?
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Because if you are, you're already behind on what's coming next.
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So you know, this really set about working harder is about making sure that you're focusing
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your firepower.
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We're actually counts.
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The fourth is visible wins or signaling strategic value, if you will, you know, you have
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to be able to show impact.
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Here's the reality.
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If leadership can't see communications making moves and, you know, your team runs the
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risk of being sidelined.
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So the question is, what are the top three one to three high leverage wins that you can
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land in the next 90 days?
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And are these wins that you can actually tie to business impact, or they just visibility
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place, right?
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I think ultimately we want to be able to connect to business impact.
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And are you making sure that communications is indispensable because if you don't, somebody
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else will.
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Okay.
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So the last one, it's the scorekeeping, you know, this is where a lot of teams, I'd say
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most teams drop the ball.
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You know, they do the review, they have the conversation and then they just move forward without
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any built-in feedback loop.
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And that's a mistake.
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You know, you've got to have a system that keeps the momentum moving, you know, weekly execution
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cycles asking, or we actually moving the ball monthly check-ins, not just a, you know,
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just by what's been done, but see where we need to adjust in narrative testing.
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Are we still aligning with the reality or is our messaging getting still?
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So the idea here, you know, it's the 90 day deep brief, isn't just a review.
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It's a repositioning exercise.
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And it's what makes sure that you're setting the next agenda instead of reacting to
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somebody else's.
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That's the framework.
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Five pillars, five things that separate the team were shaping the next quarter from
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once they're just hoping things will go their way.
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And the question is, you know, are you running the reset or is the reset running you because
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in this environment, hope is in the strategy.
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And if there ever was a quarter that called for reset quarter one of 2025 was that, you
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know, between the shifting regulatory landscape, corporate leaders being pulled into political
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crossfire and companies struggling to maintain control over their own narrative, this was a
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quarter that tested every aspect of CCS playbook.
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Well, that's for sure.
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Since Trump returned to power in January, tariffs are the new corporate cliffhanger with
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targets and deadlines changing day to day.
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If you didn't have a plan for trade wars going into this, well, hopefully you do now.
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Regulatory whip lashes, the new normal diversity and other workforce policies aren't just
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being eliminated.
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The executive branch would like them criminalized.
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So if you're waiting for stability, don't hold your breath.
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But chaos communication is a concept we've returned to time and again on this podcast.
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It's a new skill communicators are developing by necessity, mostly defensive, but not without
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the occasional opportunity for those who aren't afraid to put their hand up.
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I'm going to say that I prefer the term chaos management over chaos communication.
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Anyway, this quarter wasn't just about keeping up.
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It was about controlling the playing field, you know, who anticipated the terrified and adjusted
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before the fallout, you know, who positioned their company inside the policy battles instead
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of reacting from the sidelines and who's still scrambling to make sense of what just happened.
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Because in a quarter like this, if you weren't shaping the game, you were getting played.
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Craig, let's start with the big picture.
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What's your defining lesson from the first quarter from a comms management perspective?
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We've been over the policy drama many times.
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What's the takeaway we can apply to future chaos or even a return to normal if that ever
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happens?
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That's a great question.
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I, you know, the defining lesson here, CCO's just can't afford to react.
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You know, quarter one made it clear chaos isn't an event.
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It's the environment.
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There's no return to normal because normal was never stable to begin with in the first place.
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So the big takeaway for CCO's is you need a structured way to reset and real line every
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single quarter.
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So you know, if you're not actually tracking what's moving the needle internally and externally
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you're just guessing.
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And if you're not adjusting your influence strategy, somebody else is shaping the narrative
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for you.
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And if you're waiting for stability before making your next move, you're already behind.
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So, you know, the deal is the best CCOs aren't just navigating crises.
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They're building a system to assess, recalibrate, and reposition every 90 days.
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And that means structure tools like a 90 day review template, influence mapping dashboards,
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quickly tracking systems, just to make sure that you're not looking backward, but that you're
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actively shaping what's ahead.
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Because in this environment, hope is not a strategy.
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Now, you're positioning this 90 day period as a strategic reset rather than a passive review.
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How much of a mindset shift should this be for CCOs?
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I mean, one of the things I'm always preaching is continuity.
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You want to be driving the narrative, which I know you agree with that, but how do you
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advise we balance this need to reset with the need to carry on?
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My main question about this framework is how dramatic does that reset need to be?
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Well, it's less about making a dramatic reset and more about making a deliberate one.
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A 90 day reset isn't about, you know, sliming on the brakes and making a new turn.
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It's more about making sure you're actually steering and not just drifting through traffic.
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And that's a whole lot easier.
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If you're checking in daily, weekly and monthly, without adding extra work, I think that's
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the important part.
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So daily, I mean, you can think about just a quick dashboard check, where do my time go,
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is I in the driver's seat or was I reacting to road conditions?
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Just 60 seconds at the end of the day, what progress did I make?
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What detours pulled me off, of course.
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But weekly course corrections am I staying on the intended route or am I being forced on the
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side roads?
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What expected roadblocks came of?
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What adjustments do I need to make before I get too far off track?
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And then monthly, just kind of big picture navigation am I still headed towards my destination
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or if I veered off course, if I spent too much time dodging potholes and not enough time setting
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the route?
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If you're doing this in simple, small steps, the 90 day review is in a heavy lift.
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It practically writes itself.
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You're not relying on memory or scrambling through emails, you're just checking the map,
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making real time adjustments and ensuring that you're still in control of where you're going.
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You can think about it like this, right?
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You can't drive the narrative if you're not steering the car.
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And CCOs fall into the illusion of continuity too often, right?
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We tell ourselves that we're building a strategy, but too often, we're just reacting to what's
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in front of us.
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And if you're only making adjustments when something's forcing your hand, when policy shifts
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or when the board starts asking questions, you're already behind.
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So the mindset shift is this.
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Continuity isn't just sticking to the plan, it's active recalibration.
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Some things will stay the course, if positioning strategy is working, keep pushing.
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Some things need to be reworked though, right?
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If a message is getting stale, you gotta tweak it.
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Some things are going to need to be dropped because if you don't decide what's no longer
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serving you, then the market's going to decide for you.
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The reset doesn't mean that you have to hold everything.
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It means that you've got to have a system to check your positioning, adjust where it's
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needed, and stay and control the game.
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So the reality is, the best CCOs are waiting for chaos to force a reset.
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They're building it into their leadership rhythm.
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Now your model emphasizes both strategic integration and high impact execution.
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Tell us what that looks like, delivering what you're calling visible, high leverage
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wins while also working on the alignment parts.
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Yeah, so I'd say, first of all, it's about playing two games at once.
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One is visible and the other is structural.
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High impact execution means delivering wins that the business, the board, and the market
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can see.
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Those are the moments that cement the CCOs role as a strategic leader, not just as a communication
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function.
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That looks like CEO positioning on a key issue, getting ahead of a regulatory shift
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before it happens.
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It looks like proactive engagement with policymakers, not just waiting until the legislation
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is written, but shaping the narrative before it reaches the floor and shifting media narratives,
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not just issuing statements, but ensuring that your company is setting the agenda instead
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of reacting to it.
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But alignment work is just as critical, even if it's less visible.
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And that means making sure that the C-suite and board see the same external landscape before
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they start making reactionary decisions, internal messaging, and external positioning match because
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if they don't, employees are going to be the first ones to notice and that the right stakeholders
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are engaged early so that you don't spend the next 90 days in damage control.
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Because it's not up to be loud.
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I mean, you have to be loud in the right places with the right alignment behind the scene.
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So in a 90 day reset, the CCOs got to ask, what's the win we need to make?
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That's visible this quarter.
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What moves the needle externally?
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And what alignment needs to happen internally to support that?
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Where are the gaps and who's not on the same page?
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So if you don't do both, you either look misaligned or you're just making noise that just
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doesn't stick.
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And you've outlined five pillars for this 90 day reset sprint.
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Which do you see as the most challenging for communications leaders?
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And what advice do you have for making them happen?
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I zeroed in on what you're calling influence mapping where you say rebuild stakeholder
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alignment.
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Yeah, look, influence mapping is for sure the hardest part because let's be honest, power
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is always shifting.
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So I'd say the biggest mistake that CCOs make is thinking that the stakeholder map that
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they had last quarter still holds up.
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It just doesn't.
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If you're running in a real 90 day review, this is where you have to look beyond the usual
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suspects.
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That's the C-suite media employees and festers.
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That's just the surface level.
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And if that's all you're tracking, you're going to be missing key forces that are shaping
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your operating environment.
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And for me, that's why this idea of the 90 day reset is rechecking who's actually influencing
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the decisions that are affecting your business.
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This includes third party actors, you know, NGOs, trade groups, think tanks.
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These groups are laying the groundwork for policy arguments that regulators are going to pick
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up next.
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Not factoring the men, you're setting yourself up to be blindsided.
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We have to think about shadow influencers, not the people in the room, but the ones whispering
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in decision makers ears, policy advisors, industry lobbyists, former officials who still
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hold some kind of sway.
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If you're not recessing these networks every quarter, you're already behind.
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Certainly supply chain risk.
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This is something that has been growing over the past five years since coming out of
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the pandemic.
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There's suppliers, distributors, global partners, they have their own battles and their own
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vulnerabilities, and they can quickly become yours.
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If they're caught in a trade war or a regulatory squeeze, you could be the one taking collateral
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damage.
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And then of course, we can't forget about internal power struggles, right?
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You know, sometimes the biggest roadblocks aren't just external.
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Legal sees risk one way, government relations sees it another way, and suddenly communications
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is handcuffed before the first statement even goes out.
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Okay, but how do you actually do that inside of a 90 day review?
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Because I get it power is shifting.
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We've all experienced that dynamic at one time or another, but it isn't something I think
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most CCOs have built into their routine.
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That's exactly the problem.
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You know, most CCOs are adjusting in real time, but they're not stepping back every quarter
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to reassess who has leverage what gaps are forming and where they're losing ground.
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And when you don't make time for that reset, you're just reacting.
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So this idea of the 90 day review force you should have stopped and asked, you know, who's
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gained the most power in the past very much policy makers, regulators, activists who are
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shaping the agenda now, who's lost power and what does that mean for your positioning?
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Are you over indexed on the wrong people while missing new voices in the debate?
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Then the outside have to look internally or the right people inside your company aligned
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on the external landscape.
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You know, it's legal seeing the same risks as communications or they being pulled in different
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directions is government relations engaging early enough or are they constantly in reaction
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mode?
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And beyond strategy and alignment, there's also the personal question that every CCO needs
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to answer, you know, my managing my own energy, or am I running at a constant deficit?
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What am I delegating?
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What needs to come off my plate so that I'm focused on high impact moves?
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Because this job is just about running the playbook.
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What's about having the capacity to actually execute it?
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If you're too drained or spread too thin, you're missing opportunities before they even present
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themselves.
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And not every win is going to be loud, right?
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The best CCOs aren't scoring headline grabbing victories.
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They're also banking quiet wins that shift the power dynamics, stopping a bad policy before
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gains traction, strengthening and internal alliance that prevents future misalignment and
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preemptively de-risking a crisis before it surfaces.
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And that's the difference between tracking power and actually influencing it because if
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you're only reacting when the landscape shifts, you're already behind.
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The real work happens in the 90 day reset, assessing, recalibrating, repositioning and
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reprioritizing before the next quarter actually resets for you.
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But it's all interesting food for thought.
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Craig, thank you.
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These last 90 days certainly have felt like a sprint and I think everyone listening realizes
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it's a marathon as well.
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We'll do our best to keep up, starting with a new episode next week.
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Communication breakdown is a production of the Observatory on Corporate Reputation.
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We want to thank our producer, Sean P. Neal and the People Forward Network for making
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our podcast possible.
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If you have a question you'd like to discuss on the show or a topic you think we're missing,
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drop us a line, our email address is podcast@ocrnetwork.com.
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Thanks again for listening.
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I'm Steve Dowling.
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And I'm Craig Carroll.
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Thanks for listening.
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We'll be back next week.
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