No (Communications) Excuses

Recently, I had the opportunity to join the female leadership team from Quarles & Brady (a client) in a candid, intimate discussion with former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Gloria Feldt, who now serves as president of Take the Lead Women. In a blog posted last week, available here, I shared some of highlights I gleaned from Feldt’s discussion, which focused on her newest book, No Excuses, and nine immediately actionable ways women can change how they think about power.
When listening to Feldt share these nuggets, and subsequently while I wrote the first post, I couldn’t help but notice that – if slightly tweaked – her advice is good for those seeking help in developing or building his or her brand or business as well.
Tell your story, says Feldt. HMA works with clients all the time to get over the notion of “being the best kept secret in town” and to develop their brand’s overarching message points. And, like Feldt, we also stress the most imperative element when sharing or telling one’s story: be authentic.
Carpe the chaos, says Feldt, which might seem counter-intuitive when planning a strategic, organized communications outreach. However, in the earliest stages of planning a campaign or developing one’s messages and values, sometimes it pays to have a little creative chaos and free flow of ideas before narrowing down to one or two key ideas.  In chaos, she says there is opportunity. HMA thinks that in chaos – to a reasonable extent in the planning stages – there is creativity.
Use what you’ve got, says Feldt. You, your brand and your business are enough.
And finally, like Feldt recommends women do when taking the lead, employ every medium that makes sense for you.  HMA believes in working effectively with personal, social and traditional media every step of the way in a strategic communications campaign.