Further evidence from the UK this month that you must spend lots of time explaining a situation before you launch the solution.
The UK Government, now headed by Liz Truss, held a ‘mini budget’. The critics predictably came for them when it was immediately followed by a fall in the Pound’s value.
The problem was that the speed of the mini-Budget meant the Government had no time to tell the story about why it was needed, and what it would do. In addition, it was too busy afterwards to outshoot the critics.
We’re big believers in just-in-time communication (tell people only when they need to know). But the harsh reality is that the bigger the problem and your solution, the longer you need to tell a story (and repeat it) that justifies and explains your impending actions. You also need more effort afterwards to ensure the action is embedded and appreciated.
The busyness of organisations spreads their effort too thin. Not enough time is devoted to the single-minded pursuit of what they really really want their audiences to do and think.