Communications Starts at the Top - Cause Communications

Next month, our agency will celebrate an incredible 40 years of furthering “communications for good.” That phrase has been our tagline for many years – and it encapsulates the work we’re proud to do every day.

Those three words aren’t just sloganeering. Our founder, R. Christine “Chris” Hershey, has long been a proponent of doing good for communications – as an evangelist for the impact of smart, strategic messaging on an organization’s success, irrespective of the industry it serves. Central to Chris’s worldview is the idea that — whether its efforts are proactive or reactive, internal or external — communications belongs right at the top of any organization, alongside leaders in business strategy, in finance and in human resources.

Every day, we see the need for just this sort of prioritization. When a passenger was recently removed from a United Airlines flight, the company’s organizational structure proved unprepared to allow the CEO to receive direct and timely advice from his in-house communications and PR professionals.

This gap between leadership and communications swiftly worsened an already costly circumstance for United Airlines, as it has for so many other organizations and causes.

Because it is relied upon both for the maximization of opportunities and for the prevention (or, at least, mitigation) of crises, strategic communication is a critical investment for any organizational effort.

If empowered with unhindered access to decision-makers, an experienced communications professional helps leaders “see around corners” to more fully understand the downstream effects, perceptions and consequences of their important decisions. That’s the sort of value that can sink or save a bold agenda.

Who knows — it might even have rescued United from appearing so divided.