What We Need is No Communications!

“What we need is no communications!”

In my roles heading communications functions for various companies, I’ve actually run into this a few times. In countering this sort of thing from CEO’s or unit leaders, I haven’t felt compelled to justify my job as much as try and understand where this is coming from and apply some hard-won experience in the form of guidance and counsel.

Sometimes this is simply sticker shock from costs associated with the communications function. Of course, it all depends on what the communications strategy and goals are. It really helps if whoever is the purse-holder knows something about the role that communications can play in furthering the business objectives of the company, or as is often the case, defending them. At any rate communications doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg unless there is some big ticket goal, like creating awareness of a brand or a company in a short period of time. Or some monster situation that needs some triage.

In another case, the executive who expressed this to a disbelieving audience of communications staff at a large company later confessed that what he meant was that employees in marketing and sales should spend more face time with customers. This opened an interesting can of worms and I didn’t hesitate to help extract them all. This company had no codified brand values, no view on what the company and its products meant to the customer, no formal customer satisfaction feedback process, no customer involvement in product development, no employee satisfaction surveys, it had a largely invisible business strategy which about 3 employees knew anything about, a succession of CEOs two of whom didn’t really like to talk to people, no identity that no two employees or customers could describe in anything like the same words, suppliers that had little communication from the company other than complaints, a few sticky lawsuits and threatening legislation in the wings, and not a few confused investors. Other than that, everything was great. So of course what we need is no communications. And what is the point of having more face time with customers if things are that wormy.

The company was actually quite decent, albeit complacent in the extreme. And since it was in the healthcare industry, it could claim to be helping people get on with their lives.

Some would say that most of this is none of the business of the communications function. Surely it would be OK to say “it’s not my job”. Or “my life is miserable enough”. Or “who cares, as long as I have a job”.

I’m curious -- as a professional communicator what‘s your view? And what might you have done or recommended in a situation like this?

[Next installment: I’ll tell you what I did . . . and decant another True Adventure from the "What We Need is No Communications!" file]