Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC
Strategic Communications
  • Home
  • What We Offer
  • Guiding Values
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Contact Us

The Wishful Thinking Strategy

9/1/2016

 
PictureImage: graur codrin/freedigitalphotos.net
Most people know the old English proverb, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” Yet we see time and time again how organizations base their PR strategy on wishing the problem away. In that case, walking is the least of their worries.
 
Witness the ubiquitous FAQ. Every organization does them, usually ahead of a media interview or important stakeholder meeting. I’ve drafted my share of them over the years, and it amuses me how often a lawyer would review it and scratch off a question or two. “We don’t want to get into that” was the usual response when I pushed back.
 
Somehow they failed to understand that deleting the question in an FAQ didn’t mean the question wouldn’t be asked. Out of loyalty to my client, whom I wouldn’t leave hanging when the question arose, I often ignored the lawyer’s advice.
 
Here’s a (sadly) more common example of the Wishful Thinking Strategy: disregarding news on social media. I suspect this is a leftover from the days when social media was mostly limited to favorite songs and the latest crush ruminations on MySpace.
 
Social media is far more sophisticated today. Whole businesses have been destroyed by it. Yet in recent weeks I’ve seen an organization pilloried online and decline to engage the conversation.
 
Not every question or issue needs the all-hands-on-deck response—ask me about the “trapped deer on the six o’clock news” story sometime—and trolling is usually best handled at arm’s length. But hoping a serious issue will simply go away isn’t effective PR.
 
When an issue arises and you choose not to speak for yourself, someone else will speak for you. And you’ll likely wish they hadn’t.


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Rick Chambers

    Rick is the owner and president of Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC.

    Archives

    March 2024
    April 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    Accuracy
    Code Of Ethics
    Communication Ammo
    Communications
    Digital News
    Fairness
    Firefly
    Integrity
    Internal Communication
    Lie
    Loyalty
    Matt Friedman
    Media Relations
    Pr
    Print News
    Prsa
    Public Relations
    Radiance
    Recognition
    Sean Williams
    Serenity
    Spin
    Star Trek
    Star Trek Phase Ii
    Tanner Friedman
    Truth

    RSS Feed

About Us

Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC, brings a solid track record of strategic, diverse, objective-based communications and public relations services. RC&A works closely with clients to understand their business, develop stakeholder relationships, build meaningful dialogue and help share their stories effectively.

Picture
Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC
1514 Kingsbury Drive
Portage, MI 49002-1664
USA
269.873.5820
[email protected]