Communications lessons from a weary but wise snow shoveler

It’s the time of year that most of us with large driveways and long sidewalks dread: snow shoveling season.

As I’ve burrowed out from Old Man Winter’s latest storm, I’ve thought about how shoveling mimics aspects of developing and executing a communications strategy. Follow these steps:

Before I shovel a stretch of my walk or driveway, I evaluate what the foundation—underneath the layers of snow—is like.

For example, parts of my driveway are concrete, parts are gravel, and some parts have random stems growing out of them.

When you create a communications strategy you must evaluate it in the same way. Before tackling a campaign or strategy, try to understand the following:

You must also have a clear understanding of your goals. Though goals are the “end point,” they are part of the foundation.

By understanding what the foundation looks like, you can have a clearer vision of what the goal looks like. I know success on the concrete section of my walk is clear pavement, but the success on the gravel sections is totally different—a snow-covered smoothness.

How your goals might vary is an important distinction you must make in your communications strategy.

During the winter, I say a prayer of gratitude to the deities of my daily survival: