Ketchum’s CEO Accelerator services are grounded on 12 guiding principles:
- Culture-Match Audit – Many new CEOs fail because their communication values, style or history affect the way people respond to them. CEO communication and organizational values must align.
- Preparation – In the past, CEOs have had the luxury of a honeymoon period. No more. There is an expectation that a new CEO will hit the ground running. The business strategy may not be ready on Day One, but the communication strategy and plan must be.
- Immediate Execution – Begin communicating on Day One. "Nature abhors a vacuum." In the absence of communication from the new CEO, gossip, rumor and speculation will fill the void. Even without a business plan, CEOs must remove the fear, uncertainty and doubt by letting people know how and when they will communicate the plan. It is better to have to dial back communications rather than turn them up.
- Issues Prioritization – Understand the difference between what is urgent and what is important. Avoid being distracted by urgent activities that aren’t important to achieving the goal.
- Stakeholders Prioritization – Understand who is important, and among the important who has real influence. Understand how the CEO and the organization are viewed by those stakeholders.
- Focus – Great CEOs have the ability to apply tremendous focus – to dive deep on one issue and then move on to the next. Focus on a few key themes. Too many themes create uncertainty over what is truly important. With uncertainty, nothing is truly important.
- Avoiding Corporate-speak -- Be clear, be authentic. Communicate for the benefit of your audience. Keep it simple; work toward an emotional connection. Building trust is the first order of business, and trust is transactional. It lives or dies with every transaction.
- Sending a Message with First Actions – Scrutiny of new leaders is intense. Use this to a CEO’s advantage by making early actions say something about strategy or leadership style. But recognize that a company’s reputation is increasingly based on corporate behavior – not just words. Make sure actions align with words and can stand up to public scrutiny.
- Planning – Develop a systematic plan for integrating communication throughout the organization, rather than bolting it on as an afterthought. Incorporate as appropriate all communication tools: direct contact, media relations, influencer outreach, social media, etc.
- Adaptation – Understand the new requirements for engagement and dialogue. Communication channels evolve. For example, social media has had a dramatic effect on the influence of stakeholders and the fundamental nature of corporate communications. A leader today can’t succeed with only one-way communication.
- Anticipation – Prepare for issues that may derail a agenda and to move quickly to correct a course. Setbacks are inevitable. But CEOs can stay ahead of the game by honestly assessing vulnerabilities and moving quickly and directly to address issues that arise.
- Measurement – Develop metrics to track progress. Tailor these metrics to priorities and track them faithfully and honestly.
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