This week our class served as a good reminder for what communicative storytelling for a team was all about, and how it has evolved over the years.
The team PR person serves many masters, all of whom want control of two key areas…
Access
and
Information
Balancing access with information so that the message reaches the amplifiers…those in all forms of media who have a large megaphone…without overtaxing the talent is a challenge, but the challenge is overcome by finding “Trust” on both sides of a difficult relationship…
The Balance, The Problem Solving Is Not Easy…
The job involves balancing both, building consensus and finding the best path to all forms of storytelling, most of which has zero to do with team performance, and has everything to do with proactivity. Without that path to storytelling success:
Fans Are Not Engaged
Brands Can’t Justify ROI
Results Get Lost…
Business Fails…
Now with all that in mind, it always comes down to building consensus and keeping all informed, even those with differing agendas.
Athletes Have Their Peeps
Sales People “Always Need”
Coaches Protect
Agents Want $$ For Everything
Media Are Territorial
Fans See Only Themselves
Result: It’s Hard For Those In The Limelight, Or The Front Lines, To “Win”…
In the end, we came up with four critical “P’s” for success on the team side:
Proactive,
Protective,
Profitable
and Painless (As Possible)
Keeping those in mind and on hand as you go through the storytelling process, and balancing yourself on the tightrope of access and availability, can help keep one out of the abyss…and enjoying the ride.
