Framework First: Fundamentals Before Fun

For as long as I can remember, mid-November brings with it not only the first cold winds and snow showers of winter, but the start of basketball season. For the 21st year in a row, I am deep in practice planning mode for my high school team, waiting to see how this year’s crop of players will grow into new roles, with evolved skill sets and new experiences. As I plan out the first week of practices post-Thanksgiving Break, I am tempted to install fun, fast-break drills in order to get the boys excited about being on the court together. And then I remember that before we can do that, we need to focus on teaching the fundamentals. It is not always fun, and can sometimes feel monotonous, but focusing on the basics is absolutely critical to building a foundation for a successful season. 

Organizations are no different. As they prepare to launch a new messaging campaign or strategic plan, it is tempting to jump right into the fun stuff: the publication design, the glossy stories for the website, or video that you think will have a big splash with your constituents. But this is not where organizations should focus their energy. Instead, they need to slow down and focus on the framework of their messaging platform, the core “why” of their message, and the key planning milestones that will guide their comprehensive strategy over time. Just like any good coach who is disciplined enough to drill the fundamentals, a CEO or Executive Director who is willing to commit to building a framework is laying the groundwork for a successful campaign in the future. 

Here are three practices an organization can do to focus their energy on building the fundamentals core to a successful messaging or fundraising campaign: 

1. Establish Your “Immovable Why” As Your Foundation.

The most important component of any project is laying the proper foundation. Your content architecture must be built on a foundation that is rooted in your institutional “why” as defined by the immovable components of your mission. It is essential that an organization take time to understand what these immovables are. Ask yourself: Is there agreement across our organization about these immovables? Is our “why” articulating features of our organization or our core mission? Does my articulation of our “why” differentiate us from competition? Does our “why” reinforce the current and past experiences of our constituent base? Read more about articulating your why HERE. 

2. Develop Internal Buy-In to Your External Messaging

Before you write your first press release or plan your first blog post, take time to make sure their internal team understands your vision, has a voice in shaping the messaging, and buys into the core messaging themes established. Take time to ask yourself, would our internal staff/Board be able to identify our content themes? Does our team view communications as essential? Will our team be willing to collaborate and help create content for us because they trust our messaging to be authentic to our mission? Answering these questions in the affirmative are critical to building a messaging framework that is strong, rooted in institutional buy-in, and has the potential for exponential growth as you shift from buy-in to creation of the external messaging. 

3. Create a Framework on Which You Can Build a Strategy

Once you clarify your why and develop internal buy-in to your messaging, it can be incredibly tempting to jump right into the creative endeavor of content creation. Again, be disciplined and slow down! Take time to map the content themes you are focusing on for your organization, identify the storytellers who will help you tell your story, develop personas for your target audience, clarify shared language you want to use across your messaging, and map content delivery mechanisms for each constituency. Only once you have tackled building out these components of your framework should you begin to create content and roll out your messaging campaign. 

The world is filled with digital noise distracting, threatening, and potentially blowing organizations off course. In the midst of these shifting winds, it is critical as an organizational leader to be disciplined in establishing a framework for your messaging. Just as a basketball team that jumps right into running complex offenses and fast break drills without first solidifying their fundamental skills will struggle over time, organizations who focus energy on the glossy videos and press releases before truly understanding their messaging framework will easily drift off course over time. Be disciplined. Develop your framework first.