Out of Sync

Oh, Out of Sync, the Doctor can hear that you and your entire marching band are out of tune all the way from the nosebleed section of the bleachers. I can picture the halftime show: The drum major blows the whistle, and the trumpets head for the end zone, the trombones veer toward the visiting team, the clarinets head for the locker room, and the tubas stand perfectly still (who can blame them). So, instead of spelling out your firm’s name, the band members are twirling around like batons.

Thanks for indulging my little analogy there, Sync, but I’m guessing this is the sitch with your comms: Your website doesn’t match what you say in your proposals. No one is monitoring your social media channels to make sure they mesh with the rest. And probably the worst offenders are you and your partners, who each break into a vigorous solo depending on who you’re interviewing with. In other words, you’re improvising when you should be synchronizing (see what the Doctor did there?).

Well, I’m pretty sure you know what they say about doing the same thing many times over and expecting a different outcome (I know you know: it’s the definition of insanity). You already told me that none of you has ever looked at all your comms, and that means you’re reinventing lots and lots of wheels. And believe me, those wheels are spinning. But admitting you have a problem is step one, as the self-help gurus would say. Step two is taking an honest, deep-dive inventory of everything your firm says about itself and then evaluating it to see if it’s effective or not.

Of course, you want to start with your website. But you also need to look at your proposals, collateral, press mentions and press-facing materials, social media channels, presentations, interview scripts and graphics. I’m not talking about looking at a little guacamole garnish, I’m talking about the whole enchilada, cheese and rice and beans and all. Yeah, it might hurt a little, like ripping off a Band-Aid, but no one ever said you’d get the gain without the pain. The conversation with your partners about the results of that audit must happen, and it goes a whole lot better with a referee in the room who doesn’t care who wins and may even prevent a few skirmishes. (Ahem. The Doctor knows a good ref if you’re in the market for one.)

The Doctor only met you five minutes ago, Sync, so she’s spit balling here, but she’s got a sneaky feeling that your audit will confirm what she already suspects: Your mission statement and values don’t fit your firm anymore. And of course they don’t. You and your partners probably wrote them back when you signed the lease for your first office space. And if your firm profile talks about “design excellence, innovation, and collaboration,” well, congratulations, Sync! So does the profile of practically every other design firm in America. All that might be true, but it’s not going to make you unique or get your cell phones ringing, for those who still make phone calls! No sirree. 

Let’s start from the top. You need to build, or rebuild, your mission and values first, because they’re the foundation for everything else. And you need to have one compelling and authentic story about your firm. That’s not always easy, but here’s the even harder part: you need to get everyone to say the same thing, whether it’s through content on your website, responses to questions in an RFP, or conversations with potential clients while you’re working the room at a networking event. Look, Sync, we all know that in the heat of a deadline, things can go off the rails lickety-split. So, you need an editorial standard, a rulebook for how your firm sounds and what it says. That way, no one has to guess or, worse, make it up as they go along. And then you need a communications plan that explains how, when, and where you roll out your firm’s story.

Even more, you need to put someone in charge of keeping the whole band in step. It could be you or someone else with the authority to tell you and your partners when you’re on message and when you’re off. I know, I know, the Doctor can see your eyes rolling from way up here. But if you don’t monitor it, you’re not gonna change it, and that story of yours will stop way before it even starts.

So, here’s the full diagnosis. You have plenty of talent and great musicians who are playing their hearts out. What you need is an enthusiastic drum major, one set of sheet music that everyone can read, and some great choreography.

Now go forth, strike up the band, and build your influence. The Doctor is cheering you on!

– The Doctor

Haus Call: This month’s house is Gerrit Rietveld’s Schröder House in Utrecht, The Netherlands (1924). With its straight lines, flat planes and primary colors, the house is the quintessential embodiment of De Stijl. It was based on Rietveld’s Red Blue Chair, which is not surprising, considering that Rietveld was trained as a furniture maker.