Executive Edits: A Seat at the Table—Why Communications are Fundamental to Effective Business Strategies

Years ago, the role of communications—or PR—was more easily defined. Communications professionals served as storytellers and relationship-keepers with an established media community. They were called upon to deliver a narrative and mitigate negative publicity. If you had a robust rolodex filled with trusted journalists, you could deliver value to your clients. That paradigm has shifted. Companies are less dependent on gatekeepers or even a definable media establishment. Management has the ability to create direct lines of contact with its strategic constituencies, and therefore the old model has given way to specialized advisory services where communications professionals help companies shape—rather than deliver—content across multiple channels.

And yet, despite widespread acceptance of the change in the media landscape, communications is still often viewed through an outdated lens—one focused on spin, or manipulation. But truly strategic communications is something different altogether—it's about enhancing the credibility and reputation of executives and the businesses they operate. It's about utilizing the new tools that companies have at their disposal in a thoughtful and authentic manner. It's about ensuring content from management meets high standards of credibility, and that management is seen to have a trusted voice. It's about your communications advisors truly having a seat at the strategy table.

Why? For the same reasons that companies look to outside strategy consultants, lawyers and financial professionals. All companies can perform these functions ably—but an outside, independent view is critical in times of change or opportunity. This has always been the case across many professional services, and now more than ever, it is the case in the communications industry. Companies need outside communications advisors who have a hand in shaping—not "spinning"—content that will be delivered to their stakeholders.