January – 2014 – D. Chris Turner Communications

Leaders, don’t be the tree in an empty forest

January 14, 2014cturner Leave a Comment

Question: If a leader falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear him, does he still make a sound?

I recognize I’m mixing my (metaphysical) metaphors, but the question does have two philosophical implications for leaders and leadership. Philosopher George Berkeley used the metaphor of a tree falling in the forest as a basis for raising the questions: “Can something exist without being perceived?”; and “Can we assume the unobserved world functions the same as the observed world?” Continue Reading →

Is Your Communications Strategy More Than Lipstick on the Pig?

January 10, 2014cturner Leave a Comment

A communications strategy not built on the foundational elements of an organization’s vision, mission and the actions of its leaders and employees amounts to putting lipstick on a pig.

I had a recent conversation with some organizational leaders about communications strategies and how to better tell their organization’s story. I had to manage some expectations because there was the idea that an integrated communications strategy can make everything better. And let’s face it, it can, but only if there is some substance to the organization worth communicating. Continue Reading →