Effective Stakeholder Communication

How do you retain people? "Make few promises. Keep them all." That's the simplest rule I always recommend. How do you keep your promises when they're a WIP? You send comms to keep people updated. But... How do you know if they're landing? Enterprise orgs should track these metrics: 1) Did they even get it? Measure: Delivery rate or % of employees who got this message. If people never see the message, nothing else matters. You'd be surprised how many internal IT protocols actually end up blocking your internal comms. Happens more than you think. 2) Did they see it? Measure: views or video plays. It helps show you initial engagement which is a good start. It doesn't quite tell you comprehension yet but that comes later. P.S. I've seen open rates below 10% before at Fortune 100 companies who initially thought their comms were landing well until they started benchmarking open rate by cohort & department 3) Did they understand it? Measure: Quick poll: “Was this clear?” (Yes/No. Short quizzes help too btw) People may see the message but not understand what to do with the info. That's why I'm a big fan of the BLUF technique the Navy Seals used for comms. It stands for "Bottom Line Up Front" where the most important information is presented at the beginning of your message. 4) Did they act on it? Measure: Did employee complete the action in question. Ex: what's your completion rate on the actions you sent? THIS is your ultimate indicator that comms are working. 5) Did they feel heard? Measure: Weekly or monthly pulse surveys This gives you qualitative data that helps improve tone, clarity, and trust over time. What you say is one thing but the TONE that your frontline feel from it is what really matters from a culture perspective. Friendly reminder: All of these performance analytics SHOULD be segmentable by department, location, team and region to validate where your areas of high and low engagement are so that you can address this with operations and local leadership teams. P.S. What else would you add?

When I first started in communications, internal and external messaging lived in two separate worlds, but wow, has that changed. If you’re navigating this evolving landscape, here are a few strategies that have worked for me: 🧩 Integration: Align your internal and external channels to create a unified message across the board. 💪 Consistency: Build trust by delivering communications on a predictable schedule. 🔨 Utility: Repurpose your existing tools in innovative ways to tackle multiple communications goals. 🤝 Engagement: Make even the smallest details engaging to keep your audience interested. 🎨 Creativity: Strive to balance informative content with creative storytelling that resonates. Today, “#mixternal” communications or integrating internal and external communications to reinforce a company’s message is the new path forward. Don’t forget, your colleagues are one of your most important audiences—and biggest advocates externally.

The longer I work in Data and AI, the more I realize that communication is the key. It's easy to think that data science, machine learning, or artificial intelligence is all about programming and complex math. While technically true, this is just half the story. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Is the value in the technical complexity or in how you communicate it? One phrase I remember from my communication coach now is, "You can always communicate everything." It's a simple phrase, but you can get something from others by communicating it right. How true the word above is reflected in my experience. When working for a client or employed, I was expected to solve problems with my technical expertise. In the early days, I will discuss the solution and result using many technical terms. You know what happens? A mess. Business people mostly do not understand how our technical things work. Many don't even want to know as long as we are solving their problems. Everything is all about the business, after all. When I became a founder, my train of thought also changes: 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲? Well, I will answer that it's how you package the tech in a nice story. You can even see it yourself: the most engaging technical content has a story behind it. So, communication is important even if you work in technical fields. Here are some tips you can use to improve communication as data people: ✅𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: Tailor your message to what matters—code for peers, impact for leaders. ✅𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: Structure insights as Problem → Insight → Impact for clarity. ✅𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲: Use analogies to relate complex ideas without losing depth. ✅𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧: A good chart speaks louder than a thousand data points. ✅𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲: Explain your project in 30 seconds—what, why, so what. ✅𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤: You're on point if non-technical folks get it. ✅𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Own your insights—clarity with confidence earns trust. Do you have any experience and tips you want to share? Discuss it below!👇 Want to learn more and get daily data science tips in your email inbox? Subscribe to my Newsletter>>> https://lnkd.in/g639tmpD ——————— You don't want to miss #python data tips + #datascience and #machinelearning knowledge + #AI. Follow Cornellius Y. and press the bell 🔔 to learn together. ———————

Emails are supposed to be boring, right? Tell that to the guy who just booked a demo, voted in a poll, and played a scratch-and-win game - all without leaving his inbox. Email isn’t “old.”  It’s the most interactive channel you’re sleeping on. Here are 5 things you can do inside an email today: 1. Collect info without leaving the email → Embed forms that capture subscriber data instantly 2. Swipe carousels → Showcase products or testimonials in-mail, just like Instagram stories. 3. Run polls → Get instant feedback from users without them ever clicking out. 4. Book meetings → Drop an interactive calendar and let people schedule directly. 5. Play games → Quizzes, scratch cards, spin-the-wheel. Conversion doesn’t have to be boring. Everything your landing page does, your inbox can now do. And if your emails don’t convert, it’s not because the channel is outdated: it’s because you’re not using the right tools. That’s exactly what we’re solving at Mailmodo: making emails interactive, engaging, and conversion-first.

Most Projects Fail to Deliver Full Value… Because Stakeholder Management Is an Afterthought. ~ Conflicting priorities stall critical decisions. ~ Misaligned expectations derail project timelines. ~ Key sponsors disengage, leaving teams without support. And yet, when these challenges arise, most teams focus on “more updates” or “more stakeholder meetings.” But the real issue isn’t the frequency of communication – It’s ineffective stakeholder management. Here’s what I consistently see in projects: → Too Many Decision-Makers – Multiple stakeholders with conflicting goals slow down consensus and project momentum. → Competing Priorities – What’s urgent for one stakeholder may be irrelevant for another, creating constant friction. → Limited Resources – Tight budgets and stretched teams make balancing stakeholder demands increasingly difficult. These challenges lead to delays, frustration, and loss of stakeholder trust. What’s the solution? A structured and strategic stakeholder management approach, not just ad hoc engagement. Here’s how I help organisations elevate their stakeholder management: 1. Clarify Expectations Early → Align all stakeholders on shared goals, roles, and success metrics upfront. 2. Strategic Stakeholder Mapping → Using tools like the Power-Interest Matrix to categorise stakeholders and tailor engagement accordingly. 3. Targeted Communication Strategies → Communicating the right information, to the right people, at the right time. 4. Action-Oriented Engagement Plans → Prioritising critical stakeholders and focusing efforts where they create the most impact. When organisations manage stakeholders effectively, the outcomes speak for themselves: → Faster decision-making: Streamlined discussions and fewer bottlenecks.  → Stronger stakeholder alignment: Reduced conflicts and enhanced project cohesion.  → Higher project success rates: Deliverables that meet or exceed expectations.  → Improved stakeholder relationships: Greater trust and long-term collaboration. Stakeholder management isn’t a soft skill – it’s a business-critical strategy. Are competing priorities slowing your projects down? Let’s address it. Drop me a message and let’s explore how structured stakeholder engagement can drive project success and stakeholder buy-in. —- 📌 Want to become the best LEADERSHIP version of yourself in the next 30 days? 🧑💻Book 1:1 Growth Strategy call with me: https://lnkd.in/gVjPzbcU #Leadership #Strategy #Projects #Success #Growth

Interactive content has emerged as a powerful tool to engage audiences and generate leads. This shift towards interactive experiences – encompassing quizzes, polls, and interactive videos – represents a dynamic way to captivate potential clients. Unlike traditional content, interactive elements encourage active participation, making the experience more memorable and engaging.   Types of Interactive Content in B2B Marketing: ✅ Quizzes and Assessments: These tools not only engage users but also help in segmenting them based on their responses, enabling more targeted follow-up. ✅ Interactive Videos: They offer immersive experiences, with clickable elements that can lead to product demos, webinars, or detailed information pages. ✅ Polls and Surveys: These are excellent for gauging audience opinions, providing insights that can shape future content and product development. ✅ Calculators and Tools: Custom calculators or tools (like ROI calculators) help potential clients understand the value proposition in a tangible way.   Benefits of Interactive Content: ✔ Enhanced Engagement: Interactive content holds the user’s attention longer than static content, increasing the chances of message retention and conversion. ✔ Improved Lead Quality: The data gathered through interactive content often results in higher quality leads, as it reflects genuine interest or specific needs. ✔ Higher Shareability: Engaging and unique interactive content is more likely to be shared within professional networks, expanding its reach organically. ✔ Feedback Mechanism: It serves as a two-way communication channel, offering immediate feedback from the audience, which is invaluable for B2B marketers.   Strategies for Effective Implementation: ➡ Align with Buyer Journey: Ensure that the interactive content aligns with different stages of the buyer’s journey, providing relevant information at each step. ➡ Seamless Integration: Integrate interactive elements with existing marketing tools (like CRM systems) for a streamlined process of lead collection and analysis. ➡ Consistent Branding: While focusing on interactivity, maintain consistent branding to reinforce brand identity and message.   Real-World Examples: ✴ HubSpot’s Website Grader: A tool that evaluates and provides feedback on website performance, turning a simple analysis into a lead generation opportunity. ✴ Deloitte’s Executive Quiz: A quiz designed for C-level executives to assess their company’s readiness for digital transformation, effectively generating relevant leads.   In conclusion, interactive content represents a significant shift in B2B marketing, moving away from one-way communication to engaging dialogues. With this marketing mix, B2B companies can not only captivate their audience but also gather meaningful data, driving both lead quantity and quality. #b2bmarketing #ABM #GTM #leadgeneration #PaliwalTalks #B2B #LinkedinCreators

Crafting a Data and Analytics Strategy That Really Resonates For many organizations, articulating the tangible value of a data strategy can be a significant challenge. It's common to default to a technology-centric approach, leading to skepticism about solving a "problem" with a "hammer". 🔵 Strategy First, Technology Second Gaining buy-in for your data and analytics vision before diving into the technical details of the operating model. This prevents stakeholders from questioning the need for proposed technology solutions. Communication is key, and it must be segmented based on your audience – whether you're educating or informing (sideways; business partners), persuading (upwards; sponsors), or instructing (downwards; D&A teams). Each approach demands different content, length, and emphasis in your presentations. 🔵 Concise, Outcome-Led Vision Your vision statement should be remarkably concise, ideally 20-40 words, deliverable as an "elevator pitch". It should clearly state how your data and analytics team contributes to the top three organizational goals, identifies the specific stakeholders you aim to help, and outlines three mechanisms for delivering value. This also includes explicitly stating what you won't focus on, ensuring clarity and preventing dilution of effort. 🔵 Align with Business Transformations and Culture To ensure relevance, your strategy must connect with ongoing major business transformations within the organization. Furthermore, addressing cultural barriers to data-driven decision-making is paramount. I suggest framing the culture as "outcome-led" / "value-driven" and "decision-centric" rather than merely "data-driven". 🔵 Broaden The Appeal and Resonate, Wider Incorporate contemporary drivers and trends (e.g. how DA& teams are responding to Generative and Agentic AI), categorizing them as technology, internal, or market/societal factors, to demonstrate your strategy's forward-looking nature. 🔵 Defining Value and Measurable Impact Prioritize your primary stakeholders (ideally three), and for each, define the top three goals your team will help them achieve. For each goal, identify three measurable metrics, creating a "metrics tree" that clearly tracks your contribution to their success. Gartner defines three core value propositions for data and analytics: 1️⃣ Utility: Providing enterprise reporting as a service for common questions. Central team, allocated budget, data warehouse, etc. 2️⃣ Enabler: Facilitating business outcomes through self-service analytics, coaching, and projects based on business cases. 3️⃣ Innovation: Driving new initiatives like AI for decision making and prescriptive analytics. Each value prop requires a different delivery model, from service desks for utility to portfolio management for innovation, and these should be aligned. Collaborating with leaders like CIO, CISO, CAIO is also crucial for innovation efforts. Develop a D&A strategy that demonstrates tangible business value.

Communication is not about saying what we think. Communication is about ensuring others hear what we mean. Internal communications is about making employees feel good, engaged, informed, & connected. 🚙 It’s the engine behind culture, alignment, & business success. 🔗 It’s the bond that holds the teams together. 🩵 It’s about influence, not control. 📘 It turns corporate strategy into something real for the people. 💪 Internal communications is imperative. However, if everything is hyped to the max, then what is truly important? If all things are A+#1, then which one is truly first among equals? Thanks to technology, we can reach pretty much all employees all the time with everything that ever needs to be communicated. ❌ Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. ✔ We should limit broadcasting & embrace narrowcasting. Segment messages based on employee roles & locations. Defining clear segments & working groups for communication allows you to quickly send a message to the right individuals at any time. ✔ Make communication asynchronous. One example would be a post made on an employee App that others can respond to at any time. Asynchronous communication can be particularly effective for remote teams & those working across multiple time zones or languages (‘inline translations’ is a must). ✔ Move from broadcasting to conversation (interactive channels, Q&As, polls, surveys, feedback loops). ✔ Include your frontline workers. They hardly complain about too much communication. They miss it & too often miss out. ✔ Put in meaningful efforts to truly understand what your employees want. There is no bottom-up communication fatigue … as long as people don’t feel that their voices fall on deaf ears. ✔ Adopt an internal communications platform to connect with your employees at the right time, with the right information, & where they want to receive it. A platform that allows employees to opt in or out of certain information & updates.  ➡️ What has worked for you to reduce internal comms fatigue? Share your tips 👇👇👇 🍯

𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹. A lame hodgepodge of names, emails and vague notes that don't move the needle towards achieving your policy, reputation, and political goals. Here are some more powerful ways to organize so you can have greater impact and influence, which is the whole purpose right? ⬇ ⬇ 𝗕𝘆 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿: —This is the often the first way to organize “tabs” or define labeled categories but it shouldn't be the last. Some examples: media (print, broadcast, bloggers/influencers, podcasts) think tanks and universities, charitable partners, elected officials and senior staff, trade associations and coalitions, embassies, etc. 𝗕𝘆 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀: —Depends on your org., but say you’re a hospital company, these would probably include ones like Medicare/Medicaid, drug prices, workforce, DEI, price transparency, EMR/data security, antitrust, site neutrality, etc. 𝗕𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲/𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: — Is the stakeholder currently an ally, neutral/persuadable, or a detractor? This will often depend on the issue. Obviously, consistent allies on all issues are rare (and super valuable if they’re influential, see below), but it’s crucial to know where you stand in real time. 𝗕𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲/𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁/𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘅: —Regularly sketch out a side map outlining how interested and impactful various stakeholders are on important issues. Think high interest/low influence, high interest / high influence (the best of its aligned to your strategies, a challenge if not), low interest, high influence, etc. Recco doing this for your top 3 main issues. 𝗕𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗸: —Here, past performance is often (but not always) indicative of future results. Assign numbered 1-3 rankings to the most important stakeholders. Group 1 are the most engaged, group 3 the least engaged. **Do this for your allies, neutrals/persuadable and definitely for detractors.** 𝗕𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 (𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀/𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀): —Whose been lead on “watering the plants” from particular groups? What is the nature of the relationship (e.g. former colleague, friend, acquaintance, donor/supporter), how far does it go back? Are there secondary connections within the org.? 𝗛𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝟭: This doesn’t need to be someone from Corporate Affairs, sometimes back channel relationships can do more than formal ones. 𝗛𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝟮:People come and go often. Develop and nurture secondary contacts wherever possible. However your org. manages the map, it needs to be a living, breathing asset. Feel free to add your ideas in comments and big thanks to my friends at Ortus Draws for the awesome infographic that brings it all home!

Why your current approach to difficult stakeholders is failing (and what to do instead) Recently I did a workshop on stakeholder management and conflict for a TA team in an international tech company. Too much content out there is focused on buzzwords and acronyms that lead to "mic drop" moments. It's outdated, overly corporate, and disconnected from real-world challenges. So I approached it differently: 1. 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻: pay attention to your own biases and blind spots and make sure that YOU'RE not the problem 2. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹: don't get frustrated about someone missing a nuanced point in a slack channel where they have 400+ notifications 3. 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: engage with what your stakeholder says, ask questions and summarise to make sure that you've completely understood their point 4. 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆: see the situation from their perspective and understand their interests THEN you can start to put your argument across. Here's what people said about the workshop - "The approach felt modern and very much tailored for the tech space" - "It took into account our specific needs and put that at the forefront of the training." - "It was a good balance between being taught different strategies and methodologies and being interactive." The result? They now have a toolkit that actually works in the dynamic tech environment. Remember, effective stakeholder management isn't about dominating conversations or always getting your way. It's about building relationships that drive innovation and growth. What's your experience with stakeholder management in tech? Any strategies that have worked particularly well for you?