In my 30+ years working through a wide variety of opportunities and challenges in the healthcare space, one truth has remained constant–and industry-agnostic: having a well-articulated and agreed ‘endgame’ before working out the plan of action results in more success than without one. Why? Because when everyone involved at every level shares the vision for what success looks like, they align around it, contribute to it, and ultimately deliver it.
The endgame I’m going for here is far more than a handful of broad-strokes bullet points on a slide. A meaningful definition requires digging beneath surface-level generalities to create a nuanced picture of what we want from the effort or campaign after an agreed period of time, why the company/brand is the one to solve for the challenge or opportunity, and how life will change for stakeholders if we succeed. Once that picture is complete, it needs buy-in from key decision-makers. With buy-in, comes ownership, and with everyone invested, there is cross-functional collaboration, information-sharing, easy communication and support.
Here are a few examples of probing beneath the surface to articulate an endgame:
- Envisioning the future for stakeholders
We examine the current context of our topic and how stakeholders feel, think, and believe about it and the impact on their lives—and how we want those perceptions to change. For a new medicine or approach to discovery and development, this often means exploring what providers, payers, patients, families, and policymakers need to know about the innovation and the science, how it will improve their lives, give them something they’re missing today, how systems will support it, and why to become part of it.
- Improving the environment for sales organizations
Here, we might step into the shoes of sales teams and map the environment, the influences and influencers that would make their jobs easier. This could include considering market dynamics, prioritized customer needs—both expressed and latent—and the preferences and pressures shaping engagement. This will help us determine the voices and storytelling that will resonate best and identify stakeholders at the lowest end of the funnel. - Shaping reputation and corporate narrative
When the assignment centers on reputation, we imagine a near- and mid-term future in which the company and its leaders are viewed as trusted and empathetic, thought leaders and attractive partners among specific stakeholders, and more broadly, a force for good in the community and society. By detailing this landscape, we might define success on messaging clarity, the voices (internal and external, those heard and currently silent) we’ve engaged in the campaign, and actions that close the gap between where the company or brand stands today and where we aim to be.
For any opportunity or challenge, once success is outlined, colored in using any relevant combination of technology and human inventiveness, and clear, the path to getting there–including ideas that create value, content that draws stakeholders in, milestones along the way and the tactics and platforms used–becomes clearer. This includes any necessary pivots in a changing environment.
Carving out a solid half-day for a discussion about what success looks like is time well-spent. Create an agenda that pushes participants well beyond the usual shorthand for the desired outcome (like sales, leadership, the cover of (the desired) outlet, or improved reputation). An effective discussion will tease out what the ‘real’ wins are – what everyone in the room truly wants from comms.
It could be that these goals are simpler and more human than expected such as having the company or brand recognized as a leader or positive disruptor by a key customer or organization. Or the attention of a key leader. Or using a new AI tool to create and measure the impact of a new, deeper understanding of the stakeholder – in healthcare, uncovering an overlooked pain point in the patient journey can be hugely enlightening. Is it amplification – true surround sound – that makes the sales teams feel supported because their customers see it? Or visibility that prompts a specific strategic partner or customer to engage or take the desired action? Is the goal a (restored) sense of internal pride in the company’s R&D, or the ability to attract talent?
Sometimes the shared definition that emerges of what success looks like that is very different from where the conversation started.
No matter the industry, the winning formula to articulating what success looks like puts your stakeholders at the center. Understands their drivers, desires, and how they make decisions. And stays laser-focused on the value your idea, campaign or effort delivers for the business.
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