Fundamental to communications is exploring the ‘why.’ Why are our stakeholders thinking or feeling this way or that? Why is an issue escalating? Why is this word choice superior to the alternative? Reputation work is no different. Here we need to answer whys like, ‘why should the company invest its limited budget in reputation? ‘Why is reputation important now?” But what about our own, personal and professional whys? Why do we do reputation work? Why are we willing to stand up in meetings to support a course of action we believe is the right one for the company, the investors, employees and customers? Why does we do matter?
These whys are just as important as any other. Reflection on these questions requires real time spent thinking at a quiet moment, on one’s own as well as with peers and colleagues. Where these reflections lead can be satisfyingly grounding on days when things are going well and especially during those when they’re not.
Considering the average person spends a third of their lives at work – the equivalent of 90,000 hours—it’s inevitable that the idea of ‘purpose’ emerges at the top of the why we do what we do. Homing in on the purpose of our roles helps us get to why we are (generally) truly happy to contribute professionally every day and why we (most days) love our jobs.
In my own career in healthcare comms, I’ve never leaned towards the ‘righteousness’ of what I do. I don’t think my idea, no matter how big, bold, creative or successful, will cure disease for all humankind. But I deeply believe in the purpose of our efforts to help people better understand their own healthcare, have access to medicines, diagnostics, devices and information to manage conditions they have, take actions that will protect their health and that of their families whether at home or if they go abroad, and become more aware of what strides are being made and barriers overcome by scientists to fight or prevent serious diseases, including those that are considered ‘undruggable.’
Several decades into this job, I appreciate the privilege of working in a space where the effectiveness of our strategies for building client brand and corporate reputation can really be measured: in the millions of internal and external stakeholders who have read our articles, engaged with our social posts, seen the data, attended our events, benefited from the sponsorships we initiated, visited websites we created, felt pride in their scientists and R&D after getting to know them through our communications, and far more. Real people have been positively impacted by our efforts — a reminder of purpose I can share with my team, our colleagues and peers, clients, prospects, friends and family.
Every day is not all sunshine and roses. Of course, not.
It’s not lost on me that ‘purpose’ doesn’t always sustain me through the curveballs and sacrifices. Or the challenging moments, days, nights, weeks or months. This sense can hit when I’m on a long flight in the back of the plane or when I’ve found myself in a hotel room far away from my children. But it helps.
In these uncertain times where three to four times a day something changes, whether it’s policy, regulatory, objective, trend, or budget, returning to purpose and my own personal ‘why’ triggers the focus, grit, resilience, agility and commitment that anchors comms practitioners and why we’re valued.
I’ve written many times in this column that reputation, whether for brand or a company, whether it’s a first build, a rebuild or a continuous nurture, is hard work. If you’re in the middle of reputation work now and it’s been a long time since you reflected on your own why or your purpose, take a pause. Do it now. Make the space and find the time to articulate it. And then keep it front and center so it’s a source of energy and inspiration on which you can rely.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Sandra Stahl has created and led communications solutions for many of the world’s leading pharma, biotech, diagnostic, device and consumer healthcare brands over a 30+ year career. Her skills as a strategist and developer of compelling narratives have enabled organizational-and market- readiness, powered investment, enhanced profiles, amplified landmark data, built reputations and influenced opinion. She is a recognized thought leader regularly published in industry, national and international media, and author of the award-winning book, The Art & Craft of PR (LID 2018). Additionally, Sandra is founding faculty in the PR track in the Branding + Integrated Communications master’s degree program at The City College of New York, now in its 10th year, has delivered lectures at university communications programs around the world including Columbia University in New York and Xavier Institute of Communications in Mumbai, India.
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