The Communications Matrix Revolutions

“Everything that has a beginning has an end,” is the Oracle’s final comment to Neo. Although there have been continuous rumours about a sequel to the Matrix movie trilogy, I assure you, this blog post is the end of ‘The Communications Matrix’.

As explained in the previous post, ‘The Communications Matrix’ is an aid to logical thinking and a means whereby a project may be structured and described for analytical purposes. It further develops the ‘management-by-objectives’ approach. You can connect the dots at the end of this chapter, where a beginning is added to the end.

The Communications Matrix Reloaded

Some years ago I worked as a communications officer at Acción Contra el Hambre, an international NGO in Spain. I was responsible for developing internal communications tools. Unfortunately I didn’t follow my own recommendations from part one of this trilogy, – as I simply ignored them and aimed for quick visible results.

Having said this, during my time in Madrid, not only did I learn more about internal communications, but I also had the opportunity to delve into the Logical Framework Approach (LFA), as well.

Source: IFAD

Welcome to the Communications Matrix!

One of the biggest, if not the biggest challenge, you might face as a communications expert is the tremendous incongruity between the number of times you read and hear the term ‘Strategy’ and how often you actually have the opportunity to design, implement and even witness a (successful) communications strategy.

Strategy might have become just another buzzword in the management world. Arguably, management is losing its capacity for analysis, long-term planning and creative evaluation. Lack of time, interest and practical knowledge create a situation where the occasional planning mistake feeds a common scenario: Paradoxically, the more times ‘strategy’ is mentioned, the less likely it is that a strategy will actually be developed and implemented.

The following video gives an idea of how this may impact a vulnerable part of your team (Designer), when a bad or non-existing strategy leads to a ‘challenging’ briefing.