Forget March Madness. It’s Message Madness time. Still smarting from
November’s loss, the Democrats know it and are stuck. In wake of the
Pope’s death Friday, the Catholic Cardinals are tackling it. How to articulate a clear message that is relevant and influential to your audience.

Consider the advice that’s being published:

• “If
  we want to make progress we need to focus on constructing a set of
  clear and concise principles and values that centralizes and
  homogenizes our message, but not our members.” Letter to the editor, New York Times, Sunday, April 3, 2005
• “The church is self-consciously struggling to make its message relevant.” Page one article, New York Times, April 4, 2005
• “The
  major challenge facing the church is to articulate the message of the
  faith in a way that’s actually influential and convincing to people.” Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tuscon, New York Times, April 4, 2005
• “Democrats
  Getting Lessons in Speaking Their Values” Democrats believe that the
  absence of a unifying theme or clear message cost them the election
  last November. New York Times, Feb. 11, 2005

Overcoming the obstacles to great messages

Creating
relevant and influential messages is hard work, which is why so few
organizations and companies have effective ones. My advice to the
Catholics, Democrats and anyone in the corporate world wrestling with a
“message makeover” is this:

Do a listening tour among your most influential and committed members. Then talk with influential former
members. Ask for their advice and opinions. Really listen to their
words and emotions. Why do they still belong? Why did they leave the
flock? Tape record the conversations so you can go back and listen
again for the nuances and language. That the Catholics are locking up
Cardinals in the Vatican to select the new Pope and discuss associated
implications to the Church’s messaging is a bad sign. That the
Democrats are enlisting a bevy of diverse consultants and perspectives
is more hopeful.

Beware of copycats and fraidy cats. When you’re losing votes, members and revenues, it’s time to take
calculated risks to turn around the situation. Don’t try to copy your
competitors’ messages. They’ll still be their messages and
not yours. Ban fraidy cats from the messaging process. At best they’ll
support incremental change; more likely they’ll suck the energy out of
the process. (Note to Democrats: Beware of quoting the Bible and
talking about moral values – despite some of your consultants’ advice.
That’s the Republican angle. You need your own platform. I vote for
“Personal Freedoms. Community Responsibilities.”)

Go to the organizational attic and review the founding vision and values.
You just may find some insights worth re-exploring in context of what’s
most relevant today. While my religious training was quite limited
having preferred Carol Ann’s donut shop to Sunday school, I do remember
being taught that Jesus was forgiving, nonjudgmental, and lived by few
rules. Maybe there’s an angle here for the Catholics if the Unitarians
and Congregationalists haven’t already co-opted that message. As for
the Democrats, remember that Thomas Jefferson founded the Democratic
Party in 1792 to fight for the Bill of Rights.

Take a hard look at the issues that are most relevant to your members today.
Map them out to really see what issues are increasing (or decreasing)
in relevancy, and take a look at what issues are most closely
connected. A visual view may help you see informative, new patterns.
Then adapt your message – without altering your values – to today’s
context. (Note to Catholics: preaching against birth control and condom
use makes your organization appear outdated and highly irrelevant –
even in areas like Africa where membership is growing.)

If your
message isn’t relevant, it won’t be influential. As Louis B. Mayer once
said, “If people don’t want to come, there’s nothing that we can do to
stop them.”