What I have always done on joining a new organization is to identify a contact in each of the key departments (Marketing, Legal, Facilities, IT, HR, etc.) and schedule an informational interview with them. I ask what kind of communication they need to do, with whom, what challenges they've experienced in communicating in the past, and what they think the communications dept (me) could potentially do to help them meet their objectives.

I also ask who else in their department I can/should talk to about their needs. People are usually shocked at first that I've asked these questions, but then very happy to have the conversation and in addition to learning about their needs, I learn more about the company as a whole than I've ever gotten out of the sum total of all the "orientation" programs I've had throughout my entire career.

For my money, this is the best use of "the honeymoon period" whether that be 30 days, two weeks, or, as in most communicators' cases, about an hour before they figure you should be ready to deliver the world for them.

And if you had 30 days, what might you do? Drill down deeper, have more interviews with more people, do a quantitative survey?

Department heads are a great start, but in many cases they're either out of touch or part of the problem ..... Wouldn't it be useful have a more nuanced perspective?

And wouldn't it be important to start off with an approved Ridley Plan for Communication ......

I know I'm dreaming. But that's part of our job,

David

I think the biggest thing I'd do with more time is ask "why" 500 more times. Hearing people's answers to "Why do you think we do it like that?" is the best education about what the issues, challenges and roadblocks to better communication are.

As far as the "approved Ridley Plan for Communication" goes, it exists but it really does morph substantially depending on what I'm starting off with.

"Why" is the world's most useful question. I once thought of starting a consultancy called Good Question where all I would do would be to go into organizations and businesses and ask "why"--and when they give me an answer, ask "why" again--until we got to the heart of the matter. Somebody somewhere figured out that it takes about five layers of "why" to get to the heart. Whatever. You go, Kristen!

You know who that "somebody somewhere" was? A three-year-old.

That's right, Murray. You and your wife can quit your day jobs because you've got Scout!

Actually, my new boss (I've been here two months so far) said, "Whatever you find interesting and want to know more about in our company is probably of interest to our employees and their family members, whether they know it or not. So take the time to study, interview and write about that for our newsletter." That's allowed me to study the company, interview my new coworkers, AND get the employee newsletter out at the same time. So far, so good.

Eileen, I'm thinking about nominating your new boss for a Murray Prize in Corporate Literature.

HOW SMART IS SHE???????

Remember in "Alien" when the one guy's head falls off (the guy who later plays Bilbo Baggins in Lord of the Rings) and when it falls off you see that he's actually made up of a mess of wires and was really a genius robot? I think that's what's going on with my boss. She's not human.

Nor, sadly, is she par for the course. Sadly for everyone else, that is. I'm happy all the day.

Sure Eileen! Rub it in why don't you! Meanie!

One of the best communications jobs I had was at a company that had just set up a new corporate center. I was hired to create a new company-wide publication from scratch, and I got to spend at least a month or two getting ready. I interviewed communicators in all the different business units, researched other publications, met with designers, and built a plan, which I got to present to the CEO. And throughout, my boss kept telling me, "Now, don't rush things. If you need more time to put your plan together, take it. We want to make sure we get a good product."

The company I worked for was a utility, so cost and time weren't as big issues as they might be in another organization. But it sure was great to be able to spend that time up front.

The more you think about it, it seems ridiculous for a communicator to do it any other way--like hiring a mechanic how to maintain a machine and training him on it while it's running full speed.

Surely if a new marketing person needs time to acclimate him/herself to a new brands/new customers, an employee communication manager needs to get to know a new culture/new industry before taking over a communication apparatus.

As Ron puts it, it's the COMMUNICATOR, so eager to please, so sure of first impressions, who will most likely err on the side of too little study, too-quick a communication.

DAMN IT, corporate America, WE NEED MORE TIME TO GET SET UP!