I just returned from spending an entire day with the trustees of a prestigious liberal arts university. In the recent past, several of those trustees had suggested that they change the institution’s name because they felt the name was geographically limiting. It was preventing it to be seen, they thought, as a leading “national” institution. But after getting the results of research they commissioned, and much heated debate, they determined the best course of action was to keep the current name and allocate additional funds for marketing. The university then contacted me.
Frankly, my day there was the best day I spent in a long time. The advancement committee was energized and ready to get on with discussing how the university they loved could step-up and step-out with new and significant recognition. We talked all afternoon about brand clarification, and market segmentation, and new media, and research, and planning, and more. The passion in the room was contagious, and I could tell it was about to become a whole new day for this already high-quality institution. That evening, at a very inspirational dinner, the entire board became infected with this let’s “get-on-with-it” energy.
As I reflected on all this, I remembered the number of times I facilitated the very same kind of meeting with other institutions, but this level of spark and passion was just not there. Yes, these people would learn something, and some new things might eventually be tried, but it was abundantly clear that after I was gone very little would actually change. There certainly was no institutional transformation in the wind! The timing was not right.
It, therefore, became crystal clear to me this week that when the moment for change is right, change will happen with great passion. But when the time is not right, very little real change will happen at all. Discussions about needed change, or a crisis, or a serious institutional problem, must take place before I arrive. Then, the meeting dynamic becomes totally different. Participants don’t just sit there waiting for me to tell them what to do. They know what they need, and they draw it out of me. The experience for everyone becomes exciting, and being there at the right time is what makes this difference.
I had a similar experience recently with a major association. In this case, I was talking with a senior executive in his office about some education issues when the conversation shifted to the organization’s marketing program. Knowing this was my field, the executive started asking me questions. He told me that what they needed was a total culture change, and that he was not the only one who thought so. I talked with others and could see that this organization really was ready to change. So by the time my visit was complete, I had agreed to do a marketing and communication staff seminar, as well as a comprehensive marketing audit! The organization was ready to change, and I just happened to be there at the right time. Had it been a few years earlier, change would not have been possible.
My university won the rose bowl this year. Shortly afterwards, a colleague mentioned that this win had taken the marketing pressure off of us for a while. My instant response was: “That is not true!” The win opened a window, but now we will need to go through that window and tell the rest of our story. Events had created an emotionally charged moment in time, which also created the right time to motivate and orchestrate moving the institution ahead.
Timing indeed makes the difference. When recent events and conversations have established a readiness to change, the timing is perfect for an expert to help produce new and powerful marketing and communication initiatives. This is when a whole new day becomes possible for institutions.
Larry D. Lauer 