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I have a friend that is currently working on a volunteer project. She is putting in many, many hours as a volunteer to help our former high school celebrate its 100-year anniversary. The small group of volunteers producing this event have done a spectacular job and should be applauded.

In a short time frame, they have reached out and found many grads and engaged us in the celebrations. They are producing a video that showcases some grads doing interesting things in the world. They somehow got funding from a former student, now a successful businessperson, to pay for ads in a large daily newspaper to promote the anniversary celebrations. There are active Facebook events, which include a pub night, a gala and many other activities.

The job they have done is incredible. And yet – each time they announce that they have done something, there are the critics. Who – just for the record – don’t seem to be doing much except watching Facebook and criticizing what these people are doing.

It got me to thinking about criticism and the difference between it being constructive and of value, and when it is of no value – except maybe for making the person giving it feel superior. Constructive criticism has great value. It’s about providing relevant and timely input. It is about making something better. It’s about improving and growing. It’s a crucial component of professional and personal development.

At AHA, we always debrief after a project, initiative or event to look at what we can do better or differently. We look at what worked, and what could be improved – relative to the situation. I can tell you, for as tough as all of us at AHA can be – we are very conscious of how we provide criticism, when that happens and why it happens. We always make sure that we put any criticism into context before the feedback starts.

Random criticism about what someone would have done if they were doing it is of no value to anyone except maybe the ego of the person criticizing. Used as the opportunity to tell someone what you don’t like or what you would have done (which, you didn’t do!) isn’t constructive criticism, it’s just bitching and complaining.

At AHA, our approach is that if you are going to provide feedback that is critical of someone’s work or actions, you need to fully understand the context. For example, what was the deadline, what was the budget, what was the expectation, what was the objective, what were the influencing factors that were out of our control…the list goes on and on.  And, it must include the positives – what went right, what was a success, what can be built on.

Constructive criticism makes everyone involved feel positive about what could be improved. It is delivered in a respectful, considerate manner and it acknowledges not just the context and situation, but the work that was done.

I have to say that I also think that no one should be allowed to randomly criticize volunteers like my friend, who are doing their absolute best, unless the critic is willing to step up and actually participate and get involved. Until you actually do something, you have no idea how hard it is to achieve it.

The objective of a case study is (or can be):

• An example of the skill set and abilities of the agency (showcasing the approach and results) – used for business development.
• An example of approach and results – used as a component of building a “business case” for other projects.
• An opportunity to review the success/challenges of a project with some distance, clarity and context.
• An opportunity to put a project into context – used for the client/agency relationship and for AHA crew members to see the big picture of what, why, when and how.
• A part of the AHA legacy – used for internal purposes in the long term to review our professional path and agency evolution. Could also be used for an anniversary celebration for AHA.

All of these objectives are of value to our PR agency. Developing case studies is one of those tasks that gets put on our to-do list and sometimes doesn’t get the priority treatment it deserves. I always enjoy writing case studies and I always learn something important during the process.

We debrief each project with our AHA crew and, when possible (and in the real world we live in, it’s not always possible), with our client. There are valuable lessons to be learned through a debrief. And there are valuable lessons to be learned by developing a case study. Not the least of which is what worked, what didn’t, and what could be done differently next time.

For me, even writing this blog post has given me the opportunity to think about what could be done differently regarding the development of case studies. An idea for an improvement is that we could commit to developing the case study within one month of the project ending, and share it with the client in that timeline. (There’s always room for improvement.)

I am in red.

For many of us in Vancouver’s Lower Mainland, yesterday was an important day. It was the annual Sun Run, a 10K run through the beautiful streets of Vancouver. It was my first Sun Run and it was a very good personal experience. Interestingly enough, as I sat down with a cup of tea (and two extra-strength Advil) last night and reflected on it, I realized that there were some solid communications lessons in it as well.

Preparation is key
I was fortunate enough to join a Sun Run Training Group in my hometown of Gibsons, B.C. We started in January and met initially for two hours each Sunday morning. We built up our strength and stamina over time. Along with runs on Sundays, in February we went out twice during the week, building speed and stamina. We prepared so that we were ready on the day of the run.

This is true for any communications initiative. Preparation is key. Taking the time to do the research, to understand the audience/community, and to make sure you have covered all your bases has a direct impact on results. Without preparation, you are flying by the seat of your pants and you need luck to succeed. Preparation is the foundation of success.

Check your blind spot
For a short period during the Sun Run, it felt a bit like people bumper cars. People kept banging into each other because as they tried to pass someone; they didn’t check over their shoulder into their blind spot to see if someone else might be there. And with close to 50,000 people in the Sun Run, there was bound to be someone there!

This is easily translated to any communications initiative. It’s important to take a solid, clear look at what the situation is – not what you wish it was or hope it will be – but what it is. Think about what the challenges could be, what could create issues, what could provoke a negative reaction. You need to make sure there’s not something sitting there waiting for you to bang into it.

Trust the community to sort things out
One of the challenges of the Sun Run is that you put yourself in the starting category. The serious runners go first and then it goes through the levels of ability until you get to those who are going to walk the course. And it always happens that people over or underestimate their ability. I am a new runner, but I can’t tell you how many people I passed who were in faster start groups. Rather than create a more complicated sign-up process, the organizers of the Sun Run let us sort it out during the run. For the most part, walkers keep to the right and faster runners to the left. (Not always, but for the most part.) They let the on-the-ground process unfold organically; they trust us to work it out.

When you think about any kind of campaign or outreach, it is important to realize that you can’t control everything and that you need to empower your community to work out some of the issues that you know might come up. People are smart. Most of the time, they will find a reasonable way to work out process challenges of how they connect and participate together. (This doesn’t mean you don’t pay attention to what is going on; it means you give those participating the opportunity to sort it out for themselves before you step in.)

It’s not the big boulders that trip you up, it’s the pebbles
No one in the Sun Run seemed to be tripping over big things like boulders or benches; it was small things – pebbles, an untied shoelace, a small piece of garbage or even a little (slippery) leaf that sent people tumbling to the pavement.

It is easier to recognize what might be a big issue than it is to see something small that could turn into a big problem. If there are little things that catch your attention or someone comes to you with something and your first reaction is to dismiss it, think about it again. You shouldn’t be like “Chicken Little” (the sky is falling!); but watch for the small stuff – it could derail your initiative if it isn’t taken care of.

Measurement is crucial
When I crossed the finish line, it was a pretty sweet moment. I had trained for three and a half months and was proud of myself. I was also interested to see what my time was (1 hour, 6 minutes, 7 seconds by the Sun Run time*) because that will allow me to improve. I can see what was challenging, what I did well, and I can plan for my next 10K. If this run wasn’t timed, it would lose its key point.

Measurement is crucial to communications initiatives. Understanding what works, what doesn’t and why is important to effective communication. There is always the challenge of measuring communications efforts because some things aren’t quantifiable, but you can identify a baseline and work out the key objectives of the campaign or initiative, so you can see where you were, where you wanted to go and where you actually moved to.

*Context is important too – the Sun Run time is based on crossing a marker to start and a marker to finish. I have a running app on my iPhone, which I also used. Interestingly enough, my run app had me up almost a minute in time (I started it before I hit the start line), but it also showed that I ran 11K because it counted my steps and included all of the people-dodging I did. Context matters.

If you have committed to a channel of communication, it is important not to let it slide too far out of the schedule. There’s no point in writing a quick blog post just to have something to upload. No matter how busy you are, the information you share needs to provide your readers/viewers with something they can use – an effective tip, an interesting article, a new way of looking at something, etc.

Here are some ways to work around a particularly busy timeframe that keeps your readers/viewers engaged and provides value.

• When you are in a slower period, write a few blog posts that you can save and upload when you are too busy to write.

• While your audience will read your blog post or view your video because they are interested in what you have to say, there is nothing wrong with sharing a blog post or article that you have read and find of value. It is always good to include your opinion in the post before you link to it.

• Guest bloggers are another way to share relevant information. Having guest bloggers, that are of interest to your readers, lined up can help you get through the busy times.

One of the key points to remember is that the length of the blog post or video doesn’t necessarily reflect how good it is. Sometimes a short post – two to four sentences or a 30 second video clip – can provide an important point or “how to.” Longer doesn’t necessarily mean better.

Do you have any tips or hints on creating great content during busy periods? We’d love to hear what you do.

Every great writer I have worked with has realized the value of a great editor. Creating interesting, informative, relevant and engaging content takes both a writer and an editor. It’s a little bit like peanut butter cups… On their own, chocolate and peanut butter are really good; together – it’s a whole different level of delicious. The same goes for those making their living with words. Behind every great writer, there usually is a great editor.

This blog post is of incredible value for anyone who writes or edits. It’s so good that I will leave you to it. Nothing I could say would improve this piece.