Public impact strategy

Bussword-y phrase, but important to work this stuff out (asap)

Real talk: in working with folks from all different backgrounds and sectors on public impact and media strategy, there’s a common stumbling block that is so simple it’s often overlooked entirely, and that is the public impact strategy.

Never mind the bizspeak-y vibe of it; public impact strategy is simply “what you want to do in public.” It’s not much more complicated than that. But, defining what you want to do can get people all up in their feelings, ego, and imposter syndrome stuff, so it’s worth your while to devote a little block of uninterrupted time to think this part through: what are you really trying to accomplish? Why does your voice need to be heard and amplified in the public conversation?

These two questions can be brutal. Imposter syndrome is going to kick up some kind of “who do I think I am?” business and ego is going to offer some “but I want to write a book/be on tv/get interviewed by so-and-so person” and your feelings are going to do something like" “but I need the press to sell widgets and maybe I don’t have anything to say and there are probably people who know more about this than I do and…” Hi, stop. Please. Just, stop. Take a moment. Get paper. Write, longhand, if you are able, pen to paper, and let yourself really get into and through this stuff and clear it out.

But also keep writing, and write until you get down to the bones of what you really need to be out there. Maybe there’s something missing from the narrative and the work you do could help people understand that. People want and need to hear from you. Maybe you want a public impact strategy because you want to share your organization’s mission with the world and help make it a better place. Maybe you want people to understand your book or area of expertise better because the stakes are high on that particular subject matter. Maybe you don’t care about your voice so much as you want to elevate voices of people in your discipline or area of business or study. All of that is good. But, if “I need an impact strategy because I should want to have maximum impact” is your driving force, you’re going to run yourself into the ground chasing bright lights and other things that seem shiny, all the while missing the opportunities you want and need because you haven’t devoted time to thinking about what it is you really most want to accomplish.

Only once you zero in on what you’re really trying to accomplish by being part of the public conversation can you start to build and pursue things that support your mission and drive things forward in exactly the way you want and need.