Singing from the Same Songbook

LinkedIn is a powerful digital communication network – one that enables executives to influence public perception of a company. While many CEOs do this on an individual basis, there is even greater potential to engage target audiences and navigate challenging topics when board members work together through a coordinated communication strategy. 

Management teams should approach their social efforts like a jazz ensemble; playing well together means coordinating efforts while simultaneously creating freedom for individual positioning. Here’s what that looks like: 

• Establish a framework. Define an overarching strategy that sets the pace for all members and enables them to coordinate activities closely. One way to do this is by leveraging relevant corporate events (such as strategic decisions or innovative developments) for board positioning and extending them into social media through individual board members' interactions.

• Leverage each player's individual strengths. Just like a jazz musician shares their unique perspective through improvisation – individual board members should develop their own positioning on social media. This enables the company to reach more targeted audience segments. A good way to approach this is by preparing content and defining focus topics for individual board members to create a clear positioning to their stakeholder groups.

• Make sure everyone knows their cues. Coordinating timing and chronology is essential to helping topics gain traction and impact. It should be clearly defined which board member will kick news off and how others join the discussion.

Read more on this subject here.

Our European colleagues are checking back in on their five theses for Russia’s war in Ukraine and its global ripple effects: 

• The war of attrition between Russia and Ukraine, and by extension the West’s proxy war with Russia, will likely continue deep into 2023, at least. 

  • Neither Ukraine nor Russia is prepared to make the concessions necessary for successful ceasefire or peace negotiations.

  • With Putin’s mobilization, Russia’s domestic situation is becoming an increasingly important variable influencing the conflict’s trajectory.

• The war will accelerate competition and distrust between the West and China, which other non-Western states will attempt to use to their advantage in different policy fields without choosing sides.

  • China and India are feeling the economic fallout of the war and appear increasingly concerned about Putin’s handling of the conflict. 

  • But neither can be expected to disengage from Russia or change its stance because of western pressure.

• The war will mark a geopolitical turning point in global energy markets.

  • Recent developments have further increased pressure on European governments to diversify sources of fossil fuels in the short term and to accelerate the energy transformation. 

  • Governments will continue to intervene heavily in energy markets in a manner unthinkable just a few years ago.

• A winter of political discontent is looming in Europe, lowering the appetite for new sanctions. 

  • European cohesion is holding up better than we predicted, with the EU announcing its eighth sanctions package in response to Russia's declared annexation of Ukrainian territory. 

  • Even under its new far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy's Ukraine policy will likely continue in the short- and medium-term.

• Global food security will continue to be a key challenge.

  • The World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization are warning a record number of people are "either already starving or on the brink of disaster." 

  • The grain shipment deal struck between Ukraine and Russia remains fragile and insufficient to significantly ease pressure on global food systems. 

  • Globally, policymakers struggle to find joint responses or even agree on a standard narrative for what’s causing the crisis. 

Read the full analysis here.

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to trend downward, though public health officials are sounding the alarm on a likely fall and winter surge. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci this week warned Americans to be ready for the possibility of a COVID variant this winter that would elude protections from vaccines and prior recovery.

Although the FDA authorized bivalent COVID-19 boosters in August, nearly half of Americans have heard little to nothing about the new shots. 

New CDC data show that less than 4% of eligible Americans have received a bivalent booster, with some experts pointing to a prevailing narrative that the worst of the pandemic is over as the reason that people are not seeking protection before the winter. 

This could exacerbate the looming surge, health officials concede.

Additionally, HHS released a new report on Friday that estimates COVID-19 vaccinations staved off 650,000 hospitalizations of elderly, Medicare eligible Americans, as well as prevented upwards of around 300,000 deaths in this population.