Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change

by Beth Comstock

Write It as a Press Release The surest test of a sound strategy is that it can be written as a press announcement. I often test my new business ideas, company initiatives, and partnerships this way. Press releases in and of themselves are an artifact of the past. But the purpose (to alert the world to your news) and the structure (how it is composed) stand the test of time: HEADLINE: What is happening SUB-HEADLINE BULLETS: List the two or three most compelling points. BODY COPY: Restate what is happening in the first two paragraphs, list the anticipated outcomes and benefits, and then quote the leaders of the effort to summarize the strategy. End with supporting points. END: Summarize in one sentence the benefits, and in another the bridges to what’s next. Ask, Is the strategy and rationale clear? Do the quotes make sense? If they are filled with clichés and empty words, then the strategy isn’t clear yet. If you make the release about yourself or your business, nobody’s going to care. If you make it about what the reader might want to hear, then you’ve got a shot at capturing people’s attention. I use this approach after an ideation session with teams. Once we’ve summarized our best ideas and then agreed to a course of action, I’ll assign someone to write a press release. When we get back together again, we review the press release as a way to revisit and test our ideas. Do they make sense? Are we united in the vision? What’s missing? This is also a good way to summarize...