“Strategy and communication are an integral whole — best practiced as art, not science,” by Herman F. Finley, in his new paper, Communication and Strategy Development. “The strategist, as artist, uses principles not checklists, intuition more than rules, to collaboratively shape a better future in a world composed of interconnected complex adaptive systems.”

This article is the companion piece to a broader strategy development essay to be written by Finley, an associate professor, who lectures on information technology, strategic communications and complexity at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

According to Finley, “A first step in understanding the linkages between communication and strategy is a grasp of the essence of strategy development and execution….the entire enterprise of strategy formulation begins with communication. Someone receives information (a communication) that there is a problem.”

Finley describes how complex adaptive systems influence both strategy development and the communications effort supporting strategy response. This complexity demands that communication become the prime responsibility of the strategist, not just the communication specialist. He also looks at dynamic and flexible strategy development processes.

“The final part of the strategy formulation and socialization process is communicating a strategic direction for the strategy…what approaches will be pursued to shift interactions among which agents to change the system towards more desirable outcomes and the relative priorities among those approaches,” said Finley.

You can read “Communications and Strategy Development” online at:

https://dkiapcss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Communications-and-Strategy-Development.pdf

 

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