Our black ball problem

People often want to make rational evidence-based arguments. But that isn’t always sufficient if you want to change behaviour.In 2014, the Behavioural Insights Team, published a simpler framework called EAST. This distilled the most important behavioural science into four easy to remember principles. If you want to encourage a behaviour, make it Easy, Attractive, Social and Timely. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com

Imagine a genie gives you an urn full of balls. Each one is a new idea or technology. Most are white and do good. Some are grey, with mixed blessings. But no one knows whether there is a black ball in the urn: a technology so harmful it destroys the civilisation that draws it. Do you keep drawing out balls?This episode looks at how corporate affairs can help organisations handle technological risk in the age of AI. To do so it needs to move upstream and shape decisions before they are made, not just explain them once they have gone wrong. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com

Silence is becoming something of a default for communications leaders. 61% of communications leaders reportedly prefer to keep silent on divisive issues even where their organisation could speak authentically.So, when is silence the right approach and when is it not? This episode identifies five different types of silence and how and when to use each of them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com

I used to be responsible for assuring the communications plans for each risk in the UK's National Risk Register. The risks it catalogues range from the hair-raising (“nuclear miscalculation”), to the familiar (“storms”), to risks you didn't even know you needed to worry about (“major outbreak of African horse sickness”).This episode explains how government assesses and manages risks and what lessons it holds for communications leaders. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com

The best advisers are able to disagree with their CEO or Minister and avert bad decisions. Yet somehow they always do so with their reputation enhanced rather than diminished. They don't just say ‘no’. In fact, they rarely say 'no' at all. So how do they do it? This episode examines five practical techniques. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com

Frontier AI may or may not represent a threat to humanity. But there are more immediate risks for corporate affairs directors.Those include the risk of falling behind on AI adoption, the risk that AI misrepresents your business, and the risk you’re not involved in decisions about how to deploy AI across your organisation.Those risks are ones I expect most companies to encounter in the next three years. They are also risks corporate affairs directors can do something about. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com

In this series, I have argued that good communications leadership involves bringing clarity, capability, and confidence.Yet, there is one other important source of advantage. The best teams do not simply execute the original plan: they look for a better route.Continuous improvement is about creating a mindset in which everyone is thinking about how the team can do better. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com

In this third part of my series on the ‘four Cs’ of leadership, we look at how to build team confidence.How can you create a workplace where people are willing to give discretionary effort and support each other? How can you build the belief to keep going when things get difficult? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com

This is the second part of my series on communications leadership. This episode is about 'capability': how to identify what the function must be good at to deliver its strategy, assessing whether it can do those things well today, and closing any gap. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com

Over the next four weeks, I am sharing my thinking on the fundamentals of communications leadership. What is your job as a communications leader, be it of a small team or a major function?My 'four Cs' of communications leadership are clarity, capability, confidence, and continuous improvement.This week: clarity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonbaugh.substack.com