Read “Message and Remaining Relevant”
I want to talk with you briefly about messages and remaining relevant.
When I was growing up, I would sometimes spend time at my grandparent’s house. They had a room in the back that they called the den. In the den there was a small black and white 8-inch television. In the front room there was a 23-inch color television that one day became connected to a cable line. The picture was clearer than on the small 8-inch television. In fact, the 8-inch television had to be tuned with a dial on the side, and it could be fine-tuned. Sometimes we would tune it with our hands on the “rabbit ears.”
Up front, the television had a remote control, and you’d press it and the channel would go up and down. It had a perfectly clear image. Later on, I had a friend who had a large projection television. You couldn’t see the picture unless you were viewing straight on; you couldn’t see it from the side.
Now you can’t buy any of those televisions. You can only buy a large flat-screen television. They’re much lighter, and have better picture quality.
But the same message that we produce can be viewed across all those technologies. It could be viewed across all those different types of televisions. But the type of television that people buy now has changed. You can’t buy the old television. In fact, if you were to show that 8-inch black and white TV to a group of high schoolers, they would probably laugh at you. They would disregard your message because of the delivery of the message.
Several weeks ago, I was facilitating a retreat with the staff and elders of a local church. They were talking about what they could change, and what they wanted to change in the church. The topic always comes up about message vs. delivery – what can’t we compromise. What can’t the organization change about it’s message, but what does the organization need to change about its delivery to remain relevant so as to be effective.
Your business is no different. Your church is no different. Your organization is no different. You have a message that you can’t compromise on – it’s who you are. It’s who you want to be. It’s who you’re shooting for. It’s what you want to be known by. But your delivery and tactics need to change. Technology changes. If you keep the same tactics you had 20 years ago and try to deliver those, many times people will disregard your message because of the delivery.
Today you can stream television across the internet, on your TV, on your phone, to your computer, to your tablet. It was unheard of 30 or 40 years ago. What is it going to be 5, 10 or 20 years from now? What message will you keep consistent but how will you need to change your delivery so as to be relevant and effective in that time?
It’s something to consider, something you need to consider which will make you and your organization better.
Jason Todd