You cannot afford to outsource your reputation simply because you outsourced your content. That is too much risk to take.
It’s time we addressed this.
Some organisations do not have a people problem, they have a communication problem and because nobody wants to admit it, we keep calling it a misunderstanding.
Meanwhile, more than three meetings have been held to address this “misunderstanding.”
Let’s be honest, workplaces are full of communication that looks professional on paper, but creates absolute confusion in practice.
Emails that say everything except what needs to be done, managers who believe shouting is a show of leadership, employees who are too afraid to ask questions because the boss doesn’t like being challenged, companies that communicate brilliantly when everything is going well, then suddenly develop amnesia when there is a crisis.
And my favourite, “Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.”
Everybody has questions, but nobody is reaching out. Why? Because communication is not simply about sending information, it is about creating understanding, and that distinction matters.
Nigeria has given us some very good reminders of what happens when organisations forget this. Let’s take another look at the 2025 Bokku Mart controversy.
A promotional video featuring an influencer had surfaced across social media platforms containing a culturally insensitive remark about “Omo Ibo”. This triggered massive public outrage, a boycott campaign followed, and subsequently an apology came from Bokku.
Some organisations do not have a people problem, they have a communication problem and because nobody wants to admit it, we keep calling it a misunderstanding.”
There is a lesson here that every organisation should pay attention to: You cannot afford to outsource your reputation simply because you outsourced your content. That is too much risk to take.
An influencer may create the content, an agency may produce it, a social media manager may schedule it, but when the internet gets angry, nobody is asking who pressed “post”. They’re asking, “What does the brand stand for?”
That is where communication becomes a business issue.
A leader can have the right strategy and still lose the room because of the way it is communicated. A brilliant organisation can damage its reputation with one careless statement. A good employee can become disengaged because feedback was delivered badly. A crisis can become bigger, not because the original problem was enormous, but because people were left wondering “what is actually going on”?
This is why communication deserves a seat at the table, not as decoration, but as part of business strategy. We need to stop talking AT people. Understand that your employees are not notice boards, your customers are not transaction numbers, journalists are not enemies, and stakeholders are not impressed simply because a statement contains words like commitment, stakeholders, synergy, and moving forward.
Meanwhile, let’s allow “moving forward” to rest occasionally.
People want clarity, honesty, what matters next, where they stand, and when things go wrong, they want organisations to sound like human beings.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: People judge organisations by how they communicate when things get difficult.
Anyone can sound polished when the champagne is flowing. The real test comes when the customer is angry, the employee is frustrated, the journalist is asking difficult questions, or social media has decided to hold a public hearing on matters concerning your organisation without inviting you.
That is where communication strategy matters and also where many organizations discover that communication cannot be fixed by simply asking someone to “draft a statement”.
Good communication starts long before the statement. It starts with listening, preparation, understanding your audience, knowing what your people are likely to ask, training leaders to communicate, having a clear voice before a crisis arrives, and perhaps most importantly, understanding that every communication creates an impression.
So the question isn’t merely “what do we want to say?” The better question is, “what do we want people to understand, feel, and do after we say it?”
That is the difference between communication as an activity and communication as a strategy.
Perhaps that is the conversation many organisations need to have right now. Not another workshop or communication policy that nobody reads but a real conversation about how we speak, how we listen, how we respond, and how our communication affects trust, because sometimes the problem isn’t the business, it is the message.
And sometimes the message isn’t the problem either, but the way we delivered it.
That is why we need to talk about how we talk, and if your organization has ever said, “We have a communication issue,” perhaps that conversation is worth having properly.
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