The biggest mistake teams make when collaborating to write high-stakes brand content

The client on the end of the line was desperate.

The clock was ticking, and internal attempts to write high-stakes brand content as a team weren’t working.

Could I assist?

I met with the client to discuss the scope of work.

“What writing process have you used to work with the subject matter experts on your team?” I asked.

His answer?

Crickets.

Process?

Well, this team really didn’t have a writing process.

And that’s why these folks were in a pickle.

Some higher-ups were sweating a bit, because time was getting short.

The important brand content they’d been tasked to write as a team was nowhere close to being written.

Every leader on the team — subject matter experts in sales, marketing, communications, finance and the executive director — had a different perspective, approach and stake in the process.

Don’t get me wrong: Plenty of “stuff” existed.

In fact, there were even a couple of drafts in the pipeline:

• One person on the team had started something and then shared it around.
• Next, someone else added more ideas to beef up sections and paragraphs here and there.
• And then a third person provided her perspective in a narrative at the end of the document.

Lots of wheels were spinning – but things were going nowhere fast.

Everyone was being plenty cordial by letting everyone else contribute.

But no one was steering the ship.

So they were wasting time on iterative drafts that had no foundation.

If this sounds like your problem, what’s the solution?

Get a solid, step-by-step writing process in place first.

Then test it with your subject matter experts – now – before the clock starts ticking again on high-stakes brand content.