What Color Is That Dress?

This February, one gold and white — eh, blue and black — dress divided friends, families and colleagues for weeks. What was it about this dress that had us all so captivated? I would argue it is less about the dress and more about a clear realization that, undeniably, we all see things differently.

People took the dress conversations in a few directions. I, however, honed in on one thing: assuming we all see things the same way is dangerous. And, in a business context, assumptions can affect the success of our programs, fundraising efforts and communications campaigns. If we are all honest, at least once in our careers, we have delivered something to a supervisor, board of directors, committee or client that we thought was a masterpiece just to find it didn’t hit the mark for our intended audience. Why is this? And, why does it often happen when we are working on communications pieces?

The answer: creativity, and thus creative projects, is very subjective. What you find to be a masterpiece (i.e., you delivered a lovely spring dress with bands of gold and white) might be a miss in someone else’s mind (i.e., she wanted a great black and blue dress that can easily transition from winter to spring). At the end of the day, you both wanted the same thing, but the vision and execution didn’t align.

As someone who been both the creator and receiver of subjective deliverables, I propose the dress debate can teach us something about communication. Brace yourself, the message is shockingly simple: clear communication is key when working on any project.

To avoid seeing things differently at the end of a project (which is the absolute worst time to realize expectations and visions are misaligned), consider making the following three questions a regular part of your process when working on a project (both internally and with outside consultants):

What is the goal of this project? I most often phrase questions by asking what success will look like to you. I’m driven to help you find success – whether it be success through a press release, a creative campaign or bylined article. If I fail to ask, or you aren’t willing/able to tell me the goal, there is a high probability we are going to see different colored dresses at the end of our project. However, excitement, time crunches and tight budgets make this question an easy one to skip. I recommend pumping the brakes at the beginning of any project and level setting goals and expectations from the start.

How are we doing? The temptation is to hold off until the end of an amazing project — especially if there are fun visual components — for the big reveal. However, doing a mid- or even quarter-point check in can help ensure everyone’s visions are aligned. I’m a huge fan of providing a teaser of some sort whenever a creative project is at hand. When I do a quick check in on any project with my clients, it is helpful to again take a moment to ensure we are all on track. Now is not the time to spare my feelings – let me know what you like, don’t like and what absolutely thrilled you! Then, we can move forward, all on the same page, to finish with full bragging rights as a team.

Did this meet expectations? This is a hard question to ask and answer because of the vulnerability attached to it. What if expectations weren’t met? What if people are, indeed, seeing two different dresses? Hopefully, by this point, enough communication has occurred to ensure a positive answer. However, I like to ask this in the moment to get my clients’ gut reactions. Of course, I give them the out to simmer on things and update their answer, but gut reactions are very telling. If expectations have been met, we can quickly move on to our next collective triumph. If adjustments are needed, I need to know as soon as possible so we can make it right.

These questions are so simple and classic, they could be the little black dress of communications and project management, but these types of questions are often missed along the way. If you are asking these with your internal team and outside consultants on a regular basis, I’m certain you’ll all agree on the color of the dress at the beginning, middle and end of a project.

Let’s collaborate: What questions do you find are most important to ask internally and externally to ensure we are all looking at the same dress?