10 Wishes For Communication In 2024

But even with a shared proclivity toward list-making, we are a bit overwhelmed by the number and nature of year-end lists, including Literary Hub’s Ultimate Best Books of 2023, and The New York Public Library Best Books of 2023, as well as The New York Times Best TV Episodes of 2023, Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Songs of 2023, Billboard’s 50 Best Albums of 2023, TIME Magazine’s 200 Best Inventions of 2023, Entertainment Weekly’s Celebrities Who Died in 2023, Google’s List of Top Search Terms in 2023, The 16 Most Important Social Media Trends for 2024, – and amazingly, a browsable index of yearend lists of music, movies, books, poetry and podcasts. And these only skim the surface.

While lists can be an efficient way to organize and communicate a lot of information quickly, a list is most useful if it reveals a trend or a truth, helps us clarify and solve a problem, or motivates us to act. With careful consideration of these three benefits – and building on the “44 Things We’ve Learned as Accidental Consultants”– we humbly offer our Top 10 Wishes for Communication in 2024.

We hope:

1. …leaders in organizations of all sizes appreciate and prioritize effective communication as a cultural linchpin and strategic discipline.
2. …words are carefully chosen to unify, support, and inspire – not to divide.
3. …information is routinely delivered with authenticity and appropriate transparency.
4. …both audiences and messengers increasingly recognize and respect the difference between the person and their perspective.
5. …all of us learn to truly value listening as a foundational element of healthy debate and well-intentioned dialogue. To listen and offer space to be heard fulfills a basic human need that has the power to not only drive business results but deepen connection between and among us. 
6. …content in our news feeds is grounded in facts and truth, and sources are held accountable.
7. …strong organizational purpose and core values reliably drive good decision-making and active stakeholder engagement. 
8. …channels of communication (email, meetings, intranets, internets, etc.) are clear and compelling, designed with the end user in mind.
9. …new ways of communicating, like AI, are thoughtfully explored and considered before adoption. 
10. …leaders understand and show compassion to employees for the emotional impact caused by the ongoing challenges of our world. 

With intense motivation and resolve to effect positive change, these are the wishes we are working to fulfill, in partnership with clients old and new, in 2024.