I had the pleasure a few years ago of meeting and spending a few minutes with Joe Clark, the baseball bat-wielding principal of troubled Eastside High School in Patterson, New Jersey. Clark’s success in turning the school around earned him a good deal of notoriety, and his story eventually was made into the movie, “Lean on Me,” in which actor Morgan Freeman played his part.

A couple of things clearly stand out in my mind from our brief conversation. First of all, he is quite passionate about education. He also believes that like life, discipline must exist for learning to take place. “If there is no discipline, there is anarchy,” says he. “Good citizenship demands attention to responsibilities as well as rights.”

And finally, we can’t take pride in relationships or the institutions we serve until we are first able to take pride in ourselves. Joe Clark was demanding and tough on his students. But it was tough love that was reflected in the pride he had for their accomplishments. I really liked what Time magazine said in their cover story about Joe a few years ago: “If tough love is your thing, you can find a lot to love about Joe Clark.”

You know what I think is wrong with our educational system today? I don’t think we have enough Joe Clarks to go around.

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We marketeers do a pretty good job of informing our audiences about whatever product or services we pitch. We inundate them with lots of facts and figures that tout all the benefits, advantages, and features. But do we invest as much time and careful attention in making sure those same folks understand what we’re telling them?

Information provides our constituents all of the necessary details they need to possess in order to make choices. But understanding occurs only when we help them grasp what will occur as a result of that information. Understanding puts all of those details into clear perspective.

Someone once defined information as the process of “getting out” while communication is about the process of “getting through.” Information is one-directional, while communication, to be truly effective, involves dialogue.

Getting information out is critical to the success of what we do. But don’t stop there. Follow it up with dialogue in order to make sure your audience clearly understands the information you provide. Only then will they be prepared to act on that information. And after all, isn’t that your intent? To result in behavioral change?

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