You wouldn't navigate tariff wars without a supply chain strategy or manage rising interest rates without a capital allocation framework. Yet many Fortune 1,000 companies approach geopolitical communications reactively, responding to headlines rather than operating from a coherent doctrine. That's a mistake with real consequences.
A communications doctrine is your north star.
It's a foundational framework that guides everything you say, how you say it, and when you say it. It transforms your communications from scattered responses into a unified strategy aligned with business objectives. In today's fractured geopolitical environment—where US-China tensions reshape supply chains, the breakdown of the Transatlantic relationship, tariffs that are creating cascading costs, and stakeholder expectations that shift overnight—having a doctrine isn't optional. It's an operational necessity.
Consider what's happening now.
Businesses face an endless cycle of tit-for-tat tariffs that demand coordination across government affairs, investor relations, and media strategy. Supply chains are being rebuilt around geopolitical risk, not just cost optimization. Interest rates remain elevated, constraining capital while stakeholders demand clearer communication about these headwinds. Without a unified communications doctrine, you're exposing yourself to exactly what happened with New Coke: brilliant execution of the wrong strategy.
A proper doctrine requires hard work. It demands intelligence gathering across geopolitical developments that affect your business. It requires analyzing past communications victories and failures to inform future tactics. It requires short- and long-term forecasting of how political shifts, regulatory changes, and global tensions will reshape your operating environment. Most critically, it requires discipline.
Your doctrine will be more "no" than "yes."
Your doctrine should push back against the instinct to respond to every crisis. It will eliminate scattered messaging across regions and stakeholders. It will battle the institutional tendency to default to traditional corporate-speak when markets demand clarity about geopolitical risk. This means involving stakeholders, be it boards, executives, government relations teams, investor relations, and communications, in doctrine development. Alignment is harder than reaction, but infinitely more valuable.
The stakes are measurable. Companies with coherent geopolitical communications doctrines navigate tariff cycles more effectively. They secure stakeholder support in times of need. They maintain credibility when discussing the impact of interest rates and capital deployment. They don't look blindsided by predictable geopolitical shifts because their doctrine has prepared them to anticipate and navigate them.
For senior executives navigating tariffs, supply chains, and geopolitical complexity, Caracal Global specializes in the exact challenge you're facing. As a geopolitical business communications firm with US-China relations and political campaign experience, Caracal Global helps Fortune 1,000 leaders develop intelligence-driven communications strategies at the intersection of globalization, disruption, and politics.
Building doctrine takes time. Caracal Global can help.
The payoff is straightforward: companies with established communications doctrines achieve their geopolitical business objectives. Those without one? They chase reactions, miss opportunities, and damage stakeholder relationships when communications feel inconsistent or unprepared.
The question isn't whether to invest in a communications doctrine. It's whether you can afford not to.
-Marc
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Marc A. Ross is a geopolitical strategist and communications advisor. He is the founder of Caracal Global and is writing a book entitled Globalization and American Politics: How International Economics Redefined American Foreign Policy and Domestic Politics.
