New Ebook Identifies 11 Mistakes CCOs Make When Modernizing the Communications Function

David Grossman and The Grossman Group offer a practical field guide for communications leaders building a function equipped for the needs of today’s business

CHICAGO, IL, Sept. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Grossman Group, a leading consultancy helping organizations drive transformation through strategic communication, today announced the launch of a new ebook, “11 Mistakes CCOs Make Modernizing the Communications Function,” a field guide for Chief Communications Officers working to build a function that can keep pace with the business.

The ebook follows the launch of The CCO Advisory at The Grossman Group - a specialty practice that helps communications leaders modernize the function. The company’s work with CCOs has surfaced a recurring challenge: strong teams and cultures often carry responsibilities that better strategy, systems, and structure don’t sufficiently support. Talented employees improvise the process, while leadership judgment substitutes for governance. Over time, the function becomes increasingly dependent on individual effort rather than an operating model built to sustain and advance the work.

“Most CCOs already know their function needs to evolve. The harder question is where to begin and how to make the changes stick,” said David Grossman, founder and CEO of The Grossman Group. “We created this guide from the patterns we see repeatedly in our work with communications leaders. A lot of modernization comes down to seeing the whole function clearly before deciding what needs to change.”

The new ebook identifies common decisions that can impede modernization, including:

• Addressing individual pain points without taking a whole-function view
• Setting the function’s structure before developing its strategy and DNA
• Moving forward without assessing the capabilities the function will need against what exists today
• Measuring communications activity rather than business impact
• Making AI the centerpiece of modernization before the function’s fundamentals are in place
• Trying to tackle every modernization priority at once
• Treating modernization as a project rather than an ongoing capability
  
  

The guide argues that communications leaders need a clear understanding of the function’s purpose and strategy before determining structure. From there, they can identify the capabilities the business requires, assess the team, and phase the work to build momentum.

The ebook also addresses one of the most immediate pressures facing CCOs: artificial intelligence. The Grossman Group cautions against treating AI adoption as a modernization strategy in itself. AI can strengthen a communications function when its strategy, measurement, and operating processes provide a strong foundation.

“AI belongs inside the modernization conversation, but it shouldn’t define the conversation,” Grossman said. “The opportunity is to build the function the business actually needs, then determine where AI can make that function stronger.”

The Grossman Group’s research with The Harris Poll found that among more than 2,200 employees, only 14% of those working for a leader they consider ‘good’ say they feel they are reaching their full potential. The ebook connects employee development directly to modernization: Once leaders understand the capabilities the future function requires, professional development can help close the distance between what the team can do today and what the business will need tomorrow.

The ebook is available now from The Grossman Group here.

About The Grossman Group
The Grossman Group is an award-winning communications consultancy that helps leaders and organizations drive transformation through strategic communication. For more than 25 years, the firm has partnered with Fortune 500 companies and leading organizations to strengthen leadership, culture, change management, and the employee experience.

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Media Contact:
Michael Tilus
Broadsheet Communications for The Grossman Group
michael@broadsheetcomms.com