I grew up in Canada, and when I was a boy there were short television segments called Heritage Minutes that highlighted important pieces of Canadian history and culture. One that always stayed with me was the dramatization of Marshall McLuhan’s realization of the idea that the medium is the message.
McLuhan was not simply pointing out that content matters. He was showing that the form, care, and delivery of communication shape how people interpret what they hear and see. As people who work in environments where communication, learning, and collaboration matter, this idea is worth keeping in mind.
People rarely separate what we do from how we do it. The way we present materials, the tone we use, the environments we create, and the energy we bring all become part of the message. The mediums we choose say something about our intentions, our values, and how much we believe the work matters.
This does not mean everything must look perfect or polished. Authentic, handmade work can be warm, meaningful, and deeply engaging. What matters is whether something feels intentional. Work created with care communicates value. Work that looks rushed or unconsidered communicates that the task itself was treated as unimportant.
Modern life pulls many of us toward speed. Tasks accumulate, expectations expand, and it becomes tempting to reduce work to a checklist. When that happens, the purpose can fade behind the pressure to simply complete items. The result is often output that meets a requirement but not a goal, and that does little to inspire pride or learning.
In any field, the process shapes the outcome. When we focus only on the end product, we risk overlooking the thinking, curiosity, and experimentation that give work its meaning. A rushed process tends to produce rushed results. A thoughtful process, even when simple, usually produces clearer and more confident work.
Ideally, the methods chosen to achieve a goal should match the outcome we want. That requires more than a plan, it requires alignment. Good leadership, whether formal or informal, involves helping people understand not only what to do but why it matters. Support, clarity, and realistic expectations are as essential as skill.
Intentional work does not demand perfection, it asks for purpose. It invites people to bring judgment, care, and a sense of craft to what they make. When people work with intention, the results communicate pride, respect, and clarity. When intention is missing, even well meant work can appear uncertain or easily overlooked.
This applies to the physical or digital materials we create. Presentations, visuals, documents, videos, and the objects that fill shared spaces all become a visible record of our standards. They shape how communities perceive our work, and sometimes how they perceive us.
Handmade or low tech materials can be effective when they convey intention. What undermines the message is not simplicity but the appearance of haste. People notice when something looks like it was assembled quickly. Tape that looks temporary, cuts that look accidental, or displays that look unstable all communicate that the work was treated as disposable. The same thing happens with digital communication. Inconsistent, mismatched fonts, or images that are stretched, blurry, or low resolution all give the impression that the work was assembled without planning. Graphics that include large blocks of text, unrelated clip art, or animations that distract from the main idea can pull attention away from the message instead of supporting it. A handout printed slightly off center, posters that fade quickly because the paper was not chosen well, emails that shift formatting halfway through, or videos that change style from one moment to the next are all small cues that add up. These signals may be minor, but people notice them, and they affect how communication is received.
The same holds true for how we interact with one another. Tone, pacing, patience, and collaboration become part of the medium through which ideas travel. People learn not only from what we say, but from the atmosphere in which we say it.
Public facing materials, reviews, newsletters, explanations, and demonstrations serve as reflections of our standards and our care. When these materials are clear and intentional, they communicate confidence and professionalism. When they are confusing or visually inconsistent, the message becomes less about the content and more about the process behind it.
The point is not to chase perfection or overproduce everything. Simple materials can communicate powerfully when they are made with purpose. The deeper point is that people do not just absorb information, they absorb the environment that surrounds it. They internalize the norms they see.
McLuhan’s insight reminds us that the medium is part of the message. In practice, this means the care we put into our work, the choices we make along the way, and the attention we give to the process all shape how our work is understood.
If we want the things we create to matter, our intention needs to be visible. If we want people to care, we need to show that we care.