We’d all love to get more advocates for our company. But we might be trying to cultivate them in the wrong way:

• Inform: create relevant campaigns and collateral with all the facts—assuming that “to know me is to support me.”
• Invite: provide open-ended opportunities to get involved—assuming that “if I open the door, people will come to me.”
• Offer incentives: appeal to their rational self-interest—assuming that “money talks—and so will they.”

These approaches are completely logical, and sometimes get short-term results—but so often they end up just looking a little too corporate.

A smarter approach to building advocacy is to think a lot less about what WE want people to do, and focus almost exclusively on what makes people want to do things on their own. Read More »

By Mike Wellman

Goldman Sachs.  BP.  Toyota.  Domino’s.  Nestle.  GM.  United Airlines.  Procter & Gamble. Mattel.  In recent memory, some of the largest and most-respected brands in the world have faced public scrutiny, disapproval, and active opposition.  It’s fascinating to see that each time, a slew of critics will comment about how poorly the company in question is handling the crisis, often only to recant in retrospect when public anger isn’t as white-hot. Just as egregious, these critics of opportunity every time point to a favorite case study of Johnson & Johnson’s recall of Tylenol in 1982 as a point of comparison for handling crisis communications well.

Don’t get me wrong—I love that case study too. A speedy response, a clear sense of ownership, and making real change to rectify a situation instead of just changing your messaging are timeless principles that should be emulated. Recently, though, new technologies and stakeholder expectations have changed the parameters of how companies should react to crises.

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Whenever I need inspiration, I visit Big Think, a global forum that “put[s] you in contact with the ideas of very smart people.” There, I’ve watched short videos and read articles that prompt me to question my life assumptions; some of my favorites include Learning from Failure, Why You Can’t Work at Work, and Why You Can’t Get a Date. Apparently, there is a mathematical theorem that proves that dating in large cities is difficult and frustrating. Amen. It’s not just me .

One of the more interesting videos I’ve watched on Big Think is about “Unleashing the Creative Economic Revolution”. It’s an interview with Richard Florida, an academic and author of the book The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life. Florida theorizes that the “creative class”—basically knowledge workers with an added dash of pizazz, flexibility, and creativity—is vital to the growth of society. He sees a lot of this “creative class” participating in science, technology, arts and entertainment, and film making design.

Now, most of you reading this post aren’t scientists, techies, or rock stars. You’re communicators. But, guess what? YOU, communicator, are part not merely part of this exciting “creative class,” but the potential leaders of it.  Hear me out. We need not all be Lady Gaga to be considered “creative.”  Simply approach your daily work with a fresh, open perspective, and  you’ll capitalize on opportunities to discover new talents, devise better solutions to tired problems, and help your business in the process.

Sound like a bunch of idealistic Millennial hogwash? Leading the “creative class” is a lot easier than you think; in fact, you’re already active in the “creative class” business. Here’s what you do EVERY SINGLE DAY to stamp your creativity all over your organization:

• You invent.
  You don’t employ traditional tactics to build your reputation and differentiate your brand. You think about your audience, goals, and available tools to create customized communication plans. For a cool innovation that we like, check out TheFordStory.com to see how they’ve invited customers to tell the company’s story.
• You consult.
  You solve strategic problems with creative communications solutions. We’re seeing more executive communicators report directly to the CEO, highlighting the importance of communication in achieving company goals. Moreover, CEOs are looking to you to determine fresh ways for them to engage with stakeholders. Check out the CEC Employee Communications Forum for creative ideas for executive virtual engagement.
• You enable. You help others express their creativity. I’ve been impressed by your efforts to help employees start blogging, Tweeting, and creating content. Inside the organization, you’ve been working hard to implement the internal collaboration tools necessary for employees to connect and engage with one another. If you haven’t yet seen the inner workings of Sabre’s internal platform, SabreTown, check it out on video today.

See? You’re creative! And cool. And a communicator. Rise up and take your place among the artists and filmmakers, the professionals who leave their personal mark on everything they produce! Rise up and take your rightful place as leaders of the “creative class.”

Done something especially creative in your work recently? We’d love to hear stories!

I hope it’s not obvious from the way I talk or act—but I grew up as a big NASCAR fan. That’s right, stock car racing. The high banks of Daytona, King Richard, The Great American Race—all threads in the fabric of my youth.  Please humor me and tell me it’s not obvious.

I do come by it honestly, though—my Dad spent his youth hanging around the local race tracks of Long Island as a driver/mechanic (one small offshoot of NASCAR’s roots extends from the Carolinas all the way up to suburban New York City…you don’t need to be a Southerner to be a redneck.)

This genetic anomaly may be somewhat embarrassing to admit to, but it does have at least some value, since there are lessons from NASCAR racing that have great applicability for us in corporate comms.

Lesson number one:  Never admit to being a NASCAR fan. (oops…too late)

But a more important lesson is the one they teach to rookie drivers about how to avoid The Big One. That’s the name given to the kind of catastrophic chain reaction wrecks that occur about every other time they race at the superspeedways like Daytona and Talledega.

SITUATION: You’re driving down the straightaway of a 2-and-a-half-mile track going 200 miles an hour, and you see a wreck developing a couple hundred yards ahead of you. What are you supposed to do?

Smacking on the brakes isn’t gonna save you—you’re going way too fast for that. And there’s no way to tell which direction the careening cars will go next.  Some wrecks push up the banking toward the outside wall.  Some collect down low toward the infield.  They’re all different. You’ve got about one second to determine whether you will narrowly avoid certain doom, or, become yet another victim of The Big One.  Soooooooo again, what are you supposed to do?

Here’s what:  Aim for the center of the wreck.

Read More »

I’m sitting outside Costa Coffee on an overcast April day struggling to balance a fashionably large porcelain mug with the finger gestures that direct the New York Times iPhone app.  As my Americano finally begins to wake me up, I admire a streetscape of eclectic boutiques, trendy bistros, and a colorfully decorated elementary school—all in a vaguely Parisian architectural style.  The comforts of yuppiedom feel extremely familiar.

Finally, a text from a friend interrupts my digestion of the latest Goldman Sachs news and directs me to our lunch destination.  I turn the corner and am suddenly confronted by a much less familiar scene: dozens of merchants selling fruit, scarves, and DVDs in chaotic street side markets; a breeze of fast moving bikes, cars, scooters, and people; and an undecipherable buzz of voices conducting business on cell phones, negotiating with shopkeepers, and asking me for money (I think).

Such are the contrasts of Shanghai’s French Concession where I spent most of my vacation last month.  These streets are still less a microcosm of modern China than ground zero for a rapidly evolving economic and cultural landscape, but I came to believe over my stay that there may not be a bigger or more challenging economic imperative for business communicators in the coming years than navigating the landscape of this complicated environment.

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It’s May, and you know what that means—graduation season! Congrats, new grad! Now, what are you going to do with your life? If you’re thinking of a career in communications, be forewarned: your social-media savvy and ability to condense complex thoughts into 140 characters won’t be enough to stand out.

Yep, even toddlers are tweeting now. You, college grad, need to bring something else to the table to shine through in this ultra-competitive environment. But what?

Two critical things you need to be able to excel at as a communicator are:

1. Project management skills &
2. Listening skills.

You may be a master of these skills now, but some of you may need to work on them. Here’s a quick litmus test based on your college years: Read More »

By Rebecca Canan

“Even though I have a social media monitoring agency, I do most of my listening through free, channel-specific tools anyway.  My agency just doesn’t have the capabilities I didn’t know I needed.”

“I signed up with Radian6 when it was the popular thing to do, but now I’m frustrated by all the spam that gets through. ”

“We’re looking at signing on with Alterian SM2, but I have no idea if it’s the right choice or if I’m missing another vendor that would be better???”

These quotes from your peers provide a glimpse into the confusion and frustration that a lot of communicators experience when it comes to social media monitoring firms.  As I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts, I’ve been trying my best to understand how you can listen to stakeholder conversations in a meaningful way.  Based on my interim thinking, I’m dedicating this post to helping you navigate through your social media vendor options.  Read More »

Read PR Week lately?  I don’t mean the online edition—I’m talking about the old-fashioned print version, which now comes out … monthly.    I still read printed material when I can, because it helps me spot things I typically miss on a computer screen.

For example, I caught their piece on corporate press sites in the March 2010 issue (my apologies for not enclosing a link—you need a subscription to read it).  They hold up media sites from Microsoft and GM as examples of a trend: redesigned news rooms aimed not only at professional journalists but also at the general public. Read More »