CommaKazi Speek

Visiting the Old Neighborhood

2007-03-14T13:32:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned some time ago here, I've moved to a new WordPress blog, and started a podcast. I don't plan on visiting the old neighborhood often, but a couple of things have made me a little notalgic, and so I came back.

The first thing was my trip last weekend to the West Ridge (Chicago) neighborhood where I spent most of my life, before moving to the suburbs. Driving along familiar roads brought back some happy memories.

The second thing was some emails from high school classmates. It's been 30 years, and our school is scheduled to close, so classmates have been writing about the "good old days."

It's nice to remember the past, but I try hard to stay in the present.

I'm Moving to WordPress

2007-02-03T15:10:00.000-06:00

I'm still in the process of moving to my new home on WordPress. Please pardon the ongoing renovations, as I tweak. I still plan to change the main graphic, but all in due time. So far, I will simply thank another Tom who created the Mandigo theme.

I also will be posting podcasts there, linking to my Libsyn account. Again, still finishing the first podcasts--a lot for a newbie to learn--as many of you have already experienced.

Sliding into home--with their cars

2007-01-17T22:50:00.000-06:00

When I and my fellow employees in Libertyville, Ill. heard yesterday that our Portland office was closing because of a (in our estimation) light dusting of snow and icy rain, we shook our heads. "Let them come to the Chicago area and see what winter is really all about," I thought.

Then I saw this video from Portland's news source, nwcn.com and King5.com. (The link takes you to the home page, where you should see a sidebar for a video with the caption,'Amazing home video of icy collisions in Portland.' Click that video link.)

The saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words," rings true in this case. After watching the videoclip, no one at my office questioned the decision to close the Portland office!

Holiday Party Blues

2007-01-05T11:47:00.000-06:00

I'm writing this quick post at home over the lunch hour before heading back to the office. Life has imitated art, as I live an approximation of an episode of "The Office," one of my favorite television shows.

In last night's episode, two of the key characters in the television show return from a secret joint-vacation to Jamaica. The man tries to send a suggestive photo of his female companion to a friend via email, but instead forwards it to half of his office. The other half of the office soon gets a copy of the photo via forwarded emails. The male character goes crazy, as his attempts to keep the matter private go horribly awry.

I laughed at the stupidity of that character, and how his mistake was broadcast throughout the office via email and then full-color poster-sized prints of the suggestive photo. "No one is THAT stupid in this day and age," I thought to myself.

Then I got an email at work the next morning. No, it didn't contain an attached suggestive photo. It contained a link to the website of the photographer who took pictures at our company's recent holiday party. I went to the website, logged in with the supplied user name and password, and began to look at the pictures. "Nothing too bad," I thought, when a coworker passed by and saw my computer screen. "Hey, don't hog them to yourself," my coworker complained, coaxing me into sending the link.

"No harm," I thought. "We're going to send the link to everyone later today anyway." I forwarded the information and listened as my coworker began to review the pictures with other people who circled the cube. My biggest concern was whether a boss would pass by and wonder why this group of people didn't have something better to do.

Then I saw the first questionable picture. While the first thumbnails I viewed were pretty sedate, they also were the first photos taken that night, before the drinking had gotten very far. I, and the group of employees in the nearby cube, began to see pictures where people threw caution to the wind, and (nearly) let it all hang out, so to speak. Nothing pornographic, but probably embarrassing in the calm (and sober) light of day, two weeks after the original event.

A supervisor who sits near me was one of the people who had taken several questionable photos with his date, and with some female coworkers. I called him over to my PC and showed him the photos. He reacted very much like the male character on "The Office" episode I had watched the previous evening. Lots of spontaneous sweat, increased respiration, and softly muttered sounds of terror.

Obviously, if he had thought about it at all, he imagined that only he would be able to view the photos. Now the reality that the entire company would realize just how far he can stretch out his tongue struck him. "Can we take those off of the site?" he whispered in a pleading voice.

I was a step ahead of him, but I knew that I had to move quickly. As word of the photos spread throughout the office, people began to log onto the site, using the login information that the photographer had given on the night of the party. With the okay of the service center management and HR, I had IT block access to the site. I exchanged emails with key people and together agreed that the site would remain blocked, and people would need to view and order photos from outside of the office. In the meantime, a coworker contacted the photographer to request that some of the more questionable photos be removed from the site.

Easy enough, but someone pointed out that some people in the photos might actually want to purchase those photos (maybe not the Tongue Master, but some of the others). How would they know that the photos were available if we had them removed from the website?

That is why I am at home. I had to leave the office where the photographer's website was blocked by our IT Department, and get screen captures of the questionable photos before the photographer had a chance to remove them!

I hope that the people involved learned a lesson about corporate events like the holiday party. Careers aren't often made there, but many a career has gone down in flames due, in part, to poor decisions made under the influence. That's one of the reasons why I stuck to nonalcoholic beverages that evening--and struck a safe, non-offensive pose when taking a photograph with my wife.

Back to work

2007-01-01T22:03:00.000-06:00

I'm ending my Christmas/New Year's vacation tomorrow, and coming to grips with the disparity between what I intended to accomplish, and what I actually did accomplish, personally and professionally.

I intended to post here and on the IABC Cafe several times, but didn't get it done. The most frustrating thing about it was the time wasted because of computer software that didn't play well with my aging Vaio computer. Of course, the simple answer would be to purchase a nicely furnished new PC, but my disposable income went toward other itmes for the home and family. I probably will purchase a new PC later this year.

Another goal that I intended to meet, and didn't, was to have a new WordPress blog up and running. I plan to install the software on a hosted system, and I need to tweak WordPress. With so many other commitments and distractions, I haven't had time to seek help from the WordPress community. I'll be reaching out sometime this week or next.

My reading load has increased because of manuals for Christmas gifts, books, and other items. The excitement of my new programs and tools is tempered by the need to learn about them. It all takes time, as you know.

Oh well, my daughter just came down to tell me that I need to sign off so that I can walk the dog and call it a night. Where does the time go?

Snow brings a chill to office engagement

2006-12-01T12:16:00.000-06:00

The snow was falling briskly, and the television continued to announce traffic snarls, accidents, and a growing list of school and business closings. Anticipating the coming winter storm, my company's HR Department had sent a broadcast email the day before to remind employees about the company's emergency weather hotline number.

Would I get an unexpected day off of work? I dialed the number at 5:30 a.m. to check. The recorded message stated that the company was open for business as usual. But it gave no reference to today's date (as in, "Today is Friday, Dec. 1 and this is the latest update.") It sounded like the generic message that probably played every other day of the year.

I continued to get ready, and just before leaving the house (earlier than usual in anticipation of a long commute), I checked the message once again. Same message; same feeling of uncertainty about whether the business would be closed when I arrived.

With so many businesses and schools being closed, the roads were less traveled, and I actually arrived at work earlier than usual. The parking lot was mostly empty, and the lights were off in the main lobby and Security Desk. I drove to a side entrance where I could use my ID badge to enter, and was relieved to see a smattering of other employees already at work.

Coworkers grumbled about the drive into work, and wondered why we were open, when so many other companies were closed. Some shared my opinion that the hotline message should have clearly indicated that it was current. I spoke with a colleague in HR, who agreed, and changed the messsage.

While it made me feel good that my opinion as the communications expert was heard, I also know that a coworker had spoken to the same HR person hours earlier, with the same suggestion. When I told the coworker that I had spoken with HR and the message would be changed, his reaction was two-fold:

* It was too late, because most employees would have either fought their way into the office or turned back by then.
* It was frustrating that the common-sense opinion of a "common employee" didn't seem to matter.

This storm, too, shall pass. With employee engagement getting a lot of attention within corporations, this kind of situation bears watching, however. One other suggestion that the company did act on was to buy lunch for everyone who made it into work. Also, most employees left early, while it was still light, after spending much of the day distracted by weather-related discussions.

All-in-all, questions as to the benefits of staying open when many other companies either delayed opening, or decided not to open at all that day.

An Update

2006-11-24T10:48:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted here in quite some time. The reason is that I've been pulled in too many directions, and something had to give. I have some time today, so I'm posting this quick note.

Life has been quite interesting lately, and I may provide some detail about my challenges at work related to enhancing communications. It's been difficult to break away from the tactical because the strategic side is getting resistance from above.

As a one-person communication staff, I have to pick my battles, and my planning for how to win the social media battle is taking longer than I'd like. Recently, my request for launching a trial wiki was rebuffed by IT. I later learned that someone in IT got permission to set up a wiki for another internal project team. Frustrating!

The Reality of Fantasy (Football)

2006-11-04T09:08:00.000-06:00

I enjoy the fantasy world, but so far haven't plunged into Second Life. Instead, my fantasy life revolves around two American football teams in separate fantasy football leagues. I manage my teams through websites offered by CBS Sportsline--a company that has just posted an example of how to address service issues.

The service problems were annoying, although not earth-shaking. At times when I couldn't access the site, I simply waited until the site was available to me. No data was lost, and the outcome of my games was not impacted.

But I appreciate how seriously CBS Sportsline is taking this. In its online message, it goes into great detail about what has happened over the first eight weeks of the seasons, and promises to do better for the last half of the season. I wish that they had provided this information sooner, but at least they are coming clean.

Now I can only hope that the performance of my teams matches the effort of CBS Sportsline.

A timely question about podcast listening

2006-10-17T16:34:00.000-05:00

In a recent issue of the Ragan Report, communication consultant Steve Crescenzo asks a valid question about podcasts: Who has time to listen to podcasts on a regular basis?

With short podcasts running 10-15 minutes, and some shows running over an hour, you have to be dedicated to keep up. I recently put my ..MP3 player aside for a week, because I was stressing too much about the podcasts that I wasn't hearing because of other life commitments. It did feel good to take a break, but I've started downloading my favorite podcasts again. I guess that I'm hooked.

Steve wondered what percentage of company employees would make time to listen to their CEO's podcast--especially if it wasn't "wildly funny, wickedly entertaining or highly controversial." I know people who would. They are the same people who watch company videos, or listen to the quarterly all-employee meeting on CD or tape. When I worked at Fort James Corporation, we offered cassette tapes to employees who missed the quarterly meetings. Although the numbers weren't large, it typically was people who didn't want to be "out of the loop." Every company has people like this.

A podcast is the latest way to distribute audio information and commentary. People who want to listen to it, will find time. The digital format and help such as show notes with time codes actually make it more convenient for the listener to select the information that is most appealing.

Personally, I find the process of downloading podcasts to my MP3 player a little cumbersome and time-consuming. That's because I don't have an iPod, I guess. I use Feedburner to download the podcasts to my PC, then I import them into the software that allows me to copy the podcasts to my MP3 player (a Sony Walkman Bean). But I have to convert every podcast file to an audio format (speed) that my player supports. Otherwise, the podcasts play too quickly, and the podcasters sound like the Chipmunks.

Today, we remember

2006-09-10T20:34:00.000-05:00

In mid-August of 2001, I was let go from my marketing communications position at a Chicago-area company—a "victim" of the slowing economy that had severely impacted the company's revenues. I quickly talked with other members of my church, who also were looking for work, and we formed a job-seeker support group.

The group met on Tuesdays at a coffeehouse, where news and music softly played in the background. Our second meeting was on Sept. 11, 2001. I remember feeling annoyed that one member of the group interupted our discussion when he heard that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center Towers in New York. I dismissed the news as the accidental death of a poorly trained Cessna pilot.

I said something like, "Yeah, that's sad...but we have to find jobs." I wondered then how my fellow job-seeker could seem so taken back by the news of a single death in a city far away? Didn't he worry, like I did, about paying the mortgage, feeding his family, and getting his self-esteem recharged?

As you know, the two planes that struck the World Trade Center that morning represented something far more sinister than I knew then. I returned home and spent the rest of that day in shocked horror, watching replay after replay of the collapse of the two towers, and the deaths of so many innocent people. It made my comment about needing a job seem so shallow and selfish.

The communicator in me tried to absorb the rapid-fire messages that came from the government, the media, and people I knew in the military and civilian realms. The Christian in me grieved for the terrorists who committed this horrible act, but cheered the sudden surge in interest around the nation in spirituality and faith. The spouse and father in me tried to stay positive as an already weakened economy went into sudden suspended animation. The slow job market nearly ground to a halt.

Looking back, five years later, I see that in the United States of America, people's expectations remain high, our tolerance for pain is low, and our ability to be "Monday morning quarterbacks" is keen. Yet our memories of what truly is important seems so maddingly short.

Today, thank God, we remember.

FORE! Drilling Communications Best Practices Into My Family

2006-08-08T16:11:00.000-05:00

I've sometimes had to be creative in linking a thought or experience to a communication lesson or principle. It's worth the effort in this case, so that I can tell you about how I accidentally drilled my 10-year-old daughter in the butt while golfing last week.

My wife and I had bid on a golf package offered at our church's annual silent auction—and won. It covered greens fee and cart for a foursome at the same golf course where my company holds its annual charity golf outing. We decided that it would be fun to take our 12-year-old son, Kevin, and daughter, Caitlyn, for an afternoon of non-competitive golf. It had to be non-competitive because my wife had only golfed one other time, my kids were beginners, and on my best day, I have a bad day in terms of golf shots.

Communication lesson #1: Explain the rules clearly and before your son decides to tee-off. My friendly conversation with the starter turned ugly when my son decided that he was ready to tee-off—without waiting for the elderly gentleman who was about 75 years away on the near fairway, taking his second shot. As Kevin's ball whistled past the elderly golfer, the starter began to yell, "Tell your boy to wait until the golfers are out of range!" I was so rattled, my subsequent tee shot dribbled about 20 yards.

Communication lesson #2: Establish the proper order for tee-shots. How many times have the best communication ideas gone flat because someone decided to jump out of order and messed up the timing or message flow? In this case, as the only member of the foursome who was hitting from the back tees, I should have hit first, while the rest of the foursome stayed behind me until after the shot. Their failure to do so resulted in Communication lesson #3.

Communication lesson #3: It doesn't help to yell "fore" after the ball has tattooed your daughter's rear-end. Yes, crisis communication needs to be ready in advance. In this case, my family had decided to take positions on the front tee before I had shot from the blue tees behind them. I was upset that they didn't know the basic rule of golf etiquette that tells you to stay out of the way of a golf shot. I was about to say that, when my wife started driving herself and Caitlyn toward the rough on the right. The cart was moving slowly away from me, and was a little over 100 yards away, when I decided to tee off.

It was my hardest tee shot of the day, and it sailed straight toward the cart carrying my wife and daughter. Kevin said he yelled "fore," but I was mesmerized, watching the perfect trajectory of the ball as it traced the path of my wife's cart, and then caught it. We heard a loud crack that I thought was the sound of the ball bouncing off of the cart. But when I saw that my wife was hugging my daughter, I rushed over in my cart. Somehow, the ball had cleared the golf bags and the cart frame, and had struck my daughter's butt on the fly. Kim was muffling Caitlyn's cries, which was good, because anyone who would have heard Caitlyn crying at full throttle would have thought that we had amputated her leg without anesthesia. That gets me to the final point.

Communication lesson #4: People don't want to hear facts when they are hurting. As it became clear that Caitlyn would survive the golf "spanking," I grasped for words to express my feelings. Unfortunately, my feelings were less than sympathetic. "That's why proper golf etiquette tells you to stay behind someone about to hit the ball," I said, in as kind a tone as I could muster. In retrospect, I probably should have been clubbed myself for that comment.

Anyway, after some more hugging (with me reminding them that we were holding up the foursome behind us), we continued. My family stayed a respectful distance behind me on every shot that followed—even the putts. My daughter eventually forgave me, and stopped trying to hit me with her golf ball. My son enjoyed the day, because he constantly out-drove me and sometimes out-putted me.

My wife is still trying to figure out why she bought me golf clubs for Father's Day. Next year, I get a tie, or something else equally soft.

Avoid blogger “road rage”

2006-07-31T17:30:00.000-05:00

[This is a post that I entered into a contest sponsored by Ted Demopoulos on his Blogging for Business site. I won a copy of the book, and am enjoying it immensely.]

I was listening to a podcast discussion about the heat that Dell was taking following the launch of its One2One blog, when I began to get frustrated with the driver in front of me. He was driving too slowly, and I was growing impatient, waiting for him to speed up. We finally reached a portion of roadway with a second lane, and when “Mr. Poky” didn’t immediately move to the right lane to let me pass, I gunned my Passat, swung into the right lane, and roared past him.

Of course, I had to shake my head at him and swerve in front of him as I passed. How else was he going to learn the consequences of inferior driving?

Well that sad example of road rage is also a cautionary tale for communicators participating in a blogging initiative within a company. As we are seeing with Dell’s critics, some people have a low tolerance for a person or company entering slowly onto the blogging highway.

It really reminds me of my run-in (fortunately not a run-into) with that slow driver. I’m comfortable handling my car, and I’ve been driving long enough to know when to be aggressive, and when to cruise along with the flow. It helped to grow up in Chicago, where you either learn how to drive, or resign yourself to using public transportation.

But what about the people who are just learning to drive—or blog? Should we honk our horns at them, or try to force them off of the road? If someone had done that to us, how many of us would have been dedicated enough to get over the learning curve without spinning out?

My advice to corporate communicators is to prepare their management to the reality of a medium that encourages transparency and conversation. They will read things that disturb them. They may be criticized as they try to find their individual voices while publishing their initial blog posts. Some “blogging expert” might even try to send them into the ditch.

Tell them to grip the wheel comfortably and keep their eyes on the road ahead—and don’t run out of gas.

Presenting: A Train Wreck

2006-07-30T21:46:00.000-05:00

Sigh!

Just days after communications consultant Shel Holtz celebrated his earning the top rating as one of 73 breakout session speakers at the 2006 IABC International Conference, I received my evaluation. This comment from one of the attendees seemed to sum it up nicely:

Don’t ask him back next year.

To use a baseball analogy, if Shel's performance ranks him as the Detroit Tigers (the best in the league), mine would rank me with the Kansas City Royals (nowhere to go but up). I wish I could have compared myself to the Chicago Cubs--although they are perennial losers, some people consider them lovable. Unfortunately, my results were just plain ugly!

I actually can identify more with the major league debut of a Seattle Mariners player: infielder Ron Wright. Here's how San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Chris Jenkins described that first experience in the "big leagues":

Wright's mistake was just getting out of bed, let alone Tacoma, the Mariners' AAA locale. Indeed, we're talking about perhaps the worst major league debut of all time.

For the record, Wright struck out in his first major league at-bat, then hit into a triple play on his next at-bat. The tail end of the triple play came on Wright's ill-advised break for second base, where he was thrown out by the pitcher. "Hey, dude," Jenkins quoted second baseman Bret Boone as saying to Wright, "that was bad."

Things got better in Wright's third trip to the plate, when he "only hit into a 6-4-3 double play," Jenkins wrote. "For those keeping score, that's six outs in three at-bats. Gotta be some sort of record."

Well, records were meant to be broken, and I believe that my recent presentation has lowered the standard for a debut. Rather than sulk about it (I did that on the day that I received the evaluation), I prefer to believe the quote that "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

So to make your presentations stronger and to let you benefit by NOT doing what I did, here are some thoughts to consider if you ever are asked to be a last-minute fill-in speaker at a major conference or event.

Be sure that you understand the topic. I know that this sounds very basic, but consider my recent experience. About 3 1/2 weeks before the 2006 IABC International Conference, I received an email from an IABC staff member, asking me to serve as a fill-in. She mentioned a couple of communications professionals who "suggested I contact you, as you know the subject matter – managing change brought about by social media." I was flattered to be asked, and considered it a great opportunity. But I dismissed the fact that the heart of the presentation required experience with building online communities --experience that I didn't have.
Make sure that you have enough time to prepare. Sure, we've all had experience with pulling all-nighters and weekenders to complete some rush project. I wasn't concerned about getting the IABC presentation done on-time--particularly when I emailed the original presenter, who was very willing to share his thoughts on what he planned to deliver. I'd just combine some of the original material with my own experiences. That way, no one would feel cheated, I reasoned--incorrectly. I spent too much time trying to weave together the unfamiliar material with my own thoughts. In fact, I was tweaking the presentation all the way up to the day it was to be delivered. That led to another big mistake:
Don't ever, ever, ever read the slides. I knew this; I hate this when other presenters do it…yet I still read some of the slides. Why? Partly due to nerves, partly due to the lack of time to practice enough, and partly due to a lack of time to create presentation handouts. I wanted to emphasize some points, and since I couldn't assume that everyone in the audience could quickly spot and read the points on my slides, I started reading. As Jethro Tull sang in Locomotive Breath: "old Charlie stole the handle and the train won't stop going --no way to slow down." My trainwreck was underway!
If you can't do justice to the original topic, try to adjust it to something you can discuss well. With the feedback from the original presenter, I felt that I could prepare a hybrid presentation that would go over as well as the new hybrid cars. The reality was that if hybrid cars had the same performance specs as my presentation, we would all soon be riding bicycles. I would have been better off speaking entirely on material I knew well--or declining the invitation to speak.

Good thing that I have this blogging thing to fall back on.

A (film) critic's view of blogging

2006-07-18T10:22:00.000-05:00

Judy Gombita, Communications Manager at the Certified General Accountants of Ontario, spotted the following editorial letter written by Gavin Smith in Film Comment, published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York. Because it relates to the roles of journalists (film critics, to be specific) and bloggers--the subject of my post: Is Our Role Changing?--Judy obtained permission of Gavin for me to reprint his letter.

Editor’s Letter
Film Comment
July/August 2006

Confession: the exuberant and ever-proliferating world of Internet blogs and websites sometimes scares me. Online publishing is faster, more immediate, more flexible, and sometimes more comprehensive and expansive than a bimonthly magazine can be. What’s more, online content is free of charge. By comparison, print publications are slow, limited in editorial space and reach, and costly to produce. At this point you’re all waiting for me to use the D-word—“dinosaur,” as in: extinct. But as tactile, physical objects, magazines will only be as obsolete as the radio, the postal service, matchbooks, shoelaces, wool, and ocean liners. If blogs are double-decker Airbus jets, print publications are ocean liners.

The Internet is transforming film criticism just as it is every other sphere of human activity. Today, writing on film is thriving and mutating beyond the wildest dreams of those who lived through the heyday of movie culture 30 years ago. Via the Web, voracious cinephiles can read daily or hourly updated report from bloggers attending film festivals near and far. By contrast, our Cannes coverage is appearing long after the dust has settled—over a month after the festival’s closing night.

Film Comment has been around for 40 years. Some feel its best years are behind it, others that it’s never been better. (One thing’s for sure: it’s never looked better.) If that makes us middle-aged, then online film culture is in its adolescence, with everything that implies: tremendous potential and obvious limitations. I tend to think that blogs are long on opinions and short on ideas and insights. The speech with which people can write and post is exciting, but isn’t conducive to more considered, reflective viewpoints. As exponents of the DIY philosophy, bloggers just like writers in other media, would nevertheless benefit from a little editing (but then, as an editor, I would say that, wouldn’t I?).

But if the hotbeds of online cinephilia are, to paraphrase Lester-Bangs, oftentimes a space where people who can’t write chase the attention of people who can’t read, they are also a vital training ground for developing writers. Talent will out. There’s no reason why today’s bloggers can’t be tomorrow’s professional film critics and journalists. (Some of them already are, sort of: Dave Poland and Harry Knowles may not possess the most scintillating critical minds, but apparently they have become indispensable.) Sure, some blogs are conduits for diaristic solipsism, trivial buzz, and endless smackdowns, but the best are about community building, engaged debate, and promoting a genuinely discursive approach to criticism—and the overall result is tremendous vitality. Moreover, as general-interest newspapers and magazines dumb down and ditch knowledgeable film critics in their quest for the next Anthony Lane, the online world has been and will continue to be a haven for migrating print writers who haven’t run out of things to say—as Dave Kehr’s thriving website attests.

In the end, apart from a devotion to cinema, the staff of this magazine and its contributors have one big thing in common with all of those bloggers and website creators out there: all of our publications are labors of love.

Gavin Smith
http://www.filmlinc.com/

Is Our Role Changing?

2006-07-15T17:40:00.000-05:00

A recent podcast by Neville Hobson recorded thoughts of professional journalists who are grappling with the effects of social media. One of the thoughts raised actually can be extended to any professional communicator: What is our role in a changing world that now includes social media?

The professional journalists gathered on June 28 for a panel discussion on the topic, “The Future of Journalism - Ethics in Journalism,” organized by the Club of Amsterdam a self-described “independent, international, future-oriented think tank. ”

The first podcast recorded separate presentations by Neville and two journalists, all focused in some fashion toward ethics. But in addition to ethics, the three presenters spent a good deal of time discussing how social media is changing journalism, and how those changes will impact professional journalists, “amateur” communicators (including bloggers and podcasters) and the people who consume news and information (you know, the entire world).

Although I have a Journalism degree and some experience as a newspaper reporter, I would be considered an amateur journalist as a blogger, according to the first presenter, Milverton Wallace, founder/organizer of the European Online Journalism Awards. Wallace referred to all bloggers as “amateurs,” which can either be an accurate, or insulting, designation, depending on which of Merriam-Webster’s definitions is used:

one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession
one lacking in experience and competence in an art or science

But Milverton did point out that “news” was published by “amateurs” long before the “profession” (he prefers the word, “craft”) of journalism was established. As everyone involved in communications continues to watch–and participate–in the changing world of “news gathering,” two things remain true:

People will continue to seek out sources of information who can prove themselves to be reliable and accurate.
Both bloggers and “professional” journalists will continue to be transmitters of information, and will find ways to monitor and evaluate the work of the other.

Why you'll never see the best "Office" promos

2006-07-15T16:36:00.000-05:00

YouTube and the people behind the hit television show, The Office, launched a contest to let people create their own 20-second promos for the show. Selected entries will appear on YouTube.com and NBC.com, and the winners will air on NBC during The Office this summer.

I doubt that we'll see the best promos, unless the promo creators have either:

Super-understanding, cool bosses, or
Another job waiting.

When I heard about the YouTube contest, I immediately came up with an idea, and I knew that I had the perfect video footage to use. My idea was to use some hilarious footage that I shot during a company meeting. The person who led the meeting planned some team-building activities, and boy, did we have some doozies!

I knew that I could tape myself saying something, and then let the team-building video carry the promo to victory.

Then reality set in.

None of the people who participated in the team-building activities had given me permission to use their images outside of official company purposes. Some of the people had since left the company, and I didn't know how to contact them--even if I thought that I had the slimmest chance of their agreeing to be laughed at on national television.

If I thought that it would be hard to get buy-in from the people in the video, I knew it would be nearly impossible to get my management to see this as a positive for the company. Although I might be able to keep the company anonymous in my video credits, a simple Internet search would quickly reveal the name of my current employer.

I'm curious to see the winning promos in the YouTube contest. I look forward to reading where the creators wind up a year from now.

A Good Comcast Communicator

2006-06-28T13:24:00.000-05:00

I've been a Comcast customer for just over a year, and evidently have had a different experience than many people--at least if blog comments are any indication.

While researching my previous post on a Comcast customer who videotaped a sleeping Comcast repairman, I read many flaming comments about the quality of Comcast's service. The Comcast repairman who came to my house last Saturday had a similar problem than the one that contributed to the other repairman's sleep episode. But my repairman's communication efforts were a definite plus.

I signed up last year for a package deal: Comcast digital telephone, Internet and cable television. None of them have been any trouble, and in fact, I'm much happier than when I suffered through a period with a satellite TV provider. You want to complain? Try justifying the expense of satellite when your signal goes out for long periods of time whenever a modest storm passes by. We even lost service on sunny days, with no apparent cause.

So when Comcast called recently to offer us the chance to change to its new digital phone service (basically VOIP, like Vonage), we gladly accepted the offer. On Saturday, "Chuck" the repairman (not his real name--I'll be darned if I get a good worker fired) showed up within the timeframe that we expected (the three-hour window), and got straight to work. I was looking for a way to bring up the story of the sleeping Comcast repairman, when Chuck brought up the issue in a roundabout way.

As he hooked up my new modem, Chuck told me that the setup work would be quick, but that it would take a long time for him to complete the job. Why? Because part of the work involved Chuck and his call center exchanging phone calls, to ensure that the line works both for inbound and outbound calls. "I've had waits as long as an hour," Chuck said ruefully.

That was almost unbelievable to me, an employee of a financial services company that operates three call centers in the U.S. and one in Canada. We worry about hold times that exceed 60 seconds, let alone 60 minutes! After I asked him what was causing those extreme wait times, Chuck explained that Comcast had nearly 500 repairmen (and women) like him servicing accounts in the Chicago metro region. Comcast was pushing to get the maximum number of customer installs scheduled in the second quarter, to improve the company's financials.

But those 500 repairmen had to wait for one of the less than 10 service representatives in Comcast's call center. The backlog should have been anticipated by Comcast--and additional staff hired and trained. But that didn't happen. So after a few minutes of standing in my basement with his phone on hold, waiting for a customer service rep, Chuck excused himself and said he was going to wait in his truck. Sure enough, it was somewhere between 30-45 minutes later when he reentered my home and finished the install procedure.

I thanked him and told him that he had been excellent. Did I say that because the install was speedy? Obviously not. I said it because he told me to expect a longer timeframe from the beginning. No surprises. And although he may have taken a nap in his truck, I wouldn't know and I wouldn't care. Chuck had the sense to limit his impact on my life.

Of course, Comcast had better come to its senses regarding staffing its call center. As one blog commenter stated:

While there’s no excuse for someone falling asleep on the job, it does point to the importance of telecom providers providing quality, rapid customer service, even when the ‘customer’ is an employee.

More 'Bombastic' Than 'Comcastic'

2006-06-27T17:02:00.000-05:00

By now, many of you may have heard about the incident involving a Comcast repairman who lost his job after sleeping on it. Here is a recent post from the Comcast customer who created and distributed a video of the sleeping repairman. [6/28/06 update-The original post was not available today, and may have been removed. Here is a link to a related post.]

More than amusing, this incident is a lesson for companies, consumers, and communicators trying to judge the impact of social media on our lives. If it is still available when you see this, read the New York Times online article about the Comcast customer, Brian Finkelstein, a student at Georgetown Law School. The NY Times journalist stated that the video shot by Finkelstein "is one of several recent examples of angered customers taping their interactions with customer service, then putting the experience online."

The customer is angry with the long wait time, sees the sleeping repairman, and decides that posting the video will somehow improve Comcast's customer service. In reality, Comcast executives overreact by sending a squad of Comcast repairmen to fix Finkelstein's digital issues, while also firing the sleeping repairman. Evidently full of remorse for causing the firing, Finkelstein unsuccessfully contacts Comcast officials to plead for a reversal of the firing. When he realizes that his pleas are falling on deaf corporate ears, Finkelstein strikes back with his blog. He writes:

If Comcast was trying to make me happy, they failed. I didn’t discuss this online until today because I was hoping that I could beg for the man’s job more efficiently by going directly to Comcast. That has failed, so I’m going to once again turn to the power of the Internet.

Comcast, do the right thing, hire back the technician.

The "power of the Internet," Finkelstein? What about the "power of choice"? As one comment on Finkelstein's post states,

My question is “What did you think would happen?” You are a smart guy; could you not predict this outcome? It was foreseeable to even a non-legal mind. It would be more honest to acknowledge that you disregarded the potential consequences to him in pursuit of whatever it was you sought to get out of all of this. Comcast has its faults but is firing a guy who is sleeping on a customer’s couch really one of them? I see this as an attempt to assuage your own (rightfully troubled) conscience.

I offer the following, forgive yourself, personally make amends to the fired technician, discover whether he has a sympathetic story that can be told (works multiple jobs to support a family, up all night with a sick kid, etc.), if so, tell it, and finally, make better use of your power in the future. Beating up on Comcast or yourself is, in my opinion, misplaced energy.

Be blessed and Be thoughtful!

I like the advice about blogging about the repairman's situation, rather than striking out at Comcast. Of course, Comcast should hire someone quickly to help them learn how to engage in online conversations, rather than continue to draw fire by hiding behind the "no comment" garbage can lid to avoid the rotten tomatoes being tossed its way. Neither side handled this well. The main thing that I'm taking from this is the quote, "make better use of your power in the future."

This post is getting long, so I'll find another way to add my personal Comcast story from the last weekend. Another long wait by the repairman trying to reach his call center. Mine didn't fall asleep on my couch, however. Would I have videotaped him? No, because of the way he communicated the facts to me. That's another post!

Be a Style Guide

2006-06-16T15:37:00.000-05:00

If a "guide" is someone who leads or directs another's way, I suggest that we act as an unwanted guide to the Associated Press and IABC. I'm not talking widespread mutiny, just some common-sense in the use of two now-common words: email and website.

The editors of the AP Stylebook and the IABC Style Guide might be cringing a little, but I'm trying to bring them into the modern age.

I was handed an AP Stylebook as part of my freshman coursework in Journalism 101, and have continued to rely upon it in just about every job I've had since. (One consulting firm used the more formal Chicago Manual of Style.) I rarely disagree with the AP Stylebook, and have often used it to settle disputes with coworkers. The IABC states that its Style Guide "is based largely on The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual."

So let's fix two publications with one decision: To face the reality that the words "e-mail" and "Web site" are outdated and in major decline. Time to go with email and website.

Do a search on Google for "e-mail," and you'll get about 10.4 million results. But look at the results; they almost exclusively say "email" without a hyphen. Check the links on the Google ads--again, almost exclusively without the hyphen. Or read what Ray Tomlinson, the person credited with first using the @ symbol in email, says about it.

Same with the term, "Web site." An AP Stylebook editor writes

"We decided early on that Web site was a component or part of the World Wide Web, not a compound noun based on it (as, say, webcam)."

Well, why don't the rest of us decide that regardless of where it resides on the Intranet, just about everyone thinks of it as a single word: "website"?

This is the age of social media, consumer-generated messages, yadda-yadda. Let's let our voices be heard and bring some common-sense to this style issue.

A benefit of podcasting?

2006-06-15T14:47:00.000-05:00

Something that I just heard during a radio interview with motivational speaker Zig Ziglar motivated me to write this. (Hey, he IS good!)

Ziglar was discussing the number of responses he gets when speaking to a live audience, versus the responses he gets after people hear his audio tapes and CDs. It's no contest, he said. Far more people who hear Ziglar's audio tapes and CDs contact him, compared to his live audiences. Ziglar contends that the reason has more to do with the medium than with the sheer numbers of people who hear a CD compared to people who hear him live.

When we listen to a message several times, Ziglar contends, we begin to repeat the words in our own "inner voice" and it becomes a form of self-talk. Unless the message absolutely strikes us as untrue, we almost unconsciously begin to accept it. The message becomes so strongly ingrained to Ziglar's audio listeners, that they feel compelled to contact him.

This has real potential for podcasts. Imagine having someone listening to Donna Papacosta's Six Communication Truths or, "Five Advantages of Social Media"--until after a few repeats, they finally "get it." By the way, I'm letting someone else create the social media podcast--it's just my idea right now.

The important things would be to keep the podcasts short, so that the message is manageable, and to make them informative and entertaining enough that someone would want to hear them more than once. Maybe you could sprinkle in some "Zig-isms" like:

People say to me, Zig, a motivational speech is great, but it only lasts for a short time. I tell them that motivation is like bathing and eating. All of them only last a little while, but if you include them all in your day, you will live longer, be more energized and happy… and smell better!

Does this idea pass your "sniff test"?

Tuning up the old blog

2006-06-14T16:35:00.000-05:00

After an absence of about one year, I'm firing up this blog. I'm hoping that the timing is still within spec.

When I began to post regularly on the IABC Cafe, the official blog of the International Association of Business Communicators, time became so short that something had to give. I decided to keep my wife and kids, and to stop writing this blog instead. I have never regretted that decision--until recently.

A couple of wonderful communicators recently referenced me in blog posts, and used this as the link to me. Nothing says "professional" more than having someone follow a link to a dust-covered blog, huh? In utter embarrassment, I decided to go with the flow, and add new content to CommaKazi Speek.

My intent, long-term, is to move to a more polished blog software, such as WordPress. But I have to load that software onto a server and get it up-and-running. Haven't had time for that up to now.

At work, I'm moving forward with preparation for a presentation to my management regarding the benefits of social media (blogs, podcasts, wikis, RSS feeds, instant messaging). I thought that I was going to be able to present at a June manager meeting, but just learned today that the June meeting has been cancelled. So I am now looking at a July date.

I can't tell you how relieved I will be if management supports my ideas for introducing social media to our employees. It will improve communication and collaboration, and will take a great amount of tactical burden off of my shoulders.

Professionally, it will allow me to roll up my shirt sleeves and make some tangible improvements. Sometimes, I feel like those people in Hollywood who are "famous for being famous." You know, the people who always have their pictures taken with celebrities, attend the right social events, and know the right names to drop. They remain on everyone's minds, even if they haven't actually done anything of note.

I don't want simply to continue to talk about the benefits of social media--even if doing so raises my visibility among communication professionals. I want to be able to share real experiences and advice based on hard work and solid planning.

Many of you may be in a similar situation. Please share your successes, challenges and thoughts, so that we all benefit from the exchange.

Linking Corporate Reputation to Business Value

2006-06-14T09:01:00.000-05:00

Who would have thought that a university professor would be the first presenter at the April 27-28, 2006 Corporate Reputation Summit to offer practical, real-world advice for showing the business value of communications? Of course, Paul Argenti is far from a stereotypical, all-theory academic.

Argenti has invested a great deal of time, energy and thought into the practical aspects of corporate reputation, and he shared many insights gained through research and interactions with top corporate leaders. He is a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where he prepares students to become real contributors to business. Communicators need to hear the same message, Argenti said to the reputation summit participants.

"Don't say or imply that 'We're different,' or 'Communications is an art' when you talk with executives," Argenti said. "The executives will just think you're crazy. You're not different. You need to measure and strategize." He showed the following quote from Bill Margaritas, senior vice president worldwide communications and IR at FedEx:

You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Everyone’s looking for a seat at the table, and they ought to be looking at measurement for getting to the table and staying there.”

Companies need to manage their reputations, Argenti said, because studies show that well-regarded organizations generally:

Command premium prices
Pay lower prices
Entice top recruits
Experience greater loyalty
Have more stable revenues
Face fewer risks of crisis
Are given greater latitude by constituents
Have higher market valuation and stock prices
Have greater loyalty of investors and thus smaller stock price volatility

Communications professionals are under pressure from their top management to prove the value of what they do, because many are not linking what they do to the company's bottom line, and they have not established benchmarks for the communication function, Argenti said. Senior executives want to know how best to allocate communication assets, how communications supports risk management, and how communications at the corporate level can be structured and integrated with other business functions like marketing, sales, legal affairs and corporate development, he added.

Technology allows us now to measure communication value and link it to business results through the use of sophisticated statistical analysis, he said. This statistical analysis allows companies to spot the communication activities that are contributing to business results. "Business value measures the sum of a company's components and evaluates a company's worth to relevant constituents" including revenue, profit, sales volume, share price, customer retention and employee retention, Argenti stated in his presentation.

"The biggest mistake many companies are making today is that they're not paying attention to the impact of intangibles to the company reputation," he said. "If you look at the top companies in the U.S. and all companies on our planet with strong reputations, the people in charge care a lot about their reputation, and how it gets communicated to the world."

Anywhere from 35% to 80% of a company's value depends on intangibles, rather than tangible assets like property, plants and equipment, Argenti said. Intangibles include:

Brand
Work quality
Corporate social responsibility
Customer loyalty
Strategy execution
Alliances
Innovation/IP
Communications

Argenti used the following quote from Pete Peterson, chairman of Blackstone Group, which captures the essence of the importance of intangibles:

What matters is what the public thinks, and the public trust is what's really crashed.

School District Must Think That This is the Year '1984'

2006-06-14T08:43:00.000-05:00

If we searched through the school library at any Community High School District 128 facility in northern Illinois, I wonder whether we would find a copy of George Orwell's classic, "Nineteen Eighty-Four"? If so, it would be good to offer a copy to the local school board, which on Monday night passed rules changes that will hold students accountable for what they post on blogs and social-networking Web sites. The school board's action seems "Orwellian" to me.

Here is part of the article from the Tuesday Chicago Tribune:

Associate Supt. Prentiss Lea said the changes are part of an effort to get the district community more knowledgeable about the growing Internet blog phenomenon and more aware of the pitfalls of such sites as MySpace.com.

"By adding the blog sites [to the student codes of conduct], we wanted to raise discussions on the issue," he said. "We have taken the first steps to starting that conversation."

Conversation may be starting, but it includes a lot of discussion about overstepping boundaries. The Trib quoted one parent as saying, I don't think they need to police what students are doing online. That's my job." The article states that school district officials will monitor student web sites if they get a tip or other indication that something inappropriate or illegal is posted there.

I have no argument against anyone guarding against illegal or libelous material being posted. In fact, one of my neighbors is an assistant state's attorney, in charge of the computer crime unit that seeks out and prosecutes child predators. My kids must wonder why I often sound so strident about "safe computing" after I've come back from talking with this neighbor.

But this "Big Brother" initiative by the school board is not the way to handle it. Here is the link to the District's Internet Safety Resource page. There, the District states that it "wants to proactively partner with parents on an education program that provides both our parents and students some basic information on how to use the Internet safely."

That's fine. But usurping a parent's authority and deciding how to hold a student accountable is not the way to handle this. Call the parent(s) and discuss with them how best to deal with the situation.

Our kids will bring their viewpoints of social media into the workplace someday in the near future. I want mine to understand and respect this communication channel. I've been having conversations with my kids, and I will be glad to hear from their schools about any potential issues--but the schools need to leave the parenting to the parents.

Bad Winds Bring Out The Good In People

2005-08-30T16:07:00.000-05:00

Please help Gerard Braud, a professional communicator who has suffered from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, but wishes to help others by communicating on-site. As he just stated to me when I called him at an emergency center, "We have a million people who cannot get the information they need. We need to do something ingenious here."

Gerard is ready to plant himself where he can focus on crisis communication and information sharing in the areas where everyone else is busy dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane. We need to get him in, and so pass this information along so that someone helps him!

Gerard has two ways to be contacted now: 1) text message at 504-908-8188, and 2) temporary email (his regular site is down) at gbraud@spamarrest.com

Here is what he wrote on the official blog of the International Association of Business Communicators (which you are encouraged to pass along to other bloggers):

(Aug. 30, 2005, 8:47 am)
HELP. Please, please, please help. This is Gerard Braud. I have evacuated safely from New Orleans, but now I am trying to return home to offer my services as a communicator. Specifically I an trying to get to Covington, Louisiana to help in St. Tammany Parish. The problem is, there is no way to get information to anyone in an official capacity who can get me in to help. I need an official police or emergency vehicle to get from Destin, Florida to Covington, Louisiana. Only official vehicles are allowed on the interstate.

As with most disasters, everyone is busy handling the crisis and no one is communicating. I have a broadcast camera and computer editing in my car. If I can get in, I can drive back out to places with power to get this information out to citizens who need it. ONE MILLION people are trying to get official information and there is NO SOURCE FOR IT. One Million people will be HOMELESS for week and don’t know it yet. I have the tools and the know how. I just need a way in.

If you know anyone, ANYONE, who can help, we need you desperately. I need someone at the Federal FEMA level who can cut through red tape and show interest in my offer to help lift some of the communications burden.

I am currently camped out at an Emergency Operations Center in Florida, where they are trying to help me facilitate my offer.

If you see this posting, please contact me at 504-908-8188 (text message) or gbraud@spamarrest.com.

My e-mail is not working. I will look for your postings here.

Because the TV networks are showing the same footage over and over, and only a few dramatic interviews, my goal is to gather official information that I can bring back out to TV and Radio Stations, as well as websites, so other evacuations have real info. Official government websites are down because the servers are only based locally and there is no power–there are no phone lines.

We need to think outside the box. I need brain power and the networking capability of this global organization for us to do something BIG.

A Compass for Ethical Guidance

2005-08-24T23:43:00.000-05:00

When I recently posted on the topic of ethics, I didn't know that the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) was about to publish an article on the topic in its publication, Communication World (CW). Research findings included in the September-October CW article were even more surprising--and disturbing.

Last year, the IABC Research Foundation funded a study of ethics and communication, conducted by researchers at the University of Houston (Texas) School of Communications. The team was led by professor Shannon Bowen, who stated in the study proposal,

"Recent corporate scandals, such as Enron, have heightened the urgency of re-evaluating the ethics of business communication."

Based on the response of 1,800 communicators to an online survey, the urgency is to actually teach communicators about ethical communication practices. Only 20 percent of the survey respondents had completed at least one course on ethics, and only one-third stated that their employer provided training or study opportunities in ethics! Not surprisingly, the CW article author, Gloria S. Walker, ABC, FRSA, summarizes that the majority of communicators "may not be well prepared to handle situations that arise in their day-to-day work."

Walker then states that, in addition to the codes of ethics that many companies and associations like the IABC promote, communicators need guidance. She asks,

"Where can practitioners find this guidance? That is the issue we must begin to address."

Begin to address? We should never have stopped addressing ethical behavior in schools and in associations like IABC. But before we blame society and our educational system for once again failing our youth, consider the possibility that our fellow practitioners are letting themselves--and their profession--down by not caring enough about the subject to determine their own solid moral compasses.

Wow, am I grateful that my family instilled basic ethical standards in me that later were reinforced in legal and ethics courses in journalism courses. Although I've made some dumb choices over the years, I've rarely had to ask someone else for guidance. I usually let my "conscience be my guide," and that works pretty well. But it does help to have a coworker or other colleague who can help hold us accountable for our decisions.

Given the IABC Research Foundation survey results, that solution isn't applicable to the majority of communicators today. That is very bad news.

Blogs, Blogs, Blogs=Blah, Blah, Blah?

2005-08-05T11:08:00.000-05:00

A New York Times editorial today titled, "Measuring the Blogosphere," provides recent estimates by Technorati, a Web site that indexes blogs, on the number of existing blogs. The statistics quoted in the editorial are enlightening, but even more so are the following two points:

But blogs are often just a way of making oneself appear on the Internet...
Every day the blogosphere captures a little more of the strange immediacy of the life that is passing before us.

I created this blog primarily to try this new communication channel. As the NY Times editorial points out, however, I also was motivated by the opportunity to become more visible on the Internet, and to journal some of the daily experiences that the Times refers to as "the strange immediacy of the life that is passing before us."

An IABC colleague asked me earlier today how I find time to write these posts. The recent infrequency of new posts here probably indicates that I haven't found much time. But I am also contributing to the IABC Cafe blog, and am actually trying to earn my pay in my day job.

I also try to write something that brings value to you as a reader. If I fail to do that, I fail to make this blog more than a modified "vanity page." That would be blah, blah, blah!

Abbott Shows How NOT to Communicate

2005-07-22T06:42:00.000-05:00

Professional communicators stress the importance of sharing as much information as possible with employees--it makes them feel more engaged, empowered and builds organizational trust. Abbott Laboratories recently showed just how damaging the alternative can be.

On July 13, the North Chicago, Ill.-based health care products maker shed about 5 percent of its Lake County, Ill. workforce to boost profit margins that recently were below Wall Street expectations. Keep in mind that Abbott posted a 38 percent gain in second-quarter profits Wednesday, Wall Street wanted more.

How Abbott responded can be a case study for botched corporate communications. It's time to revise Abbott's portion of the book, "Good to Great," with the subtitle, "Great to Stupid." Here are observations made by two long-term Abbott employees--one who was there on "Black Wednesday," and the other who returned from vacation just after.

I came to work that day and opened the outer door to enter my building. A man was walking toward me, carrying a box, so I held the door for him. He didn't say anything to me, but I didn't think much about it. Until I saw a lady behind him, also carrying a box. It became a parade of people, each carrying a box. It was then that I put two and two together, realizing why there was extra security in the parking lot.

These people--most of them long-term employees--were told to give up their badges, that they were terminated effective immediately, and that they could fill that one box with their personal items and leave!

The reactions of the people as they walked by me were different. Some looked resigned to it--I don't know if that was how they felt inside. Others clearly had been crying, and looked scared.

Another Abbott employee who returned just after Black Wednesday, was incredulous when he heard about the lack of communication and compassion during the process. He spoke to many people in the days to follow, as colleagues continued to check on whether he was one of the survivors.

People said that the only thing they were told was, "Don't go to any meetings and stay by the phone at your cube." That was so that they could find you if you were on the list. One person I know, a single mom with twins, was called at home and told that she had to come in so that she could be terminated.

The managers who did the terminations had been told to read from a script and to not deviate from it. So the process was very cold. At 3 pm, managers called their remaining people together and told them it was over. One meeting turned into a grip session, and the manager said, 'This isn't your father's Abbott.'

Obviously. That calculated process of moving quickly and providing scripted information is advice that appeals to legal-minded people. Don't take a chance that you will say something that will let someone sue. Don't get into emotional conflicts.

That is crap, if you care about your employees. The people who worked for decades at Abbott and then were escorted out like criminals, and the people who worked for decades at Abbott and watched their friends escorted out like criminals now have one common enemy: Abbott. The anger and betrayal they are feeling will not be glossed over by next quarter's analyst reports. The rumor mill--always in fine form at Abbott--will be actively engaged; Abbott employees will not be. Don't expect productivity to soar anytime soon at Abbott.

And how did Abbott's stock price (the bottom-line reason for this heavy-handed event) fare afterward? Shares in Abbott dropped $2.06, or 4.1 percent, to close at $47.65 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, one day after they closed at $49.99 to match a three-year high. That probably caused Abbott's board and management to lose more sleep than did their handling of employee terminations.

What is "IT Communications"?

2005-07-15T13:30:00.000-05:00

Earlier today, an IABC colleague suggested that I explain what I do as an “IT communications analyst.” That explanation wasn't relevant to the original blog entry on the IABC Cafe, but does give me something to write about here.

When I applied for the job, I thought that IT communications sounded interesting, and that it must be very specialized. I thought I was the only person in the world solely committed to IT communications. That misperception was clarified after I decided to renew my membership in the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), following a few years as a lapsed member. Battle scars from a tough job market had convinced me that I needed to strengthen my professional network.

When I rejoined IABC and attended some Chicago Chapter events, I began to meet other people who were fully, or partially, engaged in supporting communications within IT departments at their respective firms. What a revelation!

I hope that they will contribute comments to this blog entry over time, so that you can hear several voices on the topic. We play different roles within the companies we serve. One parallel responsibility is that we plan, produce and measure the results of communications that improve information flows within IT departments, and between IT and other parts of the business.

What do we do? Here's an example of the need, as expressed by a manager when I was interviewing for my current position:

IT people are good at designing and building systems. We're just not very good at telling people about it. We are great at figuring out ways to generate and gather data, but we don't know how to provide that data to the other parts of the business in a way that makes sense to them. I say that we are "data rich," but "information poor."

IT departments have been under scrutiny for several years now to show the "value" that they bring to the company. No one questioned spending millions of dollars on IT projects in the late 1990s because we were concerned about the world ending with Y2k, if we weren't prepared. No one in IT really had to explain what the money was spent on, other than it prevented the Y2k bug from destroying the company.

But when the economy headed south in the first few years of this century, companies needed to tighten the corporate belt, and IT was put under the microscope. IT leaders soon realized the importance of being able to articulate their vision and accomplishments to their superiors and the corporate bean counters. Enter IT communicators.

In my case, I developed a strategic communication plan that tied IT initiatives to corporate strategies. I also helped to build a communication infrastructure at the office where I'm located, including a prototype IT Intranet, where employees can quickly find templates and guidelines to help them to communicate more efficiently and effectively.

I don't have specific IT training or knowledge. That actually has come in handy, as I've stopped the spread of jargon and worked with people to explain things in language that non-geeks understand.

Recently, my CIO left the company. I provided strategic advice on how to communicate the event within the company, and how to prevent an escalation of internal anxiety. I worked with the company leadership to plan an all-employee meeting along with Q&As. This was accomplished between the time that I and my peers heard that the CIO was leaving (9 am) and when the all-employee meeting began (2:30 pm).

Not different from other communicators. I just get to see all of the cool, new toys.

Russell Grossman, BBC, & The London Bombing

2005-07-08T08:56:00.000-05:00

I sent an email to Russell Grossman (IABC conference presenter and blogger) to check on him following the terrorist bombings in London. He agreed to let me post his reply to let everyone know that he is ok.

From: Russell Grossman
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 2:07 AM
To: Keefe, Tom
Subject: London Transport Emergency

Tom, thanks for the thought.

Was a very busy day as we brought our full emergency plan and comms into operation. We continued into the night. As people are so dependent on the Tube in London we had to provide help for thousands of staff stranded at work. Also for people on rota getting in etc.

But we have practised this a number of times in drills every 6 months since 9-11 - we've been expecting something like this to happen for a bit. Thankfully it's not 'dirty' bombs. That's the real worrier.

The 38 dead and many more injured is terrible, of course but every time this sort of thing happens more lingering is the fear of using the system period kicks in with many people.

My daughter was caught on a stuck tube yesterday but she's OK thankfully but now more wary of using the system.

Russell

Ammo and Missiles and Rockets--Oh My!

2005-07-06T16:01:00.000-05:00

The pen or the sword? Choices, choices, choices.

At the same time that 1,300 communicators gathered last week at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC for the 2005 IABC International Convention, attendees at another conference nearby were targeting another topic: firepower.

Yes, I missed the opportunity to attend "Firepower 2005: Guns, Rockets, Missiles, Ammo," just because I lean more toward the pen than the sword. I learned about the Firepower conference when my flight home was delayed a day. I stayed at a Doubletree hotel near the airport, and spotted the Firepower literature on a table. I nearly cried when I realized what I had missed!

- A birds-eye view of the Armed Forces strategic and ballistic Missile Defense programs
-An understanding of the role of weapons systems in future battlefield supremacy
-How the U.S. Armed Forces is evolving into a joint tactical fighting force
-Compelling case studies of some of DoD's premiere weapons programs

Any program that includes sessions on both high-power electromagnetic radiators (nonlethal directed energy weapons) AND 155mm Howitzers has to be a party!

I was a little worried about the quote from Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that appeared on the cover of the conference brochure:

Our strategy to go after the Army is very, very simple. First we are going to cut it off, and then we're going to kill it.

Hmm...which Army did he mean? Is he a former Navy guy?

Communication by being Hurd

2005-07-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

Jeremy Pepper did a fine job summaring a speech by Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd, delivered on Wednesday to the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) members present at the 2005 IABC International Conference in Washington, DC. You can read Jeremy's summary, "Listening To Hurd," on the IABC blog.

I added the following additional information, along with other comments.

Hurd spent a little time discussing his irritation that Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulation have forced CEOs in publicly traded companies to communicate information of a "material nature" (i.e., that could affect a company's stock price)--such as top staffing changes--to the stockholders and Wall Street analysts before company employees. That's because if the information leaks from within the corporation, it could result in penalties and liability.

One solution that Hurd mentioned is that he immediately walks from his analyst conference call meetings to an employee broadcast to relay the same information to employees. When he meets with employees, Hurd prefers a flipchart over a PowerPoint presentation. Explaining his low-tech preference for flipcharts, Hurd said he wants to answer employees' questions, rather than push his viewpoints and opinions at them. Showing a PowerPoint presentation can send the message that, "I don't know your question, but here's the answer," he said.

He also stated that when he came to H-P, he pushed his staff to rely on themselves, rather than consultants. He told his senior staff, "I pay you to have an opinion." Those staff members need to "be crisp" in their presentations. Rather than watching 50-60 slides, he prefers a 1-page summary supplemented by a staffer's verbal presentation. "You tell me the story because then I learn how you think," he said.

Hurd expects to see corporations continue to invest in the Asian market, because corporations have a great amount of available cash to spend. H-P, for example, has $16 billion in available cash, with no debt, he said. As corporations look to invest, they need to be mindful of trade imbalances, he added, specifically mentioning China.

During Hurd's Q&A following his speech at the IABC Conference, I told him about the discussion underway regarding the role of CEO communication versus supervisor communication, and asked for his view on what works in his organization. This is a fairly accurate quote from him.

"I don't think that a CEO can replace the relationship of employees and their front-line supervisors," Hurd said. "But the CEO can provide a context relative to the whole company, to try to create clarity around the mission."

He later provided a supporting comment while answering a separate question when he said, "When I promote, demote, recognize and reward people, I tell 30,000 people what I value." That is the essence of the CEO's influence.

IABC International Conference 2005

How to Communicate with Employees

2005-06-30T00:05:00.000-05:00

The 2005 International Conference of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) provided a forum for discussion of a critical issue for business: how to communicate effectively with employees.

The most rousing presentation of the IABC conference set off some of the most passionate discussions about effective employee communication. On Tuesday, TJ Larkin, a consultant and researcher in internal communications, discussed the topic, "Intranet, Paper or Face-to-Face: What Each Channel Does Best."

More than a decade ago, Larkin caused a stir among corporations with his best-selling book, "Communicating Change: Winning Employee Support for New Business Goals." Larkin's book advocated focusing attention on employees' direct supervisors to ensure that key messages would be supported by employees. He quoted research indicating that employees place the most trust in their direct supervisors when they want the "real facts."

Based on discussions following Larkin's latest presentation to the IABC, he is still causing a stir--and, according to two well-known and respected communications consultants, is still off-track.

Following Larkin's IABC presentation, I posted an effusive blog entry that accurately reported the audience's reaction to the presentation: a standing ovation. IABC Fellow Shel Holtz, ABC, posted his own detailed "deconstruction" of Larkin's findings on his blog. In Shel's deconstruction, he mentioned a point made against Larkin's book premise by Angela Sinickas, ABC, a well-respected consultant, presenter and authority on the topic of communication measurement.

As luck would have it, today I had the opportunity to ask the opinion of a well-known CEO, Mark Hurd of Hewlett-Packard. Hurd answered questions following his speech upon receiving the IABC’s 2005 EXCEL Award, the highest award given by IABC to a non-member. Later, I ran into Angela at the airport, and she graciously provided some insight as well.

I'll cover Hurd's speech more thoroughly on the IABC Cafe Press Corps blog in coming days, but I want to relay his answer to the question of employee communication here.

I told Hurd about the discussion underway regarding the role of CEO communication versus supervisor communication, and asked for his view on what works in his organization. This is a fairly accurate quote from him.

"I don't think that a CEO can replace the relationship of employees and their front-line supervisors," Hurd said. "But the CEO can provide a context relative to the whole company, to try to create clarity around the mission." He later provided a supporting comment while answering a separate question when he said, "When I promote, demote, recognize and reward people, I tell 30,000 people what I value." That is the essence of the CEO's influence.

When I asked Angela later at the airport about her opinion of Larkin's work, she pointed out a couple of "fallacious arguments" in Larkin's presentation. "He is a good speaker, who carries an audience along on a wave of sound bites," she said. "They may sound good, but they may not be factual."

Some points mentioned by Angela:

Larkin mentioned that "he has never seen any studies correlating CEO communications with employee trust." Angela has "seen many" that show a close correlation between CEO communication and employee trust in the CEO and organization.

Angela gave an example of one manufacturing client where measurements showed that the most trusted individual by employees was the plant manager. In fact, many supervisors within that company were new. "They were an employee's coworker the year before," she said. "Just because they were promoted, now the employee would want to hear what they think? I don't think so."

It's the age-old point, Angela added: You have to pick the right communication vehicle for the audience and the message.

IABC International Conference 2005

Underestimating Tony Blair?

2005-06-27T16:47:00.000-05:00

Is Tony Blair an underrated global leader? I felt like I received a well-deserved slap of reality this morning as I heard the perpective of a close Blair advisor. But after speaking later with some fellow communication professionals, I'm not so sure.

I certainly felt the shallowness of my US-centric political knowledge as I listened to an address by Lord Philip Gould, a leading European strategist in politics and public affairs, and long-time advisor to Prime Minister Blair. Gould addressed 1,500+ professional communicators at the 2005 International Conference of the International Association of Business Communicators.

The war in Iraq and global issues of debt relief and the environment get regular press coverage in the U.S. But I've read that coverage as an American, who sees the U.S. leading the charge, with other nations playing supportive roles. I know that Blair, at great political risk, has been a staunch supporter of the decision to overthrough the Iraqi dictatorial government. I haven't followed his efforts regarding the environment and debt reduction for nations.

As Lord Gould presented his talk titled, "The Leadership Lessons of Tony Blair," my appreciation of the prime minister increased. Gould stated that he was presenting lessons learned from Blair's approach to leadership. Don't ask me to list them all, because he talked too quickly. I really needed a PowerPoint slide! (Put that bat down, James Carville.)

I know that Lord Gould mentioned:

Substance (Have something to say)
Character (Make tough decisions and keep going through criticism)
Flexibility (Don't fight pointless battles--give-and-take as appropriate)

He also mentioned Strategy (Strategic Vision) and Purpose, but I don't know whether they were lessons learned, or portions of the three earlier bullets. All of these leadership points were linked by Gould to examples of how Blair has positively impacted the government and people of Britain.

But I don't know whether to believe Lord Gould's perspective on leadership, or his assertion that Blair's leadership style is the root of excitement brewing over his pending headship of the Group of Eight nations, set to meet next week in Britain.

Blair "fits comfortably into the world as it is, but is committed to changing it," Gould said. A couple of IABC members seated at the table with me said afterward that Blair didn't lead the charge on debt relief and the environment--he was reacting to a groundswell of support within the UK on those topics.

So just like the keynote speakers from the previous evening, Mary Matalin and James Carville, I was left with doubts as to which portions of the talk were fact, and which were spin.
IABC International Conference 2005

So Advanced, I'm Simple

2005-06-26T10:29:00.000-05:00

That takeoff of a past advertising slogan described my situation (and mental state) aboard US Airways Flight 1609, headed toward Washington, DC.
I held a PC with more computing power than the units that helped put a man onto the Moon--but was totally frustrated by the time needed to boot up, pass all security checks and then wait for an endless number of applications to load.
We always tell people to "keep it simple." I see a discussion coming with IT staffs everywhere.
The way that we have to dummy down and slow down technology in the name of security or software product features can be frustrating. It's one unfortunate price that we pay because we live in a world where highly intelligent people spend their time trying to find ways to screw up other peoples' networks and devices--or steal their confidential information for financial gain.
The first of my sign-in hurdles was the company laptop encryption security log-in screen. The purpose of this screen is to prevent unauthorized users from using the laptop. Great concept, except that the Technical Services Center was so tired of fielding calls from frantic users who lost the login id and password, that they've taped both to the laptop. That's like me telling a burglar not to enter my home, but leaving the front-door key in the lock. I am interested in the security set-up for our Internet Cafe and WIFI hotspot.
Anyway, I entered the encryption key and had to wait for the next security check to load: the Windows log-in security screen. After another short boot-up wait, I was able to enter my company network and password, and then wait longer for my "personalized settings" to load. I wanted to check saved email off-line, but discovered that this laptop isn't configured to allow that. I heard a voice (I think it was the person sitting next to me) say, "Forget about it. Keep it simple and relax."
It will be extremely difficult to relax during the next few days. We have a terrific conference about to launch, and I am excited about providing commentary and feedback regarding experiences of people around me.
I'll be more relaxed and ready to write after I finish the accreditation exam tomorrow morning. I already have a restaurant recommendation for people looking for a moderately priced "where the townies eat" experience. And it's just a short walk from the Hyatt.
[ Technorati tag: iabc-international-conference-2005 ]

Ready to go

2005-06-24T17:49:00.000-05:00

Finalized my itinerary for the 2005 IABC International Conference, and that has pumped me up! So much to see, hear and experience--then I have to try to express some of the more meaningful pieces to you in manageable bits. I can't wait!

If you are attending the IABC Conference, safe travels, and I'll see you there. If you can't get to the conference, comment on this blog to tell me what you want to know.

On Second Thought

2005-06-23T16:11:00.000-05:00

My initial blog entry for today was going to be a summary of my planning for the upcoming IABC International Conference. Exciting coverage of the clothes I'm planning to wear and the fact that I'm bringing my digital camera (to supplement my written conference coverage and to be ready in case I spot President Bush or Ben Bradlee).

Gratefully, I reread the draft post from the perspective of someone who is not me, and realized that I had fallen into a common trap. Some of the worst columns, advertising and lectures come from the minds of people who write for themselves, rather than for their audience.

It was a good reminder as I prepare to blog at the conference. My intention is to provide content that will be interesting and useful to a general audience. Stay tuned and let me know when I stay on track, or get lost and step in something repugnant to us all.

That Awkward Silence--Part 2

2005-06-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

At times, troubling events affect me like allergy shots--building my immunity over time to forestall more intense reactions from subsequent events. ("Been there, done that, let's get on with life.") At other times, the troubling events are more like an allergic reaction to bee stings, where my sensitivity actually increases over time from repeated exposures. Friday's events surrounding the departure of my supervisor, the CIO, was more like a bad bee sting--and the swelling hasn't yet gone down.

As I wrote yesterday, I hate being the bearer of bad news that I can't communicate. Bearing the bad news until someone else (usually someone with more authority) lets it out is, very often, unbearable.

My discomfort with these announcements traces back to when I was an associate editor on a trade magazine for the hardware industry (that's "hardware" as in nails and cordless screwdrivers, not computers or printers). The editor at that time was a well-connected figure in the industry, regularly invited to participate in seminars, roundtables and golf outings at conventions and conferences. When the long-time publisher of the trade magazine died, he was replaced by someone who didn't care for the editor's work ethic--so after some time, the new publisher decided to fire the editor.

The publisher decided that he would build support and relieve anxiety among the remaining magazine staff by gathering us together to break the news...before telling the editor (who was on vacation at the time). Build support? Relieve anxiety? Exactly the opposite occurred, as we left the meeting and had to figure out how to act when the editor got the news.

I remember feeling like a traitor the morning that the editor returned to work, try to interact with him as he cheerfully talked about his vacation, and asked me what was new around the office. "Oh nothing much, same old stuff." I wanted to tell him that he was about to be fired, but I didn't want to risk souring relations with the new publisher. I disliked them both about equally at that time.

Later that day, the editor, visibly upset, called us into his office. "I've been fired," he said. "We know," I said, in one of my moments of personal transparency and ultimate stupidity. "Y-you knew? And you didn't tell me??"

Awkward silence. Repeated only a few times since, the latest being last Friday morning.

It still stings.

That Awkward Silence

2005-06-21T17:44:00.000-05:00

Not even spies and politicians like to keep secrets, so why would a professional communicator like me? That was the spot I was in last Friday when I and the CIO's other direct reports were pulled into a conference room and told that the CIO had just been terminated.

"We're writing an email now that will go out later today," the company president said. "Until then, don't say anything to anyone."

I left that meeting with a heavy heart and even heavier weight of responsibility. Although we regularly work to earn a seat at the table where important decisions are being made, we don't often talk about times like last Friday, when you can't do the thing that you do best: communicate. Sure, by being present at the meeting, I could convince the president and HR executive that we needed to schedule an all-IT meeting to be held later that day, and to quickly compile a list of Q&As. Things that should have been considered and planned long before Friday--but weren't.

As I walked quietly back to my desk, I was screaming inside! I listened to the usual chatter floating through the department. It was the calm before the storm. Just as I sent the first draft of Q&As to the printer, I heard the "ping" that signaled a new email arriving in my mailbox. It was the announcement of the CIO's departure. Chatter within the department died almost instantly. It was the calm within the "eye of the storm." Soon, the whispers began and reached the throbbing effect of a tree infested by cicadas. The whispers didn't make me as uncomfortable as the sporadic laughter that followed.

This wasn't the first time that I experienced the awkward silence of bad news. Tomorrow I'll write about the time when my boss learned about his termination AFTER his staff, and then confronted us!

Until then, do you have your own examples to share?

Of Pets & Blogs

2005-06-20T17:05:00.000-05:00

Lessons I try to teach my children often help me as well. To combat requests for pet dogs, gerbils, fish and other creatures, I talk to my kids about responsibility; usually that disorients them until I can escape the room. Responsibility and possible disorientation hold true for blogs as much as for pet algae eaters.

It's easy to look at someone's blog and think, "I should get one of those." But before you leap into blog "ownership," you should answer the same questions that you would ask your child before bringing home a baby Welsh Corgi or other pet:

· Have you considered the long-term impact of this new "member of the family"?

· Who is going to care for it? What care does it need?

· Who is going to clean up its "messes"?

· Can you train it?

Let's look at each question.

Have you considered the long-term impact of this new "member of the family"? A new pet is cute and fun--for about two days. Then the reality of the commitment begins to sink in. The same is true of a blog. I kept pulling up my first blog post just to look at it. Now I'm disciplining myself to prepare a new blog entry every business day--fitting it into my other responsibilities. In other words, it's work!

Who is going to care for it? What care does it need? When I asked my kids who would clean the gerbil cage and pick up the dog poop, they shouted, "I will, I will." Now I have to threaten them before they clean the cage and give the gerbils fresh food and water. I hope the Geneva Convention doesn't cover house pets, because Salt and Pepper have a pretty strong case against us. Blogs have their own needs--fresh information on a regular basis and attention to comments from readers.

Who is going to clean up its "messes"? No example necessary for the pet side of this example. On the blog side, we can face ethical and legal ramifications from a post or a reply. For example, when I mentioned last Friday that my CIO had been let go, and how communications could have been handled better (more proactively), an email friend cautioned me. "Blogs are unknown territory in terms of legal ramifications, influence, etc. [Remember] that a lot of the people posting are self-employed consultants who don't have to answer to an organization. That allows them to be riskier/edgier in terms of content."

Good advice that leads to the final question: Can you train it? Any dog owner knows that the "training" you go through is more to teach you how to behave, not your dog. I'm still new at blogging, so time will tell. I wouldn't walk my pet too near the edge, and I have to watch where this blog goes as well. I like being close to the edge, but I don't like falling off without a golden parachute (which I don't have currently).

Crisis? What Crisis?

2005-06-17T14:07:00.000-05:00

My IABC IT colleagues and I recently have been discussing communication challenges. I'm dealing with one of the bigger ones today (challenges, not IABC colleagues).

I was greeted at the start of the business day by a request to gather with the CIO's other direct reports in a conference room. There, the CIO's boss (company president) and the CIO's counterpart on the operation side of the business announced that the CIO was no longer a company employee. Good morning!

I went into crisis communications mode, and was glad that I did. The president hadn't considered meeting with the IT staff, and the counterpart was going to be gone on vacation all of next week! Tactfully, I suggested that we schedule a "town hall" meeting for later today, and that we begin to craft Q&As. I've tried to stay hooked into the communication planning, although some noticeable glitches have occurred.

· HR and the executives didn't bother to have me review the notice that went out company-wide, announcing the CIO's departure. So I groaned when I spotted the two misspellings and other grammatical errors. Professional? Yuo bett!

· Although the executives supported the idea of an IT town hall meeting, they were in a hurry to get to another meeting. So we didn't talk about the dozen IT employees in our four other locations who wouldn't attend the meeting. An IT supervisor took the initiative to set-up an audio-conference, which will provide some access--to ear pain from line static, if our Polycom is true to form.

Oh well, just about meeting time. Here we go...again!

Get Ready to Pop Off

2005-06-16T13:49:00.000-05:00

If this blog appeared in a pop-up window, would you:

-Read it

-Delete it

-Never see it because your security software blocks all pop-up messages?

Earlier today, I participated in a webinar hosted by Astaro titled, "Astaro Security Gateway." That's "Gateway" as in, "Gatekeeper," as in "You Shall Not Pass!"

The webinar demonstrated how Astaro's product protects networks from computer viruses, Trojans, phishing scams and SO MUCH MORE. In fact, it even can search out and remove individual words from messages, so employees aren't offended by vulgar terms like those found on so many blogs today. (Prevent us from using the word, "excrement," and half of the blogs I read would look like electronic Swiss cheese.)

What do you think about pop-ups? Ever seen one used effectively to communicate a message?

I asked the Astaro presenter whether he would advise website developers to forget about pop-up windows because security solutions like Astaro's blocks them. His answer? "Unfortunately - website developer would never listen."

What to Expect

2005-06-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

When you read my blogs from the IABC International Conference later this month, you should get a flavor of the event atmosphere, presenters, conference content and attendee reactions as seen through my filter. I'm not going to be controversial or outrageous just to attract readers--but my balanced view of things will uncover things that will make you smile, and things that will make you cringe. Guaranteed.

That's because the IABC Conference is planned and run by human beings, and human beings make mistakes. Errors in planning or arrangements, when presentations go awry, or errors in judgment, when otherwise good people goof up. Couldn't happen in a conference run by professional communicators? Uh, sure can. I've been there a lot--and benefited from it. I've learned the most about myself when I've had to see and correct my mistakes. As a professional communicator, I've learned great lessons when my messages were misunderstood or soundly thumped by others. Didn't always mean that my message was wrong, or that their opinion was right. It meant that my communication wasn't effective--for them.

I'm excited about spending four days with a hotel full of people who live and breathe communication. Who continually try to improve their process for determining and crafting effective communication strategies and messages. Opinions, advice and insightful revelations will be bouncing off the walls. I plan to grab as many as my brain and laptop can gather, sift the useful grains from the chaff, then put them on the blog for your review, reflection and comment.

First Stop: The Accreditation Exam

2005-06-14T14:06:00.000-05:00

Think of me at 8 a.m. Sunday, June 26 as you prepare to leave for the IABC International Conference. Actually, pray for me if you're of a spiritual persuasion (as I am)--because I'll be starting the IABC Accreditation Exam. Not that I need supernatural intervention; I'm just hedging my bet.

If you've come to expect to see those "ABC" initials following the names of IABC conference and seminar speakers--but haven't thought of pursuing accreditation yourself--consider this an invitation to join the accreditation party. My invitation came via a colleague in the Chicago Chapter of IABC, who told me about a wonderful mentoring program there for accreditation candidates. I joined a small group of candidates and accredited professionals, who shared experience, strength and hope as we completed our professional portfolios and prepared for the exam.

Unlike other professional certification and accreditation programs of which I'm familiar, the IABC accreditation exam is not "pass/fail." It has four sections, and offers the opportunity to re-take any section that a candidate doesn't pass on the first try. I'm taking that opportunity at the International Conference. (Doesn't that sound nicer than, "I didn't pass the entire exam on the first try"?)

Many people need to re-take one or more sections of the exam, according to my IABC accreditation mentors (hello, Joanne and Mary). Their encouragement is one of many examples of how the mentoring process benefits accreditation candidates. I've already volunteered to help the next group of Chicago Chapter accreditation candidates. Of course, I want to be an ABC when I offer my advice to them!

I already can rattle off several personal and professional rewards that have come from my work on accreditation. If you want more encouragement, send me an email or find me at the International Conference--after the exam.

Not Ready Yet

2005-06-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

Where is the time going? Less than two weeks from the start of the IABC International Conference, and I feel VERY unprepared. Sure, I have the basics covered (my flights, hotel and All-Inclusive Registration), but I have a lot of work left to do.

I volunteered to blog about the conference sessions and events that I attend. So I need to decide which sessions and events to cover. The choices are wonderful, but I've already found two cases where sessions that I want to attend are scheduled at the same time.

1. Tuesday Business Breakfasts: I have to choose between "Cutting-edge practices in communication planning and management" (where the "best and the brightest [will] share cutting-edge trends and practices") and "The future of organizational communication," where I will catch a glimpse of the future. Tough choice!

2. Wednesday morning sessions: This is truly unfair: how can I pick only one of the following concurrent sessions?
AS.2: Influencing employee attitudes (Strategy & Counsel) Presenter / James Lukaszewski, ABC, APR / New York, USA
AS.3: Strategic communication planning (Business Management) Presenter / David Moorcroft / Ontario, Canada
AS.4: The new role of print publications: Using print to engage, teach and motivate employees (Employee Communication) Presenter / Steve Crescenzo / Illinois, USA
AS.5: The site is right: The best of the web and intranets, 2005 (Future Trends) Presenters / Shel Holtz, ABC / California, USA Toby Ward / Ontario, Canada
AS.6: Driving business performance through employee engagement (Strategy & Counsel) Presenter / Susan M. Suver / New York, USA
AS.7: Using research to manage change at Arizona State University (Public Relations) Presenter / Wilma Mathews, ABC / Arizona, USA

Clone me…quickly!

Tomorrow, I'm going to discuss the real reason for my anxiety about conference preparation: the IABC accreditation exam.

Getting Ready

2005-06-10T09:35:00.000-05:00

I volunteered to blog during the upcoming IABC International Conference for the following reasons:

- It would help me to focus during the conference

- It would broaden my networking efforts

- It would force me to dive into this blogging thing

- Warren asked for volunteers, and it seemed like a good idea at the time

Getting started with something often is the biggest hurdle to jump, and that is true in this case. I've had to find a way to blog (Blogger.com) and then create this site. Although the process was painless and relatively quick (no more than an hour from start to typing this message), it does take some learning.

I'm looking forward to sharing more with you, and learning how best to use this communication channel.