Most companies want to be known as innovative. To bastardize the Wallace Simpson line, “you can never be too rich, too thin or too innovative.” The problem is those same companies often depend on adjectives to tout their breakthroughs. The Wall Street Journal challenged the use of the “i” word over ten years ago: “Businesses …more
We tend to correlate experience with stronger leadership. The common Steve Jobs narrative swings from impetuous youth to lessons learned. It stands to reason that people who have been tested when things didn’t go according to plan expand their leadership game. Yet, there’s a downside to experience when it comes to leadership. We can gain …more
I’ve said this before and continue to believe it. The PR profession under-appreciates interviewing expertise. It starts in college. Try to find a curriculum for mass communications or PR that offers a class on interviewing. Good luck. Every journalism program in the country tackles the art of the interview. But PR curricula ignore the topic. …more
I came across this video “Never Estimate the Power of a Great Story” back in 2009. Even knowing the ending, the humor still slaps you across the face. After a recent watch, I realized the video delivers a few pain-free lessons in business storytelling. . Sure, the protagonist manages to escape death several times — machine …more
We’ve strived to be the cobbler’s kids who actually do have shoes. In practical terms, we’ve pitched stories on the Agency and our perspectives to journalists, some resulting in media coverage. As part of the blog’s 10-year anniversary, I’ve dusted off one of the better articles on our storytelling mentality. David Blecken at Campaign Asia …more
Does PR Get Storytelling? As one way to answer the question, we randomly selected 50 news releases and applied three tests to them. Test #1 We analyzed the use of adjectives and adverbs, often a shortcut to genuine storytelling. If you say you’re great, no one believes you. . On the other hand, sharing a …more
I speak at the Mumbrella Conference in Singapore tomorrow, charged with answering the question, “Does PR Get Storytelling?” Obviously, I have my views on the topic. But what about the PR folks on the front line. What do they think? To find out, we surveyed over 400 PR professionals based in Asia pulling from both …more
Back in March when Uber shared it was searching for an exec to ride shotgun with Travis Kalanick in hopes of modulating the CEO’s behavior, I suggested that the recruiters should take a look at the talent pool of PR executives. My point was that critical areas like brand management, the relationship with drivers and …more
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the number of people working in PR at 218,910 (as of May 2015). Some of these folks are extraordinary. Others communicate with the finesse of a carnival barker. Most fall somewhere in between. For the sake of discussion, let’s say that 3 percent of the PR population falls into …more
