My New Year’s Resolution: No More Coulda, Shoulda, Wouldas

December 31, 2009

In a couple of hours, the clock will strike midnight, ushering in 2010.  This is a quiet New Year’s Eve for me – just finished doing the laundry.  Honestly, when did this holiday become so important to everyone?  I wish a fairy godmother would sprinkle some gold dust on my head at 12 o’clock and make all my dreams come true, but that is not likely to happen.

So, here is the deal.  I’ve got to make things happen myself.  And instead of reflecting back on 2009 and all the things I could have done, I’m determined to look forward.  I owe this resolution to my brother Carl, and I’ve been making it pretty successfully for a number of years.  Here it is: Read more

8 News Media Business Trends for 2010

December 27, 2009

These trends are reprinted from “ Mashable, the Social Media Guide,” By Vadim Lavrusik

With the news industry struggling to find new revenue streams that can reshape their broken business model, 2010 will be defined by experiments in news media monetization. This will also include content that is guided more than ever by the audience and ad revenue.

This coming year we will also see the results of news organizations putting pay walls up, as well as new experimental models like accepting Web donations from readers — some of which may prove to be successful. Below are eight emerging news media business trends to look for in 2010.  For more detail, go to Mashable for descriptions and images.

1. Social Media Monetization
2. Revenue Beyond Advertising
3. As Publications Fold, Others Become Lean and Mean
4. Growth in Hyperlocal and Community Models
5. Local Advertising Grows
6. Local Advertising Models Emerge
7. To Charge or Not to Charge?
8. The Fremium Model

More Powerful Business Writing Using Visual Images

December 22, 2009

Business writing can be awfully dull, especially when it’s a topic that is unfamiliar to the reader.  Haven’t your eyes ever glazed over when you’ve been trying to make sense of what something means?

That’s why imagery in the form of analogies and metaphors is so powerful in clarifying your intentions.  I decided to write about visual imagery after reading a story about the growth of China as a world power in the The New York Times a couple of days ago. Read more

How I Overcame Writer’s Block

December 15, 2009

I’ve had writer’s block the past few days.  The first thing I did was analyze the problem.  Bad move.  Why?  Because analyzing is another excuse for putting off what I don’t want to do anyway.  It’s the holidays; I’m busy; I have to get ready for a party.  We all know the drill.  So here is what I did. Read more

Only Consistent CEO Communication Can Drive Employee Engagement

December 8, 2009

Employee engagement is the new buzzword – remember reengineering and rightsizing?

Companies claim that employees are their most important assets – and they are. But what a disconnect between words and actions.  For example, many companies are allowing their employees to choose flexible work arrangements.  This can be particular advantage to young families raising children.  But does it really work in practice?

According to a recent Catalyst report, Work-Life: Prevalence, Utilization, and Benefits , “91% of women and 94% of men agreed that they could be flexible with their schedules when they had a family emergency or personal matter, but only 15% of women and 20% of men agreed that they could use a flexible work arrangement without jeopardizing their career advancement.”  This is not encouraging employee engagement. Read more

In His Crisis Communications, Is Tiger Woods Really Sorry?

December 4, 2009

Yet another celebrity’s image crashes and burns with the revelations about Tiger Woods’ affairs.  The rule in crisis communications is to get all the bad news out at once.  Drip, drip, drip is not going to work because the news media will grab on to a hot story like a dog with a bone.  In his situation, the bad news is so broad and torturous, that all the bad news may never get out.

But the point of this blog is not to discuss the merits of his communications and whether he miscalculated in trying to cover up the truth.  This is the question:  is he really sorry about his “transgressions,” as he calls them? Read more

Why Employee Communication Programs Fail and Hurt Bottom Line Results

December 2, 2009

By Mary Lynn Coyle and Jeannette Paladino

Employee communication is often the poor stepchild of companies that ignore their employees’ overwhelming need and desire for information so they can do their jobs better.  Yet research shows that organizations excelling in internal communications also excel in financial performance.

A Watson Wyatt study found that companies with highly effective communication practices have a 19 percent higher market premium and a 47% higher shareholder return.   A Towers Perrin study found that four out of five workers are not engaged in doing the things that drive results. That’s why we believe that companies need to instill a total Culture of Communication throughout their organizations that is open, consistent, simple, and caring. Read more

• Try Different — Seth Godin

  The usual mantra is to 'try harder'. Trying harder is impossible when you're already trying as hard as you can.

  But you can always try different.

  Years ago, I was creating trivia questions for a product we built for Prodigy. We had a 99% accuracy rate in doing the questions. Which was great, except there were 1800 questions in a batch, which meant 18 wrong each time, which was totally and completely unacceptable. These were honest mistakes, made by smart people working as hard as they could.

  No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't do better than 99%. So we switched our system completely and did it in a totally different way. Same number of people, same number of hours, 100% accuracy.

  If it's not working, harder might not be the answer.

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