As communicators, we’re accustomed to writing for different audiences in a variety of voices. We’re taught to write “in plain English” or, put another way, in language that an eighth grader would understand. That’s the reading level of the average American – scary, I know, but that’s fodder for another blog post.
But when it comes [...]

I recently read a great book on Abraham Lincoln and it was an excellent illustration of the skills required by leaders in building senior teams for multi-faceted organizations. President Lincoln has been studied in great depth and in this book, Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin tells how Lincoln built his first Cabinet in 1861 [...]

I am very proud of the numerous long-term client relationships we have at Environics Communications. Considering it has been less than 18 years since we opened our doors, we have several clients with 10-years-plus relationships. In most of these cases, one of the original Environics people who pitched and won the account is still involved [...]

Until recently I was one of those rare individuals who have spent my entire career in the nonprofit realm. A few weeks ago I made the foray into the for-profit world by joining a communications agency.
It’s a transition I have been enjoying because I am learning new things and realizing that nonprofits and companies have [...]

The world is still mourning the passing of Steve Jobs, the former leader of Apple Inc., especially communication professionals and technophiles who anxiously await the newest creations in technology that will advance our personal and business lives in both epic and subtle ways.
As a former Business Manager at Apple, Steve’s passing marks the loss of [...]

A colleague with a sweet tooth as fierce as mine taped this Wall Street Journal article about office candy jars to our refrigerator a few weeks ago.  It got me thinking about the importance of food in the workplace.  Just like food brings families together, it can also create bonds among coworkers.
While working at a [...]

The debate over whether we’re about to run smack into a second internet bubble is getting lots of attention in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the country.  Signs that Bubble 2.0 is here are everywhere:  the huge valuations for social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Zynga and Groupon; the explosive growth in [...]

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Starbucks. On one hand, I can’t help but feel cynical about a company that has made buying a simple cup of coffee – surely the most egalitarian and accessible of all products – an expensive proposition that involves Italian code words and silly instructions. Whose green awnings and soft, [...]

It was not that long ago, while enjoying the utopia of the Corporate American middle-management lifestyle, that I was a client of four PR agencies. They all tell me now that I was a great client, and they miss working with me.
What they failed to realize – and what I am now in tune with [...]

The U.S. Hispanic population now exceeds 50-million, or 16.3 percent, according to the results of the 2010 U.S. Census Report. With Hispanics representing nearly 50 per cent of the country’s growth over the past 10 years, media and marketers alike are looking to capitalize on this dramatic demographic development.
The implications for PR are many. Here are [...]