For every greedy casino curmudgeon, cracked out combover or whiner hawking pizza, pay attention... This is how an ethical, patriotic American business leader behaves.
Oh and he's more successful than you, too...
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Thursday, December 13, 2012
A decidedly SoCal take on a classic tune...
On the day of the Globes noms...
(how "industry" of me)
The Twelve Days of [SoCal] Christmas
On the first day of
Christmas my true love gave to me…
A seagull in a palm
tree…
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Four texting drivers
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
FIVE Golden Globes
Four texting drivers
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Six double parkers
FIVE Golden Globes
Four texting drivers
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Seven boutique
burgers
Six double parkers
FIVE Golden Globes
Four texting drivers
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Eight maids a
shopping
Seven boutique burgers
Six double parkers
FIVE Golden Globes
Four texting drivers
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Nine Sig Alerts
Eight maids a shopping
Seven boutique burgers
Six double parkers
FIVE Golden Globes
Four texting drivers
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Ten muddler’s
muddling
Nine Sig Alerts
Eight maids a shopping
Seven boutique burgers
Six double parkers
FIVE Golden Globes
Four texting drivers
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Eleven body fascists
Ten muddler’s muddling
Nine Sig Alerts
Eight maids a shopping
Seven boutique burgers
Six double parkers
FIVE Golden Globes
Four texting drivers
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Twelve 'copters buzzing
Eleven body fascists
Ten muddler’s muddling
Nine Sig Alerts
Eight maids a shopping
Seven boutique burgers
Six double parkers
FIVE Golden Globes
Four texting drivers
Three bitchy hipsters
Two Hermes gloves
And a seagull in a palm tree…
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Christmas on Clinton
Ahhh... I'm all decorated and cruising toward the holiday spirit.
Here's a glimpse at Christmas on Clinton
A mod welcome
Kitsch in the kitch
Even the General is in the spirit
Holiday Cheers!
Grandma's groovy elf - a tradition
Monday, November 12, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
The best we can do?
Seriously?
This is the best keynote our industry can deliver?
To inspire? To illuminate?
Seriously? And people ask why I'm not "APR"
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - PR agency PR thyself… A fall from grace that’s a rare opportunity
As I followed the news of my former employer after my departure
and the departures of many, many of my colleagues [though this is not uncommon
in our field], a startling trend began to emerge – beginning in June with the
departure of the long-time CEO.
This was followed by the departures of the CMO, CFO, CEO and
more C’s and O’s as well as several VP’s of varying letters and a number of
rank and file associates.
In Porter’s defense, being the smaller sister of industry
giants Ketchum and Fleishman has, and continues to lead to unfair
comparisons. That said – this time of
mass exodus presents both the need and perfect opportunity for
re-invention. A rejiggering of
priorities and procedures, a new outlook – not unlike the cool concept and buzz-generating
stunt of the pop-up agency jack+bill, named for PN’s founders – Jack Porter
[which sounds like a cool menswear brand – right?] and Bill Novelli.
Any company’s success is dependent on people. And – the people’s success is dependent on an
employee-focused organization like the Container Store or Google or Wegman’s or
Zappos…
When a senior level executive said in a meeting that it was “company
first, clients second and employees third” – I knew that didn't bode well for
my tenure or our success. Incidentally –
isn’t it counterintuitive to hire leadership that neither understands nor
respects what your company does? How can
that leadership truly lead, empathize or inspire with no context? In order to be a part of the management of my
father’s company [a textile linen rental service], for example, the candidates
had to first work in the laundry and on the route trucks.
And – here we are.
What to do?
So – what can/should a company like Porter Novelli do to set
itself apart – other than whiz bang logos or zippy, social media laden
websites?
In an industry that doesn’t “make” anything, service and
talent – the people with the creative brains, the savvy strategists, the
consensus builders – are what differentiate one agency from another. Specialties do as well. Agencies that seek to be all things to all people
suffer from lack of focus. Tightly
niched agencies have a limited client pool – so there is a balance that needs
to be maintained here.
How do you recruit and retain the kinds of people that can
drive clients’ business and deliver the results and relationships needed to be
successful? What makes an agency successful?
People and ideas. Plain and
simple. Nurture those and success (and
yes, profit) follows.
There are some things I’ve encountered in my 25 years in
this business. Some decisions that I’ve witnessed
that have made me cringe… some policies that are counterproductive… some I just
plain disagree with. It’s often
difficult for companies – mostly publicly-traded, driven by the almighty dollar
– with a relentless focus on the bottom line and not how to get there.
10 things – some
do’s, some don’ts…
- Put your people first. The money will follow.
- Skip the internal hype. If you’re not going to follow through with an employee enrichment program and deliver a half-assed result. Don’t announce it. Don’t promise what you can’t/won’t deliver.
- Commit and deliver employee enrichment programs. Not just ongoing education to enlighten, empower and enhance your junior team members’ experience and contributions – but also for senior level executives who can become bureaucratic automatons incapable of inspiring. They deserve and need to grow as well.
- Hire against type.
- Properly manage and utilize uncommon talent that you’ve hired against type. The results will dazzle the client and nourish your company. Don’t expect a creative communicator to be a CPA as well.
- Pay attention to environment even if clients don’t visit. Your employees are an important “client” so to speak. Depressing, run-down spaces impact work product. A coat of paint or having the carpet cleaned and a plant or two can do wonders. Seriously.
- Keep the industry and agency-specific acronyms to a minimum. Communicate. Be transparent. Don’t be obtuse.
- Be open to “you can’t do that” ideas. Why not?
- Recognize and remember that “billability” isn’t the only measure of a team member’s worth.
- Kill complacency – at both the junior level and the oft-stagnant upper level of an organization.
I am not a C-suite guru.
I am not an MBA. I am, however, a
pragmatic PR industry veteran and have been witness to the ups and downs and
demise of agencies and relationships of varying size and import. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t and I
know how to reach consensus; to engage, enrich and retain team members. Sometimes the simple, obvious answer is the
right answer.
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