This week's interview marks 400 episodes of the On Brand podcast! First up, a special announcement from me. Then I'm joined by Eric Yaverbaum who literally wrote the book on public relations with Public Relations for Dummies. In addition to writing six other books, his journey has taken him from being an agency leader to the White House to cable news punditry to finding the silver linings in a pandemic. We discussed all of this on our 400th episode of On Brand.

About Eric Yaverbaum

Eric Yaverbaum, CEO of Ericho Communications, is a communications, media, and public relations expert with over 40 years in the industry, having co-founded Jericho Communications and served as President from 1985 until its successful sale in 2006. Eric has worked with a wide range of top-of-their-industry clients, including Sony, IKEA, Progressive Insurance, Domino’s, Beachbody, H&M, and fitness guru Jack LaLanne.

Eric is also a bestselling author who literally wrote the book on public relations – the industry-standard bestseller Public Relations for Dummies—as well as six other titles, including Leadership Secrets of the World’s Most Successful CEOs (with over a million copies sold). He will be recounting his lifelong ability to look towards the bright side for his upcoming book The Audacity of Silver Linings, set to release in 2022. He is a regular TV pundit, and his expert commentary has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, The New York Times, HuffPost, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox Business, Inc., and PR Week, among others.

Episode Highlights

“In a previous life, I was a crisis guy.” Crisis communication took Eric from the agency world to working with C-suite executives. “You can apply these lessons anywhere. In war, 9/11, the White House …”

Oh yeah. Eric also worked in the White House. What began as a stint on the Bush-Obama transition team led to meetings in the Oval Office. “You’re sitting there and thinking, where do I go from here?”

Following leaders. “The buck doesn’t stop at the leader's desk—it starts there. You should be the dumbest person in the room. You should want to surround yourselves with smart people.” This was one of the many lessons Eric learned working on his book Leadership Secrets of the World’s Most Successful CEOs.

Silver linings—even while grappling with COVID. Eric’s latest project came from the positivity he worked to cultivate while grappling with a severe case of COVID-19. “I decided to take hope on as a client and it worked.”

What brand has made Eric smile recently? Steinberg Sports. “He’s the real-life Jerry Maguire. He inspires me.”

To learn more, go to … Google! When I asked Eric where to send folks to learn more he simply said, “Too many places—it’s a good problem to have.” Start by learning more about Public Relations for Dummies.

As We Wrap …

Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

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