Circle of Fellows

According to a recent New York Times article, “Chief executives across the business world are increasingly wading into political issues that were once considered off limits — like gun control and climate change — but they might not be moving fast enough.”

The Edelman Trust Barometer (cited in the article) backs up that assertion. Sixty-four percent of respondents believe CEOs should take the lead on change instead of waiting for government to impose it. Eighty-four percent expect CEOs to inform conversations and policy debates on one or more issues. And 56% said, “they have no respect for CEOs who remain silent on important issues.”

The evidence of CEOs staking out positions on which they once remained silent is everywhere. Consider that, in the wake of the Douglas High School shooting in Florida, CitiGroup and Bank of America enacted policies regarding their relationships with gun makers. Other companies have taken sides on immigration, race relations, income disparity, sustainability, sexual orientation and gender rights, and a range of other issues that can be divisive.

In addition to consumers supporting organizations taking sides, employees are also in favor of their companies taking action. A 2016 Public Affairs Council found 70% of respondents said employees had influenced their companies’ decisions to get involved in social issues.

On Thursday, May 17, four IABC Fellows participated in a live online conversation about the emerging role of CEOs as the new global community leaders. The topic was also IABC’s editorial theme for May: “CEOs and other leaders are increasingly looked to weigh in on social and political issues. But how do you determine when your leaders should take a stand? We’ll examine key indicators for when leaders should make statements and review research about this trend.”

The panel included James Lukaszewski, Ned Lundquist, and Leticia Narvaez. FIR podcast host Shel Holtz moderated.

James E. Lukaszewski, America’s Crisis Guru ®, is a bestselling author, national speaker, and trusted strategic advisor to FPO and NPO business operators and leaders during crises, disasters, reputation attacks, contentiousness and when the boss’s future is at stake. Corporate Legal Times listed him as “one of 22 crisis counselors to have in your speed dial when all hell breaks loose.” For more than 30 years, he has confidentially guided hundreds of company leaders thru tough, touchy, sensitive situations. Lukaszewski’s strategies inspire constructive, ethical problem resolving management behavior. A powerful and inspirational speaker, he teaches executives and managers the lessons he has learned. A prolific author, he is quoted and interviewed often as one of the most recognizable leaders in his profession. Lukaszewski is on the web at www.e911.com.

Edward “Ned” Lundquist, a retired U.S. Navy captain with 33 years of professional public affairs and strategic communications experience. He is a principal science writer at MCR Federal in McLean, Virginia, supporting government clients; and has his own company, Echo Bridge LLC, which provides outreach and advocacy support to commercial clients. He served on active duty for 24 years in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer and public affairs specialist. Captain Lundquist was a Pentagon spokesman with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Director of the Fleet Home Town News Center, and director of public affairs and corporate communications for the Navy Exchange Service Command. His last tour of duty was commanding the 450 men and women of the Naval Media Center. He is an accredited business communicator and award-winning communicator who served as president of IABC/Hampton Roads and IABC/Washington, director of U.S. district 3 and chair of the International Accreditation Council. He was named an IABC Fellow in 2016. Captain Lundquist is a member of the executive committee of the Surface Navy Association and chair of the SNA communications committee. He writes for numerous naval, maritime and defense publications and chairs and presents at communications, naval and maritime security conferences around the world.

Leticia Narváez, ABC,  is CEO and Founding Partner of Narváez Group, a consulting firm focused on Strategic Communication, Employee Engagement, Corporate Reputation, Social Responsibility and Communication Training based in Mexico City. A 30 years experienced professional, she held management top level positions at Sanofi, Merck, American Express and Ford Motor Co. among others. She builds communication bridges with the utmost excellence standards. During her career path, she has been at the forefront of divestitures, mergers and acquisitions, diversity leadership, issues and crisis management, team and leadership development, strategic planning and senior executive consulting. She has been a speaker at international forums, is co-author of several books and manuals on business communications and has written a large number of articles on the subject. Leticia has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Public Relations from the Latinoamericana University, a Master Degree on Digital Communications from Cantabria University and a Postgraduate Diploma on Top Business Administration at the Panamerican Institute of Top Business Administration – IPADE-.

The post Circle of Fellows #33: CEOs as the New Global Community Leaders appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Are you positioned to succeed in the next five years? The next 10?

The competencies and skills required for communicating on behalf of employers or clients are not static. Not that long ago, communicators traded in press releases, media pitches, and printed employee newsletters. While these tactics have not vanished, the technologies that serve as communication channels have evolved and new ones are introduced all the time. The business environment shifts, new business models are adopted, and expectations of leaders, consumers, and other stakeholders change. In fact, we can expect the very role communication plays in organizations to undergo dramatic change.

The challenges to effective communication are due to change, as well. You deal with fake news now, for example. Are you prepared to cope with videos that purport to show your CEO doing or saying something she never said or did?

On Thursday, April 18, four Fellows of the International Association of Business Communicators gathered for a live online conversation about the competencies that will be required for communicators in the years ahead — both the tactics and tools used to communicate and the business acumen required to understand the problems leaders need solved that allow us to devise solutions that move the business forward.

The panel included Mary Hills, Mary Ann McCauley, Jim Shaffer, and Angela Sinickas.

Watch the video replay here or listen to the podcast. (Subscribe to the podcast and you’ll never miss an episode!)

About the panel

Mary Hills’ career as a marketing and communication professional has been in companies undergoing significant evolution, change and growth. She has held leadership positions with responsibility for developing plans and schemas to support long term growth and business sustainability goals. She has more than 20 years experience and expertise in designing and delivering training and development programs for companies and organizations, bringing theories, models and frameworks into everyday practice. In addition to her role at HeimannHills Marketing Group, Mary serves as Adjunct Faculty in the MS – Global Strategic Communication program at Loyola University Chicago.  Mary speaks internationally and nationally on marketing, communication, standards and practices and women’s leadership topics. She is licensed in Adobe Connect and WebEx, using these to conduct virtual professional learning and education sessions.

Mary Ann McCauley is committed to ensuring people communicate more effectively about their organizations’ products and services. With a specialty practice in crisis management, Mary Ann addresses sensitive issues with timeliness, dignity, and minimal backlash. “Managing communication during a crisis requires common sense folded into a structured process,” she says.

Jim Shaffer is a business advisor, leadership coach, author, and speaker. As leader of the Jim Shaffer Group, he helps organizations accelerate results through superior strategy execution. The Jim Shaffer Group creates hard business results by translating the business strategy to the people who need to implement it, aligning systems, processes, and culture to make the gains sustainable. Jim was an architect and leading practitioner of Towers Perrin’s (now Towers Willis Watson) change management consulting practice. He designed and produced the IABC Academy Course, “Managing Change Communication to Drive Results and Value.” Some of his change management clients have included: Abbott, ConAgra Foods, FedEx, IBM, ITT, Mayo Clinic, Medtronic, Owens Corning, Pfizer, Toyota.

Angela Sinickas is the founder of Sinickas Communications, which has worked with companies, organizations and governments in 32 countries on six continents. Her clients include 25% of the Forbes Top 100 largest global companies. Before starting her own consulting firm, she held positions from editor to vice president in for-profit and government organizations, and worked as a senior consultant and practice leader at Hewitt and Mercer. She is author of a manual, How to Measure Your Communication Programs (now in its third edition),and chapters in several books. Her 50+ articles in professional journals can be found on her website,www.sinicom.com. Her work has been recognized with 20 international-level Gold Quill Awards from IABC, plus her firm was named IABC Boutique Agency of the Year in 2015. She holds a BS degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MS in Leadership from Northeastern University.

The post Circle of Fellows #32: Communication Skills for the Future appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The legendary management consultant Peter Drucker famously wrote, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Few truer things have been said about the world of work. It’s even truer today as Millennials place a higher emphasis on culture when choosing where to work and from which companies to buy. All evidence suggests the same is true — if not even more — of Generation Z, which is just now entering the workforce.

What exactly is company culture? One definition says it is simply “the way things are done around here.” What drives the way things are done includes the organization’s vision (which provides it with purpose), its values (guiding leader and employee behaviors), practices (the way things get done), and other factors. Some companies seek to reinforce their existing cultures while others want to change theirs to something better. (Consider Uber, whose new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, is so determined to change the company’s toxic culture that he published the company’s “new cultural norms” on LinkedIn, where they could be seen by employees, prospective employees, investors, and every other stakeholder. Those norms were crafted as part of a process that involved inviting employees to play a significant role; 1200 submitted recommendations that received more than 22,000 votes.)

Communicators clearly have a significant part to play in changing or bolstering a company’s culture, from crafting and communicating a strategic narrative to shining a light on desired behaviors.

On Thursday, March 15, FIR host Shel Holtz moderated a panel with four of his Fellows colleagues — Amanda Hamilton-Attwell, Kellie Garrett, March Schumann, and Jim Shaffer — to discuss the role communications can play in building and sustaining a strong corporate culture. Watch the video replay here or listen to the podcast. (Subscribe to the podcast and you’ll never miss an episode!)

About the panel

Dr. Amanda Hamilton-Attwell, accredited by both IABC and PRSA. She is Managing Director of Business DNA, based in South Africa, which provides strategic research and consulting, including communication audits, customer service and other focused research and training in communication skills. Her career has also included a 15-year stint as a research manager for the National Productivity Institute.

Kellie Garrett, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Kellie is a speaker, coach, and strategist, as well as an associate professor at Royal Roads Univesity. Before launching her own business, Kellie was Senior VP of Strategy, Knowledge, and Reputation for Farm Credit Canada.

Mark Schumann is the director of graduate business communication programs for the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, City University of New York. He is also founder and principal of re-communicate. Most recently, he was VP of marketing and communications for Western Connecticut Health Network. He served as IABC’s chair in 2009-2010. He was a managing principal and global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin for 26 years.

Jim Shaffer is a business advisor, leadership coach, author, and speaker. As leader of the Jim Shaffer Group, he helps organizations accelerate results through superior strategy execution. The Jim Shaffer Group creates hard business results by translating the business strategy to the people who need to implement it, aligning systems, processes, and culture to make the gains sustainable. Jim was an architect and leading practitioner of Towers Perrin’s (now Towers Willis Watson) change management consulting practice. He designed and produced the IABC Academy Course, “Managing Change Communication to Drive Results and Value.” Some of his change management clients have included: Abbott, ConAgra Foods, FedEx, IBM, ITT, Mayo Clinic, Medtronic, Owens Corning, Pfizer, Toyota.

The post Circle of Fellows #31: Creating a Culture that Attracts and Retains Employees and Customers appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Trust in media is at an all-time low, as is global trust in the United States (while global trust in China is soaring). Meanwhile, peers — who have been a top credible source for several years — are waning as people once again turn to subject matter experts, technical experts, and CEOs, all of whom have been trailing in prior years’ Trust Barometers, the annual survey released every January by Edelman.

Where trust is in decline, communication professionals can help turn the tide. Where it is rising, communicators can help maintain that growth. On February 15, four IABC Fellows (and moderator Shel Holtz) discussed the issue and various approaches communicators can take to helping their organizations or clients rebuild trust.

Priya Bates is a senior communication executive who provides strategic internal communication counsel in order to ensure leaders, managers, and employees understand the strategy, believe in the vision, act in accordance with the values, and contribute to business results. She is president of Inner Strength Communications in Toronto and previously served as senior director of Internal Communications at Loblaw Companies Limited.

In 1996, while on the fast track to a partnership in a growing PR agency, John Deveney opted to strike out on his own and form Deveney, a process and a practice that embraces the soundest principles, the newest media, and the most innovative technologies. Based in New Orleans, Deveney is particularly strong in the areas of crisis, healthcare, tourism, and hospitality. (After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, John led the only on-site communication operation and media center for both the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana Office of Tourism.)

James E. Lukaszewski, America’s Crisis Guru ®, is a bestselling author, national speaker, and trusted strategic advisor to FPO and NPO business operators and leaders during crises, disasters, reputation attacks, contentiousness and when the boss’s future is at stake. Corporate Legal Times listed him as “one of 22 crisis counselors to have in your speed dial when all hell breaks loose.” For more than 30 years, he has confidentially guided hundreds of company leaders thru tough, touchy, sensitive situations. Lukaszewski’s strategies inspire constructive, ethical problem resolving management behavior. A powerful and inspirational speaker, he teaches executives and managers the lessons he has learned. A prolific author, he is quoted and interviewed often as one of the most recognizable leaders in his profession. Lukaszewski is on the web at www.e911.com.

Edward “Ned” Lundquist, a retired U.S. Navy captain with 33 years of professional public affairs and strategic communications experience. He is a principal science writer at MCR Federal in McLean, Virginia, supporting government clients; and has his own company, Echo Bridge LLC, which provides outreach and advocacy support to commercial clients. He served on active duty for 24 years in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer and public affairs specialist. Captain Lundquist was a Pentagon spokesman with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Director of the Fleet Home Town News Center, and director of public affairs and corporate communications for the Navy Exchange Service Command. His last tour of duty was commanding the 450 men and women of the Naval Media Center. He is an accredited business communicator and award-winning communicator who served as president of IABC/Hampton Roads and IABC/Washington, director of U.S. district 3 and chair of the International Accreditation Council. He was named an IABC Fellow in 2016. Captain Lundquist is a member of the executive committee of the Surface Navy Association and chair of the SNA communications committee. He writes for numerous naval, maritime and defense publications and chairs and presents at communications, naval and maritime security conferences around the world.

The post Circle of Fellows #30: Rebuilding Trust appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Technology’s role in communications continues to grow, requiring communicators to not only factor it into their strategic planning but to stay one step ahead in order to be prepared for dramatic changes. In 2018, the changes will be as great as we’ve seen in a single year. Consider the exploding impact on communication of AI, chatbots, voice tech/voice search, and augmented reality. Add the fact that blockchain is barreling toward us it’s hard to deny that technology is poised to cause upheaval in the channels we use and the strategies we employ to communicate.

On January 18, four IABC Fellows convened to discuss these and other technologies, their impact on communications, and the challenges communicators will face in adopting them. Watch the video replay here or listen to the podcast by clicking the “play” button above. (Subscribe to the podcast and you’ll never miss an episode!)

Priya Bates is a senior communication executive who provides strategic internal communication counsel in order to ensure leaders, managers, and employees understand the strategy, believe in the vision, act in accordance with the values, and contribute to business results. She is president of Inner Strength Communications in Toronto and previously served as senior director of Internal Communications at Loblaw Companies Limited.

Alice Brink is an internationally recognized communications consultant. Her firm, A Brink & Co., works with businesses and non-profits to clarify their messages and communicate them in ways that change people’s minds. Her clients have included Shell Oil Company, Sysco Foods, and Noble Energy. Prior to launching A Brink & Co. in Houston in 2004, Alice honed her craft both in corporate settings (including The Coca-Cola Company, Conoco, and First Interstate Bank) and in one of Texas’ largest public relations firms, where she led the agency’s energy and financial practices.  Alice has been active in IABC for more than 30 years, where she currently serves as chair of the IABC Academy. Other roles have included serving as chapter president, district director, and Gold Quill chair.

Jennifer Wah, MC, ABC, has worked with clients to deliver ideas, plans, words and results since she founded her storytelling and communications firm, Forwords Communication Inc., in 1997. The company operates as a strategic alliance of hand-picked professionals; all renowned for work in their areas of specialization. This approach means the right team is assembled for each project; no more, no less.   With more than two dozen awards for strategic communications, writing and consulting, Jennifer is recognized as a storyteller and strategist. She has worked in industries from healthcare to financial services to academia, and is passionate about the opportunity for stories to inspire actions and reactions within organizations.In 2013, Jennifer was named Associate Faculty of Royal Roads University, and in this capacity, continues to teach, coach and mentor others with an interest in business communication.

Brad Whitworth is executive communication manager at Hewlett Packard enterprise.  A communication coach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Brad was most recently senior communication manager at Cisco Systems. Brad joined Cisco in 2007 and today leads integrated communication for the part of the company that builds partner ecosystems for new markets. Before Cisco, Brad led communication programs at HP, PeopleSoft, and AAA. He earned undergraduate degrees in both journalism and speech at the University of Missouri and an MBA at Santa Clara University. A former broadcaster, Brad has made more than 300 presentations to executives, communicators, and university classes around the world. Brad has a long history with IABC, including serving as chairman of the international board and president of two local chapters. He is one of the authors of The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication.

Mark your calendars!

The next “Circle of Fellows” broadcast is set for noon ET on Thursday, February 15, on the erosion of trust in organizations and how to combat it.

The post Circle of Fellows #29: Top Innovations and Technologies in Communications appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.