Everything Speaks

Lee McEnany Caraher is the founder and CEO of Double Forte, a national public relations and digital media agency, based in San Francisco, New York and Eau Claire, WI that works with beloved consumer, technology, and wine brands and professional services companies. Lee is a highly sought-after communications expert known for her straight-talk, practical strategic counsel, and business-building acumen. And she has a big laugh that gets her out of trouble (sometimes).

What you will learn in this episode:

• What "ghosting" says about you in business
• How "ghosting" impacts your reputation
• Why do people "ghost," and do they mean to be rude
• How to handle potential clients that ghosted you
• Why closing the conversation helps maintain your reputation
• What to do if or when you "ghost" someone

Resources:

• Website: https://leecaraher.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecaraher
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeeCaraher1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leecaraher
• Book: Leadership and the Art of Conversation
• Book: Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
• Book: Radical Candor: How to Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean

Lee McEnany Caraher is the founder and CEO of Double Forte, a national public relations and digital media agency, based in San Francisco, New York and Eau Claire, WI that works with beloved consumer, technology, and wine brands and professional services companies. Lee is a highly sought-after communications expert known for her straight-talk, practical strategic counsel, and business-building acumen. And she has a big laugh that gets her out of trouble (sometimes).

What you will learn in this episode: Respecting people is not just lip service. People know if you respect them by how you behave with them – in person, on email, by Zoom, and in Slack or text.

• How you unintentionally communicate that you don't respect your colleagues
• Being late to a meeting is disrespectful and wasteful. Showing up right "on time" is late. Don't be late.
• Why having your phone out tells people you're waiting for something better to pop up
• Deadlines aren't about you. How missing a deadline affects others.
• Why you should know and stick to communication norms in your organization

Resources:

• Website: https://leecaraher.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecaraher
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeeCaraher1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leecaraher

Lee McEnany Caraher is the founder and CEO of Double Forte, a national public relations and digital media agency, based in San Francisco, that works with beloved consumer, technology, and wine brands. Lee is a highly sought after communications expert known for her business-building acumen and insights.

What you will learn in this episode:

• What it really says when you are assigned a task
• How you respond to an assignment speaks loudly! How to respond well.
• How one assignment impacts an entire team – how you do your assignment speaks to your team
• What is the first thing you should do when you receive a task
• What uncompleted work or missed deadlines says to the team
• Good work lessons from Devil Wears Prada – show you respect the work, and think things through

Resources:

• Website: https://leecaraher.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecaraher
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeeCaraher1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leecaraher

Lee McEnany Caraher is the founder and CEO of Double Forte, a national public relations and digital media agency, based in San Francisco, that works with beloved consumer, technology, and wine brands. Lee is a highly sought after communications expert known for her business building acumen and insights.

What you will learn in this episode:

• Why it's important to use language with precision
• How the word 'try' can be perceived as bad when used in the future tense
• Why you should always ask specific questions
• How to speak to convey confidence
• What two words should be eliminated to reduce ambiguity

Resources:

• Website: https://leecaraher.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecaraher
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeeCaraher1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leecaraher

Amy Blaschka has made a career offering stories as a service. From her degree in film to her three decades spent branding products, places, and people, to founding her strategic writing practice, Amy has always understood the power of weaving a compelling tale. These days, she's a social media ghostwriter (yep, that's a thing) who helps leaders craft their stories to communicate and connect better by magnifying their reach and impact. (Think personal branding and thought leadership.) Amy also writes engaging, original, and authentic career stories for her clients to position them for success and change how others perceive, pay, partner with, and promote them. As a longtime Leadership Contributor for Forbes, Amy covers personal transformation and its impact on career growth. She also regularly creates and shares original content through her popular Illuminate Me newsletter and active social media channels.

What you will learn in this episode:

• How Amy as a "Social Media Ghostwriter" helps clients with their brand and message
• How Amy translates clients' insights into key takeaways for content
• Why the key to communicating effectively is in actively listening and asking questions
• Why showing that you're truly listening creates trust
• Why social media content is a "long game" that pays off over time
• How listening to others can amplify your own voice and impact
• Why people connect to authenticity more than to perfection

Amy's Recommended Reading: "Think Again" by Adam Grant

What Amy's Watching: "Nobody" starring Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)

Amy's Favorite App: Apple Notes

Resources:

• Subscribe to Amy's Newsletter: www.substack.amyblaschka.com
• Website: www.amyblaschka.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/amyblaschka/
• Twitter: @amyblaschka
• Forbes page: www.forbes.com/sites/amyblaschka
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/amyblaschka/
• Clubhouse: www.joinclubhouse.com/@amyblaschka

Shannon Adkins is a thought leader and CEO at Future State, a woman-owned, employee-owned consulting company with a triple bottom line where people get to be themselves. They bring value to their clients in Life Sciences, Technology, Healthcare and Consumer Goods by understanding the journey they are on throughout their transformation.

After years of working for startups, tech companies, and in corporate America, getting her MBA, and starting a family, Shannon decided she wanted to work somewhere where she could be fully expressed as a mom, a volunteer, and a badass business woman. So, she went back to Future State. The changes she initiated led to revenue doubling in 24 months, new offerings, new clients in new industries, new teams and leaders, and a new name, Future State. In 2015, she became the CEO and made sure to continue to grow and evolve, officially making it a B-Corp.

Shannon challenges herself to always ask "why," and to make sure the answers contribute to creating a world that works for everyone. An eternal optimist, she believes the right team of people can find a radical solution to any problem. Weaving together the opportunity, the business needs and the collected wisdom of its stakeholders, these solutions become clear and executable strategies that lead to continual success.

What you will learn in this episode:

• The difference between being in the C-suite and being a change agent in a company
• Why it's important to communicate with employees after being acquired
• The benefits of having a communication plan for acquisition
• Why employees leave after acquisition
• How to create space for open communication with employees

Best Advice: "Love People"

Book Shannon is reading: Networked, Scaled, and Agile: A Design Strategy for Complex Organizations by Amy Kates and Greg Kesler

Great TV Shannon enjoys: The Handmaid's Tale

Shannon's Favorite App right now: Microsoft Teams

Resources:

• Website: https://futurestate.com/
• LinkedIn:
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonadkins/
  • https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-state-ca
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/futurestateinc/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/futurestateinc

Lee McEnany Caraher is the founder and CEO of Double Forte, a national public relations and digital media agency, based in San Francisco, that works with beloved consumer, technology, and wine brands. Lee is a highly sought after communications expert known for her business building acumen and insights.

What you will learn in this episode:

• Why it's okay to bring our emotions to the workplace
• When we shouldn't try to resolve conflict
• How to differentiate from facts and assumptions
• How to use the Communication Wheel for conflict resolution
• Why we should start conversations with facts instead of feelings

Resources:

• Website: https://leecaraher.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecaraher
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeeCaraher1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leecaraher

Deborah Thomas-Nininger the founder of DTN Productions International, a company that provides training on all areas of international and domestic protocol specializing in "Reputation Management" and communication effectiveness.

DTN organized the international etiquette training for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta for Coca-Cola and is a frequent subject of interviews, which often appear in publications both nationally and internationally.

Deborah brings over thirty years of business etiquette, communication and self-presentation expertise, rooted in behavioral science and successful human interaction. Her most popular topics include Grow Your Backbone, EQ, Gravitas, Presentation Skills, Reputation Management, Practicing Mindfulness, Autopilot Habits, to name a few.

Her first two books Reputation Management – Building Your Brand and Tweetables for Life will be available summer 2021 and her MiniManners series is set to launch in fall 2021. Deborah continues to spread her contemporary approach to effective H2H (human to human) communication and social courtesies via workshops, keynotes, webinars, and podcasts.

What you will learn in this episode:

• How to politely exit a conversation
• The difference between men and women in the workplace
• How etiquette rules differ from Boomer/Gen-X and Millennial/Gen-Z
• The behaviors that people exhibit but don't realize are rude
• How to be assertive when addressing others' etiquette
• How your body language and manners could prevent you from getting a job

Resources:

• Website: https://www.dtn-productions.com/
• LinkedIn:
  • https://linkedin.com/in/deborahthomasnininger
  • https://www.linkedin.com/company/dtn-productions-international—hallmark-of-etiquette/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DTNEtiquette
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DTNEtiquette

Karen Eber is an international consultant, keynote and TED speaker. Karen is the CEO and Chief Storyteller of Eber Leadership Group. She helps companies reimagine and evolve how they transform culture. This includes building empathic and curious leadership and teams, and helping leaders influence and inspire with storytelling.

Karen works with Fortune 1000 companies such as General Electric, ADP, Heinz Kraft, Kate Spade, Facebook and guest lectures in Universities like Emory and Purdue.

Karen has 20+ years of experience and has been a Head of Culture, Chief Learning Officer and Head of Leadership Development at General Electric and Deloitte. She is a four-time American Training and Development winner and lives in Atlanta, GA.

What you will learn in this episode:

• Why stories are more effective than data in building trust
• How storytelling affects our brains
• The difference between storytelling and lying
• Data informed decisions vs data driven decisions
• Why people respond to vulnerability
• How to discover good ideas for stories

Resources:

• Website: https://www.kareneber.com
• TedX Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/karen_eber_how_your_brain_responds_to_stories_and_why_they_re_crucial_for_leaders
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareneber/
• Instagram: https://www.instagramcom/kareneber1
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kareneber1

Lee McEnany Caraher is the founder and CEO of Double Forte, a national public relations and digital media agency, based in San Francisco, that works with beloved consumer, technology, and wine brands. Lee is a highly sought after communications expert known for her business building acumen and insights.

What you will learn in this episode:

• How to deal with trolls
• How to use your critics to grow
• Why it's important to respond to customer complaints
• What you should always assume about reviews
• How to create an escalation protocol
• What to do if someone lies about a situation
• Why Lee doesn't believe in cancel culture

Resources:

• Website: https://leecaraher.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecaraher
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeeCaraher1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leecaraher