FIR Podcast Network

This week, we welcome Kristen Garvey, vice president of corporate communication at Waters Corporation, a specialty measurement company focused on improving human health and well-being through the application of high-value analytical technologies and scientific expertise.

In our conversation, Kristen expresses gratitude she feels for her team and notes that she has never received more emails of thanks for the transparency Waters achieved than she did over the past year and a half — so we are incredibly fortunate to have her perspective as we all strive for transparency and trust through this next phase of the pandemic.

We hear from Kristen about the common global return-to-workplace framework the company uses for decision-making, both to ensure decisions are made with consistency and to empower local teams to make decisions quickly. Created by a scientific advisory council, the framework looks at three things: local and global infection rates, site-specific vaccination rates and local government guidelines.

“We’ve been able to help employees understand the framework for how we as a company are going to make decisions,” Kristen says. “Even though it might look very different at our site in the UK or here in the US, people have a common understanding of how decisions are made and that helps give them confidence and trust in the overall process.”

She shares the Waters Corporation’s approach to measuring their communications strategies, using both leading and lagging indicators, and following through on the results to be sure employees have trust, clarity and confidence. The approach enables the communications team to adjust strategy and ensure they are communicating the right information at the right time.

Tune in to hear more of Kristen’s excellent, concrete advice, from holding popup communications meetings with managers to structuring the return to work so that management experiences the transition first.

Chris Hervochon, a CPA with extensive experience working with small agencies, shares his advice on how to manage your business more effectively by understanding and using your financial reports.

[Watch this episode]

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

* Chris Hervochon CPA

#700: Bradford Blevins and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Achieve resiliency in operations across agencies and organizations through inquiry-based, data-driven decisions. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Bradford Blevins, (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordblevins/), a chief strategy officer, operations resiliency strategist, determined disrupter, and negotiator. He aims to propel better decisions, better government, and better lives.

Bradford Blevins currently works as a chief strategy officer of Forge Forward, an organization that takes pride in serving the public sector and our nation. Having developed the ResOps (Resilient Operations) framework, they help forge success in the government.

If you are a government official, a stakeholder, or you are not just making the right decisions, consider reaching out to Bradford Blevins by visiting his LinkedIn profile at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordblevins/ or their website at https://www.forgefwd.com/.

Here are several AHA messages from this episode:

* Government officials making poor #Decisions should reach out to Bradford Blevins. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordblevins/ @TheBradfordMG

* We use a process of inquiry-based data and have informed #Decisions, helping the government officials make better decisions, whether it be capability decisions, people decisions, process decisions, or fiscal decisions. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordblevins/ @TheBradfordMG

* I make mistakes and own up to them. I try to learn and acknowledge those every step of the way. And after I made those mistakes, I did try to consistently apply those learnings with my ethos and values. #Decisions https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordblevins/ @TheBradfordMG

* As an army veteran, I had to make on the fly #Decisions in very volatile complex environments. With the knowledge, intel, and data that I had at that moment, I was able to collaborate and look at comparative solutions. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordblevins/ @TheBradfordMG

* We come in with those executives and we help them build a strategic decision framework at the one-on-one level. With my facilitation team behind me, I work along the next tiers of management. #Decisions https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordblevins/ @TheBradfordMG

To view the video interview click here.

#701: Karen Hayward and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Access top marketing expertise to drive sales and profitability. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Karen Hayward (https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhaywardcmo/), author, international speaker, and managing partner and CMO with Chief Outsiders. She matches mid-market CEOs and Private Equity Portfolio managers with the best-fit Chief Marketing Officers to help accelerate top line growth.

Karen is responsible for building and supporting a team of world class marketers. She works with SaaS companies and technology innovators to accel...

Clients frequently clamor for their agencies to do more. But how do you decide when it makes sense to expand your capabilities — and when you should say no?

If you do decide that there is value in offering a broader solution, how do you go about getting that integrated into your business?

In this episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast, Chip and Gini discuss how they have made such decisions in the past, including what worked and what didn’t.

[Watch the video of this episode]

Blogging is hard. In fact, it’s often the most challenging thing a communications team can take on. They have high hopes and high expectations, but for whatever reason, it ends up flopping. Truth be told, if we’d started Spin Sucks today versus 2006, it wouldn’t have made it the three years (THREE YEARS) it took to gain traction. I wouldn’t have had the patience to keep going—just like every other executive on earth. 

It’s definitely worth it and it’s afforded my business tons of opportunities it wouldn’t have otherwise had, but making the case that you need to do it for a year, let alone three, is crazy. 

A couple of weeks ago, my youngest brother DM’d me on Twitter with a link to the Washington Post article about Trump ending his blog after 29 days.

He said:

Now you can brag about running a more successful blog than a former president could.

And not just a former president, but one who seems to think his you-know-what doesn’t stink.

If THAT isn’t something to write home about, I don’t know what is.

But yet, on June 2, Trump’s blog, “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” disappeared from the web, replaced by a sign-up page to “receive EXCLUSIVE updates.”

In true Trump form, he told The New York Times that the decision to shutter the blog, launched only a month prior, was merely a pivot to a new social platform (surely not Facebook or Twitter, which have upheld their suspension of Trump’s accounts). 

Although Trump has not conceded that he stopped blogging due to low readership, the numbers show otherwise.

Last month The Washington Post reported dismal numbers, noting that the website housing the blog “attracted fewer estimated visitors than the pet-adoption service Petfinder and the recipe site Delish.” 

Because, you know, he would never, even admit defeat…but also, only a month isn’t that much time, no matter who you are.

While this certainly makes me laugh—and I love being able to tout I’m a better blogger than he is, we’ve all been in the spot of an unsuccessful owned media campaign—blogging or more.

On this week’s Spin Sucks podcast episode, we’ll talk about what you can do if you’re just beginning a corporate blog or owned media program—and need it to be successful lots faster than Spin Sucks.

Resources Included

* Washington Post article

* The New York Times

* The Washington Post reported dismal numbers

* PESO Model Certification

* Spin Sucks Community

#698: Louise Yochee Klein and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Gain traction, drive growth, and mobilize support by making courage contagious. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Louise Yochee Klein (https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseyocheeklein/), an innovation leadership mentor, influence impact pitch coach, and innovation leadership workshop facilitator.

A serial entrepreneur, Louise Yochee Klein started her prestigious career in business in Vancouver, and later on, moved to Philadelphia where she obtained her doctorate in clinical psychology and worked as a clinician for years. Eventually, she became an adjunct professor in the international MBA program of Temple University and has authored three books.

Louise Yochee Klein associated herself with angel investment groups such as Keiretsu Forum in San Francisco, California and Mid Atlantic Bio Angels (MABA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to get up-to-speed with anything novel and exciting that would pique her curiosity.

She is currently the leadership advisor, global project manager, and principal of Courage Growth Partners, an institute that equips leaders and employees with stupendous courage to get traction, get funded, and get ahead.

If your employees have got courage issues, Louise Yochee Klein can help lift them up. Feel free to drop by her LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseyocheeklein/ or shoot her an email at [email protected].

Here are several AHA messages from this episode:

* Employees with #courage problems should reach out to Louise Yochee Klein. https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseyocheeklein/ @SavtaYochee

* The reason I belong to angel investment groups like Keiretsu Forum or MABA- Mid Atlantic Bio Angels out of New York is because I love to know what is new, what is different, what is exciting! #Courage https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseyocheeklein/ @SavtaYochee

* I invite people to check out the website, http://couragegrowthpartners.com/ because there are a lot of white papers on there, articles, and all kinds of things! #Courage https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseyocheeklein/ @SavtaYochee

* I love to know what is new, what is different, and what is exciting as they pique my own curiosities! #Courage https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseyocheeklein/ @SavtaYochee

* Humans just need that lift. So, I help them get there, how to play with their strengths, surround themselves with the right people that will balance out their skills and will make their own great contributions. #Courage https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseyocheeklein/ @SavtaYochee

To view the video interview click here.

#699: Chuck Shelton and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Lead through diversity and inclusion to obliterate bias and generate opportunity. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Chuck Shelton (https://www.linkedin.

What does it take to ensure success, both personally and professionally, as an organizational communicator? On June 17, five IABC Fellows gathered for a live-streamed discussion that explored some surprising elements of success.

About the panel

John G. Clemons, an independent communications consultant based in North Carolina, has held senior executive and consultant roles over the course of his career in corporate and organizational communications. He has special expertise providing strategic counsel and support for top executives and corporate offices of Fortune 500 companies. John has served as chair of IABC, and holds accreditations from both IABC and PRSA. John has worked with Walmart, Raytheon, and Marriott (among others).

An accredited business communicator, and past global chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Adrian Cropley is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts and consultants in strategic communication. With a career spanning over 30 years, Adrian has worked with clients all over the world, including Fortune 500 companies, on major change communication initiatives, internal communication reviews and strategies, professional development programs and executive leadership and coaching. He has been a keynote speaker and workshop leader on strategic and change communication at international conferences in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, China, India, Hong Kong, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia. He has received a number of awards including international Gold Quill awards for communication excellence. Adrian is a member of the Program Advisory Committee for the RMIT School of Media and Communication, is currently chairing the IABC’s Big Ideas Taskforce and in 2020 was named a Fellow of the IABC.

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.

Ritzi Ronquillo is a multi-awarded communication leader in corporate, community, and associations in the Philippines and abroad. Ritzi is an Accredited Public Relations (APR) Professional and a Fellow of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the highest honor bestowed upon an IABC member with significant impact on their organization, on IABC, and on the communication profession at large. She brings four decades of experience in communication and PR to her assignments.  She is a broadcast communication graduate of UP.A university entrance scholar and scholar of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas/Broadcast Media Council (KBP/BMC).

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,

On this week’s episode of Inside PR, Joe Thornley, Martin Waxman, and I discuss our favorite tools and what has changed—and what has stayed the same—since COVID hit.

Before you get into the tools, though, we have an important reminder: it’s not about the tools. It’s about whether or not you’ll actually use them. It’s easy for us to discuss our favorites, but if you don’t love something about the tool or your brain works differently, you’ll hate the tools we love.

It’s more important that you and your team love the tools—that’s what will create collaboration and adoption.

With that out of the way, take a listen to the tools we all love. The tools we use for meetings, for collaboration, for project management, for discussions, for videos and podcasting, and for good, old-fashioned documents.

Subscribe to the Inside PR podcast

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It’s your turn

We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes.

Leave us a comment on the blog.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected],

Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Please rate us on Apple Podcasts

We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts.

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR

Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer.

Favorite Tools for Comms Experts – IPR 547 by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Ragan has released its annual Communications Benchmark Report, which analyzes the major trends in the profession during the last year.

During that time, comms pros have been called on to develop and distribute messages on new policies that affect internal and external stakeholders alike. Our role has become more essential as we helped keep organizations focused and moving forward. We’ve seen access to the C-suite increase throughout 2020, and we’ve forged important new alliances with peers in other departments, including HR, finance, legal, and workplace wellness.

I mentioned on this very podcast a couple of weeks ago that communicators have an unprecedented opportunity in front of us—and the Ragan report provides data to back up that point. 

On this week’s Spin Sucks podcast episode, we’ll talk about that and:

The outlook and priorities for the next three years

Communications budgets

Technology trends and product rankings

Trends in communications planning and measurement

Crisis communications policies

Trends in both internal and external communications channels

Team structures

And lots more.

Resources Included

* Communications Benchmark Report

* Unprecedented Opportunity for Communicators

* Values-based Marketing

* Crisis Ready Organization

* Spin Sucks Community

#695: Joe Lau and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Live a quality balanced life with meaningful relationships, less work, and more income. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Joe Lau (https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealjoelau/), the founder of the Lau Global Enterprise.

Joe Lau is a full-time family man and part-time entrepreneur who has successfully run and sold companies for six to seven figures. A successful speaker and coach, he offers group and one-on-one training. He believes that you could still live the best life while maximizing your time with work and personal happiness. Hence, he is keenly committed to helping individuals live a full life balancing their career and personal life.

If you are an entrepreneur who lacks personal time but seeks to live life to the optimum, reach out to Joe Lau by visiting his site at https://www.therealjoelau.com/ or his LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealjoelau/.

Here are several AHA messages from this episode:

* Entrepreneurs without a personal life should reach out to Joe Lau. #BalancedLife https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealjoelau/

* Through my group coaching and one-on-one coaching, they will acquire this skill to become an extremely productive machine, so that they can work through anything in life! #BalancedLife https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealjoelau/

* Instead of not being able to spend time with my family, I now spend so much time with my family. My kids are actually sick of me. Today, I’m proud to tell people that I’m a full-time family man and part-time entrepreneur. #BalancedLife https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealjoelau/

* I get this one-on-one interaction because I have to devise a framework that will work for everyone, but every person’s a little bit different. So I want to get as much interaction with them as possible. #BalancedLife https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealjoelau/

* My biggest and proudest achievement is instead of working 50 to 60 hours a week, I’ve been working 25 hours a week for the past decade while putting up these businesses. #BalancedLife https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealjoelau/

To view the video interview click here.

#696: Brenda Batista – Mollohan and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Unlock your team’s capacity and hit goals by realizing their potential. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Brenda Batista – Mollohan (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-batista-mollohan/), who is the President of Inspiring Company Culture. She helps business leaders unlock their team’s potential and boost business results with a customized roadmap to success.

Brenda helps leaders unlock their teams’ potential with a simple, low cost process that requires an investment of just an hour a week. This proven process works for teams of all sizes in every industry. She can help you catapult your team from average to invincible team performance. As a result-driven, process improvement expert, it was painful to watch a business unit miss its targets because people were wasting time and energy on drama amongst team members. Sometimes it was outright hostility and intentional undermining of...