For Immediate Release

We read everywhere about increased productivity resulting from the remote work the pandemic forced upon companies. In fact, that increased productivity is leading several companies to adopt remote or hybrid work as the new status quo. But research conducted by Microsoft finds that not everyone agrees with the assessment. Managers are not on board with the notion that remote work has led to greater productivity, and the gap between what managers believe and employee perspectives is considerable.
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The post FIR #286: Managers Believe Remote Work Produces Lower Productivity appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

You have a business initiative, an organizational change, a new value proposition. Success depends on getting employees aligned around the vision and the path to get there. Could small group conversations be the means of achieving that alignment? A new study suggests it's at least worth a shot.
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The post FIR #285: Alignment Through Conversation appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

From experimentation, ideation, and storyboarding to producing the actual images to be used in an ad, advertising agency creatives are finding Artificial Intelligence image generators like DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion instantly useful, saving time and money without sacrificing the end results. Does this spell the end of the graphic arts business?
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The post FIR #284: Ad Agencies Embrace AI Art appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Neville and Shel were together in person to record this episode, which focuses exclusively on leadership communication. The recording happened on Neville's dining room table as Shel and his wife were on a two-week vacation in England and Ireland.
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The post FIR #283: Communicators Helping Leaders Lead Through Communication appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

A lot of the communication with customers for which businesses once used email has transitioned to text messaging -- along with communication among friends, families, and pretty much everyone. To some extent, that even includes employee-to-employee communication. Whether it's SMS messaging or a messaging app like WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram, people increasingly prefer the functionality and speed of response with text messages. Email isn't going anywhere but its uses may be diminishing.
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The post FIR #282: If You Need Me, Text Me appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Advertising on the Web is two-dimensional, with a consumer on the outside looking in. In the Metaverse, consumers will be active participants in virtual worlds, participating directly with virtual objects and one another. That opens the door for entirely new forms of advertising. In this short mid-week episode, Neville and Shel discuss what advertising might look like in virtual worlds and some of the technical, ethical, and legal challenges that organizations will face selling their wares to denizens of these immersive spaces.
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The post FIR #281: Advertising and Marketing in the Metaverse appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

"Quiet quitting" is all over TikTok, with mostly Gen Zers talking about their disdain for going "above and beyond" at work. Is this really anything new, or is it just the first time a generation has used a label to share their feelings online? Or, as some suggest, is it that most Gen Zers entered the workforce during the pandemic when the boundaries between work and life were not clear and now that companies are getting back to what executives perceive as normal, they don't agree with the expectations the company has of them? Is this even confined to Gen Z? Neville and Shel look at "quiet quitting" in today's short mid-week episode.
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The post FIR #280: What’s Behind the “Quiet Quitting” Trend? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

According to a new PwC survey of 1,000 senior U.S. business leaders from across industry sectors, businesses have bought into the inevitability and utility of the metaverse. The study also surveyed 5,000 U.S. consumers who are less aware and enthusiastic than executives are. Also in this monthly long-form episode of "For Immediate Release":

In his Tech Report, Dan York recounts his experience with Reddit's new social audio tool, looks at "snipping," a new Twitter Spaces feature, and explains a Google update designed to elevate "helpful content."
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The post FIR #279: Business Buys Into the Metaverse appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

As news media outlets that traffic in the written word -- print and online -- economic pressures have led to more repurposed content and less original material. What impact does this have on trust in these media sources, and is there a role businesses and their communication teams can play?
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The post FIR #278: For Every News Outlet: Churn, Churn, Churn appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

More and more people are experimenting with a growing collection of Artificial Intelligence-based graphics tools. Some of these tools produce stunning images in a variety of artistic styles, leading some to wonder if art directors will generate their own images rather than continue to pay for graphic design services. Neville and Shel discuss the possibilities in this short mid-week episode.
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The post FIR #277: Do Graphic Designers Have A Future? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.