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Posts Tagged ‘brand’

The Mauling of a Tiger

01 Dec

tigerPersonally, I don’t really care to know what Tiger was doing crashing his Escalade into a tree.  Nor do I care why his wife Ellen smashed the back window with Tiger’s golf club.  Maybe it was to rescue him… maybe it wasn’t – I don’t care.

What I do care about is the horrible manner in which Tiger is managing his communications during this time.  He further fueled the situation by allowing his lawyer to dictate what he should say to the media and the police.  “It’s a family matter…” is a legalistic move that will damage Tiger’s chances at mitigating this issue and moving on with his life and career.

Here’s what he should’ve done:tiger-woods

1)      Tell the truth.  Celebrities don’t get to have secrets.

2)      Tell the truth.  This isn’t Napa Valley and bad news doesn’t get better with age. 

3)      Tell the truth.  Formulate a communication strategy, execute the plan, and stick with it.

4)      Then, tell the truth.  Get out in front of the media and tell them what happened, again and again until they get sick of the same story.

5)      Relegate your lawyer to legal matters, not communications.

lawyers-13200By relying on lawyers, you may stay out of jail, however, life can continue to be miserable…, profits can continue to tank…, and worst of all, your reputation or your company’s reputation can be ruined for life.

A Communication Counselor’s involvement is absolutely necessary during times when the media is on a feeding frenzy. 

Unfortunately, the “Tiger Woods” brand has now been inflicted by the media and its audiences.

Fortunately, the American audience is a forgiving public. 

Tiger: communication takes work – hire someone.  SOON!

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A Public Affairs Officer for the Marines, Danny is an innovative and forward-thinking executive, with a passion for leveraging effective communications to fuel employee-engagement, build community goodwill, and drive profits.

 

 
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Posted in Communication, Corporate Communication

 

The Lost Art of Writing

30 Nov

My tongue is still suffering from blood loss from the biting I give it every time I find myself dealing with teachers from my children’s schools. ltr writing

The teachers are well educated with most holding at least a master’s degree from an accredited school. From what I can tell, most have been teaching for a minimum of 10-15 years if not longer. 

So why is it so difficult to communicate with them?

I wrote a simple email to one teacher requesting information about my child’s yearbook today.  Here’s the email I sent and received… (of course, you’ll need to read from the bottom up.)

Danny Chung,

You can send them to me and i will pass them to the appropriate student, A***e B**d thanks P R*****h

 >>> <Danny.Chung@******.***.mil> 11/30/2009 12:18 PM >>>

Mr. R*****h,

I have submitted a form for a personalized “dedication” page in the yearbook and would like some information as to the details of when and to whom I should submit the photos.

 Thank you,

-Danny Chung

 

As you can see, the teacher didn’t bother with a salutation, proper punctuation, nor any semblance of sentence structure.  Most importantly, he fails to address my request for “details”.  He simply writes back as quickly as possible with little regard for what I am requesting.  This is a complete failure to communicate!  And this is not an isolated incident.  From the front office, to the counselors, and to the very teachers, whether speaking on the telephone or by email, this example is about as good as it gets.

This is a rudimentary skill that is clearly lacking in our public schools.  How are we to expect our students to go out and get jobs if the very teachers educating them cannot lead by example?

More to the point of searching for that “dream job”, remember what you write can have serious consequences.  Whether they are positive or negative depends entirely upon you.

How will you brand yourself?

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A Public Affairs Officer for the Marines, Danny is an innovative and forward-thinking executive, with a passion for leveraging effective communications to fuel employee-engagement, build community goodwill, and drive profits.

 
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Posted in Communication

 

Communication Counselor

25 Nov

A few days ago, I posted the following question on a professional networking site called LinkedIn. 

communicate defHere’ the question:

Why is “Communication” or “Corporate Communications” a job function so difficult to find?

i.e., take a look at LinkedIn’s “Categorize your question” fields or any company’s hiring board. We are asked to categorize our profession, yet it is often a toss up between Marketing or Public Relations. Have we, as a profession of communicators progressed so little that Corporate America still lacks awareness that this is a vital segment of successful business operations?

Everything from human resource functions to crisis communications are critical to having professional communication experts at the helm, yet this does not seem to be the case. Or at a minimum, there is a distinct lack of awareness.

Your thoughts?

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Hot-Spot target, bulls-eye!

dartThe responses from the LinkedIn Community was overwhelming.  Most responses resoundingly indicated a need to identify and BRAND our profession.  We are public speakers, writers, media relations, community relations, and reputation managers…  We manage expectations, keep employees engaged, and ensure everyone, from every corner of the globe understands the corporate message…  We provide not only the feedback, but plan and manage the avenues for feedback…  We are communication enablers.

In reference to this question, one response caught my eye.  The below is an excerpt from a response posted by Mr. Jim Lukaszewski.  He asks if professional communicators can answer the following:

Can you give me advice on the spot?
Will you tell me things I don’t already know?
Can you help me with what to do next?
Will you ask managerially relevant questions?
Can you help me finish the stuff I was supposed to have done last Week?
Will you help me identify the options available to me?
Can you be brief, succinct, and helpful, from my perspective?
Are you on my team or somebody else’s (like the reporter’s?)
Will you work without a lot of praise and recognition?
Can you let go of your ideas when I take credit for them?
Will you tolerate my ignoring your advice a lot, and asking others the same questions?
Can you work without whining about the lawyers and my other consultants?

These and others are relevant and vital questions to ask yourself.

As communication professionals, we are so much more than simply a mouthpiece, we are a counselor.

As a Public Affairs Officer for the Marines, Danny is an innovative and forward-thinking executive, with a passion for leveraging effective communications to fuel employee-engagement, build community goodwill, and drive profits.

 
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Posted in Corporate Communication

 

Steps 1-5: Everything is Communication

24 Nov

Let’s recap the first 5 steps:

  1. The Long Dinner
  2. Reconnect and Connect
  3. Get Branded
  4. Wear It Right
  5. Don’t Talk, Communicate!

If you forget everything, remember that in all five steps you are communicating.  The Long Dinner is setting the stage for proper communication; networking is communicating; branding is communicating… you get the idea.

Someone once said, you are ALWAYS marketing yourself.  I submit that we are always communicating something.  The boots you wear, the color of tie, even the perfume says something.

Do you carry an iPod or a Blackberry?  Do you drive a Camaro or a Hybrid?  Do you speak with an accent or a drawl?

Communication never stops.

Marketing on the other hand is wearing the loose-fitting jeans, boat shoes, t-shirt, un-tucked of course, and unkempt hair.

Marketing is wearing cuff links with slacks and dress shoes.

Marketing is selling; communicating is not.  (More on this later)

Know what to say; how to say it; and who you’re saying it to.  Be a professional communicator.  This is step 5.

As a Public Affairs Officer for the Marines, Danny is an innovative and forward-thinking executive, with a passion for leveraging effective communications to fuel employee-engagement, build community goodwill, and drive profits.

 
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Posted in MILITARY RETIREMENT and JOB SEARCH

 

One-Upper Penelope has a brand. Do you?

18 Nov
One-Upper Penelope

Are you an SNL-Fan?

Have you seen “One-Upper Penelope“?  This is the skit where Penelope, played by Kristin Wiig jumps in on everyone else’s conversations and one-ups them.  She’s a better “listener”, a bigger “nut”, and “has a condo on Jupiter”.  She is a jack of all trades.

Unless your job calls for one, DO NOT BE A  JACK OF ALL TRADES.

Define what it is you are good at, what you enjoy, and what you hope to offer your next employer.  Then refine it and brand it.

Ask yourself, what did the reader retain after looking at your resume?  Is she confused, or will he list off a slew of descriptors covering the entire spectrum.  Though you may be good at a lot of things, find the few you are really good at and brand yourself as such.

How do you know if you’ve achieved this brand?  Ask a colleague who does not know you well and ask her to read your brand statement.  Then ask her to say it back to you in her own words.  Is there a focused brand to what she just recited?

STEP THREE: IDENTIFY YOUR BRAND.

As a Public Affairs Officer for the Marines, Danny is an innovative and forward-thinking executive, with a passion for leveraging effective communications to fuel employee-engagement, build community goodwill, and drive profits.

 
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Posted in MILITARY RETIREMENT and JOB SEARCH

 
 
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