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From the July/August issue of Chief Executive magazine's "In Fact" section, I found this interesting:
1. Number of CEOs minted by the University of California, the college that has produced the most corporate chieftains among S&P 500 corporations: 12.
2. Number (of CEOs) produced by the school of hard knocks (i.e. no college degree): 12.
According to Advertising Age, AOL plans to hire hundreds of journalists and reorganize content. See the article here:
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=144334. Could this be a seachange in the journalism industry? Stay tuned.
New Report from Rasmussen: 63% prefer getting their news from print editions of newspapers rather than online versions. Oddly enough, I found this story online.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/june_2010/63_prefer_print_over_online_versions_of_newspapers
This is the shortest most direct blog I may ever write.
Call now for a free consultation to ignite your public relations and marketing.
Okay. You can email just as well. Pick one.
303-759-8989.
pr@interprogroup.com.
That's it.
Z.James Czupor is the co-founder and principal of The InterPro Group. And, he's usually this direct, but friendly, fun, intelligent, and knows of what he speaks and does.
Here's an interesting thought: Twitter seems to act more as a news medium than a social medium. According to a new study published in PC World. Here's the full story:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/195374/twitter_more_a_news_medium_than_social_network.html
In this fast-paced world it seems we race from one email to the next; one 140-character Tweet to the next; one text message to the next, and we wonder why the person at the other end doesn't "get it."
Indeed, we are sending messages, ideas, opinions, and banal short-hand, but does it all move the ball down the field toward the goal line?
Think about this hierarchy for communicating. If it's important -- talk to someone -- in person. It's still the best, most effective option for getting your thoughts across.
As you do so, ask how effective your personal communication is. Are you present with the person you're speaking to (versus thinking ahead to what else you want to say)? Are you "positive," moving the ball forward, so to speak, without an agenda? If you're entering a conversation with an agenda, chances are you're not entering the conversation with honesty.
Now take this to the next level. How is your communication when it comes to your business? Are you getting through? Are you allowing the wishes of your customers to get through to you?
Communication is not about speed. It's about effectiveness. The race is not necessarily won by the fastest runner as we learned long ago from Ecclesiastes 9:11 -- "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."
Z.J. Czupor is the co-founder and principal of The InterPro Group, a Denver-based public relations and marketing firm. "We're fast, but we chose our words wisely."
Invariably someone says, and you've all heard this, "We're in crunch time, here. We've got a small window to get this project done. What can you do for us?"
I used to sweat bullets whenever I got that question. I referred in panic to my calendar, gulped and prayed for a miracle. And, then committed to "go for it."
Not anymore.
I still like to commit to "go for it," but now I do so with the calm demeanor of James Bond about to jump off a cliff into an ocean of sharks. (kind of, sort of).
"Are you nuts?" I can hear you ask (and some would concur, but that's another subject for another day).
The difference is once you remain focused on the project's objectives and not the short timeline, you can find a way that will satisfy your client and keep your sanity in tact.
But, here's where you need to be crystal clear and communicate openly about what hallmarks need to be set for the project to be deemed a rousing success. Is it attendees? Awareness metrics? X% involvement or behavior change of audience categories?
Whatever the metric, be clear about the pros and cons, the timeline, your budget, approval trees, the competition, and other land mines. Then you can work to your most important objective.
It really doesn't matter how much time you have from project "go" to project "show." But it does matter that you are clear about the objectives. Stay focused and you won't be concerned with the shrinking calendar.
Z.J. Czupor is co-founder and principal of The InterPro Group, a Denver-based public relations and marketing firm who likes to "go for it," no matter what.
