2010 – Page 64 – Management Library

April 20, 2010January 26, 2022

To Wire or Not To Wire

“Should this news release go on the wire?”

Clients ask this often. The answer is not a simple yes or no. Major corporations routinely put their news releases on a couple of leading news wire services like PR Newswire or BusinessWire that are allegedly picked up by media everywhere, or those specified in the order. Smaller companies with limited expense budgets usually do it when they truly have “national” news to announce.

Wire services offer several different payment/distribution packages and charge by a word count formula: So much for the first 400 words and so much for the next 100 words and so much for the next 100 words — and if you used too many comma’s another 25-cents (kidding there…). It does get spendy real quick. And if you want to maximize online presence and enhance search engine optimization features you can add another couple Franklins to your order and get into all the searchable data bases.

But with the deep recession of the past two years, even big companies have been less predisposed to spend on wire services — unless they are publically held. Then they usually utilize the dedicated investor wire offered by the aforementioned companies, which target all the leading financial media so their client’s stock will hopefully get an uptick with the alleged good news to report.

In the past few years, more people have turned to PRWEB, an online distribution channel with different price tiers but much lower $ generally. And just in the last year, I’ve been personally solicited to try new services such as MyMediaInfo, some specialty distribution service to doctors, dentists and the music industry. Honestly, I haven’t tried them all. I have used PRWeb for my smaller clients and a couple larger ones. But frankly, while the release shows up on Yahoo and on TV and other web sites all over the place, I have never in six years gotten one call from a journalist wanting to chase down the stories — and they were all good stories…. 😉

Not one.

What I like about PRWeb is that your news release is perpetually orbiting in cyberspace and search engines like Google will find it if people or journalists and producers — who are also people — are looking for information on a specific topic. A good publicist, however, will have developed a strong local, regional, national and trade list for you that targets editors and reporters who specifically cover what you do. That’s your primo list to play to first. Or should be.

If you want to reach out of that realm and try to capture more eyeballs, put your news on the wire. See what you get. Experiment. There’s no clear answer about whether to use the wire or not to use it. Like most things in the business world and your personal life these days, weigh the cost and see what you can afford. Or wire me the money and I’ll take care of it for you.

April 20, 2010August 3, 2022

What is a “Nonprofit” Topic?

About fifteen years ago, I noticed that “nonprofit topics” almost always meant topics specific to nonprofits. I believed this was a misnomer and here’s why.

Back then, nonprofit topics usually referred to:

Public policy
Boards of Directors
Strategic planning
Programs
Fundraising
Volunteers

Back then, it struck me — as it does now — that there were a lot of other topics, usually seen as “for-profit” topics, that very relevant to nonprofit organizations. To mention just a few:

Leadership and supervision
Stress and time management
Advertising and promotions
Performance management
Compensation
Communications
Ethics
Insurance
Personal development
On and on and on …

So back then, I started what I called the “Nonprofit Manager’s Library” to include the nonprofit-specific topics, but the many other “nonprofit” topics, as well. (I remember numerous people asking me why those topics were in a library for nonprofits.) Since then, I’ve renamed the Library to the “Free Management Library” to more readily imply the full scope of topics in the Library.

Many more of us have recognized that nonprofits and for-profits have much in common with each other, as they do with government organizations, as well. I’ve learned that a small nonprofit is a lot more like a small for-profit, than a large nonprofit. Likewise, a large nonprofit is a lot more like a large for-profit.

As we recognize the many other “nonprofit” topics, we’re able to more fully understand nonprofit organizations and how to help them.

What do you think?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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April 20, 2010February 17, 2022

All You Need is … Luck

Over the years, I’ve reviewed books and articles about business planning, and written some myself, but I can’t remember one of them that said much about luck. Sure, risk – which is really bad luck – comes up often. Watch out for things like slow sales growth, unexpected competitors, new regulations, price drops, expensive labor costs, and so on. Prepare suitable contingency plans. And then, if a business goes under, one of the usual suspects that always shows up is, well, we were just plain unlucky.

Yet I can’t recall ever hearing a successful business owner say: Gosh, we were just plain lucky. Somehow the stars were aligned, the market took off on its own, our competitors were asleep at the switch. Sure, we executed well, but without all that luck on our side, we’d have sunk before we left the harbor. Nope — mostly they talk about the things they did well.

In contrast, I think luck is a significant unsung partner for most successful startups. Not the only factor, but a big one, one that does not get the credit it deserves.

So are there things you can do to have better luck? First, position your business plan to take quick advantage of good fortune when it comes your way. Stay closely tuned to the marketplace, with multiple informal and formal sources of information. In business, who you know does matter, not just what you know. But you have to keep in touch with them or it doesn’t matter. Secondly, as with life, a positive attitude enables you to see opportunities — which are really a form of luck — more readily. I believe a positive attitude actually also helps attract better luck. There are no guarantees in business, but in my experience the optimists (with enough pragmatism to keep them honest) succeed more often than the pessimists.

So be hard-nosed but also be optimistic about your business. Good luck!

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For more resources, see our Library topic Business Planning.

April 20, 2010January 26, 2022

Yes, YOU CAN Get Speaking Gigs!

TAKE NOTE: YOU can be recognized as an expert in your industry, both online and offline, by offering your services as a public speaker.

People all over the world are doing it, and SO CAN YOU.

It’s an extremely effective way to rise above the ‘noise’ and connect with others in a unique way. They will remember you, and they WILL tell their friends about you.

How to get speaking gigs

Here are a few basics before you launch a campaign to get yourself booked as a speaker by conference organizers.

Determine your key message – make it fun and memorable with stories.
Establish your profile on a website, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
Publish TESTIMONIALS! They are sooooo POWERFUL!

Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, offers a GREAT article that guides us through “12 Ways to Charm Conference Organizers”. She says, “Getting an invitation to speak at an industry trade show or event is a great way to elevate your profile in your industry, confirm that you know your stuff, share your knowledge, make great contacts, and (of course) indulge your inner ham.”

A few of the 12 ways include:

Contact organizers how they ask to be contacted
Have some social cred
Write a great session proposal
Include a video, too

According to Ms. Handley, “Winning a speaking gig is a lot like nurturing a long-term business lead. It takes time and patience. So keep in touch with conference organizers, attend their events and meet them, and continue to offer yourself as a resource.”

For more information, see Ann Handley’s full article,

How to Get a Speaking Gig: 12 Ways to Charm Conference Organizers

For more social media “Marketing” tips and tactics, search these phrases:

How to get speaking gigs
Public speaking jobs
Conference organizers

Happy “Marketing” hunting!

What else would you say? How have you won a speaking gig?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

. . ________ . .With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman assists clients in establishing and enhancing their online brand, attracting their target market, engaging in meaningful social media conversations, and converting online traffic into revenues. Email Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

April 20, 2010January 26, 2022

Media Training – A PR & Legal Perspective

“Playing with the media is a game you can’t afford to lose. At worst, your reputation’s at stake. At best, you forfeit a chance to build important relationships which can benefit you, your firm, and your clients. Reporters may make the rules, but media training helps you learn to play the game to your advantage.”

So says Kathy Kerchner, a former television reporter and now president of InterSpeak, LLC, a company which specializes in training people to be successful with the news media.

Reporters come to any interview with an agenda based on the editorial demands of their employer and their own desire for high-level visibility. The newsroom is a very competitive place and if an interview with you can help propel the story to the front page or the lead of the 6 o’clock news, it’s difficult for most journalists to retain complete objectivity.

Media training teaches you to let your agenda direct an interview in a manner which still gives a reporter what he or she is looking for — newsworthy information — while reducing the chances of inaccurate facts and quotes being used. I say reducing — eliminating isn’t possible. “You can eliminate inaccurate quotes by not giving the interview,” I’ve been told. Bull. Then the reporter just gets quotes from someone else, facts from less-accurate sources, and directly or indirectly implies that you’re hiding something.

The media training process typically includes education on how to prepare for an interview, what the “rules of the game” are, how to make sure your key messages get across no matter what’s being asked, and very specific, personalized instruction on how you can be a better interview subject. The latter is accomplished by videotaping, replaying and critiquing a series of mock interviews during the course of the training session — and then giving you the tape to take home and study again. Many people who thought they were great interview subjects pre-training have been shocked at the initial results when viewed on tape — but then pleased with the positive changes evinced as training points are integrated into subsequent interviews.

“My clients have been able to use media training not merely for dealing with the press, but also for communicating better when speaking to almost any audience, particularly when explaining a difficult situation,” says Paul Roshka, founding partner of Roshka, DeWulf & Patten, a Phoenix firm specializing in securities litigation and business disputes.

A final note — media training is hard work, usually requiring at least six hours of time during which you shouldn’t be interrupted by phone or pager. And it’s even harder work if a crisis is already breaking; as with other elements of crisis communications, preparation before the stuff hits the fan is less stressful. Smart companies run their top execs through media training at least once every couple of years, with specially focused “brush up” sessions concurrent with an actual, breaking crisis.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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April 19, 2010April 29, 2022

Who Should You Hire to be Your Director of Development??

Let me start with who you shouldn’t hire: your buddy, someone who’s been “active” in the community, a “popular” person, or someone who just got out of banking or marketing. Dismiss all the thoughts/suggestions that first come to mind.

This is serious stuff.

The best directors of development are those who have served in various positions in development, have “worked their way up” – and have made a real effort to learn what development/fundraising is all about. They need not be experts in all areas, but they must be great organizers/planners.

In 30+ years in development, I’ve met lots of D.O.D.s. And, what’s scary, is that so many of them weren’t people people. Too many wanted to sit at a desk, do paper work, and go home at 5 o’clock. Since development is about relationships, pick someone who is comfortable working with people, and who makes people comfortable working with him/her.

And, since s/he is going to get lots of grief trying to move board and staff to “do it differently,” it’ll have to be a strong person.

Of course it has to be someone who is (or can become) committed to the NPO’s mission, and can be creative about figuring out how to “sell” what the NPO is and does.

Smarts wouldn’t hurt. S/he must be able to step back and see the organization from the perspective of the donor. S/he must be objective, able to see the NPO’s weaknesses as well as its strengths, and must (often) be able to show the donor how his/her support can convert the former to the latter.

A college degree doesn’t make a director of development, but s/he has to be a self-starter and must have an (almost a compulsive) need to see a project through to completion.

And, from personal experience, the one criterion I put at the top of the list when screening DOD candidates, does s/he like puzzles/games?

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Have a question about starting or expanding your fundraising? Email me at AskDCA@Major-Capital-Giving.com. With over 30 years of counselling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, we’ll work to answer your question.

April 19, 2010March 22, 2023

Ten Things to Ask Yourself

The Wall Street Journal Online recently published an article entitled “Ten Things Human Resources Won’t Tell You.” The ten things mentioned seemed to run the gamut of topics from the dangers of being fired by postings on social media to stating that HR is not the employee advocate. Ninety percent of the comments (up to 26 total by the time of this post) made in response to the article are slams against HR in support of the negative messages set forth in the article. It appears from the number of negative comments, that HR departments haven’t made much progress in building credibility since the 2005 article, “Why We Hate Hr.”

Of the ten things mentioned, “In some companies, we’re not very useful at all,” may be one of those emotion-provoking comments that infuriate some HR folks. However, instead of letting your emotions take over your open-mindedness, ask yourself these ten questions:

How valuable am I to the organization?
How have I communicated that value to the organization’s leaders?
How have I communicated that value to the organization’s employees?
What measures am I using to determine success?
How are the HR programs aligned with the goals of the organization?
Do I advocate for employees fairly and consistently?
Do I know how to balance the competing interests in the organization to provide a fair viewpoint?
Do I clearly communicate the reason behind my position to employees, managers, and company leaders?
Am I an example to those within and around the organization of its key values?
What can I do today to serve my customers?

As always, your comments and questions are encouraged!

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is currently employed as the Human Resource Manager at EmployeeScreenIQ, a global leader in pre-employment background screening.

April 19, 2010February 17, 2022

Should You Try Get “Big Names” and “Big Pockets” on Boards?

Two people shaking hands on an agreement in an office

What About “Big Names”?

Many Board members believe that adding a very prominent person to the Board will bring great prestige and credibility to the Board. They believe that funders and other organizations will take those Boards much more seriously. Often, that’s a big mistake.

Rarely do those famous people ever show up to the Board meetings. I know of several cases where the “big names” didn’t even know they were on the Boards – the organizations had simply put their names on the lists of Board members!

Nonprofits often believe that big names will impress funders to contribute to the organizations. Funders are much smarter than that. Nonprofits can severely damage their credibility when they can’t prove that the big names were really on the Boards in the first place.

What About “Big Pockets”?

Nonprofits also often believe that “big pockets” (rich people) are more likely to donate to the organization if those people are also on the Board. Usually, the last thing they want is to be burdened with is the responsibility of attending Board meetings. Many times, they’d rather write a check to the nonprofit instead!

You’re far better off to find Board members who actively participate in Board meetings and committees, and who will help find “big pockets.”

Summary

Would you ever hire an employee because he was very popular (a big name) and then expect him/her to never show up for work? Would you ever donate to a nonprofit if that nonprofit also asked you (a big pocket) to come to regular Board meetings?

A dear friend of mine is a highly respected CEO. She said that one of her greatest moments of learning was when she quit acting like she was lucky to even have Board members attend a meeting. Instead, she realized that her organization deserved to have active Board members.

Don’t seek to find prominent or rich people to put on your Board. Instead, find people with passion for the mission and also the time and energy to be active on your Board. They will ultimately bring credibility and funding to your Board through their good work on the Board.

What do you think?

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Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD – Authenticity Consulting, LLC – 800-971-2250
Read my weekly blogs: Boards, Consulting and OD, Nonprofits and Strategic Planning.

April 19, 2010August 3, 2022

Foundations of Consulting — Part 3: Primary Working Goals and Assumptions of Consultants

Peter Block, in his book, Flawless Consulting, suggests that certain goals and assumptions always be primary for consultants, that is, for individuals working to help people, but not having authority over those people. He suggests the following goals and assumptions.

Primary Working Goals of Consultants

1. Establish a collaborative relationship with your clients

As a consultant, you should work with your clients almost as if you are peers working in a team. This is in contrast to the consultant who always works as an “expert” to direct the client what to do and when. Working in a collaborative fashion with your clients helps ensure that recommendations are accurate, that clients follow the recommendations and that they adopt the changes needed to improve themselves and their organizations.

2. Solve problems so your clients can solve them later themselves

The approach to problem solving in the project should always involve your client’s learning about what is being done and why, so that later on your client might use similar approaches to solve similar problems after you are gone from the project. So it’s important to regularly identify learning during the project, and discussing that learning with your client.

3. Ensure attention to developing the project and relationships

The quality of the relationship between you and your client is a reliable predictor of the quality of the outcome of the overall project. Your clients often judge a project, not so much by the outcomes from the project, but by the quality of the working relationship with you.

Primary Working Assumptions

1. Problem solving requires information that is as accurate as possible.

Information is more accurate if it reflects the full range of perspectives and opinions among clients in a project, so involve them as much as possible.

2. Effective decision-making requires free and open choice among participants.

Free and open choice is more likely to produce the full range of opinions necessary for good planning. It also is more likely to ensure that your clients adopt the changes necessary to bring about change.

3. Effective implementation requires the internal commitment of your clients.

If you give participants little choice about what to do, they will likely do what you direct, but only for as long as you are around – and they will not be vested in the outcomes. They may also blame you if it does not work. In contrast, if you involve them as much as possible in project planning and implementation, they are much more likely to implement the plans completely and learn at the same time.

What do you think?

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Look for the articles in this series, including:

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For more resources, see the Library topics Consulting and Organizational Development.

Information in this post was adapted from the book Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD. For training on consulting skills, see the Consultants Development Institute. For more resources, see the Free Management Library’s topic All About Consulting .

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Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD – Authenticity Consulting, LLC – 763-971-8890 Read my blogs: Boards, Consulting and OD, and Strategic Planning .

April 19, 2010February 17, 2022

Toyota Ethics: Questions to get to Answers

Work colleagues trying to resolve a dilemma

As opposed to offering opinions without having all of the background and knowledge, I thought it might be more helpful to start a discussion about the questions:

Many people have written that Toyota’s problem was that it sacrificed a core value of safety for profit. To frame the issue this generally is to miss the point of the real challenge Toyota was facing: not trading one value for the other, but how to effectively balance the two.

No company can sustain profits if it builds unsafe cars. So Toyota cannot jettison safety for profit. Similarly, there is always inherent risk in any product. Even the public assumes some degree of risk. Toyota, as well as any car manufacturer is not expected to make their product 100% safe. So how do they decide what is “safe enough”?

Now we can look at an ethics issue. The ethical dilemma is in how Toyota grappled with that decision. Who had information but didn’t report it up to senior leadership? Why not? Which stakeholders, internal and external, were not included in the decision-making process?

The public on both sides of the Pacific does not begrudge Toyota making a profit. But building complicated machinery that is sold to millions of people demands inclusion of many voices in multiple decision processes. If there is a lesson to be learned, it’s the role that transparency can play in making the tough decision.