August 2015 – Management Library

August 29, 2015February 9, 2023

The Age of Karma

Group-of-colleagues-working-with-an-internet-connected-laptop

Live up to expectations, or get what’s coming to you

[Editor’s note: This special post by Jonathan Bernstein touches on a point we’ve been discussing more and more internally over the past year. Whatever you really are, however you behave “behind closed doors” will come out, and if it doesn’t match up to the image you’ve been pushing you’ll be left hurting when it does.]

The Digital Age has become the Age of Karma. The Internet has given virtually everyone the power to expose information that, in the past, would have remained hidden. The popularity of such disclosures with the media and general public has furthered the trend of looking under personal rocks. One’s true self, unless its nature is never externally expressed, will – sooner or later – be revealed. The good – and the bad. We will know of previously unsung heroes and benefactors, and we will also know of those who, no matter what they claim about themselves, are corrupt, hypocritical, bigoted, even evil.

You don’t have to believe in the spiritual concept of Karma to see the evidence in the news every day that people are “getting what’s coming to them.” Whether that’s the recognition and honors given to Malala Yousufzai or the infamy heaped on Josh Duggar. In terms of crisis and reputation management, people are far more accepting of someone is who he or she says he is – even if they’re unlikeable (Donald Trump comes to mind) – than they are of someone who presents an image that is ultimately contradicted by the facts because the latter turns even one’s supporters into critics. And our culture is, historically, very forgiving to those who publicly stumble and try again. But that same history shows little tolerance — then and now — for people who thought they could get away with it and simply got caught.

It’s time for us all to look in the mirror and ask the hard question, “If people knew my true nature, would they think I’m a liar, a hypocrite, or worse?” If the answer is yes, it’s time to start cleaning up your act before you’re outed.

Jonathan Bernstein
President
www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com

August 26, 2015June 16, 2022

Ashley Madison Using Cash for Crisis Management

A-team-in-an-office-dealing-with-confusion-and-crisis

Throwing money at the problem isn’t always the best solution

As part of its continuing crisis response for the massive hack that exposed the personal data of cheating site Ashley Madison’s customers, page operator Avid Life Media is offering up a $500,000 CDN (~ $380,000 US) reward for information that leads to capture and arrest of the perpetrators.

The bounty was announced during a press conference at Toronto Police Headquarters, headed by acting staff superintendent Bryce Evans, who stated, “Today, I can confirm that Avid Life Media is offering a $500,000 reward to anyone providing information that leads to the identification, arrest, and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the leak of the Ashely Madison database.”

During the lengthy and somewhat awkward conference, Evans appealed to the morals of the hacking community, as well as giving the attackers, known as “Team Impact” more of the notoriety they undoubtedly thrive on:

“To the hacking community, who engage in discussions on the dark web, and who no doubt have information that could assist in this investigation, we are also appealing to you to do the right thing, to acknowledge that this is a unique situation that has caused enormous social and economic fallout. You know the Impact Team has crossed the line. Do the right thing, and reach out to us.”

Not the best statement, but obviously the money is the real lure here regardless of how it’s dressed up. Avid Life Media also released a statement of its own echoing those from law enforcement officials:

Statement from Avid Life Media – August 24, 2015

Toronto, ON, August 24, 2015 – Avid Life Media Inc. is grateful to the international law enforcement coalition for the update it provided this morning. We are confident that the considerable investigative and prosecutorial power that is being brought to bear on this unprecedented crime will lead to arrests and convictions.

The “Project Unicorn” law enforcement task force members that appeared in Toronto today, led by the Toronto Police Services (TPS), and accompanied by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, have been actively investigating all aspects of this crime for more than a month. As TPS indicated at today’s press event, the investigation is progressing in a “positive direction,” but more help is needed from the outside.

As such, and as announced at today’s press conference, Avid Life Media Inc. is offering a $500,000 CDN reward payment to anyone who provides information to the Task Force that leads to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the theft of proprietary data.

In the very best interest of our customers, who have been affected by this malicious act, we are firmly committed to fully assisting these law enforcement and investigative authorities, without reserve. Because of this active and ongoing investigation, there is little more we can provide at this time to the media and the public.

Those who have information that will aid this investigation are encouraged to contact the Toronto Police Service’s Project Unicorn task force at 416-418-2040. Anonymous tips may also be phoned into the Toronto Police Services at 1-800-222-TIPS.

The Task Force’s Twitter account is @AMCaseTPS.

As far as crisis management goes, we’re not really sure what’s happening in the minds of Avid Life/Ashley Madison leadership. Catching the responsible parties isn’t going to remove customers’ leaked info from the web, or from the many computers it’s been downloaded to by this time. In fact, we aren’t aware of anything the company is doing to actually help those affected at all.

In the end, this move comes off as seeking retribution, not seeking justice. To us, that reinforces the selfish image that has few feeling bad for Avid Life or its customers, and given the nature of the business affected there’s not too many ways to get around that one.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is vice president for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/08/20/bringing-stories-to-social-media/#sthash.ZU75TXbJ.dpuf

August 20, 2015June 16, 2022

Bringing Stories to Social Media

Female-colleagues-looking-at-a-post-in-a-phone-on-social-media

Attributes that will help land your story in front of social media users

One of the primary goals of crisis communications is to get your side of the story out there. Not just anywhere, though. What you’re aiming for is to put it square in front of specific target audiences. Today that often means getting your story covered on social media platforms by both mainstream media outlets and the average person with an interest, and knowing how to do so can make or break your efforts.

Researchers at the Edelman Media Network recently dug into what makes news stories likely to play well on social, and shared their findings in infographic form:

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/08/14/bic-steps-in-it-with-sexist-happywomensday-ad/#sthash.PiEbLQcG.dpuf

August 18, 2015May 30, 2022

Boost Your Social Media Marketing Efforts with Content Curation Tools

Guest Author: Jessica Davis

How did an $11,000 social media campaign return USD$2.5 million for a tiny town in Europe?

Tucked away in the peace and quiet of the Swiss Alps is a small hamlet called Obermutten. Being one of smallest towns in Europe with only 80 residents, it would have continued to remain in obscurity if it weren’t for a certain Facebook campaign. In attempt to attract more tourists the residents announced that they would print a picture of every person who liked their Facebook Page and pin it up on the town’s noticeboard. So, their investment of just $11,000 on a campaign that went extremely viral helped the town earn $2.5 million in return.

While such viral campaign ideas may be hard to come by, maintaining a steady presence on social media is, thankfully, much easier. No really, it is – if you use content curation tools.

How do content curation tools help?

It is important to share new and interesting content on a daily basis to keep your social media audience hooked to your brand. Original content not only helps you improve your rankings in keyword searches, but also lets you establish thought-leadership within your industry. However creating content is not an easy process as it takes a significant amount of time and effort.

Considering the volume of content that is continuously shared on social media, content curation will help you maintain a steady presence, without having to spend as much time and effort as you will have to in the case of content creation. It gives you the distinct advantage of being able to stay active, without having to spend hours on end creating one social media post after another. Businesses around the world have been quick to adopt content curation for the same reason.

Content curation tools let you achieve greater levels of efficiency in social media management by helping you discover, organize, curate, schedule and share interesting content for the purpose of social media marketing. Let us have look at some of these content curation tools that are creating waves in the social media world.

DrumUp

DrumUp uses advanced Natural Language Processing and machine learning algorithms to generate a fresh stream of content everyday, for a given set of keywords. It lets you manage multiple social accounts from a single dashboard, saving you the effort of having to log in to multiple accounts. The recommended content can be reviewed and scheduled for sharing on social media, days, weeks or even months in advance. It lets you add custom posts to queue of scheduled content and supports Image uploads as well.

Feedly

Feedly gathers information and articles from various sites to collate them into one attractive GUI that serves as your homepage for all the information that is pertinent to you and your business. Feedly provides you with real time trending articles and blogposts, which you can then individually share on your social accounts. The RSS reader lets you choose your preferred sources for content, and you can add or delete items to your list of sources as per your requirement.

Bottlenose

Bottlenose acts as a real-time search engine, bringing you the latest trending topics and data analytics for content on social media. With access to real time information, Bottlenose lets you share the trending content with your audience, thereby increasing your chances of being first one to break some news. All you have to do, is enter a search term for which it will return results based on relevance and social influence. The tool also lets you create alerts for topics that are of interest to you.

Realtime by Bitly

Realtime by Bitly or rt.ly is an interactive application that lets you conduct a real time search of every link available on Bitly and returns a list of the hottest trending topics. You can even add a filter to these topics to sort by social network, topic, and language. Realtime also lets users bookmark articles for future use.

Try these social media management tools out and see which one fits your purpose the best. Using these tools you can save a lot of useful time that you can in turn invest in your business’ core functions, the ones that cannot be outsourced.

About the Author

Jessica Davis closely follows the social media and content marketing space, and writes about it extensively. She represents Godot Media, a leading copywriting services firm. You may also enjoy these articles that Jessica previously contributed:

· Tools to save time and better manage social channels

· Tips to integrate offline and online marketing strategies

For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Marketing and Social Media.

August 17, 2015June 16, 2022

Conflict Resolution as a Crisis Management Tool

A-female-manager-trying-to-msettle-a-conflict-between-groups-of-workers

Keep clashes from creating lasting damage

Conflict will occur. It’s a natural part of human interactions, and the extra factors just about any business throws in the mix means you can never completely avoid it. That said, conflict doesn’t have to result in damage. In fact, handled properly it is entirely possible to have both parties coming out satisfied.

How does it work? Let this infographic from Gettins’ Law explain:

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/08/14/bic-steps-in-it-with-sexist-happywomensday-ad/#sthash.xCoq1VUi.dpuf

August 15, 2015May 30, 2022

Communicating Functionality

How does a technical writer and developer communicate how a product works to a user? How do they communicate functionality, to make their audience’s user experience easier? They plan it out by knowing their audience, knowing what is expected of the product through meetings and through training.

Knowing the audience

Create the product needed by the user.

What does your user need to know- what do they already know?
Does the developer know how much information a user knows and more importantly, what is needed by the user in order to develop applications that are suitable for them? For example, do menu options need to be displayed?
Does the technical writer need to write lengthy documents or just quick sheets?

Knowing what is expected

The answer to many questions is by having all parties share their knowledge through meetings. The technical writer, as mediator, interviews each party, and gets answers to questions, such as:

What will the product do and why?
Will the product be suitable for the user?
Will it be intuitive or data driven?
Will the technical writer have to write a long procedure?
Will this be on the web? Web-based applications are easier for users to access and use. Documentation will also be easier as help menus (with hyperlinks) can be created.
Will this be an end-user product? – If so, then documentation will be lengthier unless the product is easy to use and mostly error free. – Note: To avoid frustrating user errors, multiple options can be listed to avoid this problem.

Knowing what training is needed

The best product or application for a user as a whole should not be complicated.

If a product or an application is complicated or has a lot of options, then the technical writer can develop business cases with user stories to help with explanations. The writer can also create training sessions with demonstrations and/or create instruction videos that are not too complex. Images are always better than words. Words however should still be written to reinforce what was presented.
If an application is, for example, a data entry form, the user should be able to go through the mechanics without problems – in other words, it should instinctively lead the user to the next screen or item without any extra work nor thought from the user.

Key words are: ‘what is needed, shared, and not complicated’. To communicate functionality to the user, know what is needed, be aware of what they already know, and know how best to present it. Make sure that communication exists between all parties through meetings. Knowing how much to document will also depend on the results of these meetings. As always, when verbally communicating or writing, stick to the point; be concise and accurate.

If you have any suggestions or comments on how to communicate functionality to make a user’s experience more enjoyable and easier, please leave a comment. Thank you

August 14, 2015June 16, 2022

Bic Steps in it with Sexist #HappyWomensDay Ad

Bic-Africa-Look-like-a-girl-think-like-a-man-HappyWomensDay-ad

A bad decision made more damaging by poor crisis management

Bic has long been criticized for its line of pens marketed toward women, called “Miss Bic” and Bic for Her”, but an ad the pen manufacturer created for South Africa’s Women’s Day pushed the disgust beyond sideline conversation and into the mainstream. Words really can’t do the outrageousness of this ad justice, so have a look:

The backlash from all corners of the social mediaverse and web-at-large came immediately. Critics denounced the ad and the culture behind its creation, media outlets did the same, and competitors like Stabilo gleefully threw a little fuel on the fire:

Sorry to highlight your mistake #Bic, but we thought this was more appropriate… #HappyWomensDay pic.twitter.com/NvSzDWknUJ

— STABILOUK (@STABILOUK) August 12, 2015

Bic South Africa did respond via its Facebook page, but it made a critical crisis management mistake in not matching the gravity of its initial error:

Hi everyone. Let’s start out by saying we’re incredibly sorry for offending everybody – that was never our intention, but we completely understand where we’ve gone wrong. This post should never have gone out. The feedback you have given us will help us ensure that something like this will never happen again, and we appreciate that.

The remark about appreciating the feedback is probably the best part of the statement, but it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the lack of compassion and near-outright admission of incompetence readers were faced with. Such a weak response only served to further upset stakeholders, and the negative responses continued unchecked.

Of course, if Bic had used our AvoidTheApology.com service all this wasted spending, and lost reputation could’ve been avoided…just sayin’…

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/08/04/whats-conflict-costing-you/#sthash.VFUs9MS4.dpuf

August 12, 2015March 1, 2022

Donor Research: The Basics

A business team conducting a donor research

There are a number of ways to categorize research on (prospective) donors. One of the obvious ways is by whether or not they are current constituents, another is whether they’ve yet been donors to your organization.

For the first category, your research would be focused on identifying groups of people whose interests might suggest that they’d be interested in your mission and the activities in which you are involved to pursue your mission.

There are companies that compile lists of people based on what magazines they read, what tv shows they watch, where they live, how they vote, at what stores they shop, what websites they visit, what nonprofits they support, etc. You name it, and those companies amass and collect lists of people and their interests.

So, if you’re a nonprofit and you want to identify groups of people who are more likely to want to know more about you, assuming they know that you exist, it would pay to work with, to seek the advice of, one-or-more of those companies.

Then, when you’ve identified lists that fit your criteria, the next step would be to test those lists … usually by mass mailings. You would do additional mailings to those lists that result in the greatest response rates and the greatest dollar return. Part of the process might be to send multiple mailings to the same lists – at different times, to see which people respond to which aspects of your mission and to which of your programs.

That process, donor acquisition, requires an investment … often, a significant investment. And, for any organization that wants/needs to grow, it would be an ongoing investment. (How to fund that investment, in a future posting)

Another, relatively easy way to get lists of names of people who support causes and organizations like yours is to obtain the annual reports of nonprofits whose missions/activities parallel or complement yours. The smaller the community, the more useful those annual reports would be … keeping in mind that those donor lists only include names – no contact or biographical information.

Of course, some of the names on those lists may be highly recognizable – wealthy, prominent people that you’d want to know more about … with the thought that they might become major donors to your organization.

When you get responses to your donor acquisition mailings and you compile a list of names of potential (major) donors from the annual reports, you should probably do some more research.

Those that made “significant” gifts in response to your mailings, and those who are leaders/major donors to similar organizations, should be at the top of your research list.

Your first source for information would be your leadership and current major donors. Do any of them know anyone on the list? Do they know anyone who might know people on the list?

Next is the internet. “Google” those names, see what comes up.

There are also firms that will take your list of names and run them through their databases.

And, there is always the mechanism of a Planning Study, where the prospective donors are interviewed on a face-to-face basis … asking them the questions that would indicate what you’d need to do to get them to want to become (Major) Donors to your organization.

We’ll be on vacation for the next three weeks,and our
Next Posting will be on Sept 9: The Planning Study as Research

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If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, email Comments to offer your thoughts. Your comments, with appropriate attribution, could be the basis of a new posting.

August 7, 2015June 16, 2022

Taking Care of Your Reputation on the ‘Net

A woman smiling as she goes through her social media page

You can never know too much when it comes to keeping your reputation secure

Taking good care of your online reputation is a must no matter where your focus lies. And, with information like that contained in the ReputationRepair.org infographic below found all around the web, there’s no excuse for you not to be doing all you can.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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– See more at: https://staging.management.org/blogs/crisis-management/2015/08/04/whats-conflict-costing-you/#sthash.B2vHS4kF.dpuf

August 5, 2015March 1, 2022

Serious Fundraising is Based on Establishing the Right Relationships

Last week’s posting noted that (except for the donor acquisition process) you should not be in the business of cold-solicitation, and that your organization should have done some research on your prospective donors. And, btw, even if someone has given previously, s/he is still, for the purposes of this discussion, a prospective donor.

That posting also referenced the concept of having the right person asking for the right amount, at the right time, and under the right circumstances.

Also noted was that once you have a “relationship” with your prospective donor, the questions of who the right person is, what the right amount might be, and when-and-where to ask, will get answered !!

I must make a distinction, here, between the lower-rated and the major donors. The former are those who are asked to give via mass solicitation methods – direct mail, telephone, “fundraisers,” etc., and the latter are those who are solicited on a face-to-face basis.

It doesn’t take a lot of analysis to recognize that the larger the gift you are seeking, the more time/effort/resources you’ll have to put in to realize that gift.

For the lower-rated donors, those whom you’ve acquired via a donor-acquisition process, the relationship often boils down to thanking them for their gifts and keeping them apprised of how their gifts are making a difference….

If you want the major gifts, there has to be a one-on-one relationship with the (prospective) donor. Typically, that relationship is with a current major donor and/or a board member. (See: What is a Major Gift? & Who is a Major Gift Prospect?)

Such a relationship is not limited to discussions of the organization’s mission and activities. It may begin with an introduction by a mutual friend/acquaintance. It may be a result of a “chance” meeting – based on researching where would be a good place for that to happen. It may happen when the prospect attends an event conducted by the organization. It can happen in any number of circumstances.

As the relationship develops, and the parties get to know each other … as people, not as a donor prospect and a representative of an organization, they are learning about each others interests and needs.

Keeping in mind that donors give to satisfy their own needs, not the needs of a nonprofit organization, over time the relationship uncovers what is important to the prospective major donor.

This is not being sneaky or underhanded. Anyone who is a potential major donor is unlikely to be an innocent, s/he has likely been cultivated by other organizations, and has likely been solicited by other organizations. These major donor prospects will recognize the process, and are unlikely to be offended by it.

As the relationship develops, the person who is getting to know the prospect is also becoming the person who will come to learn what it will take to get the prospect to want to make that major gift. That person will learn what the right amount would be, and what the right timing and circumstances would be. That person becomes the “Right” person.

If you are the “Right” person to establish a relationship with a prospective donor, the process of getting to know and educating the prospect about the organization is the process of Cultivation. It is a process that takes many different forms, and is adapted to the needs of the prospective donor.

Next Week, some thoughts about donor research.