Shape of Things

A friend of mine once called someone we know “snubbable.”  He probably meant that this person was too sensitive for his own good, but it could be taken in a positive way: The only way you get snubbed is if you put yourself into the fray.  People standing on the sidelines don’t get snubbed.

Some of my most painful experiences revolve around being snubbed, but I was never sorry for the experiences that preceded the snubs.

Once when working for an association, I developed and executed an award-winning, national PR campaign.  But, I wasn’t invited initially to the awards program.  I knew what was happening: My boss needed to solidify her position, and also justify the six-figure retainer for the PR agency that worked on the project and whose biggest role was submitting the award nomination.

In this case, it bothered me to the point that I spoke calmly, but forcefully, to my boss about my role in the project and my desire to receive recognition for it.  I received an invitation to the awards program and a small version of the Heisman-like trophy given to my boss and the agency.  The biggest consolation was that I always knew what I had done.

Another snub happened just after I started my own business and took on the PR job for a regional conference.  I put in so much work that I was probably being paid the equivalent of $10 an hour by the time it was over.  Still, the conference director didn’t mention me when handing out credits in his opening speech.  This time I said nothing.  I knew I didn’t want to work with that organization again, and I learned a good lesson about what kind of projects to take on.

In both cases, I was glad I put myself in a position to be snubbed.  After the pain, came some wisdom and a lasting pride in a job well done. 

Conformity is a bit like heroin: comforting, but extremely addictive.

If your company or clients value conformity over creative, it’s your role to try to break the chain of addiction.  Then again, maybe you are the pusher.

About a decade ago, an innovative 3D graphics company I was working with was sold to a major computer company.  I was entrusted with preparing a brochure and poster that conveyed the excitement of a new product. It shouldn’t have been hard: the images generated by this computer were stunning, and its capabilities singular.

The challenge was overcoming the rigid standards of the parent company: Use one of two typeface choices and one of a few design templates. Exact color and positioning for the logo. Reference the company name in the exact same way all the time.

The pieces ended up looking and sounding fine, but they took three times as long to produce and involved four times as many people as they should have. And, they could have been much better. I vowed never to do a project for a company like that again; I’m glad to say I’ve stuck to that vow.

About five years later, what a relief it was to see Google snub conformity. Silly company name. Logo that it changed daily and had fun with — in fact, playing with the company logo became part of Google’s corporate identity and a subject of discussion.

Think about things you do to conform to some rules that were written years ago and might not be relevant, or are actually dragging down your corporate image. Like that boring standard paragraph at the end of your press releases.  Or the corporate-speak that saturates your marketing materials. Or those quotes from the CEO that sound like they came from an automaton. Or using trademarks when they aren’t needed. Or the staid design of your web site.

Conformity sends a message: “We’re like all the rest and we don’t care if you think so.”  Is that the corporate message you want? If so, fine.  If not, time to get the conformity monkey off your back.

Is social media the new web 2.0, a term that’s absolutely meaningless?

In practice, social media is often a new form of interruptive marketing. The vast majority of companies are tweeting, linking in and facebooking just to broadcast messages, without regard to discussion or conversation. Most corporate messages in social media are the equivalent of truncated press releases.

Indulge in social media if you want, but if you really want to deliver value, establish a community for customers, partners and potential customers. Provide an outlet for technical information, peer-to-peer interaction, customer stories, surveys, Q&As, interviews, blogs from your product developers, commentary and other content people in your industry can’t get anywhere else.

You have a choice: Add to the cacophony or establish a welcomed outlet for constructive conversation.

Ever hear of Bill Simmons? I hadn’t until last week when I saw that his The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy was number one on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller’s list. 

Simmons’ success in traditional publishing stems from his millions of followers on espn.com, where he made his name as The Sports Guy. The appeal is that he’s like any other sports fan, except perhaps a bit more obsessed and a better writer and self-marketer.

Simmons doesn’t write in-depth analysis, go on the road with a team, do psychological profiles, or any of the other things great sports writers have done in the past. He’s not a reporter; he’s a fan. He taps into the common obsessions of fans. Who’s the best basketball center, Wilt or Russell? What football player do you hate the most? He’s fueled by lists, emotions, biases and statistics– just like every other fan.

Like it or not, this is where communications is going — think of twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs.  The majority don’t want an authoritative voice; they want someone like them, or at least, someone like the best vision of themself.

What does this mean to the PR person, the marketer, the publisher, the corporate communicator?

It means you have to stop making proclamations from on high and communicate from the trenches.

You have to speak with your customer’s voice, in terms he or she can relate to.

You have to bring customers’ stories to the forefront of your communications.

You have to establish an ongoing dialog with customers and help make them part of a community.

You have to forego marketing generalities and get into the nitty gritty of your customers’ everyday jobs. 

You have to elevate conversational approaches and downgrade pronouncements.

In short, you likely have to change everything you’ve been doing for the last couple of decades. 

Future posts will deal with how corporate communications and marketing can be revamped to get in synch with how customers want to be engaged. This isn’t theory anymore; it’s a mandate. In the words of David Bowie, “This ain’t rock and roll, this is genocide.”

I thought it would die a pleasant death, like interest in Paris Hilton after she became a good girl, but it’s not: Authentic is still embedded in the minds of the American business world, especially among PR and marketing people.

The way authentic is being practiced reminds me of a Mad magazine cartoon from the late 60s. A guy’s walking down the street while kids snicker, “What a schmuck!”  Guy gets home, looks himself in the mirror and says “People think I’m a schmuck because I dress like a schmuck.” In the final frame, he’s walking down the street dressed for success like Hugh Hefner (tweed jacket with elbow patches, ascot and pipe) while kids snicker in the background, “What a schmuck!”

What authenticity ain’t

Authenticity isn’t about dressing yourself in new clothes or describing yourself as authentic.  It’s not saying “honestly” or “truly” in your press releases and speeches.  And it’s definitely not posting a picture of your CEO on the website wearing distressed jeans and a retro t-shirt or pursuing his or her rock-climbing hobby.

What it is

Authentic is what someone else feels instinctively about your organization.  What your customers say because all of your dealings with them are embedded with integrity. What the media says because you’re honest and upfront with them. What employees say because they are valued and treated fairly.

If you are doing the above, your company will automatically benefit from word of mouth. But, if you want to extend that, here’s five ways you can ensure authenticity in your communications.

1. Remove adjectives and cliches from your marketing and PR materials, unless you are quoting third parties such as customers and/or analysts.

2. Use clear prose and illustrations to help customers, partners and media understand what you do — don’t hide behind bloated corporate speak.

3. Communicate openly with your customers and employees; take what they suggest, consider it, act on it and thank them for the input.

4. Care about the community of people who use your products and services; provide programs and forums that help them improve professionally and personally.

5. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Show a sense of humor in your communications whenever appropriate.

No amount of rhetoric can buy authentic. If your organization’s values are not strong, no matter what you say, you won’t be able to hide the inner schmuck.

Time management can be the difference between mediocre and brilliant.  The frazzled and the composed.  The confident and the insecure.  Most of all, the incredibly productive and the average.  Here are some tips to make time your friend and accomplice.

Schedule, schedule, schedule

Schedule everything.  Things get done when they are scheduled, sometimes only when they’re scheduled.  Start with a rough monthly schedule, then drill down to weekly and daily.  Write it all down and live by it.

Prioritize everything

Everything you do should be prioritized.  This creates order for your day.  Don’t make a laundry list of activities to accomplish during the day.  This causes problems with feeling you haven’t gotten enough done, putting off less savory tasks, and not taking care of the most important things.  Make a realistic daily list and assign everything you need to get done as “A” priorities.  Further prioritize your A’s in order of importance, from A1 to A8, for example.  Create numbered B priorities for things you want to get done, but that aren’t essential to complete that day.

Don’t react, manage

All too often, activities are dictated by reactions.  There are always going to be situations where you need to react to immediate needs.  But, don’t assume that you need to react just because you’ve received a phone call, e-mail or tweet.  Remember, you have priorities – guard these zealously.

Avoid email knee-jerks

Because it is an immediate form of communication, managers often feel they need to react immediately to e-mails.  Remember: e-mail is here to serve you.  Make sure you manage it, not vice-versa.  Prioritize your responses.  Don’t respond unless you really need to.  Set aside given times for responding.  Show e-mail who’s boss.

Take care of the big stuff

It’s natural to procrastinate with big projects.  It’s easier to take care of a bunch of small housekeeping chores than to launch a project that’s going to take 10 or 20 hours.  But, these projects must be done.  Set aside a block of time each day – 2 or 3 hours where only nuclear holocaust will disturb you.  No e-mail, twittering, phones or other interruptions.  Just you chipping away at that big challenge.

Heed your environment

When’s the best time for you to take care of certain tasks?  Is it better, given the workflow of the office or your home life, to set aside a block of time first thing in the morning, later in the afternoon, or during lunch-time?  When is it best to knock off the little things?  Pay attention to what patterns are telling you.

Pay attention to yourself

When are you most creative or efficient?  Do you hit the floor running or need to do some easy, slam-dunk tasks to get going?  Notice what things you do best at what times and manage your time accordingly.

Get help

Nobody wants to be a nuisance, but it’s better to ask than waste time trying to figure something out or doing circuitous googling when someone else knows.

Be quick, but don’t hurry

These are the words of legendary basketball coach John Wooden.  Do things efficiently, but don’t rush.  Don’t draw projects out, but be thorough.  Don’t get frantic because it leads to mistakes.  Be a killer at executing your time-management skills.

Seek closure

This is not psycho-babble, but a real strategy.  See the finish line and get there in the most direct way possible.  Don’t tinker as you get near the end, unless you’re onto something great.  If you need help in closing, get it.  A project is only great if it’s done on time.

Jealously guard your time

Make a firm resolution not to be sidetracked.  Your mantra: My time is valuable, my time is valuable, my time is valuable…

Listen to inspiration

Inspiration is divine, but fickle.  It’s fleeting and sometimes doesn’t return.  When it hits, forget all the rules, drop everything and go with it.

Good writing has rhythm and flow.  Read your’s aloud.  Does it swing like a pendulum do or like Duke would do?

Before finalizing, read over that press release, case study, memo or planning document as if you are a complete idiot in the subject matter.

Provide information before it is requested.  Turn things in before deadline. Clients, peers and supervisors will love you for it.

I’ve been away from a traditional corporate structure long enough that I get surprised when things I thought died with the fax machine pop up again like some strain of indestructible weed.

The latest is what I call the stingy expert.  You know this person: the genius with all the credentials from 10 to 20 years ago who can tell you exactly what is wrong with your business or strategy, but won’t offer any concrete information on what to do to improve things.  You are supposed to sign on to that five- or six-figure retainer based on the guy’s (and it’s almost always a guy) charisma and guile.

It takes a lot of nerve, chutzpa, to do that kind of high-end carnival barking today.  But, in the last week I’ve seen a couple examples of it.  And, intelligent people being swayed by it. The cult of personality lives, and evidently in some quarters it still thrives.

I grew up with this philosophy of “don’t give away anything unless someone pays for it,” but when I started my own business 20 years ago, I rejected that notion.  I figured I would have to prove – in very specific ways – that I can plan and execute a project for a potential client.

From the outset, I gave potential clients detailed descriptions of what I would do, how I’d do it, and what kind of results they could expect.  It might seem like giving away the store, but I’ve had very few cases of people stealing my ideas.  Those that did were not the kind of people I’d want to work for anyway.  And, of course, there’s always the fact of execution – let’s see them fulfill my plan after they’ve ripped it off.

If you’re good at what you do, ideas and plans should not be a limited quantity – something to hold close to your vest.  There should be more from where that came from.  If someone is trying to sell you secrets that can’t be revealed until a contract is signed, it’s probably for a very good reason: He has something to hide.

If you know you have good ideas, be generous with them to people you respect and trust. Give them out for free, and you’re likely to get more than your share in return.