“Transparency, as the magazine defines it, means making information about practices like employee benefits, climate-change policies or philanthropic efforts publicly available.

“’The notion of transparency as the first, best, primary value allows other players, players with a variety of values — be they journalistic, NGOs, competitors, collaborators — to weigh in according to their competing interests,’ said Dirk Olin, editor in chief of the magazine.” – New York Times, April 11, 2010

If you take a look at the list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens published by CRM, you’ll notice that it’s a detailed, categorical system they use to figure how “transparent” a company is.

Environment – 19.5%

Climate Change – 16.5%

Human Rights – 16%

Employee Relations – 19.5%

Governance – 7%

Philanthropy – 9%

Financial – 12.5%

Companies at the top of the list include HP, Intel Corp., General Mills, and IBM.  CRM will be publishing the companies that didn’t make this list, and are actually at the bottom of it – the worst corporate citizens.

This “black list” publication serves as an excellent opportunity to study the practice of issues management.  Robert Heath (1997), whose writings I became too familiar with during college, wrote about four functions in issues management:

1) Anticipate and analyze issues

2) Develop organizational position on issues

3) Identify key publics whose support is vital to the public policy issue

4) Identify desired behaviors of key publics

Issues management is the proactive approach that needs to be taken by communications professionals and their companies.  Effective issues management, like crisis management, may not solve a problem completely, but it prepares a company for what’s coming up down the road.  This is the kind of action that can alleviate problems and turn crises into lesser occurrences.

Corporate responsibility (CR) is a practice that in popular among consumers, and is something that should constantly be on the mind of corporate execs.  Now that a list is being published that tells which companies are horrible at CR, it becomes clear that the CR issue was not anticipated at these companies, or that their anticipation was poorly examined. CRM completed the next step for these companies and completed the analysis of the CR issue.

The next step for the “black listed” companies is to develop an organizational position on the issue.  This position should be related to the seven categories in CRM‘s rating system.  It will be interesting to see if these companies will pay attention to this negative press and heed the warnings.

Danielle Cyr wrote a post today over at the PR Breakfast Club about how companies need to, at the very least, monitor the social/online space.  Monitoring is the perfect action that helps a company better anticipate issues that may arise.  The companies that are on the “black list” did not pay attention to the CR issue, and now their poor practices are going to published.

It may not be a bad idea to pick one of the companies on the “black list” and follow its business practices for a while.  Change in corporate responsibility is not something that can take place over night, so if you do follow one of the companies, be prepared to probably start seeing changes after at least a couple of months.

Do you think the companies on the “black list” will pay enough attention to the social/online space to realize how badly perceived their CR practices are?  If they do pay attention, do you think they’ll brush the rankings off, or do you think a good portion of the companies will work to improve their CR business practices?

Cheers,

Rich

Photo courtesy of zazzle.com

The golden rule of writing is to write about what you know, and I know unemployment.  I’m not talking about “laid-off-from-my-job-and-collecting-unemployment-checks” unemployment.  I’m talking about “graduated-from-college-and-looking-for-my-first-job-unemployment.”  I graduated back in August 2009 from grad school so I’ve been officially unemployed for about six months.    There is a lot of uncertainty that hovers around graduating from college – finding a full-time job being the biggest uncertainty.  The fact is that a few will land a job before graduation, some will land a job a couple of months after graduation, and some will find a job later after graduation.  It all depends on where you’re looking, what you’re looking for, and how hard you’re looking. (note* The unemployment rate for those 20-24 years old was around 9.5% at the end of 2009 and around 5% for those college grads 25 and over. )

 I wish I could tell you the keys to finding that elusive first job, but I can’t…I haven’t found it yet.  What I can tell you are some helpful tips that can result in more beneficial leads, more interview opportunities, and a stronger personal network. 

1)  Know what you’re looking for and where you want to find it.  If you don’t know what type of job you want, then you should probably figure that out.  Do some reading and research, and figure out what career would be best for you.  Before I graduated I knew I wanted to work in public relations in Western/Central New York.  This will come in handy when you analyze your local job market and search for openings.

 2) SWOT yourself.  Anyone who majored in communications or business know what this is:  Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.  Analyze yourself – and be honest!  Are you a strong writer?  Are you a math person, and great with statistical analysis?  Are you unconditionally optimistic?  Do you see red when a thread is hanging loose from your shirt?  Think about all of your qualities, good and bad, write them down.  Your strengths – highlight them.  Your weaknesses - work to fix them.  Opportunities and threats are a little more tricky.  For opportunities, think about the people you know, the place where you live, and the job you want.  Work to figure out how the three of these could be linked together (I’ll explain more in the networking section).  The threats are the hundreds and thousands of other people just like you who are looking for a job in your market.  It’s your job to stand out from the rest. 

3) Network.  If you haven’t heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” well now you have and, to certain point, it’s true.  Your degree will only get you so far.  That’s where your work ethic and personal network come in – meet people.  And I’m not talking about just finding people on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.  Those networks can be great if you’re looking for a job in another city/state.  If you’re looking in your home city, nothing beats face-to-face networking.  Look for professional groups and networking events in your job market.  Attend these events and meet some experienced professionals who can open a door to an entirely new network.  Be sure you don’t just go around handing out business cards and asking for access to their network (you’ll sound creepy) - actually meet and converse with people, even if it’s only a few people each time.  Attending these functions can lead to interview opportunities, project collaborations, and friendships.  Just go in with an enthusiasm to learn about the other professionals attending. 

4)  KEEP BUSY!  I emphasize this one because I feel it is the most important.  Being out of work is like a baseball player in the offseason – if you don’t train during the offseason, then your stats will suffer next season.  Keeping busy when you’re unemployed includes a variety of things.  Attend networking events/conferences, schedule informational interviews, read books, read blogs, comment on blogs, write a blog, read trade magazine and industry reports, and most important…find somewhere to practice!  Volunteer at organizations, look for companies that may have freelance work, collaborate on projects with people in your network…do work that pertains to the career you want.  Find an opportunity that allows you to hone in on the skills that would apply to a full-time job in that position.  People who are hiring do not like to see gaps in resumes, so do what you can to prevent that from happening – this is where your network comes in handy.  People are helpful…just remember to return the favor when you are on the other side. 

People say that looking for a job is a job in itself, and that is true.  But if you sit at home all day sending cold resumes and crafting cover letter after cover letter, then that may eventually turn into your job, and it doesn’t pay well.  From my experience, the best leads and job opportunities came from friends within my network who saw a job opening and thought it may be something that I would be interested in.  It doesn’t necessarily lead to a job, but it’s a better bet than finding a job opening and applying blind.  Example:  While I do not have a full-time position, I have gained experience doing contract work.  After having an informational interview with the principal at an agency at which I used to intern, he asked if I would like to come back and work on some projects with the agency.  What this lead to something full-time?  I can’t say for certain, but at least I am gaining some great work experience and keeping in contact with some great people. 

Two quick additional things to remember:  1) There is only so much a degree and networking can do.  Once you’re in the interview, it’s all up to you to showcase your personality and experience. 2) Looking for a job is very frustrating.  Rejection is inevitable.  As the saying goes, “When you fall off your horse, pick yourself up and get back on.”  Don’t shoot the horse and turn it into glue.  Don’t give up.  I know I won’t. 

Cheers,   

Rich

Pick which ever one you like.

Every silver lining’s got a
Touch of grey -”Touch of Grey” by The Grateful Dead 

Around 12 days ago, Ad Age published a story online about how Royal Caribbean cruise line came under “heavy fire” because they decided to continue their stops in Haiti after the devastating earthquake.  The article mentions how the cruise line stopped at a coastal Haitian village called Labadee, where it maintains a private beach.  There are two sides presented in this story:  

1) The PR professionals who are quoted in the story scold Royal Caribbean’s decision, saying that the company’s actions were insensitive after such a  tragedy.  In the end, the PR pros predict that this will result in revenue losses for Royal Caribbean. 

2) Royal Carribean says that the best way to help Haiti after the earthquake is to continue to invest in the local economies.  Along with bringing travelers to local Haitian villages where they can spend money, Royal Carribean also donated a $1 million to charities after the earthquake and brought down supplies on the ship. 

After the article, the comments section at the bottom is where the conversation becomes a little more engaging.  A majority who commented say that there is no story here.  Ad Age, the PR pros, and the media that reported the story over-analyzed the situation and created something out of nothing. 

The PR pros in the Ad Age article saw a cruise line pull into a coastal village in Haiti and immediately saw it as an image crisis for the cruise line.  Royal Carribean, not being oblivious and knowing about the earthquake (like the rest of the world), made a conscious decision to continue with business as usual, and at the same time, work to help a country in need.  

The thing about our thought processes is that almost every situation we come across has shades of grey.  It seems almost impossible to discover a situation that is either black or white (Actually, whether to tun left or right seems pretty straightforward).  The Royal Carribean issue has an entire pallet of greys.  Taking the opposite approach as Royal Carribean, one of my favorite bands (moe.) was going to host a Caribbean concert series in the Dominican Republic in April.  The band decided to delay the concert series until next year out of respect to the tragedy in Haiti.  

Two organizations.  Two different responses.  Which one is right?  There are many shades of grey out there, so make sure you pick the one that fits you best.

The following are three links that explain the growth of the PR industry, how it has moved to become more social-based, and how these skills will be vital to those who plan on making PR a career choice:

The Economist talks about the growth of the PR industry

Council of Public Relations Firms’ Data on the Future of the PR industry

Graphical analysis showcasing how PR firms are preparing for the future

One of the most eye-catching graphs in the third link is the first graph about PR industry trends in 2010.  Agencies expect that social and digital media expertise will be a “must” with 93% of firms answering in favor, but only 47% of agencies answered that more requests for ROI and measurement will be a top business trend for firms.  Sorry, but there is something seriously wrong with that statistic, and I am not talking about whether the numbers are right.  ROI and measurement should not be a trend.  It is supposed to be implied with everything that PR stands for.  Social media is the top trend, but will the ROI and measurement be there to back up its relevance?

Cheers,

Rich

Don't be a fluffernutter! Know how and when to critique!

I read a post yesterday by Jackie Adkins about marketing lessons one can learn from jam bands like Phish.  It provided many great insights on how jam bands give back to their devoted fans in many different ways in order to show their appreciation.  Companies should take note of that appreciation and work to show the same gratitude to their devoted consumers who spend their hard earned money on products that range from “simple-and-cheap” to “outrageously-expensive-and-I-must-have-it.” 

Jackie’s post inspired me to bring up another point that the jam band communities (not the band themselves) teach to each other and have preached for many years:  Do not fluff the band or the band’s set lists. 

In the jam band communities, fluffing happens when a person finds nothing wrong with a set list, and continuously praises every concert as perfection.  Now I know everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but by claiming perfection for everything a band does, you are hurting them by leaving no room for improvement.  In a way, perfection is impossible, but improvement is not. 

As stated in Jackie’s post, jam bands have extremely loyal followings that know almost everything their is to know about the band’s music and the band members themselves.  If you want proof, head on over to Phantasy Tour and read the message boards about people critiquing set lists and their opinions about specific band members.  These are the people that should be listened to because by knowing so much about the band and the music, they can offer an excellent critique on what was great about a concert and what wasn’t so great.  

Shift this contrast of fluffing and critiquing over to the business side of things.  Companies can now put themselves in a position to learn a lot from the consumers that know the most about the brand.  The ones who show devotion by purchasing everything a company releases are the ones who know the most about the products:  From the positives, down to the kinks that need to be worked out. 

It all comes down to this:  Companies, like bands, can release products that are superior or inferior to past products.  Perfection is next to impossible, but it never hurts to strive to achieve it.  It can become one of the greatest learning experiences. 

Do you think it is possible for a company/band to release a product that is perfect and cannot be improved in any way?  Or, is technological evolution inevitable and the companies that embrace it will be the ones that release the products that make consumers say “Wow!”?  Has social media truly resulted in companies listening to the educated consumer, or is social media still mostly used for crowd control and putting out the fires? 

Cheers, 

Rich

This poster is truth.

Tiger Woods.  I know we’re getting sick of the situation at this point, but it raises some great issues about personal privacy and whether someone of his stature is entitled to it, even in a situation as personal as what he and his family are going through.  In the communication and social media world, people constantly tote how important it is to be transparent, be see-through, don’t hide anything, etc. 

But you know what?  Transparency is a loaded word.  It’s a bullshit word.  Why?  Because no one can clearly define what transparency is when it comes to using it in both a business and personal setting.  People say “transparency” and the rest of us nod our heads and smile (myself included of course), seeing it as the new path towards honesty and ethics in the business word.  Some people see transparency as businesses letting us into their offices and factories to see everything that’s going, and then allowing us to judge whether or not we approve of their actions and practices.

My good friend, David Spinks, wrote a great post a while back about “true transparency”:  asking whether or not the person who we are on the social networks and in the business world is our true self.   On December 3, Carlos Miceli wrote what is probably my favorite post of the year:  “To Hell With Personal Branding.”  Miceli’s post dives into the issue whether personal branding reveals our true selves to employers and colleagues, or that it may be covering up our true selves in order to create a persona that would be ideal for the business world.  In fact, Miceli argues that personal branding is not our true self and I happen to agree with him 100%.

People have replaced honesty and ethics with the word transparency, in hopes that everyone will reveal everything and no one will be afraid to keep information hidden.  Well you know what?  Businesses and people have a right to withhold information.  Yes, we want companies to be honest with us, but is there really a need to know every little detail?  The most appropriate time for a company to be honest and forthcoming is when there is a crisis, or issues that have raised public alarm.  For businesses, a sense of balance needs to be maintained in order to know which information needs to be told, and which information the company can keep to itself unless they deem it necessary to release.  To summarize, when at the podium, or talking during an interview…don’t lie.  If the company can’t release information, just say so, but provide a reason along with that fact.

Personal transparency (putting those two words together makes me gag a little) is something that personal branding has completely ruined.  Back to Miceli’s post, personal branding has caused us to be scared about posting certain pictures, writing certain messages, and in an essence, being ourselves.  Yes, that picture of you drunk with beer spilled down your shirt is embarrassing, but Miceli makes the great point that maybe we should be examining ourselves instead of deleting the picture, hiding it in our privacy settings, and going on to commit more drunken debauchery the next weekend.  Maybe making an effort to not behaving like that may seem more appropriate and honest that behaving like a mess and then hiding that you behave like a mess.

A little over month ago I attended PRSA’s Northeast District Conference here in Rochester, NY and sat in on a panel that discussed finding your first job out of college.  Eventually the conversation turned to personal branding and in the end, a catch-22 was created that said be yourself on Facebook, use privacy settings, but making your profile and pictures private lets employers believe that you have something to hide.  My head literally starting spinning and by the end of the panel, I think I became victim to virtigo.  Use privacy settings…but don’t make your profile private because that means you have something to hide?  Take from this what you want, but I started on Facebook in 2004, when it was used as a social Web site (no businesses allowed!), for friends to come together and post pictures, write funny (sometimes insulting, but good-humored) comments to each other and connect with high school friends in a much easier fashion.  And now, the moderator for the panel I’m listening to is telling me that if he was hiring for a position, and a candidate had a “WTF” in their profile, then they would not even be considered for the position.  Like we don’t swear in our lives…ever! (Side note:  This panel provided a lot of helpful information on topics such as networking, creating a portfolio, and applying for entry-level positions.  It was just this personal branding discussion that I disagreed with.)

The fact is that the word transparency is more confusing than it is helpful.  Whatever happened to words like “honesty” and “integrity?”  We know what those mean!  Those words don’t have loaded definitions that change from person to person!  Honesty and integrity are the real messages of the business, communication and social media world.  And look at yourself…are an honest person?  Are you honest with yourself?  Do you change yourself in order to impress others, or do you integrate your technical and strategic skills with your true personality?  It’s like my professor at Syracuse University always told us before the end of our last semester:  “When you leave here and enter the business world, all you have is your integrity, and that’s it.”

Cheers,

Rich

An outdated pyramid, or a foundation for exploring our personal selves and our societies?

It’s so easy to get distracted in today’s world.  For example, right now there’s a squirrel outside tapping on the window next me and it’s distracting me from writing this post.  Now move over to the technology and communication worlds and distraction seems to the part of the job descriptions – with so many new tools, toys, devices, gadgets, etc. being developed, it seems hard to tell which tools are essential and which tools are shiny, distracting toys.  Do I need this piece of technology, or is it only something that I want?

Coveting is ingrained in the human psyche.  We see someone using something super sweet and our first thought is, “I WANT THAT!”  It’s completely natural to feel that way.  And it feels good to splurge every once in a while and buy something that’s for your own enjoyment.  But in the business world, splurging can be like skating on thin ice.  It feels safe at first…but then you move further and further out onto the pond, until, CRACK!  SPLASH!  Your budget is sunk.  And you’re a human popsicle.

When we purchase or use something that only feeds to our wants, it can serve as a large distraction, tearing us away from the work that needs to be done.  But if we find a tool that we want and it also serves some important needs, then that’s great!  Only now becomes the difficult task of knowing when it’s time to play with the new toy, and when it’s time to turn that toy into a tool and use it for its business purposes.

Abraham Maslow published his Hierarchy of Needs in 1943 and spoke of how humans strive to fulfill basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, sex, sleep, etc.) and walk up the pyramid to fulfill deep, personal needs (self-actualization).  In the middle falls our need to make money so we can fulfill our basic needs.  Within that need to make money, we must then decide what we need in order to make that money.  Sometimes it can be something simple, such as manpower, and other times it can be a little more confusing…because humans always want something…but does that want contain the need that is essential to a healthy, functioning business?

What do you do in order to tell the difference between something you need and something you want?  If it is a new technology, do you put it through a test-run before integrating it into the company, or do you conduct some secondary research about the product and make your decision based on what others have found out?  Do we sabotage ourselves by thinking that obtaining our wants will fulfill our needs in the end? 

Cheers,

Rich

Now, Hollywood wants to create two television shows from two online sources that contain a very minimal amount of text:  The formerly hilarious Web site “Texts From Last Night” and the Twitter handle, @ShitMyDadSays.   Unfortunately, I feel like I can already end in sight for these two shows that helped inspire millions of laughs online.  I laugh hysterically when I read @ShitMyDadSays on Twitter, and I used to laugh non-stop at “Texts From Last Night,” but it was becoming too apparent that many of the texts were made up, lacking the authenticity that made the Web site so damn funny.  While I wish these two shows the best of luck, here are two reasons why I feel they will both struggle:

1) Major television networks.  “Texts From Last Night” was picked up by FOX and @ShitMyDadSays was picked up by CBS.  Besides the fact that nothing on FOX is funny (Family Guy and The Simpsons have been in a downfall for awhile, and the other comedy shows the network boatss can hardly be considered original humor), these two networks do not have the freedom that is required to appropriately create these two shows.  If you have not read “Texts From Last Night,” it is a collection of “real” text messages that friends have sent to one another (a majority of them are sexually and socially vulgar…and hilarious!).  No pictures.  Just the texts and the area codes to let the reader know what part of the country the texts came from.  So if haven’t taken a look yet, go here.  I’ll wait…*several hours later* …addicting isn’t it? 

The point is that 99% of those texts contain language and situations that will never be allowed to be broadcasted on any major network.  It makes me wonder what kind of the situations the Hollywood writers will come up with in order to format the show into something that is as hilarious and fast-paced as the Web site.

@ShitMyDadSays has a similar situation.  The tweets from a 29-year-old who lives with his dad also contain language that will never be able to exist on CBS, which is a shame, because the coarse language gives the tweets that sharp color that makes it even more hilarious.

2) The medium.  The reason these two sources are funny is because they leave a lot to the imagination.  The texts are never more than a few sentences and the quotes from the man’s dad is kept at 140 characters.  This leaves a lot to the reader’s imagination, allowing them to make up their own backstory, and the events that followed the text.  Now, the viewer is going to be given a whole plot and revolves around a few sentences.  The humor is now in the hands of the Hollywood writers instead of the person who posts the lines and the reader’s imagination.

Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens with these shows.  I’ll probably watch the first episode or two, and hopefully it’ll actually be funny, but these days I don’t usually hold my breath for television shows.   

…and don’t even get me started on the Facebook movie.

What do you think the future holds for these two shows?  Good idea?  Bad idea?  Are you excited for them, or could you care less?  Could these shows be successful on a network like HBO where writers have more freedom?

Cheers,

Rich

What would it take for Vick to be seen as favorable to the public?

In 2007 he pleaded guilty to taking part in a dog fighting ring.  He served time in prison and was under house arrest for several months upon his release (a lesser punishment than someone who was not a public figure would have received).  After doing his time, Vick is now a third-string quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.  But has doing some prison time and spending time under house arrest redeemed Vick for the atrocities he committed beforehand?

That depends…on you.  Redemption is a tricky subject and carries two categories:  Personal redemption and social redemption.  Personal redemption is whether or not the person, group, or organization at fault feels that they have made up for any misdeeds, wrong doings, errors, etc. and will work to avoid experiencing another similar situation.  Social redemption depends on us.  The question, “Have we forgiven Vick?” cannot be answered because each individual is going to have a different opinion on the situation.

I bring up this question because I am a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan and there are rumors swirling that Vick may end up in Buffalo next year.  As a Bills fan this excites me because it brings the possibility of having some athletic talent on the team, but as someone who strongly opposes the inhumane treatment of animals, it still raises some questions ( it doesn’t get anymore inhumane than what Vick did).  While Vick may be a talented athlete, he has hardly been a humanitarian throughout his life.  He joined with Virginia Tech after the shootings to help raise money for the families and has also held charitable events, but does this make up for what he did in the past?

How can a person/organization achieve redemption when an offense is committed that is so horrendous that it disgusts 99.9% of the population?  Is it possible to fix the problem is relatively short amount of time, or is it something that will hang over the heads of the guilty forever?  Can a person/organization ever truly right a wrong?  Can true, sincere apologies ever fix a problem?

Cheers,

Rich