Business and Finance

Why do companies need to do thought-leadership as part of a technology PR campaign?

For many businesses, corporate reputation is not solely built on the basis of product range or customer base, but on the credibility of its management team and its vision within the industry. This is particularly true for organisations that are looking for funding or to exit, or for companies where a key differentiator is its specialist expertise.

A suitable way for organisations to achieve this differentiation by concentrating some of their PR efforts around high-level thought leadership, and building the profile of a senior figure(s) within the business.

Thought-leadership activities will build a profile outside of trade media and bring a company’s messages to a far wider audience within national and broadcast media. To support the thought-leadership activities, companies can position their spokesperson as a true industry guru and a ‘go to’ commentator on relevant issues.

Continue reading ‘Thought-leadership in PR’ »

Reza Hossein Borr

You are what you say

You are not what you say although what you say represents some of your views, feelings and information. Most of the people talk about the information they have of different things. The information does not really reflect their inner self. The information is what they have learnt, not what they believe in or what they feel. What you say represents your state at a particular moment. You may not mean at all what you say or you mean what you do not say. You may not believe in what you say or you may believe in them. What you say maybe instinctively or it may be thought out carefully. The result is that what you say does show how you are, not what you are.

What you say gives impressions to other people and project an image of you in other people. That image maybe genuine or false. What you say is less important than how you say it. All of communication skills experts believe that the way you say something is more important than what you say. What you say does not represent you but how you say it represents you. How you say something involves your body posture, your feelings, your skills, the tone of your speech and the tune that you employ to express yourself. What you say is affected by your mental states and your body state. Therefore what you say can make a great difference and how you say it can make even bigger difference, a greater difference in the effectiveness of your expression.

Continue reading ‘Communication Skills: Make Maximum Impact on Maximum People’ »

Dear Wendy,

I am brand new to networking. I just joined two different groups, so I’m meeting people, but no one has ever taught me how to build a healthy network. Any advice?

Dear Courageous Socialite;

You have my congratulations.

Not because you are consciously building a network – lots of people do that – but because you are taking the responsibility for whether your network is toxic or effective. Bravo to you!

Here are the first three rules, let me know when you’re ready for more:

Say good things: It doesn’t impress anyone when you share that you had a hard time finding the place, or that traffic was bad, or that your allergies are kicking in. You are impressive though when you compliment a board member on bringing in a great speaker, or thank the president for a meeting well run, or volunteer to serve on a committee. When you’re new you get the golden once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make first impressions. Make them good.

Continue reading ‘I Am Brand New to Networking’ »

Dear Wendy,

My boss made me to join this association, and I hate it. They meet early in the morning, they don’t like me, and I skip as often as I think I can get away with. How can I assert my independence and tell my boss that I’m not going to go any more?

Dear Unhappy Ms. Independent:

We’ll come to several forks in the road on this journey, so keep both hands on the wheel at all times.

First: Why did your boss “make” you join the association?

a: If she wants to brand the company within that organization, then either find a certified morning person who would love to trade you for the evening networking group she yawns through, or find a new job. (You might also see if there is a different chapter of the organization that you could transfer your membership to.)

b: If your boss used to be a member, and liked it, and she thought you would too, you can come to her with an alternative – suggest a particular luncheon meeting and tell the why the people you meet there will be better prospects and GateOpeners. (But be respectful of this group, because if your boss liked these people that means you would be complaining to her about her own friends.)

Continue reading ‘My Boss Made Me Join’ »

In American surveys 88% of the population says they are shy. If you’re in that group networking events are uncomfortable. It seems that the friendly people interrupt conversations to hand their business card to strangers. That perception isn’t reality.

Friendly people use their eyes to guarantee a warm welcome from everyone in the room.

First Make Eye Contact: Eye contact always comes before words. The farther away you are when you make eye contact, the more time you give the person to remember you and think of a way to introduce you to their current conversation partners.

At 10 Feet, Smile: Your smile signals that you are going to join them. You’ll get a warm welcome because they are expecting you.

At 3 Feet, Extend Your Hand: In our culture a handshake is a business requirement.

Continue reading ‘Network Eyes First’ »

Paint-by-number kits first appeared in 1951. By 1954, twelve million kits had been sold.

While there were critics, of course, (“It’s too formulaic”; “It isn’t really art”; “It’s tacky”) paint-by-number kits gave aspiring artists results they were proud of, and bought again.

Richard Hess’s portrait of President Lyndon Johnson as an incomplete paint-by-number work was even exhibited at the Louvre in Paris. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has a current exhibit about this universally accessible art form.

Imagine if you had the template, the numbers, to build a network.

Here are 4:

Be visibly active in 3 different types of associations: That’s the number of people you need to be in regular contact with in order to get and give referrals.

Follow through 5 times with each person you meet: This year’s NASE survey once again found that 80% of all sales or referrals happen after the 5th to 7th contact.

Continue reading ‘Network by the Numbers’ »

Chris confessed:

“I am not shy. I can talk to anybody, but I would rather be funny and amusing than taken seriously. (It is safer.) I end up ‘performing’ and make no progress. How do I get past this?”

Kim complained:

“He’s asked me five times if he can give me a quote on my insurance. So now, I just avoid him at meetings.”

Here’s what I think: I think Chris fears people will think he is like the person Kim is talking about. How unattractive.

Continue reading ‘How to Overcome the Fear of Networking’ »

A team, according to Katz Enbach, is a small group of people with complementary skills, committed to a common purpose and a set of specific performance goals. As a team leader you are likely to inherit or build a new team at some point during your career. It is vital to your success to produce a team with individuals who share visions and interests, enjoy working with each other and have a winning attitude.

This article focuses on five main areas that should be considered by team leaders or project managers when managing a successful and productive team.

Set out the team agenda.

As a team leader, it is important to set out a clear agenda before starting on any project. Team members need to know precisely what is expected of them in the team and how they need to interact with others to achieve their objectives. Involving team members in developing the agenda whenever possible and working with the team to plan the actions towards the goal will increase the interaction between leaders and team members. This also gives individuals a sense of ownership and responsibility which ultimately increases their interest in the project.

Select suitable team members.

It is important to select the right people for every project. Individuals chosen for each team should be able to interact and work closely with others while at the same time have the ability to work on their own and make important decisions. If as a leader, you have inherited an existing team, you should carefully evaluate each team member to detect any imbalance in the structure of the team. Individuals’ expertise, experiences and skills should be taken into consideration as well as their social skills, people management and emotional intelligence. Individuals chosen for the team should be similar enough in background or education to want to work with each other but not so similar to offer no added values when it comes to ideas or innovations.

Continue reading ‘How to Build Effective Teams’ »