Many times, I hear people say things like: “you can talk about this and can talk about that, but please don’t talk about that.” I remember when I was a little girl and whenever a controversial subject came up my mother used to say “shhh” and her mother used to say “shhh” and my otherRead… Read more »
Nobody wants to think about knowledge management, but everybody needs it. Here are the basic things an organization should have covered as part of its KM system. 1. Establishing an information architecture for multiple user groups, permission levels, and knowledge sharing environments. 2. Maintaining the architecture, adding and removing people from user groups. 3. LocatingRead… Read more »
This week I had the good fortune to attend an event on social media strategy in the federal government. Even the most cursory review of the agenda made it clear: this form of communication has officially “arrived.” The event was: Sponsored by the well-respected Federal Communicators Network, which was established 19 years ago by theRead… Read more »
Someone asked me today, “Isn’t a brand a mark of quality?”Hearing that, I realized (once again) the importance of defining our terminology – preferably before we start talking to one another. So here is a suggested common definition of brand. With the idea that newer thinking builds upon the old. “A brand is a co-createdRead… Read more »
It’s sort of funny that authenticity would be a strategy for social media, since authenticity is supposed to be the reason social media exists and the purpose of doing it. Just goes to show how the values of a culture interrupt genuine expression and contort them toward whatever the dominant value system is. In America,Read… Read more »
General advice: Internships matter more than school Networking – meet and connect with as many people as you can, personally and professionally. Also mentors – reach out and ask! Be specific about what you want. Help other people – professors, students, maybe a local organization that needs support Reference letters – collect them from everyoneRead… Read more »
You have to understand that a brand is way beyond a logo now. You do understand that, because the Mad Men paradigm where we cook up Frankenstein in the lab and serve it up to you has been destroyed. In its place is an open kitchen where you can see me cooking, and if IRead… Read more »
I have learned more from my failures than my successes. A job that didn’t work out: “You’re a fake it till you make it kind of gal.” But branding is exactly that. It is about having a vision of an alternative future that is better than the present, but which can be reached. If you’reRead… Read more »
Of all the questions people ask about branding, this is by far the most important because propaganda in my view is never legitimate or useful. And I have been there when brand consultants came up with “messages per stakeholder” meaning we say one thing to one person at one time and another thing to anotherRead… Read more »
Note: I did not write this, only edited a shared email down for brevity and flow. The credit goes to Nikki J. Thomas, my daughter’s mentor. What they want: capable, hardworking, team player Do this: Prepare answers to questions like: Why choose you, tell us about you, what are your strengths/weaknesses, why you want the job, whatRead… Read more »