Talk Internal Communication

The 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility Index , developed by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and the Reputation Institute shows the following companies in the top 25 positions: Johnson & Johnson The Walt Disney Company Kraft Foods Inc. Microsoft PepsiCo Apple Hershey Company SC Johnson Kellogg Google Caterpillar Intel Publix Super Markets Inc. JC Penney Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Campbell Soup Company Marriott International Anheuser-Busch InBev UPS Adobe AmerisourceBergen General Mills Clorox Eastman Kodak Fidelity Investments

Having just finished a webinar with the Public Relations Institute of Ireland on how to effectively use video in PR I was interested to find out that George W Bush had also recently embraced the idea. The results however were not what we had spoken about during our webinar. The Bush video produced to promote his upcoming memoirs is painfully dull. It is three minutes long and I would challenge you to get through half of it. If you'd like to take up the challenge you can do so by clicking on this link .

According to the Wall Street Journal there are 4 elements that can ensure your pitch goes straight to the delete/ trashcan if you include them. These elements are as follows: Introducing your mail with “Dear Morning Ireland” or ”Dear Morning Ireland presenter”- that tells the person receiving the mail that you have not taken time to research their show. This doesn't bode well for the amount of effort put into the rest of the pitch if this basic element is incorrect or sloppy. “Greetings!” "Hello All" -Automatic delete. Just a general e-mail. “Using the phrase ‘Breaking News’ -According to the Wall Street Journal this is one of the most over used and mis-used statements and is incredibly frustrating as most of what is termed 'breaking news' is anything but. Listing the other media that have already expressed an interest in the topic or the guest. Everyone in media wants to feel like we’re getting somebody unique not getting the left overs from the party. They all ...

Even if you have a brilliant new business strategy or communications strategy it is not likely to succeed unless your senior management and your organisation's employees buy into the idea. But with so much information coming at people in the workplace, how do you engage employees with a new proposal? In the information overloaded society in which we operate this is a very valid question. Leadership guru John P Kotter certainly has a novel approach to getting employees attention. Kotter's new book, Buy-In (Harvard Business Press), promotes encouraging employees to criticise your plans. This certainly seems a strange way to get buy in but Kotter argues that it can be a valuable way to get employees to engage with you. In his book he also explains how to deal with this criticism when it comes and how this can build engagement lead to successful implementation. criticism

Do you want to know how to use apps to promote your business on Facebook? This site Social Media Examiner has a great article on apps you can download to really enhance your Facebook.

If you are in the market for a book that gives you great advice on how to be a great speechwriter then, ‘The Political Speechwriter’s Companion: A guide for writers and speakers’ may well be the book you are looking for. You could put it as the first item on your Christmas list! Written by Al Gore's former speechwriter, Robert Lehrman, the book is a comprehensive guide to speechwriting. It covers: The best way to structure a political speech The importance of researching stories to illuminate a speech Techniques to make a speech memorable Numerous checklists for many aspects of a speech Happy reading and writing!

Harvard Business School is embracing the idea of "mindful leadership”, a process that develops self-awareness and self-compassion in leaders. A tradition that comes from the East, namely Tibet, is thought to be a tradition from which western leaders could benefit. The Harvard Business School Professor, Bill George, who is pioneering work in this area believes that leaders who don't develop self-awareness are subject to becoming seduced by external rewards, such as power, money, and recognition. Leaders with low emotional intelligence (EQ) often lack self-awareness and self-compassion, which can lead to a lack of self-regulation. This also makes it very difficult for them to feel compassion and empathy for others. Thus, they struggle to establish sustainable, authentic relationships. Leaders who have low emotional intelligence (EQ) can also often feel a pressure to be so perfect that they cannot admit vulnerabilities and acknowledge mistakes. This difficulty acknowledging...