More than you think.

And before you read further, there is an ask involved, to help get a very moving documentary to American television screens via PBS and Kickstarter.

But do read further, because I think when you hear the story, you’ll see why it’s important to try to help.

An Article of Hope

I first heard about the documentary film, An Article of Hope, from Debra Silimeo (Debra’s a senior executive with a well-respected DC agency, and also happens to be a neighbor, friend and Bootcamp Buddy of mine).

Turns out she’s married to Dan Cohen, an Emmy award-winning veteran journalist and documentary filmmaker. And seven years ago, Dan started out to make a film about a Holocaust story, centered around the journey of a tiny Torah scroll given to boy in a secret Bar Mitzvah in a Nazi concentration camp.

“From the depths of hell to the heights of space”

The boy survived, and became a scientist, who ended up working on the Space Shuttle Columbia mission. You remember what a horrible tragedy that was, right? The shuttle disintegrating over Texas, on February 1, 2003, literally minutes before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, killing all seven crew members on board?

One of those seven crew members was Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. And Ramon was carrying that same scroll with him when he embarked on what turned out to be the final adventure of his life, to show the world, from space, what can happen when, in his words, “You go from the depths of hell, to the heights of space.”

That’s a pretty powerful way of demonstrating the power of the human spirit, don’t you think? Not to mention the diversity of the seven doomed astronauts from around the world … in stark contrast to the Holocaust itself, a horrific attempt to stamp out diversity.

Check out this trailer of the movie:

Diversity matters

If there’s one thing we who are immersed in digital media do every day, it’s celebrate diversity.

We meet people from all around the world in the blink of an eye. We connect with different minds from different backgrounds in the blink of an eye. We do this so effortlessly, in fact, that it’s easy to forget diversity hasn’t always been celebrated (and, let’s face it, still isn’t in some parts of the world and, yes, of this country).

So let’s help Dan and his team see their dream come true.

Let’s help them finish telling the story of the scroll, the survivor and the doomed hero(es). Because it’s an important story to tell.

They’ve already been honored with “Best Film” awards at various film festivals around the country; and now they need our help to bring a critically-acclaimed piece of storytelling into America’s homes.

How to help?

Dan and his team need to raise $50k via their Kickstarter page by May 26 (I’ve already backed the project)… else it won’t get funded at all (that’s how Kickstarter works).

Will you help? Please chip in if you can. If you can’t, please share the link, or this post, or both, with your friends and family.

Spread the word to what I know are the incredibly diverse circles each of us is a part of.

Let’s help bring this story full circle. Please.

Thank you!

Images courtesy Dan Cohen, used with permission

How to Help a Tiny Torah Scroll Kickstart An Article of Hope

You already know I had a terrific time and learned so much. But one of the reasons I was really excited to be going was that I’d be able to catch up with Gini Dietrich, who has become a dear friend of mine even though we only met IRL a year ago… and get a (free) copy of the book she’s co-authored with Geoff Livingston, Marketing in the Round.

I don’t do a lot of book reviews here at WUL, because:

1. Most business books are boring, badly-written, or both. Sorry, but they are! And I’m not going to lie about a book and say it was great just because some social media who-hah wrote it.

2. I actually read books, I don’t skim through them. And with severely limited downtime, I’d much rather read a well-written work of fiction that allows me to escape to Hogwarts, or the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, or some other exotic locale, than plod through a badly-written piece of nonfiction (see point #1).

3. I’m backed up on books to review, because I still get some which very kind people have sent me… and I just haven’t gotten around to them… or, because they were so kind that they didn’t actually ask me to review them, only if they could send them to me (to which, of course, I say “yes,” I mean, wouldn’t you?).

But G&G are G&G.

And I had the book in my hands and time to read it on the flight back from New Orleans.

And I finished it in one sitting.

And it has smart, practical advice, and tons of charts and worksheets to get you started on “marketing in the round.”

So I’m recommending it.

I’m not doing it because Gini and Geoff are my friends, though they are; if I thought the book was crap I’d have suddenly found no available slot on my editorial schedule (which you know is so booked, seeing as how there was no Monday post this week… did anyone even notice…?)…

So. I enjoyed MITR (which launched officially yesterday), found it a quick and useful read, and think you will too, if you believe in an integrated approach to marketing communications.

Career academics will probably not find it as useful… but then, most of us are not career academics.

The other thing I was really happy about

was that while in New Orleans, I was able to grab Gini to do a short interview on MITR. Here, straight from Ms. D’s lips, are words of wisdom on

• MITR,
• smart measurement (and what you should junk), and
• the kinds of tools and results you should use and focus on respectively.

If you can’t see the video itself, just click here for my just-over-two-minute interview with Gini on Marketing in the Round.

Now, may I suggest you hotfoot it to Amazon.com and purchase a copy? You’ll find it very handy in time to come (or immediately), trust me.

Oh, one more thing: I filmed this video using my D-I-Y, fits-in-my-handbag iPhone movie studio, and then edited it in iMovie. So if you’re still making excuses about not being able to do video, you can’t make them any more!

Have you read MITR yet? What did you think? What are some of the other business books you think are well worth reading, perhaps even owning? Why?

Marketing in the Round with Gini Dietrich

I was reminded of this when I did just that this past week in New Orleans (that’s where PRSA’s Counselors Academy took place), and oh…

The room!

The bathroom! They had Q-tips (most hotels don’t)!

The comfy couches in the lounge!

The bellhop who got me a taxi ahead of 15 other people in line (he didn’t tell me this, the taxi driver did).

The server who, after seeing I was balancing my breakfast plate on my lap (I didn’t want him to set a table when I’d be leaving in five minutes), insisted on pulling up a chair so that I could eat more comfortably!

These are all great employees of the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans, but perhaps the one who touched me the most was a Most Delightful Old Gentleman – perhaps on the Bell Desk? I don’t know.

But it was his job (I assume) to make guests feel welcome and basically help them into (and out of) the elevators.

And if you’ve been to the RCNO, you know that the elevators are pretty confusing, because there’s one bank for those going up to the rooms, one to go down to meeting levels and the street, and to top it all off, they arrive so quickly, that sometimes the doors open and close before you’ve even made it in, because you didn’t know which one had arrived on your level.

Aargh. But anyhoo.

MDOG was just so sweet. Any time he saw me (or anyone), he’d inquire most gallantly as to how we were.

Then, after figuring out whether we were going down or up, he’d escort us to that specific elevator, make sure we were safely planted inside, and then wish us, “Now you have a good day, Miss.”

I always replied, “Thanks so much, and you too.” To which response I received a beaming smile and “thank you!”

What really struck me about MDOG, as well as all the other wonderful staff of the RCNO, was how much pride they took in their jobs. If there are issues they face – and I imagine there are, it wouldn’t be human not to – they certainly didn’t display that to guests.

What terrific public relations ambassadors they are for the hotel.

I mean, think about it.

The RC’s named PR staff does a great job, I’m sure. The RC is a top-notch hotel chain, and I imagine they get terrific media placements, et al.

But they are not front facing. They are not the ones meeting, or dealing with, guests on a day-to-day basis. They are hidden genies, and I’m not joking when I say they are probably genies, because no one knows better than I do just how tough a job “PR” really is.

The people I encountered every day, though… they are front facing.

Their job titles might be “Bell Hop,” or “Concierge,” or “Valet,” or “MDOG,” but you know what they are doing, when they do well at their jobs?

Public Relations.

They are engaging in actions that leave a better, or elevate an already good, impression of the Ritz Carlton brand on the hotel’s guests.

So guess which hotel I – as a guest aka consumer – will recommend to friends, or people who ask for recommendations, when it comes to hotels in New Orleans?

No, you don’t get a prize for guessing right. I set it up for you.

This is a small lesson, but it’s a huge lesson at the same time.

Employees may have specific job functions to perform, but how they perform those functions add value to – or detract from – your brand.

Think back to the interactions you’ve had with a brand over the last month. Did you meet the “PR people”?

Highly unlikely.

But it is highly likely that you interacted with salespeople, customer service, in flight crew, train conductors, wait staff… the list goes on.

None of these people have “public relations” in their job description.

Every single one of these people performs a critical public relations function for their employer(s) – to give customers (consumers) the best possible experience of the brand, so that they come back for more.

Public relations. It’s everyone’s business these days.

And it is in knowing – and accepting – that it’s everyone’s business, that we as PR professionals can do what our discipline asks us to do… to build, and maintain, beneficial relationships with our publics for our brands, organizations, employers.

I’ve had my say; how about you?

Image: Reading Tom via Flickr, CC 2.0

Public Relations is Everyone’s Business

I’ve been out for the last few days, attending (and speaking at) the 2012 PRSA Counselors Academy in New Orleans. This was my first time attending this conference, which is geared towards PR agency owners, providing a forum for them to share and learn from each other, not just from a professional development point of view, but from a business development and profitability point of view.

(That’s Derek Skaletsky of Traackr, Gini Dietrich and Johna Burke of BurrellesLuce, in my breakout session.)

So I didn’t know what to expect when Martin Waxman, co-chair of this year’s Academy, urged Pierre-Loic Assayag of Traackr (necessary disclosures: I was a beta user of Traackr, have built one of their showcased Alpha-lists, love their service, and participated in their first certification program last week, for which – and only which – I was personally compensated) and I to submit a proposal to speak.

And given the extreme changes that my own career has taken, I wasn’t sure if what I could offer would be of use to the attendees.

And, quite frankly, if what they could offer would be of use to me and my employer. ’Cos whatever I do now is no longer about just its value to me; it’s got to be of value to my employer… right?

Boy, was I wrong.

Though I was a newbie to the conference, I can’t tell you how welcome and at-home every single person I met made me feel.

I did have the advantage of already knowing wonderful people like Martin, Joe Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Lisa Gerber (we’re Bootcamp Buddies too!), Dana Hughens, Abbie Fink, Johna Burke and Ken Jacobs (first time meeting IRL!), who went out of their way to make me feel at home.

And if working together, with laptops and mimosas on a Sunday afternoon won’t do that, I don’t know what will.

Over and above that, I can’t tell you how many people I met with whom conversations went something like this:

“I’m ___________.”

“So nice to meet you, I’m Shonali.”

“Oh, you’re Shonali! It’s so nice to actually meet you after connecting on Twitter!”

Or:

“I’m ___________.”

“So nice to meet you, I’m Shonali.”

“Is this your first Counselors, Shonali? It is? Welcome! Tell me more about yourself!”

And so on, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

I caught up with Marcus Sheridan (and does he know how to give a keynote, I’m telling you, hire him for your gig this instant), Jay Baer and His Lovely Wife (whom I will not name, in case she’d prefer I didn’t) and got to experience New Orleans after quite a few years.

(Remind me, some time, to tell you the story of how Gini and I collapsed with laughter when a group of us were returning to our hotel from dinner via Bourbon Street, and we saw the best character… who was just being himself … in a ballet leotard… and fishnets… and platforms I’d die for).

I got to meet, as colleagues in the greater MSL Group, Mark McClennan (an SVP at Schwartz MSL in Boston, who I already knew because of social media, and Joan Cetera, an SVP at MSL Chicago). It was a really good feeling, to “represent,” as it were, and to have colleagues to chat with, and to learn from.

Learning. I learned so much.

From Marcus, not just on content marketing, but on how to wake an audience up with a smart presentation style.

From Jay, on how to roll with the punches (his flight was delayed, so the keynote that he and Gini were doing was rearranged so that we actually, er, had a keynote) yet deliver a message in compelling and humorous style.

From Gini, on grace, kindness (she cited Waxing UnLyrical and me not once, but twice during her keynote!), and so, so much more.

From Joe, on how to energize an army of entrepreneurs to build your business… and I can’t tell you how relevant that is to me, at we at MSL Washington DC seek to do just that.

From Elise Mitchell, who presented an energizing, emotional “solo Jazz” keynote on Day 2, reflecting on what it’s taken her to grow her business to the point where her firm has started raking in all sorts of national awards, inspiring the rest of us to never give up.

From Johna, and Colleen Flood, and Martin, and Ken, and Roger Friedensen, and Derek Skaletsky, who took the time to sit in on Pierre’s and my presentation, that once you’ve built your village, they will come out to support you, even if they’ve seen you do it a bunch of times before (and even if they do it with these really silly-yet-funny gizmos that make a bunch of different sounds to add, er, color, to your presentation).

I went to CA because I was committed to doing so before I started my new gig.

I returned from CA reminded of the power of connection, of ideas, of people.

And if I’d simply said, “This doesn’t look like there’s enough in it for me,” I probably wouldn’t have gone, or gained, as much as I did.

And MSL wouldn’t have gained, in the long term, what it will, simply because I (and Mark, and Joan) were there.

I’m not one to shy away from risks, but boy, did I learn, or re-learn, this lesson big time this past weekend.

So the next time you’re presented with this kind of opportunity, don’t shy away from it. Go for it. And I’m 99% sure (hey, a lady reserves the right to change her mind) you won’t regret it.

How about you? Do you remember a time where you went, perhaps half-heartedly, to an event, out of obligation, only to find it was like breathing pure oxygen? Did it change you? Do share!

When Opportunity Knocks

The good folks at advertising agency The Richards Group generously provided space for us to gather, and, as part of the deal, we had an opportunity to witness what in my opinion is a true “all-about-people” story.

What happened, you ask?

Very simply, agency founder and chief “cheerleader” Stan Richards introduced us to his 600-plus-member organization and related for us his philosophy on creating a winning team of communication professionals.

It’s one thing to say your employees are happy; it’s another to witness that happiness. The sheer joy of working at The Richards Group was palpable… clearly etched on the faces of every single person gathered in the three-story stairwell that serves as passageway and meeting space within the agency.

More to the point, the unabashed pride that Stan takes in his creation… made very successful thanks to the hard work, creativity, dedication, enthusiasm, and devotion of each and every member of the team… filled the building.

Among the takeaways for me was the undeniable truth that “if you let great people do what they do best, they will do great things.”

Three long window ledges filled to the brim with awards recognizing outstanding work on behalf of the agency’s clients provided tangible proof that these folks are very good at what they do!

But this post isn’t about the “business.”

It’s about what can happen when you allow incredibly talented people… in any type of organization… to have fun, build relationships with their co-workers, and collaborate freely, openly and willingly with them.

Teamwork

“Teamwork” is an often (in my opinion) overused … or misused … word. I constantly hear coaches pontificating about the “value” of teamwork (“There is no ‘I’ in team”).

But I also constantly see, and hear about, just the star players and their (apparently all-important) contributions to the success of their team.

Sounds more like “I” to this skeptic!

Teamwork is the direct result of each and every member of that team being valued for his or her talents and contributions.

And it comes from the recognition that, only by creating opportunities for everyone to have an equal say, does the team succeed.

We ended the Friday portion of our meeting with a tour of The Richards Group’s facilities. It was closing in on 6 pm, and Stan was describing for us the “village” concept of the organization.

Account teams are clustered together, everyone responsible for a client account is located in one area (hence, “village”).

The idea, according to Stan, was that these folks would (and do) become part of a family unit; sharing, caring, and contributing to the overall success of the team and…by extension…the agency.

One particularly telling occurrence was (remember, this was Friday afternoon about 6!) when, in response to a question asked by one of our group, a young account exec popped her head around the corner of her workspace with the answer and an absolute glow of joy on her face.

What’s so significant about this?

I would offer, based on my own experience as worker and/or supervisor for 40-plus years, that she wasn’t at her desk because she had to be there.

She was at her desk because she wanted to be there; to devote just a little more time to perfecting some work on behalf of a client.

And that’s the “moral” of this story, my friends.

Stan Richards is passionate about providing his employees with every possible opportunity to flourish and to succeed as professionals.

His employees, in turn, are passionate about providing the very best service possible to clients as part of finely-tuned account teams.

His clients…and his employees…benefit from the results.

Success is defined by three “Ps.”

A passion for what you’re doing.

The people who make it happen.

The professionalism that shows in everything that everyone does in support of the mission.

Are you there yet?

Image: Photobrixie via Flickr 2.o

Kirk Hazlett, APR, Fellow PRSA, has 35+ years’ federal government and nonprofit organization PR experience, followed by nearly 10 years’ undergraduate- and graduate-level college teaching experience. Some of the organizations he has counseled include the Blood Bank of Hawaii, Medical Area Service Corporation and Boston Harborfest. He blogs at A Professor’s Thoughts, and he’d love for you to talk to him on Twitter.

Passion, People, and Professionalism