Your Brand: Clarify it, Polish it, Protect it!

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It's worth the effort.

Whether you’re a big, powerful corporation, a tiny nonprofit struggling to be heard, or a small business hoping to grow, you have a brand, and it’s worth some attention and valuable staff time. Failure to pay attention to how your staff or membership or reps are communicating about your organization is a pretty sure indicator that, eventually, if not already, your brand is going to be fuzzy, feckless or forgotten. Does it matter? Only if you hope to have a future.

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Election 2016: Take Two

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Where do we go from here?

When I wrote “The Election: Who Stands to Lose the Most?” last week, after agonizing about it for quite some time, I really expected people to voice their opinions, share their perspectives, post some comments of one sort or another. Frank Robinson, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, posted a most substantive comment (and the only one), building on the case I had made and further explaining it from a psychological point of view. (The comment is there; you can still read it.) So I did get a response – just not a public one. And, you know what? It wasn’t the response I expected

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The Election: Who Stands to Lose the Most?

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How communication has failed us 

I’ve agonized a long while over writing this article, for two good reasons: I’ve committed not to allow politics into this space, and this is a weighty topic, requiring research on my part and a real commitment to understanding on the part of my readers. What finally drove me to take on the task was actual fear that, due to the way humans quite naturally make and defend their decisions, our country might be torn apart or at least face an ugly, painful period of violence and dissension. And there’s more: I suddenly realized that the outcome of this election is going to allow both candidates to win – and possibly all of us to lose.

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Planning: Strategic or Tactical?

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Are you putting the cart before the horse?

Whether your ultimate goal is a solid marketing plan, a sound fund development plan, or, even more broadly, an overall direction for your organization for the next three years, it’s important to consider the significant differences between strategic planning and tactical planning. Both have a place, but one comes before the other – that is, if you hope to continue moving forward on a clear path toward a meaningful goal without a lot of costly side trips and unforeseen rerouting.

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Lets Take Stock

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How about an update on some recent Speakeasy themes?

I suggest we take a few minutes today to revisit some of our favorite topics over the past few weeks and see what’s new. Here are ten rather interesting random “updates” I encountered quite by accident:

1.     I saw a glimpse of The Essential Hillary Clinton which included video from many years ago.

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Presenters and Speakers: Be careful!

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Don't sabotage your own presentation.

Recently I had the pleasure of sitting in on an excellent presentation about aging. It was co-presented by two highly qualified, very experienced women – professionals in every sense of the word. They split their presentation time, each taking on half the job. The first speaker broke the three rules that I consider absolutely basic, beginner-level advice. The second one offered a polished, accessible, engaging presentation that was a pure pleasure to watch. So what were the three basic differences between these two presentations?

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The Authentic Fund Support Partnership

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Partners or Vendors?

Do you ever walk down the street when you’re visiting an unfamiliar city and catch sight of some forlorn looking vendor with a mobile display of goods that are of mild curiosity but not of real interest? The poor fellow makes eye contact, and you easily see that he’s trying to hide his desperation for a sale behind a sad smile. He’s just a “vendor” – doesn’t really belong here, has no right to consider you his target market. That's a vendor, not a partner.

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Why the $10 word, folks?

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The little one is the better choice.

Everyone should have a friend with whom they can silently roll their eyes, in unison, while politely listening to a speaker who chooses overstuffed words that, one would suppose, are meant to indicate intelligence, sophistication, or such. My friend-in-eye-rolling is Sharon Green, and I’ve got to tell you, Sharon’s got way more English language creds than I do. (That said, I can roll my eyes with the best of them.)

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