Why you aren’t creative anymore
Face it – you aren’t as creative as you want to be. In fact, you aren’t even as creative as you used to be. But why?
Marketing
Three mind-hacks to keep calm under pressure
The role of a marketer or communicator can be stressful. Reputations and revenues are at stake, budgets can be significant, deadlines short, outcomes uncertain and scrutiny high. It’s fun – but it can have its moments. So how do you cope? Here are three ways to manage your stress and avoid a meltdown.
Why robots won’t take over PR
The robots are coming! At least to the journalism industry – specifically earnings and crime reporting. As a fan of automation in PR, I was asked recently what I thought about this trend. Are we all about to be replaced by robots, as we’ve seen in manufacturing? In short, no. Here’s why!
Why brand journalism matters
Brand journalism – organizations creating professional content – is a real and significant trend. But what impact will it have on corporate reputations and the media?
Has NBC lost its moral compass?
NBC has made a number of programing decisions recently, which have attracted strong criticism. Has it lost touch with its moral compass? And what can we learn?
9 reasons it feels good to be powerless
The mantle of being powerless is comfortable. But you shouldn’t put it on because it makes you invisible. You risk nothing, learn nothing, achieve nothing, and don’t progress. Here’s why.
Why ignoring social media is like smoking
Smoking is bad for you, in fact potentially fatal. It’s hard to change behavior. Traditional marketing could also be commercially fatal. So why wait?
Six crisis lessons brands can learn from Wikileaks
It’s not just governments which face threats from whistle-blowing sites, like Wikileaks. Organizations, especially consumer-facing brands, can easily attract a negative online presence from a disgruntled customer or employee. We’ve all seen those Brand X Sucks sites. So what should you do?
How to ‘meet for coffee’
A popular request in Silicon Valley is to ‘meet for coffee’. This is often a euphemism for a short meeting with no fixed agenda, beyond getting to know one another. As far as it goes, this can be productive – business is social after all. Many strong business relationships – with clients, partners, investors and potential employees start with an informal intro. But how do you make the most of them?
Creativity needs solid foundations
To be creative at work, you need strong foundations. The act of generating a new idea and seeing it through to fruition requires personal commitment, perseverance, vulnerability, risk and often conflict.
Ideas in their early stages are fragile like newborns. They need nurturing and protecting. They can be trampled or discarded just as they draw breath, and before they have a chance to flower. At every stage they need to prove themselves – to team mates, to clients, to partners, to influencers and to their audience. As a creative, it’s your role to see that idea blossom – to conceive it, to give it substance, to validate it, to realize it and to evangelize it. A good idea is a personal journey. We put a part of ourselves into our best ideas, and in so doing, make ourselves vulnerable.