Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

COP21 - Making World Economic Forum At Davos Seem Yesterday

The 2015 Paris Climate Conference or COP21 is where the movers and shakers want to be seen. Its influence could make the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos seem so yesterday.

At COP21 are, reports Chas Danner in New York Magazine, "more than 100 heads of state and 40,000 attendees from more than 190 countries." The goal is to hammer out international agreements which will slow down climate change.

If that succeeds, it might be able to accomplish more in two weeks than the WEF has in decades.

In addition, being in Paris right now gives those at COP21 unique insight into the impact of terrorism on a sophisticated society. They can crank out articles, white papers, books, and documentaries.
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Mickey Rooney - Yes, We Can Prevent That Kind Of Career Meltdown

Mickey Rooney had a very strong start. And a very early one.

He was a hit on stage from age two. So much so that the powers that be in charge of the show invested 50 bucks, big money in those days, to have a pint-sized tuxedo made.

Then by age 30, he was finished. Yet, he couldn't figure out how to make a comeback. The curse of early success does not explain much, really. After all, other young wonderkinds like Shirley Temple and Steve Jobs managed to put together The Next.

The details of that career tragedy are captured in the 2015 biography "The Life And Times of Mickey Rooney." The authors are Richard A. Lertzman and William J.Birnes. Here you can order it from Amazon.

Sure, there's a well known syndrome of how success tends to provide the platform for failure. Jim Collins chronicles that in "How The Mighty Fall." Here you can order it from Amazon. However, the reality is that at each step of our careers there are ways to circumvent disaster. The interesting part is not the peril inherent in success. But how we can prevent it.

Here are four of the very wrong moves Rooney made that we who do endure avoid or quickly fix.

Never growing up. It wasn't that Rooney was stuck in the role of Andy Hardy. It was that he was incapable of making the transition to adulthood. Not professionally. Not personally. Right into his old age he insisted on doing what he wanted, at least at the time. That ranged from not showing up to compulsive gambling.

Usually if we could make the transition from college or graduate/professional schools to accommodating reality, we can make that leap into being grown up. On my legal blog I chronicle the careers of JDs who are stuck in what they decide ought to be.

Blaming. Rooney died with only $18,000 in his estate. Bitter. Among those he fingered as villains were his money-managers. However, along the way, he was the one who didn't take charge of his affairs. The game, especially in these volatile times, is about continual course correction. X, my mentor from my first job, is no longer good for me. So, how do I navigate away nicely?

Being sarcastic. That's an adolescent trait, endearing during that time of self-exploration. Later, it gets in the way of productive professional communications.

A few years ago, I assisted Boston Millennial entrepreneur, Andrew Bachman, with a communications project. Like so many, he had his fall from grace. Since then he has settled with the FTC. But, the odds may be against a roaring comeback because of his seeming inability to communicate without what I experienced as merrily mowing down people with his mouth.  

Hiding. Rooney tended to vanish into the ether when things got tough. After whatever mini or major disaster, there's the sensible response of laying low. Then there is also the career-killer of hiding. Usually that takes the form of withdrawing into ourselves. In there we can't spot opportunity. And no one can reach us to guide us out.

If we believe William Shakespeare and Sigmund Freud, mankind is wired to screw up. That's our dark side. But we can manage that. It's not the mistakes, even the whoppers. It's our humility to admit destructive moves and course-correct.

Why couldn't Rooney pull that off? His drinking problem may explain much. Like many alcohol abusers, he became trapped in a web of resentment. After all, from the age of two, he supported his family. Resentment is one of the most sticky emotions. It stuck to Rooney.

Politicos, Trial Lawyers, Unemployed - Likeability Is Inside Job

Long before the social media phenomenon of  'Like," journalist Hedrick Smith documented that likeability is a form of power. It's right up there with access to the brass, wealth, and title. That was all in his now-iconic late-1980s book "The Power Game."

Now that Facebook contemplates a "Dislike" button, we are also going to find a lot about the power of not-liking.  But we don't have to wait for that, of course. We are seeing it played out in Campaign 2016 as the unlikeable Hillary Clinton flounders. The details of that downward trajectory are captured by Edwin Klein in the new book "Unlikeable: The Problem With Hillary." It will be released tomorrow.

According to Klein, Clinton had been given coaching on how to come across as more likeable. What every public speaking expert, as well as we speechwriters, knows is this: Likeability is an inside job. Practicing a laundry list of techniques won't do it. The buzzword for that inside job is learning to become "authentic."

There is no one version of likeability. Flighty Betty White is likeable. So is no-nonsense Queen Elizabeth II. Rascal Bill Clinton is likeable. So is straight arrow Pope Francis. Therefore, there is no option but to become authentic in who you are. Pull that off and you have a shot at being likeable. Those unable to become authentic will never be able to enter the zone of likeability.

We vote for politics we like. With all his weaknesses, George W. Bush was likeable. In the Rhode Island lead paint trial II, members of the jury, whom I interviewed, liked defense attorney, John Tarantino. They let his client off the hook, while finding guilty the other three. Employers hire those they like. No one wants to work with an unlikeable. That's added stress.

So, how do you find your authentic self? The first step is self-acceptance or loving who you are right not. That's a fundamental from wildly popular (and likeable) American Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron. That's the platform you will work with.

The next step is to develop a real interest in The Other out there. That's straight from Dale Carnegie, Dan Goleman's Emotional Intelligence, and, come to think about it, Jesus Christ. Once you do that, listening will be easy.

The third is identify ways to be helpful. No, you don't have to be a good-doer or want to change the world. In capitalism, that's called "The Favor Bank." You work from home and your neighbor's child care fell through. Offer to take over for that one day.

The beauty of likeability is that those who aren't trapped in themselves can achieve that state of being. It doesn't require pedigree, wealth, education, or even accomplishments. Dogs are inherently likeable. That's because they take a sincere interest in us.

 

The New Bohemians (Part 1): Educated, Minimalist, Stubborn About Work We Will Do

An unexpected side effect of working at crazy jobs is discovering that you are a member of what could be called "The New Bohemians."

Our values, lifestyles and lack of wealth mirror those of the 1970s Counterculture, being a graduate student or even how people made it during The Great Depression.

Regarding the latter I know all about the fun parts of that. As a Baby Boomer, I grew up with immigrant family recounting the good old days when everyone had nothing and everything. The everything part refers to a sense of self, generosity from friends and optimism that "this too will pass."

Essentially, we New Bohemians are educated, minimalist ranging from our residence to what we will deign to worry about, and stubborn regrading the work we will do. Enough money to pay the bills is enough.

More than that means the option to travel between jobs or careers or hunker down and write some short stories about the ethos of the lap dance. One of my colleagues, a Gen Xer with an Ivy pedigree, could emerge as the thought leader on the undiscovered artistry present in strip clubs.

What makes a job qualify as a "crazy one," at least according to us The New Bohemians? It is outside our career paths (at least those road-most-traveled ones). It pays from $10 to $18 an hour. Most co-workers have advanced degrees. Management is enlightened, respectful of our labor. And there is no drain on our brain power so that we can do the tasks and still retain our identities as kinds of philosopher kings. We insist on thinking, all the time.

Between crazy jobs we usually pursue our real careers. Those might be contract document reviewers, writers, spirituality instructors or even ordained ministers, landscaper, gypsy scholar, executive coaches, consultants, dog breeders, contract paralegals or forever students. Given the rollercoaster economy, increasingly those interim sources of income become necessary. Yet, we are picky about what we do. I turned down an offer because it was obvious my future co-workers took things way too seriously.  

Of course, crazy jobs aren't new. In high school, I was part of the fun bunch who operated machines injecting two pennies as change in cigarette packages for vending machines only taking quarters. That left me with a permanent comic mindset about the world of work.

This is the first of reflections on The New Bohemians. The possible takeaway is this: You won't frame what you do to pay your bills with great gravitas and you will give yourself permission to not be rich or even try to become that.

 

"Michelangelos" - Titan Brings Ceiling Ads To MBTA Trains, Buses

Yes, we look up. When stuck on the subway or bus and determined to avoid eye contact with fellow riders, we tend to stay looking up. That's what the Titan Advertising Agency in the Boston area knows.

For its long-term client the MBTA, Titan is piloting the placement of ads on the ceilings of trains and buses. The experiment is called "Michelangelos." As you recall, it was the design genius by that name who put religious art on the ceilings of cathedrals.

So far so good. What's especially good for MBTA revenues is this: The cost of the ceiling "art"  is about double the cost of traditionally placed ads. This would help keep green - that is, public transportation - sustainable. 

This new venue for ads can unleash fresh promotional campaigns for those doing the advertising. For example, personal injury lawyers can mount ceiling ads which say, "If you are having trouble bending your neck to read this ad because of an auto accident ..."

Here is the coverage of this innovation by Steve Annear in Boston Magazine.

Edelman: Not a Mean-Spirited Mindset

Who hasn't gotten in the soup over wording?

Language, from the time of Socrates, has been a weapon to use against humans by other humans. That's the game mankind, unlike our trusty canine and feline companions, play. Read George Orwell for more about that.

Public relations agency Edelman got slammed because of how its words were interpreted by so many layers of media and watchdogs. Here is Stuart Elliott's account in The New York Times. 

However, Edelman's mindset wasn't mean-spirited. Not on climate change and not on the death of Robin Williams.

In indicating that it wouldn't rule out taking on as clients those which deny climate change, Edelman was thinking like a business. Some would find that praiseworthy. A wiser choice of terminology might have been to change the phrase "climate change denier" to "those not aggressively supporting climate-change activism."

In using the term "opportunity" associated with Williams' death, it was again thinking like a business. Business is about spotting, pouncing on, and exploiting opportunity. Only, perhaps that might not have been the best choice of words. A better one might have been "mandate" to accelerate the global conversation about clinical depression. 

Of course, all this will blow over. But Edelman as well as so many of us learned or re-learned the horrific lesson: Words can and probably will be used against us.

The Great Fragmentation: Implications for Communications

Go on the Internet and "they" will come: Like-minded folks.

Embraced by those people, just as we are, we no longer have to keep monitoring ourselves as to whether we fit in with the mainstream. Or even youth culture. I can be totally comfortable jawing with the over-60 about our struggles keeping up with technology.

That shift is called by Jon Evans on Tech Crunch as "The Great Fragmentation." Here is his article. 

We can live out our little lives in digital and perhaps even real communities of Zen Buddhists (there are myriad schools of Buddhists), former attorneys who were forced out of BigLaw, quilters, recovered alcoholics who did that without Alcoholics Anonymous, gay couples exploring adoption overseas and comebacks from financial ruin. 

So, what are the implications for communications professionals? Here are some thoughts:

Stop being smug about demographics. Targeting has become a lot more complex. Big marketers like Sony know that. For instance, in customer service for its PlayStation4, it frames communications choices to align with each specific culture around the world. For instance, Americans might prefer social. Culture X might still want to complain via phone. 

Figure out what sandboxes you can play in. With so many groups - this goes way beyond niche marketing - there are limits to our ability to understand the communications touch points of A, B and C. After stumbling badly with certain segments of Millennials, I have returned to playing in the sandbox of leadership. We share the same mindset. The compensation is what I am used to.

Research before taking the deep dive. With so many different groups filtering data, the knowledge base might have changed. Don't go into a meeting or conference phone call without spending a couple hours doing a literature search and a couple more thinking about what has changed and what could change.

Explore how human beings are getting what they need emotionally and spiritually.  Address those touch points in communications. In some ways we remain a lot of alike. The current meme is: Search, and not in the Google sense. 

In both business and my personal life I have become more cautious. Emotional Intelligence (EI) demands that we hover around a group, virtual or actual, to figure out what their values, modes of interaction and biases are. Then, we can experiment with tactics to do business or simply hang out.

 

Generation Z - Is Public Relations Ready for The Ethical Generation?

Generation Z's signature is: The Ethical Generation.

They care more about the world than about themselves. No selfies live here.

 

Those in public relations have to figure out how to connect with this unique group.

There are a variety of markers for this generation. I go with the born-from-1995 through-2012 parameters. In an article published in Payment Week today, I explain how different this group is from Millennials. Here you can read it. 

Given that they are selfless, they are not wired to ignore the truth when that is convenient.  In positioning and packaging their clients' points of view, public relations agents will have to do deep dives for information and insight that Generation Z will assess as accurate and relevant.

How to get their attention, to begin with?  The oldest is 19.  The youngest are todders. That's a wide spread. Those in communications might be smart to niche this. Create promotions which catch the eye (they are post-word, totally visual) of various age segments.

One common factor, though, is their love of food and beverages. Research shows they spend more of their money on the experience of eating and the big gulp than on anything else. Also, they enjoy hanging around the stove cooking up simple dishes. Unlike previous generations, they shun foods that are popped into the microwave.

Another unifying meme is love of family. The ethos might echo the times when immigrant families like mine huddled for survival under one roof.  That was the multi-generational household. Through this generation, we aging might get respect again. My grandmother from Poland ruled as a powerful matriarch. 

Like the patriots in colonial America, members of Generation Z can lead this nation to where no country had ever been. Members of the public relations community would be wise to catch the rhythm of that momentum.

 

Q1 2014 GDP - If Arctic Blast Affects Your Organization

This arctic blast in a summer of supposed recovery is not what organizations expected.  

From business to churches most of the leadership had been moving along on the assumption that the worst was over. Then came the Q1 GDP report that the economy had contracted 2.9%. Here is the coverage in The New York Times.

So, what do you do?

First, don't panic. In that breakthrough book "Confidence," Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Kanter nails panic as the major reason business goes into a downward trajectory.  Usually there is plenty to do to overhaul or finetune one's cash position to weather the whatevers.

Secondly, figure out what is most marketable and promote that. If you are a religious group and what brings in revenue are career seminars pull out all stops with publicity for them. Sideline for now developmental projects.

Third, figure out more affordable ways to get things done. That might mean investing time and energy searching the freelance market for copywriters rather than continuing with a brandname agency. More and more help-wanteds on Craigslist indicate "individuals only, no firms or agencies."

Fourth, take better care of yourselves.  Research shows the productive value of a good night's sleep.  Problem solving is better and more efficient during the morning.

Fifth, remain in the now. Regretting past decisions only are fantasies about what could have been outcomes, not what were actual outcomes. 

We all are waiting for Q2 GDP results. They could be better than Q2. They could be worse.  They could be the same. Since we don't know, we play the cards right in our current hand. 

Greening of Northeast Corridor in Winter of 2014: It's the car buried in snow, stupid

Much of the Northeast Corridor, unlike the midwest, has excellent public transportation.  For example, right outside my building in central Connecticut the D5 bus stops.  It takes me to downtown, where I get on the commuter train to Manhattan. Sure, I could be green, as in not owning a car.  The sharing economy concept of ZipCar would be a perfect fit.

But I do have a car. And that has been the source of total angst and great physical suffering during this 2014 Winter of Discontent.  Come to think of it, the Winter of 2013, which brought 37 inches of snow one Friday, wasn't a walk in the park either.

Last week might have been the tipping point.  My computer broke.  To get it from my home office to Staples, where I have a service contract, I had to extricate the car from surrounding ice.  Sure, I could have called an auto service to tow it out - along with the 1000s others who did.  Likely I would have been still waiting by my car, today.

After two hours of grueling physical labor, I did rescue the car.  Staples was amazing in how fast (within a half day) it repaired the computer.  The next day the computer was fine.  My muscles weren't. 

Tonight another whopper of a storm is expected.  My car seemed to have given me a dirty look this morning.  I read it: How dare you put me through this again.  Its troubles might be more meaning to it if it was sharing itself with many other drivers.  The sharing economy could go mainstream this season of so much disruption.