Archives for May, 2011.

On the same day that Sony’s customer database was hacked, for a second time, I got a letter from my neighbourhood Honda dealer to tell me that my personal information, including all my car registration data, had been ‘compromised.’  This letter was almost the idenitical to the one a former employer sent me about 10 years ago….

So I’m sick and really annoyed by the whole thing which means I have to tell everyone – “do you know how sick I am?” To which people offer advice. Vitamin C and sleep, gargle with vinegar, scotch, hot shower, stream room, ginger ale, chicken soup, and the list goes on. They all mean well,…

Whether you are marketing a product, an experience, a vacation, a service or something else people want at least one of the following, but ideally both. 1. They want a deal. People shop around, compare prices without leaving their home and talk to their friends. No one wants to pay full price for anything. Communicate…

The winds changed, the flames whipped up and all of a sudden the Slave Lake Fire had destroyed city hall, the police station, the high school, local mall, the radio station and countless houses.  As communicators we develop and test crisis communications plans that will help people in times of crisis. We try and predict what…

Some people feed on conflict. They need conflict to get going and keep going. They need to dominate the emotional space. With these people, you can try to communicate with them. You can can try reason and logic. But only give then three chances and then, if success eludes you, move on. Conflict is in…

I’ve figured it out. The best luxury of all time is time. Time and being able to focus on one thing at a time. Think about how often we multi-task: we talk on the phone, send an email and stir the soup. For busy communicators  think about a typical day: draft key messages for an emerging issue; finalize…

In January, I bought a leather notebook cover which holds specialized notebooks. The store confirmed they sold the inserts. When I bought it they were out of the inserts, but assured me they would be in shortly and since one insert came with the cover I wasn’t worried. Five months later – yes, five months –…

You’ve got to pay to play. That means you’ve got to vote if you want to be part of the conversation. No whining or complaining about the result if you didn’t vote. There are so many people fighting for this basic human right. Whether it’s Afghanistan or China, Libya or Nepal – democracy is a…