At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies were searching for appropriate ways to be wisely sensitive about what to say and how to say it. Yes, time has passed, but guess what? We are still in the middle of a pandemic. As of this writing, the U.S. is at a 14.7 percent unemployment … Read More
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Communicating Your Reopening: Allaying Fears and Mitigating Risks
Your business is about to reopen after the COVID-19 lockdown. You have a lot of process and details to handle to reopen. However, your customers, staff and other stakeholders have to trust your plans if they are going to show up. So, what can you say? Here are five principles to get you started: ONE: … Read More
With Conference Season Looming, Prepare to Pivot
It’s only May, but fall conference season is in full swing….at least it usually is this time of year. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a conundrum for businesses that hold in-person events. While it was clear that spring conferences needed to be rescheduled, canceled or go virtual, it’s too soon to tell what fall may … Read More
COVID-19 Communications: Community Before Business
Regulators and health professionals worldwide are asking all of us to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, businesses are at risk. But, more importantly, lives are at risk. Business communications and associated operations must reflect that now more than ever. The top three things to remember when you communicate inside and outside your organization are: … Read More
Four Years, Four Surprises…Four Takeaways!
I recently celebrated Succession Communications’ four-year anniversary while on a business trip to New Orleans, and I took some downtime to reflect. It has been a whirlwind four years of growth and change, and the original Succession is almost unrecognizable now. Wonderful clients and partners were crucial to our success, and we are very fortunate … Read More
Yes. We Need Journalists.
I read The Washington Post’s Steve Pearlstein’s column on the death of business reporting this past weekend with interest. So much interest, in fact, that I posted a comment on it. And, I’m devoting a blog post to it because he raised a subject that is increasingly misunderstood and requires exploration. Based on Steve’s experiences … Read More
Succession Story: A Q&A with Jonathan Berke, Editor of Middle Markets at Debtwire North America
I launched the “Succession Stories” blog series last year to highlight our top professionals in various aspects of communications, and learn how they have navigated a fast-changing industry. Today, we are proud to feature a seasoned and highly astute financial reporter and editor, Jonathan Berke, who I’ve known from our days in the School of … Read More
Advice I’d Share with Aspiring PR Pros…and My 22-Year-Old Self
We all learn on the job. That’s just a fact of life. While college courses in communications help prepare budding PR pros, they learn the arts of juggling tasks and deadlines, of client service, and of navigating office culture…well, at the office. This is where they hone their craft. When I started in PR, fresh … Read More
Take the Sechel Challenge!
There’s a popular Yiddish word, sechel, which means common sense. We’ve all likely seen illustrations recently in which companies have attempted to push boundaries to generate attention and excitement, but may not have considered the backlash they would face. An obvious example of this is Pepsi. The ubiquitous Kendall Jenner was recently featured in an … Read More
I’m Back! How Can I Help?
There’s an elephant in the room, so let’s get that out of the way (not literally, despite my proximity to the National Zoo). I have not posted a blog in months. Why? Well, in 2016 I was fortunate enough to grow my business, and spent my time doing quite a bit of writing for clients … Read More