Tag Archives: compromise

Jeff Esposito

From “Yes We Can” to No You Didn’t; A Cautionary Lesson in Social Media

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President Barack Obama’s use of social media has seen its ups and downs. Back in 2008 his social media savvy helped propel him into the Oval Office. His use of technology was instrumental in his campaign, and it is looked at as the blueprint for how campaigns should be run in the Web 2.0 world. Many social media books use his historic campaign as an example or case study of an effective social media strategy.

Now that he’s in office, however, there is significant room for improvement in his social media activity. First of all, after the election, his social accounts lost their personal touch and turned into more of a broadcast medium managed by his staff. As his Twitter profile notes, only Tweets marked BO are coming directly from the Commander in Chief. So engaging, it is not. While I wouldn’t expect the President to be Tweeting away, his staff should have kept up an engagement level similar to large corporations.

In the middle of the federal debt ceiling negotiations, Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Get Out of the Way of Success

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Businesspeople talking in office

We all have opinions. Hell, those opinions, and its cousin – counsel – are a major part of what we as communications and brand management professionals are sought out and paid for. But at a certain point, no matter how great we think our opinions, ideas and strategies/tactics are, once the ideas are all out on the table, and our clients (or potential clients) and bosses have had a chance to mull them over, that’s when the really hard work begins. That’s when it’s time to compromise.
And listen. And not get all bent out of shape when someone questions your motives or puts it right out there and says they just don’t like/get your concept or proposal. That can be a tough thing to accept, I’m learning. And yet, it’s actually quite a relief. It means we don’t always have to be perfect, and not all of our ideas have to be world-changing, save-the-planet and/or the-next-greatest-thing.
It means we listen a little harder in 2010 and relinquish the silly “guru” and “expert” tags from our bios and Twitter intros and just listen to people’s needs. The economy may still be sour, but at the end of the day, there is still a great need for tons of companies, non-profits and organizations to cut through the clutter and make 2010 a hell of a lot better than 2009.
Our job is to continue to give our opinions and stellar counsel and don’t get too bent out of shape because the new year is sure to present just as many questions as the past 12 months.

We all have opinions. Hell, those opinions, and its cousin – counsel – are a major part of what we as communications and brand management professionals are sought out and paid for. But at a certain point, no matter how great we think our opinions, ideas and strategies/tactics are, once the ideas are all out on the table, and our clients (or potential clients) and bosses have had a chance to mull them over, that’s when the really hard work begins. That’s when it’s time to compromise. Continue reading →