Liftoff Solutions

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July 1st, 2009
Posted in Uncategorized | 48 Comments »

This evening I finally attended a performance of the Metropolitan Opera. Only, it wasn’t in New York, it didn’t cost a fortune, and I didn’t get thrown out for bringing in my favorite candy.

A couple of years ago, The Met’s then-incoming General Manager Peter Gelb announced his ambitious plan to broadcast performances in HD to movie theaters around the world. Instead of bowing to criticism from those in the old-school who worried about watering down The Met’s high-quality offerings, Gelb realized that we live in a changing world. He responded to it with a vision. Reversing The Met’s falling attendance rate and strengthening its brand would require a new approach.

Your organization may not have the history or grandeur of The Met. Nevertheless, it is certainly facing the same changing landscape and choices that the world’s most famous opera grapples with. Are you embracing new technology - Facebook, Twitter, the list goes on - or are you wringing your hands and complaining about how tough things have gotten or that you can’t keep up?

Tens of thousands of music-lovers who, after watching their first Met performance on screen, now dream of attending a concert in person. It’s no coincidence that attendance rates have risen since The Met’s operas began popping up in local movie theaters.

Innovative solutions are the only solutions in changing times.

To Mr. Gelb, and to those who choose to look forward in charting the path of your organizations: Bravo.

April 2nd, 2009
Posted in Change | 204 Comments »

Be Prepared or Beware

Conveying your message to an audience is challenging. But it’s impossible if you’re not ready.

Tonight about 1,000 other Kansas Citians and I were fortunate enough to hear a great public intellectual speak about our global political and economic climate.

But the content of his speech is not what we will remember months or weeks from now. Instead, we will remember the introduction given by the high-powered executive who introduced him.

“We are fortunate to have Fareed… Zek-uh-ray-ruh…with us,” he began. The audience literally gasped at his mispronunciation of Newsweek International Editor and CNN Host Fareed Zekaria’s name. Hmm… under stage lights, perhaps one mistake is excusable. But after another bungle (”Zek-er-ah”), the speaker became flushed and simply began referring to the speaker by his first name. (I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to wonder if the executive had, indeed, read Zekaria’s recent book with great interest, as he claimed.) In fact, not once did the presenter come close to the correct pronounciation of Zekaria.

Although Zekaria was excellent - and notably well-prepared, especially in context - the mistake that preceded him probably stuck in the minds of most audience members more than anything.

A major company and a university invested tens of thousands of dollars to associate themselves with a well-known journalist and public intellectual. How will their efforts be remembered?

April 1st, 2009
Posted in Know Your Audience, Message Alignment, Public Relations | 129 Comments »

Dissecting Failure

Do you learn more from success or failure?

A recent post from the Chronicle of Philanthropy, “Dissecting Why a Grant Failed,” helps us to reflect on the fact that failure can teach us more than success.

Is your organization working on any new grant proposals? If so, are you considering which grants you failed to receive, or which ones you received but which were less effective than others? This could be a good time to ruminate…

March 27th, 2009
Posted in Fundraising and Grants | 160 Comments »

Short and Sweet Sells

Have you ever read the letters to the editor in your local newspaper? Chances are, you have, and you may have thought that they are a good indicator of public opinion.

Well, I have a dirty little secret to share. Many of those letters – especially the ones about politicians or products – aren’t written by the sweet little old ladies who sign them.

Who would pretend to be Ethyl C. Miller from Raytown, you ask?

There are professionals – I know some of them – whose job it is to write dozens and dozens of these letters each and every day and submit them to newspapers all over the country. Of course, they get well-meaning supporters to sign their letters, but that doesn’t mean that those people would have taken the initiative to write them themselves.

This may be an opportunity for free earned media for your own organization or business. You may have received a letter from a customer who was thankful for the service you provided. Did you follow up to ask this customer if he would provide a testimonial for use on your website? Or if he would submit a letter to the editor? Or, you could even pay a small sum to run this letter as an advertisement in one of the lower-cost local newspapers that serves your area.

It’s short and sweet, and it sells.

January 12th, 2009
Posted in Public Relations, Tricks of the Trade | 93 Comments »

The Elevator Speech

Do you think you and your co-workers have a handle on describing your organization succinctly and accurately to customers and potential customers?

Test it out. Take a digital recorder and visit each person in your office. Ask them describe the organization in 30 seconds or less – the time they would have if they met someone in an elevator.

I have conducted this exercise on organizations and found that – despite the responses being short and, on the surface, similar – sometimes no two people are saying the same thing. By simply charting the components of what each person says on a matrix, it may become evident that your organization could benefit from a training session for your workforce.

Before training others, though, you may wish to ask yourself: do you actually have a defined “elevator speech” already, or does it need to be hammered our more thoroughly with the team? And, if the team is giving different answers, why is that? Are there mixed messages within the organization?

January 9th, 2009
Posted in Internal Communication, Message Alignment | 182 Comments »

Lost in Translation?

When’s the last time you took a step back and asked yourself, “Am I speaking the same language as my customer?”

Chances are you already look out for the pitfall of using jargon that your customer plain doesn’t understand (think acronyms and abbreviations). But perhaps even more dangerous than using a word your customer doesn’t know is using one that she does – but which may not be understood in the context.

Think of it like this: if you are traveling in a country whose language you don’t speak, you will probably try to latch onto words that sound similar in both languages. In Paris, for instance, you may be comforted by the fact that “taxi” and “hotel” are easy to identify. If you’re clever, you may even figure out that vin is wine.

Then again, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Porte and entrée seem easy enough – until you realize that they mean bridge (not port) and appetizer (not main course).

In your own business dealings, is the “deposit” really refundable? Is the “donation” really tax-deductible? Might you be getting into similar traps with your customers, assuming that you speak the same language when, in fact, you may not?

What vocabulary may be easily confused in your own line of work?

December 28th, 2008
Posted in Internal Communication, Know Your Audience | 101 Comments »