| Faut-il commenter une rumeur ?
Mylène Forget |
2009-11-13 09:45:57 Agence de RP |
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En général, nous recommandons à nos clients de ne pas commenter de rumeurs. Mais quand cette règle souffre-t-elle des exceptions ?
J’ai été confrontée à plusieurs reprises ces jours-ci à la situation suivante : des déclarations de personnalités publiques faisaient référence à un client. Afin de faire cesser les spéculations, nous avons choisi d’émettre de très brefs communiqués et de ne pas accorder d’entrevues. Et voici que je vois ce matin que la NASA elle-même a pris la peine de réfuter la fameuse rumeur d’apocalypse qui surviendrait, selon certains, en 2012. Calendrier maya, collision avec un corps céleste, alignement des planètes, toutes les théories catastrophistes s’étaient liguées vers cette date fatidique ! Évidemment, avec un peu de recul, on voit bien que la fin du monde est annoncée par divers groupes pseudo-scientifiques, très régulièrement. Et aussi régulièrement, cette date est repoussée. Il y a de quoi rire, ou de quoi pleurer. Avec l’avènement de cette grande page blanche qu’est la Toile, il y a de la place pour le pire comme pour le meilleur. Et bien souvent, ce sont les prophètes de malheur qui tartinent des inepties. On n’a qu’à penser, entre autres, aux tenants de la « biologie totale », aux détracteurs des vaccins, et autres obscurantistes. Espérons que la NASA saura convaincre… |
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| I’m happy to report I’m not an addict
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2009-06-08 10:46:06 Society |
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I recently read an article that diagnosed the ten signs of work addiction. While in my pre-parenthood days, I could easily work 60 to 70 hours of week without blinking, things have changed. That whole elusive work-life balance issue never hits you more forcefully than when you have a family to answer to. And yes, I still have the same drive and commitment to working hard, and I love the world of communications and public relations, but I’m happy to declare, according to the book Chained to the Desk, I am not a work addict.
Yes, I have some addict-like habits, like I am often in a rush and skip exercise (numbers 1 and 10), but I wouldn’t say I am “no fun” (number 6) or especially “irritable” (number 8). The authors have identified the 10 most common bad habits that would identify you as being a workaholic, a concept smacks of the late 90’s, for some reason, and seems a little dated. But it goes to prove, even in an economic downturn, the top 10 list concept always works. We want to know, preferably in ten, easily digestible steps, how to tell if our partners love us, if we’re working too much, how to improve our diet, stain our deck or get our in-laws to like us. The concept of Top 10 is such a common communications crutch that there is even a website devoted to the concept at www.toptenz.net. For example, today’s lists include the Top 10 Weirdest Political Parties, 10 Great Live Performances of the 1960’s and 70’s, and Top 10 Bizarre and Unusual Tragedies. Not that these are all attention-getters on their own, but group them together and name them the top 10 in their field/sector/domain/area of interest, and suddenly you have a topic worth debating. So, if I take the 10 top signs of work addiction to heart, I am relieved to know that I am not a work addict (just an occasional “user”?? Don’t get hooked, kids!). And in reading Harvard Business Review's Top 10 mistakes made by poor leaders, it seems pretty clear that being a bad leader and a workaholic are not unrelated (both are impatient, can’t collaborate and don’t have good relationships). So thank you Top 10 lists, and here’s one tip I’ve managed to grasp: it’s important to have good leadership and a healthy work life! |
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| The art of writing speeches
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2009-06-08 10:41:46 PR Agency |
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I must admit, I was pretty impressed on Thursday as I listened to Barack Obama give a speech from Cairo mainly directed towards the Muslim world. Intended to heal and build bridges but also articulate the positions of the new administration, it was an excellent example of skilled rhetoric at work.
An effective speech consists of a talented orator, which Obama is (appropriately placed pauses, punctuating hand gestures, fluidity and quality of tone) and great content. Great content is defined by impactful, resonant and concise messages, relevancy to the audience (in this case, multiple quotes from the Koran), allegory and anecdotes (references to his own personal connections with Islam). I have been writing speeches for years and it is one of my not-so-secret pleasures in the world of public relations that I get to do this from time to time for a variety of speakers. The key to good speech-writing, as I learned long ago working with an ex-speechwriter for Pierre Trudeau, is not to only compose good text but write it as though the person who will be giving the speech would have said these words naturally. Capturing tone and style is easier, of course, when you have a naturally gifted speaker like President Obama. Assuming his “voice” in a speech is made simpler because he has a definite mastery and approach that a truly good speech writer could capitalize upon. Obama has a couple of very talented speechwriters in his roster, and the architect of this particular speech was Ben Rhodes, the MFA-in-Fiction-bearing staffer who specializes in foreign policy. His creation was a smart blend of analogy and historical reference, solidly based on some clear position statements, what we would call key messages. I loved it especially for its simplicity, which is also crucial when you know you are going to be translated into other languages (at least 13 by the State Department itself). But I also thought it was particularly successful because it came across as authentic and genuine, not just statements being made for the sake of political expediency, but because they were meant and will be acted upon. And we all need a little more of the real thing. |
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| Prix d'excellence 2009 de la SQPRP...suite
Johanna Raynaud |
2009-06-04 09:48:45 Agence de RP |
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 Lors du gala de remise des Prix d’excellence 2009, nous avons eu le plaisir de voir 26 finalistes récompensés. La liste des récipiendaires des Prix est accessible en ligne au www.sqprp.ca.
Pour ceux et celles qui souhaiteraient voir le gala en images, voici les liens vers les sites des deux photographes de la soirée : Marc Gibert d’Adecom et Nicolas Gallenne. Merci à tous les bénévoles, partenaires et commanditaires de la soirée ! |
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| Where Values and Profits Meet
Emily Bradshaw |
2009-06-04 09:07:46 Miscellaneous |
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My experience in business school was largely a very positive one and the knowledge I gained during that time has proved invaluable to my career. I have to admit however, that I was a little unprepared for the unilateral way in which business students are taught to make decisions and quickly became frustrated with what seemed to be THE mantra of the corporate world: "maximize shareholder profits". If I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase, I would be a rich woman! Maximize revenues; minimize costs, cut redundancies, etc, etc. I was taught that every business decision must have the singular goal of maximizing shareholder wealth at the expense of nearly all other considerations. This never felt quite right to me and I often wondered whether I was really cut out for the world of business…
What about creating value for other stakeholders? And I don't just mean customers. We all know the importance of maximizing customer value.... But how do business decisions affect employees and their families, communities, the environment, society as a whole? How often is the goal of maximizing shareholder profits detrimental to other stakeholders? How often do business leaders have to make decisions that contradict their personal values all in the name of profits? Looking at the state of today's economy and the number of companies in trouble, is it possible that the cumulative results of all those decisions might not have been the best ones? Could today’s economic crisis really be the result of a business world in search of meaning? That is the theme of an interesting conference/panel discussion happening on Tuesday, June 9th at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montreal. The conference, hosted by Esse Leadership, in collaboration with IDE conseil will be animated by Remi Tremblay, President of Esse Leadership, who asks the question, how can business leaders reconcile their personal values and ethics with sound business decisions? He argues that there is no crisis of leadership, but rather leaders in crisis... and asks the question do sound business practices and personal ethics necessarily have to be mutually exclusive? The panel will feature keynote speaker Dom Hugues Minguet, a Benedictine Monk who specializes in teaching business leaders to be more present in their decisions. It will also include some of Montreal and Quebec City's top business leaders who will address how today's business leaders can adapt and make decisions that will better fit with their own values and how they can find meaning in those decisions. I believe this will be a very interesting conference for anyone looking to create meaning in their own careers and comes at just the right time in our collective corporate history. Hopefully it is only the beginning of discussions about how to be successful in business while creating value for ALL stakeholders. Anyone interested? info@esseleadership.ca. |
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