A Storyteller's Musings on Strategic Communication and Leadership

  There are times when I am on my phone and I will see an advertisement for a product or service that I have searched for or only thought about in my head. It is as if someone is reading my mind. Am I being watched? It is like Big Brother in George Orwell’s book 1984 . Big Brother was an all-seeing leader who became a universal symbol for intrusive government and oppressive bureaucracy. Orwell’s book was the inspiration for Apple’s commercial in 1984. The commercial, which was the debut of the Apple Macintosh personal computer, featured a woman running into a crowd watching a Big Brother figure on a television screen. The woman tossed a sledgehammer through the screen. What does all of this have to do with advertising? Whether we realize it or not, many advertisers are paying companies like Google and Facebook to place strategic ads on our screens. Some people might think of advertisers as Big Brother because the constant ads online and on social media can be invasive. Advertisers ...

When people say that their vision is 20/20, that means they can see normal visual acuity at a distance of 20 feet. Some people, including myself were not born with 20/20 vision. In fact, I have worn glasses since I was 18 months old. So what does this have to do with leadership? Just like those with poor eyesight can strengthen their lens to improve their vision, strategic communication leaders can build up their leadership lens to achieve a 20/20 vision for their organization. Some leaders develop a clear vision while others maintain a blurry vision. In this discussion, I will talk about how the development of a clear vision is vital to effective leadership.   Effective leaders achieve success by having a compelling vision and being committed to that vision even in the most difficult moments. Two leaders who stand out to me are TOMS Founder Blake Mycoskie and Chicken Salad Chick Founder Stacy Brown. These are two leaders who have maintained thriving businesses because they built...

  Donald Trump. The former president changed the way politicians communicate to the public. He wanted to speak directly to his constituents in an informal manner. Many people knew where Trump stood on his views because of his tweets on his Twitter page. Rather than have his words misconstrued, Trump wanted people to read tweets straight from the horse’s mouth. Sometimes, a member of Trump’s staff would write his tweets in certain situations. Most people knew when Trump was tweeting because of the authenticity of the voice. Today’s discussion will focus on leadership and communication with internal, external and government groups. Social Media Initiates Conversations Politicians and corporate leaders are using social media as a tool to reach a larger audience. Social media offers an easier way to have a two-way conversation with the public. But leaders need to listen and engage rather than broadcast a message. “It’s a mindset shift, from that one-way communication to fostering...

  48 hours. That is the amount of video content uploaded to YouTube every minute, according to Kevin Allocca, trends manager at YouTube. Out of those videos, “a tiny percentage goes viral and gets tons of views and becomes a cultural moment” (Allocca, 2011). Sometimes companies are the recipients of these cultural moments. Companies featured in a viral video can receive an exuberant amount of support or backlash. Just like agents have to look out for their celebrity clients, strategic professionals have to look out for their companies. Strategic communication professionals have to be careful of their company’s reputation being put at stake because of the public’s reaction towards a viral video. United Airlines takes a hit United Airlines, a company that received a fourth-quarter net income of $462 million in 2019, was once the target of a musician’s viral revenge video about his experience with the airline. In 2008, Dave Carroll, a Canadian musician, was on a flight from Hali...