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Tatiana the Warrior
International Women’s Day 2020 Fifteen years ago I was teaching English in a town called Sucre, the second capital of Bolivia. The school was run by a vivacious and intelligent woman named Tatiana. One day Tatiana asked me to go to lunch at her home. There I met Tatiana Snr, who is still one of the impressive people I’ve ever met. When Tatiana Snr was very young she was the target of a very powerful man’s attention who promised her security and a home. When she fell pregnant, he disowned her, refused to acknowledge her or the pregnancy. Her family was ashamed and kicked her out. She lived on the…
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Goodbye for now
My grandmother was an inspiration, great friend and source of continual love and laughs. I gave an eulogy at her funeral in late 2019, on behalf of my cousins. Nanna was an eternal optimist, fiercely loyal, staunchly independent who could stand her ground and state her mind with dignity and grace. She loved her family deeply, wholly and with every fibre of her being. Nanna was the most exceptional cook. And she did a lot of it. When you piled around for dinner and gnocchi was on the menu, it was like winning the lottery. Those mouth-watering, soft dissolving clouds of delight were the best thing to eat – ever.…
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7 things to think about when managing your most important asset: Business reputation
A brand is what you say about yourself. Your reputation is what others say about you. I’ve had my business for 12 years and over that time I’ve worked with over 400 companies. That’s a lot of marketing and communications plans and brand reputations to consider. My approach to communications is what I call being a ‘business communicator’. I have a mild obsession with my client’s business goals, and I work to achieve them with the tools of communication. I have worked with multinationals, start-ups, family businesses, not-for-profits and listed companies. There are a lot of things to consider when managing your reputation, and here are my top seven lessons…
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Is the Liberal Party brand dead? A rescue plan for the Liberal Party brand
The debacle that was Australian federal politics last week seems to be on a hiatus for the time being, but what damage have the pollies done to their beloved Liberal Party brand? And, can they be resurrected from the opinion poll chopping block?1 If you were playing buzzword bingo this week, you’d be busy as a beaver. The new PM, Scott Morrisson (or ScoMo), has hammered his keywords relentlessly to media, as if saying them over and over will make us forget the week that was lost to internal bickering. I’m all for key messaging, but it feels as though I’m being smacked on the head by a blunt instrument.…
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Love of communications leads to entrepreneurial success
It was a pleasure to have my career (and it’s twists and turns) feature on the My Future website, which encourages others to think differently about their career paths. Read the full article here: https://myfuture.edu.au/case-studies/details?id=love-of-communications-leads-to-entrepreneurial-success#/
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4 questions to develop a killer communications strategy
Endless information, how-to-guides and videos can show you how to do just about anything including how to write a strategic communications plan. But there’s no cookie cutter business; every business and organisation have a different set of resources, goals, purpose, history and future, so it is impossible that one guide fits all. Over eleven years, I’ve facilitated and written approximately 150 strategic communication plans for businesses of all shapes and sizes; ASX listed, private, large, small, multi-national, not-for-profit, start-ups, merging, de-merging and even wrapping-up. The one commonality is: they are all different! For each plan, I’ve adapted the process, the methodology and even the strategy to suit them. This isn’t an…
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The Business Owner Meet Up
It is well documented that meeting up with your peers is good for your (business) soul. You know what? It really, really is. I don’t know a business owner who has it all sorted – working the four-day week and not having issues associated with managing people. We are busy. I get it. But we must make time in our days, weeks and quarters to do what nurtures our (business) souls – that is to meet with our peers and chat – and in that time, be honest and lay it all bare. You’ve probably heard it a million times, but IT IS PART OF THE JOB and an important one at…
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Your path to success through the power of no.
When smart people who have success in their careers go out on their own, there is a period that follows that can only be described as turbulent. Not always negative turbulence but the swishy-swashy-throw-you-off-your-feet type of turbulence that messes with your head. You knew it would be different and challenging, but did you really expect doing the same profession employed through a different set of circumstances could be THAT different? Well it is. And everyone has an opinion about it. You’ll meet the “OMG! You’ve gone out on your own” people and “Awesome, I’ll capture you for myself” people. There will be the ones who say, “Partner with me for free…
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Honey attracts more flies
The client – supplier relationship has changed. The old paradigm of the master/servant relationship that sees the client hold all the strings, has gone to where it belongs, the rubbish. Where once it might have been OK (or more normal) to have tantrums, raise voices and threaten sacking the client on a whim, are now just viewed with annoyance, pity and then anger. Why anyone would think that treating people working on a creative project with no respect, with superstition or malevolent behaviour is a good idea doesn’t know how to manage people, get great work, loyalty or even good will. The best way to get a tick-a-box approach to…
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Is the traditional PR agency model broken?
Mumbrella invites the most senior PR professionals to share their opposing views on the industry’s biggest issues. Felicity was invited to go head to head with PPR’s Michael Pooley to debate whether the traditional PR agency model is broken… See More
