Social media: Books I want to read
My reading list is many miles long, but given how many great books are out there, it’s always getting longer as I continue to stumble across new prospects. This Social Media Reading List is one of the culprits adding to that list (but in an absolutely great way).
It’s a good one. Check it out.
My quest for productivity
The first time I read “Getting Things Done” by David Allen, I was just out of college and starting in my first job. I remember getting all my manila file folders in order, buying a Brother labeler, and looking forward to how productive I would be with my new system.
Yeah, that didn’t work out so well. 🙂
So I’m giving it another try. I’ve started reading the book again on my Kindle in an effort to get the “mind like water” that Allen talks about. I’d really like to figure out what time management system works for me. While I’m primarily a digital native that shuns the mess paper often creates, I find I also like to scribble down jots of ideas or quick to dos on my Moleskine when I’m on the move. It should be an interesting journey.
Time management is also a difficult task for communications professionals and knowledge workers in general. How does one balance creativity with organization and attention to detail? It’s no easy feat, but one I’m determined to tackle in earnest over the next month. I’ll document my progress here, but in the meantime, I’d like to hear about your preferred time management strategies. I feel like it’s not really a topic that’s addressed by PR professionals in the blogosphere.
So what’s your personal organization method of choice? GTD? Franklin Covey? Please do share your wisdom for the rest of us still trying to figure it out!
5 PR Lessons from Ben Franklin
Over Christmas last year, I finished a 500-page tome on Ben Franklin, which I loved. Our fascination with him is timeless. As is usually the case, my pragmatic mind is always thinking of what I can take from my readings and apply to real life, so I couldn’t help thinking that so much of Franklin’s best habits were absolutely applicable to my work in PR.
Sure, he had his faults, but the guy accomplished multiple lifetimes’ worth of achievements over the course of his 84-year life. Beyond working behind the scenes on the Declaration of Independence, the French Treaty and Britain Treaty, all of which were integral to our success on the American Revolution, his early days had a lot of exciting discoveries. Community leader who formed the first local militia, firehouses, police force and lending library. One of the first media barons, using the printing press repeatedly over the course of his life to trumpet his causes and that of others. World-renowned scientist who conducted numerous experiments over his lifetime, cornering electricity being one of them.
So what can we learn from Franklin’s method of practice?
1. Practice makes perfect: Wash, rinse, repeat until you get it.
Franklin is known as one of the best writers of all time. What many don’t know is that he practiced hours and hours in order to hone his craft. He would make outlines from his favorite articles, put away the original text, and use the outline to write his own version of the article. Then he would compare the two side-by-side and critique his writing to improve it. The point is, he just kept writing and writing and consistently worked to become better. And he never stopped. In PR, you do the same. You keep making calls, writing pitches, networking in the flesh, and honing those skills indefinitely because you can always get better.
2. Be an agent of action.
While Franklin was a great thinker, he was a doer first and foremost, and that was why he was the best practiced and most accomplished American of his day. When he had an idea, was alerted to anything that he wanted to comment on, his turnaround time was impressive. Oftentimes he would write up something for his printing press within a matter of hours after figuring out his next step. It’s easy to read, theorize, and come up with strategies around your next steps, but without action it’s useless. Don’t fall victim to someday syndrome. Going forth and making mistakes is better than sitting still and letting the world pass you by.
3. Know your audience.
Franklin was well known for his sly way of presenting his case in a way that supported the recipients’ best interests as well as his own. His juggling of the French and British while negotiating the treaty that ended the Revolutionary War is legendary and has been called one of the smoothest diplomatic maneuvers of our entire history. While living with the French for many years, he integrated himself into the French culture and endeared himself to the French however he could. Wearing a coonskin cap to fashion himself as the quintessential backwoods American. Selling American flags as a souvenir to the French to raise money for the war. Appealing to France’s ideological sensibilities to rally them to America’s cause. Using France’s enmity with Britain to present an alliance with America as a smart political move.
4. Always prepare to present your best.
Franklin always came well prepared – he was known to bring notes to all his meetings AND record the conversation after when it was fresh in his mind. One of the biggest complaints about PR is that we don’t do our research. We don’t think ahead. We’re lazy, incompetent flacks just looking to get a “quick hit.” Let’s change that!
5. Improve your bedside manner and know how to schmooze.
Franklin was the king of networking. While he had quite a few enemies, they were greatly outnumbered by his many friends and allies. Also, while he knew a plethora of very important people, his less famous friends in various places were often the ones that helped him to best exert his influence. Franklin hated pompousness and enjoyed meeting anyone with good ethics and an engaging love of intellectualism like himself. Too many PR people do not know how to do this! Improve your bedside manner and don’t get so caught up in who’s important or benefits your own selfish interests.
I encourage you to check out Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson. It’s a great read that will inspire you, no matter what profession you work in.
The Karma of Networking
Networking is such a buzz word, particularly for PR people. Who do you know? What relationships can you leverage for your clients? Who do you have an “in” with? A former colleague of mine once told me that as a PR pro, “your contacts are your currency.” And in many ways, she is right. The way that a lot of people size up a PR pro is based on the number of “heavy hitters” she has in her proverbial Rolodex.
While there’s no denying the importance of networking for PR pros, it seems to me that some young PR pros have the wrong idea of how to go about networking in a way that will be mutually beneficial to the PR pro’s individual brand as well as to that pro’s clients.
Let me give you a scenario. I’m at an industry-flavored event (a social media panel, a Web 2.0 presentation, what have you) and afterwards, my colleagues and I feel the urge to “network” a bit afterwards with anyone we find particularly interesting. Too often I hear this response: “Well, y’know, I don’t really see anyone here that would be a fit for my clients. I’ll wait for you guys while you network, and then let’s skedaddle.”
This is NOT the kind of attitude young PRs should be taking in regard to networking. I see too many people that look at networking as a burden and a chore, yet another way in which they are required to “work” at building relationships for clients. This is the absolute WRONG way to look at networking.
When it comes to networking, you should leave your business interests when you leave your cubicle. Why? It’s really very simple: People hate being used or treated like they are only valuable to you because of their ability to help you.
This is not to say that your clients and/or business interests won’t come up naturally in the conversation (you definitely SHOULD have brief talking points prepared on your clients that you can whip out at a moment’s notice. Tomas Carrillo over at The Closet Entrepeneur has a great “elevator pitch” how-to here). But let it be an afterthought to the convo, not the reason for its inception. People will be able to tell you’re trying to start a self-serving conversation if you begin the dialogue with “so have you heard about XX company and how awesome they are?” Or if you start by being too inquisitive into what your conversation partner does (i.e. conveying this type of attitude: “Sooo…should I keep talking to you or move on to someone more important?”). Let the conversation evolve naturally. “So, what brings you here tonight?” “Having a good time?”
And that is the karma of networking. You should network with the knowledge that every person is valuable and should be treated as such, whether or not they seem to have an initial purpose for your current interests. Then, later on down the line, karma will no doubt come back to benefit you. You should never base your choice to network with someone on the clients or business-related interests you have. Your clients will not be around forever, but hopefully the contacts you build throughout your career will stand the test of time. You never know whether or not a contact you make now that seems irrelevant may come back to benefit you later on.
Worst case scenario: you will meet someone interesting that doesn’t happen to hold any on-the-face value to what you’re working on for your clients. So what? Big whoop. One of the reasons why I enjoy the PR industry is that I am encouraged to get out there and meet people. And many of those people are interesting, dynamic individuals that provide me with an exciting range of conversations and dialogue.
Wouldn’t it be great if journalists, bloggers, and other important folks thought of you as “that gal that loves to water ski” or “that guy that blogs about marathoning” instead of “the flack that reps XX company”?
Repeat after me:
- I will NOT network for selfish reasons, because networking genuinely and without an agenda will give me good karma.
- I will network for the pure pleasure of meeting new and exciting people, with the knowledge that the relationships I build may end up benefitting me beyond this mere pleasure of good company in the future.
Now take three deep breaths, and repeat until it really sinks in. There, doesn’t that feel better? Now get out there and start meeting people, just for fun, and see how many great and worthwhile connections you can make when you’re not constantly angling for the “pitch.”
Some other great resources for honing your networking skillz:
- What in my opinion is THE book on networking and forming meaningful, beneficial relationships: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- The Art of Schmoozing by Guy Kawasaki
- How to Work the Room by Larry Chiang
- Networking with Jerks by Penelope Trunk
- Three Common Networking Missteps by Penelope Trunk
Flackette 