Well, obviously a job. But what else? We ran into a guy at a private equity event recently who had worked as a CFO – apparently successfully – at two major manufacturing operations, one in Mexico and one in Europe. Those were his two most recent gigs, and now he’s looking for work – ideally [...]
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“I hope there are no members of the media here.” The retired general, speaking to a group of investors, made that comment before answering a potentially sensitive question from a member of the audience. It wasn’t as though the general was handing out material information relevant to trading in a stock. The question asked required [...]
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Starting a company and getting it going are tough enough as it is. Do I also have to be a communications expert? Well, yes, you do. In fact, as advisors to many start-ups over the years, we would argue that good communications practice is critical at every stage of the start-up. To confirm that thought, [...]
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I was a speaker on an Association for Corporate Growth panel this November that focused on the needs of fast-growth companies when it occurred to me to ask the audience a question that clearly no one had ever asked them before: How many of you have ever done a Google audit of yourself, your company [...]
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Writing a press release? If so, can you answer the question “Why is a press release like a 60-second commercial?”
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In the stock market, they call it after-market trading, where market professionals make bets on the next day’s trading based on their analysis of late-breaking stories – often potentially negative, and often resulting from late-afternoon announcements by the government or public companies. In Twitter, there’s something similar going on – largely unnoticed by many. No, [...]
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Last week we discussed whether reporters are making more mistakes these days. We said they are. Fine. We’re done with that topic (for now). Now let’s talk about how to make a reporter into a friend (and make it work for both of you!). 1. Give them what they want. Like any professional, they want [...]
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It’s a fact that reporting, particularly daily reporting, has always been tough job. Deadlines are brutal. Training is on the job. Reporters are likely to be English majors rather than finance or marketing majors. Many reporters change jobs often. And now, widespread cutbacks in staffing (even at mainstream media like the New York Times) mean [...]
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Sure, it’s an obvious point – but how do you get there? A client of ours paid us a nice compliment the other day that proves the point. Two years ago, no one knew they existed. They got meetings, because of the founders’ (great) backgrounds, but word of mouth alone isn’t enough for a startup. [...]
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Because you need to get on board to get the benefits of the ride. Sure, that’s a little hokey. But let’s think about it. It rewards those who keep up on it. It keeps track of those who have abandoned it or invest little in it. (We know who you are, and you can’t hide.) [...]
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