January 29th, 2007
By Renn Vara
I have a challenge for the training industry: why continue to separate corporate training from corporate communication/broadcasting (webevents, podcasts, vidcasts, and social networking)?
The corporate training industry is in crisis – the industry just doesn’t know it yet. Business is generally good these days – money spent on employee training and retention is at a premium. However, trainers and training companies know that there is this cloud of innovation coming at them like a freight train. (more…)
Filed under All, Corporate Media.
January 23rd, 2007
By Renn Vara
Hanging around with corporate leaders for almost 20 years gives you a perspective, if not one hell of a view. We’ve been privileged to be privy to the driving forces behind a number of great companies. Fortune 500’s list of the “100 Best Companies To Work For” featured three of our customers in the Top 11, and that got me to thinking …
Names like Oracle, Cisco, Google, Network Appliance, Microsoft, Juniper, Sun Microsystems, come to mind. Of course they all make great products, backed by strong marketing and solid financials. But what a lot of lesser companies don’t know is how they consistently motivate their people to excellence. You might call it the “secret sauce.” From our experience as an executive communications vendor, here are some of the common ingredients that drive great companies: (more…)
Filed under All, Corporate Media.
January 11th, 2007
By Renn Vara
Historically, large enterprises have done a good job focusing on organizational issues like back-office business processes, database management, staffing structures and product rollouts, among other things. Nothing’s perfect, but at least the enterprise recognizes the importance of finding efficiencies in different areas of their business. These efforts are often driven by the demands of financial accountability, and by the office of the CFO.
Well, it’s time for the enterprise to focus on the communication side of these efforts. Until recently, this was considered the “soft side,” and a less important part of the work, primarily because it didn’t hit the bottom line as hard as an IT implementation. Or at least that’s what we’ve always assumed. (more…)
Filed under All, Corporate Media.
January 11th, 2007
By Renn Vara
Organizations like SNP often struggle with bringing vision to our work with enterprises, while still responding to their urgent market-driven needs.
To be sure, it’s not for lack of trying on both our parts. Take for example WebEvents that communicate a tactical need for information to a field organization, partners or to customers. These needs seem to bounce up very last minute in isolation from other efforts being made to the same audience. We often face situations where a large enterprise launches a strategy of improving communication, only to find that multiple groups have scheduled simultaneous WebEvents to communicate other products, services and initiatives. The result is even greater confusion, because we’re now communicating with a fire hose. (more…)
Filed under All, Corporate Media.
January 9th, 2007
By Renn Vara
Our daughter is in the middle of her senior year of high school. During the past two years, she’s been involved in a unique learning experience combining documentary video with her history and English studies. She and her fellow classmates spend hours discussing stories, searching for interesting people to interview, videotaping and editing.
While it’s been a wonderful learning experience for her, it’s been an eye opener for me to watch how these kids shoot and edit video. This is the generation most comfortable with creating video and the technology (more…)
Filed under All, Corporate Media.
January 2nd, 2007
By Renn Vara
One of the toughest jobs for most staffers responsible for corporate communications is getting their leaders to carry the water. Having a VP host a webevent or podcast, or to even draft an email endorsing a project or initiative, can be tough. But the benefits far outweigh the pain of trying.
But, but, but, be sure of your effort and the benefits it will bring to the organization. I think of corporate messaging in the context of time-tested broadcasting. Broadcast networks and local stations spend millions recruiting credible voices and faces to deliver news, host talk shows, and generally represent their stations. Why? Because they know the power of the messenger. It’s like in music, “it’s not the song, it’s the singer.” The good news for corporate communicators is we don’t have to recruit strong voices and faces. That work is done for us by our board of directors and human resources. (more…)
Filed under All, Corporate Media.
