Every year at this time, I hear from people who, because of the holidays, feel the urge to connect with me and others in their lives. Sometimes we haven't communicated in months; sometimes it's been years.

I hope that you feel that urge to connect with other communication professionals, and that you register for tomorrow's Holiday Networking Reception at Maggiano’s in Chicago. (For the sake of transparency, I have to admit that I have a conflict and won't be there.)

Networking is one of the benefits of your IABC membership, and this session will provide some practical advice from Matt West, Vice President, Insidedge, as well as the opportunity to dust off your networking skills. If you are a newer IABC member, or a more "seasoned" member who hasn't been active in a while, this is a great event to attend. Register here.

Nearly a decade ago, I learned the importance of maintaining a professional network. I was downsized when the declining economy dried up revenue and forced employers to cut staff. Sound familiar? The same thing happened only a couple of years ago, and this nation still has a large unemployed pool of workers.

Back in 2001, I wasn't active in IABC or any other professional organization. I figured that with my experience and skillset, I could find a good job fairly easily, all on my own. Sound familiar? I hope not!

I quickly formed a job search and support group with other unemployed members of my local church. Three weeks after being let go, I was talking with that group in a coffee shop when one of the other members interrupted me, exclaiming, "Someone just flew a plane into the World Trade Tower." I remember my response, "That is sad, but we can't do anything for that pilot now…we have to get jobs!"

It was Sept. 11, 2001.

The nation shut down in large part that day, and for the next several months was not in a hiring pattern. I went through the next 2 1/2 years either collecting unemployment or working temporary jobs for about $15 per hour. I tried to start a one-person communication company, but struggled mightily.

In 2004, a form of networking gave me some hope. My pastor asked me to speak during worship one Sunday about how congregation members had supported my family financially, emotionally and spiritually during our struggles. After one of the services, a man walked up to me, handed me his card, and said that he was looking for a communication professional. I got an interview, and eventually, the position.

One of the FIRST things I did with my first paycheck was to rejoin IABC. I later went through the IABC Accreditation program to become a certified Accredited Business Communicator (ABC). Since then, I've been strengthening my professional network at every available opportunity. I've spoken at communication conferences and meetings to build my professional resume and credibility.

I hope that you see the value of networking, and will take action today to strengthen your professional network.

(Cross-posted on the IABC/Chicago website)

It’s time for me to brush up on networking tips. Not the ones that Matt West, Vice President, Insidedge, will share on Dec. 15 at an IABC/Chicago Networking event.

I need to remember the very practical tips that are burned into my brain because of the painful experiences of life. For example, Tip #1:

Never get drunk at a company function.

Tonight my wife and I are attending the VW Credit, Inc. Chicago Service Center holiday party. It’ll be a nice few hours spent with people I work with, a good meal and the chance to win some nice door prizes.

I’ll be drinking pop or nonalcoholic beer, as I follow my personal Tip #1. I learned that lesson back in 1983, as an editorial assistant at Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS).

Back in those days, before organizations like MADD educated us on the legal, emotional and life-threatening repercussions of drunk driving, companies actually PAID for the drinks at holiday parties. We employees would only decide whether to throw a dollar or two into the bartender’s tip jar.

But I had heard that if you gave the bartender a big tip right away, you would benefit from attentive service and strong drinks. So when I ordered my first gin martini of the evening, I slapped down a $5 bill, and told the bartender to keep it.

The first martini led to several more, and as my alcohol level rose, so did my tips. I remember a friend trying to stop me from stuffing a $20 bill into the jar of my “best new friend,” the bartender.

I can’t say that I remember much more of the evening. But here is a photo of me twirling around the dance floor with one of the middle-level SRDS managers.

Not coincidentally, my career at SRDS began to wane after that party. So like I said, tonight I’ll be sober and safe in my job. Some free advice for you communicators just entering the field.

I’m driving downtown this morning to participate in the first “Gift of Communication” event offered by the Chicago Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.

IABC/Chicago members will use our experience and skills to make a difference in the Chicago metropolitan area. We’re joining IABC chapters throughout the world in offering the “Gift of Communication” program sometime this year.

The “Gift of Communication” program connects IABC chapter members with local not-for-profit social service agencies that need communications counsel and tactical support, and that don’t have resources to address those needs by themselves.

The IABC/Chicago “Gift” program is being led by long-time IABC member, Greg Gordon, senior vice president, research and strategy at L.C. Williams & Associates LLC.

We’ve teamed with United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, which has linked us with six local not-for-profit organizations.

During the “Gift” session, members will spend two hours working in small groups with agency representatives, providing communication advice and support.

The six agencies that we will support include:

1. Cambodian Association of Illinois (www.cambodian-association.org)

Mission: Cambodian Association of Illinois enables refugees and immigrants from Cambodia residing in Illinois, especially those in metropolitan Chicago, to become self-sufficient, productive participants in American society while preserving and enhancing their cultural heritage and community.

2. Chinese Mutual Aid Association (www.chinesemutualaid.org)

Mission: Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA) is a community-based social services agency. Our mission is to serve the needs, promote the interests, and enhance the well-being of Chinese and other immigrants and refugees in the Chicagoland area, and to foster their participation in and assimilation into American society.

3. Organization of the North East (ONE) (www.onechicago.org)

Mission: ONE is a mixed-income, multi-ethnic, intergenerational organization of institutions that unites our diverse community. Our mission is to build power and develop leadership so that the community can address critical human rights issues that improve our common life.

4. Corazon Community Services (www.corazoncs.org)

Mission: Corazón Community Services mission is to improve the quality of life for children, youth and families through holistic social services offered in a culturally sensitive environment.

5. El Hogar del Nino (www.elhogardelnino.org)

Mission: The agency’s primary mission is to provide and demonstrate comprehensive bilingual/bicultural early childhood development programs for infants, preschool, school-age children and their families. El Hogar seeks to meet the needs of the entire family so that children can develop in environments that are culturally, emotionally, psychologically, socially, and financially strong.

6. YMEN (Young Men’s Educational Network) (www.ymenchicago.com)

Our mission is to prepare young men in the North Lawndale community for mature, responsible leadership, love for learning, and outstanding service to the larger community through a comprehensive college preparatory program, entrepreneurial training, a long-term mentoring network, and community service learning.
YMEN strongly believes that developing life-long relationships with our students will offset the negative external pressures they face in school and on the streets.

This relationship includes:
• Mentoring from positive community role models,
• Encouraging guidance and support from YMEN staff,
• Tracking grades and working with school counselors,
• Communicating frequently with the child’s parents,
• Visiting colleges and universities nationwide, and
• Tutoring in all academic subjects.

The “Gift” program was originally developed by IABC’s Maritime Canada chapter, which has been running it successfully for nine years. IABC’s Golden Horseshoe chapter has participated in the “Gift” program for five years. Both consider it a huge success — and have made it an annual tradition.

The public debate within the United States over Internet privacy, and whether to change U.S. laws related to it, is uncovering troubling considerations that most likely will impact any future changes in the browsing habits of individuals, as well as the design of browser security by organizations.

On Wednesday (Dec. 1, 2010), the Federal Trade Commission issued a preliminary staff report that proposes a framework “to balance the privacy interests of consumers with innovation that relies on consumer information to develop new products and services.”

The proposed report suggests implementation of a “Do Not Track” mechanism, such as a “persistent” setting on consumers’ browsers, that would allow consumers to choose whether their online searching and browsing activities could be collected by others.

“Technological and business ingenuity have spawned a whole new online culture and vocabulary – email, IMs, apps and blogs – that consumers have come to expect and enjoy,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “The FTC wants to help ensure that the growing, changing, thriving information marketplace is built on a framework that promotes privacy, transparency, business innovation and consumer choice. We believe that’s what most Americans want as well.”

The report states that industry efforts to address privacy through self-regulation “have been too slow, and up to now have failed to provide adequate and meaningful protection.” The framework outlined in the report is designed to reduce the burdens on consumers and businesses.

But groups representing advertising and media agencies, along with individuals, have expressed concern that a “Do Not Track” option could unintentionally disrupt useful features and measurement. For example, said one commenter to an Advertising Age post about the report:

If they do end up setting up this type of mechanism, it has to be very carefully worded so as to avoid unintended collateral damage. What I'm talking about is the undesirable scenario where third-party or cross-domain analytics tracking tags are lumped in with advertising data collection and a "do not track" consumer disappears from web traffic statistics.

I know that's not what they are proposing, but history is full of examples of laws being created with imprecise wording and then being applied in ways they weren't intended. Aggregate web traffic statistics and anonymous, individual clickstream data are critical "natural resources" for the improvement and evolution of the web and digital business, so I wouldn't want to see them thrown out with the bathwater. - Jeff Greenhouse, http://www.JeffGreenhouse.com

I personally would rather have less information about me circulating without my consent–and by “consent,” I mean much more than a one-time “accept” on a site’s log-in dialog box with a link to a too-lengthy and too-dense “privacy statement.”

Anyone who has ever worked in an organization knows about the “grapevine”—the informal rumor-mill where fact and speculation mix together to breed various strains of truth, half-truths and outright misconceptions.

Strategic, open communications can reduce the grapevine’s activity and influence. This is even more apparent, and important, as companies and their stakeholders (including employees) engage more in the range of communication channels powered by social media tools and platforms such as blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Companies today are looking to join in the conversations occurring within and outside of the company walls. Those conversations can change and move rapidly, which makes it more difficult for company “spokespersons” (either formally designated or ad hoc) to be a trusted participant if they haven’t spent time engaging with others.

Some of the bigger challenges occur in times of change, when information may be less available or less readily shared, and the unknown can seem more apparent and more ominous. Does that describe the situation at Hewlett-Packard, following the sudden resignation on Friday of Mark Hurd, HP’s chairman, chief executive officer and president? (Read more in my previous post.)

A few HP executives have been quoted in articles appearing online. For example, in the U.K., a Guardian newspaper’s online article quoted HP’s general counsel Michael Holston as stating that Hurd engaged in a “systematic pattern” of submitting falsified financial reports to hide a “close personal relationship” with a former HP contractor.

The official HP blog, Data Central, on Saturday offered scant information other than a retread of the corporate statement published on Friday. It stated that “Comments are closed for this post and will not be published.”

Let’s hope that the communications internally at HP were much more transparent. After all, Hurd was not universally loved within HP for his tough business decisions that led to thousands of job cuts over the years. How will HP’s communications staff manage this time of change?

That was exactly the topic of a session led by HP communicators Robin Andrews and Desiree Sylvester in 2005. It was titled, “Keeping employees focused and engaged in times of change,” and it was delivered on the day before Hurd accepted the IABC EXCEL Award at the IABC International Conference in Washington, D.C.

Much of what Robin and Desiree shared in that presentation could hold true today, such as the “communication challenges”:

• Balance focus on delivering day-to-day business vs. change
• Manage leaks in the media
• Everything said internally was expected to be shared externally—very difficult to give employees additional or advance information

Check out the presentation and then let’s see what surfaces from HP’s employees. Will they feel like their feelings and opinions have been heard?

Another more minor observation. I had noticed that on Friday, the day of the Hurd resignation announcement, the HP site was not completely updated. Although the press release was posted under HP’s News Releases section, the company leader page still indicated that Hurd was in charge.

On Saturday, the site was updated to indicate that Cathie Lesjak
was named interim chief executive officer and would remain chief financial officer.

I first met Mark Hurd at the 2005 IABC International Conference in Washington, D.C. He had just joined Hewlett-Packard as its CEO and president, after a successful stint in a similar role at NCR. In fact, Hurd was being honored as the recipient of IABC’s EXCEL Award for his support, encouragement and practice of exemplary communication.

It saddened me to read the news article on Friday under the headline, “HP CEO Hurd resigns after sexual-harassment probe.” To be clear, an investigation by HP’s outside legal counsel and its General Counsel’s Office, overseen by the HP Board determined that no violation of HP’s sexual harassment policy occurred. However, it did find that Hurd violated HP’s Standards of Business Conduct. Read the official statement on the HP website.

As I reviewed some notes I took during Hurd’s address at the 2005 conference, the irony of some of his comments and statements jumped out.

• He had begun his remarks, following a warm applause by the audience, with the comment, "As CEO, you aren't used to hearing people say nice things about you."
• Hurd later told the audience that the term "fired" originated from an incident that involved two early leaders at NCR. Quick summary: NCR head John Patterson allegedly punctuated the termination of Thomas John Watson, Sr. by having Watson's desk taken outside and set ablaze. Hence, the phrase "fired."

I’ve since found many references to the origin of the phrase, “fired,” that don’t point to NCR. It may be another example of Hurd’s misunderstanding of information—like HP’s Standards of Business Conduct.

Two other Hurd comments from his 2005 EXCEL Award address stood out to me today:


• The CEO can't replace the relationship of front-line employees with their immediate supervisors, he said. "The CEO can provide a context [to] try to bring clarity."
• Hurd later said that as he would "promote, demote, recognize and reward people, I tell 30,000 people what I value."


As a highly visible CEO, Hurd has sent a message to his employees with his misconduct, and I hope that it doesn’t erase the good that he did for HP. I also hope he uses this as a lesson in what to value most as a business leader and champion of communication excellence.

What context and clarity can Hurd’s interim successor, Cathie Lesjak, bring to company employees? In my next post, I’ll look back at a presentation on employee communications made at that same 2005 IABC International Conference by HP communicators, and then compare that with what has been communicated in the past couple of days following Hurd’s resignation.

UPDATE 5/14/2010: Follow the Twitter conversation with the hashtag #braudtalk

I’m hosting Gerard Braud‘s Friday Free Media Training Teleseminar. The fun begins at 11 a.m. CDT. Sign up here

This series of teleseminars is helping to raise awareness of his new book, Don't Talk to the Media.

Braud’s tour and communication “lessons learned” about Hurricane Katrina were one of the highlights for me when I attended the 2007 IABC International (now World) Conference in New Orleans. He is savvy, experienced and very entertaining.

Join us and bring your questions!

A few times in recent weeks, I’ve been unable to watch video news items promoted on Yahoo!. I click the link to watch�

�and get a “not available” message:

Has anyone else had this experience? Is the video source pulling the videos because of a surge in traffic, is this a conspiracy to make Yahoo! look bad, or something else?

In the past couple of days, terrorist plots have been in the news, indirectly targeting two innocent faith groups which have to once again see that people don’t understand some very basic concepts.

The first terrorist plot was launched successfully on Monday, March 29, when twin suicide bombings of the Moscow subway system killed 39 people and wounded scores more. The attack has been blamed on “Muslim extremists” in the Caucasus region.

The second terrorist plot was nipped in the planning stages over the weekend, when nine “apocalyptic Christian militants,” who were plotting to kill law enforcement officers in hopes of inciting an antigovernment uprising, were arrested in raids in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

The link in those two separate terrorist events was the belief that political change needed to be made through violence, and that the violence was approved by the God of these Muslim and Christian terrorists. Nothing could be further from the truth, and these terrorists couldn’t be further from true Muslims and Christians.

The time has come to sit and resolve all problems by dialogue, and to completely abandon violent ways using guns and bombs. Islam never says you should fight with another person. This concept is wrong.

That is a quote by Maulana Jameel Ahmed Ilyasi, secretary-general of the All-India Association of Imams and Mosques, during a visit to Israel, organized by the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) India office. Ilaysi arrived as part of a delegation of Indian Muslim leaders and journalists, and his organization represents half a million imams, who are the main religious leaders of India’s 200 million Muslims.

So he was the voice of reason for a large organization of Muslims, when asked to address Hamas’s call for jihad to destroy Israel. Ilaysi said,

I believe in peace and this is the message I take. I don't believe in anything that destroys another country.

That view would be applauded by the millions of Christians who are in the midst of Holy Week, a time for reflection and recognition of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I imagine that the Lord is saddened by statements taken from the website created by the recently arrested militants:

A motto, �Preparing for the end time battles to keep the testimony of Jesus Christ alive�

and a quote:

Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment. The Hutaree will one day see its enemy and meet him on the battlefield if so God wills it.

According to a news article in the March 30 New York Times,

Chip Berlet, a senior analyst at Political Research Associates, a liberal-leaning nonprofit group that tracks far-right networks, said the Hutaree�s philosophy was drawn from a populist strand that fuses fear of a conspiracy to create a one-world government with a belief that a war is imminent between Christians and the Antichrist, as described in the Bible�s Book of Revelation.

I’ve been studying the Book of Revelation with another member of my church and our youth pastor. For you non-Christians, let me assure you that it doesn’t state that anyone is to stockpile munitions and be ready to “fight for Jesus.”

Actually, Revelation is clear that the final battle against Satan and his deceived followers will be fought and won by the Lord. No sword-wielding human fanatics will be necessary.

When you read news accounts about “Muslim extremists” or “Christian militants,” please don’t help fan the flames of religious intolerance by spreading the lie that these idiots represent the Muslim or Christian faiths.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe that Easter symbolizes forgiveness, rebirth, and God�s saving power. It is a victory over sin and death, which cause so much harm in people�s lives.

This Easter Sunday, I’ll be thinking about God’s saving power, and the destructive forces, like extremists and militants, that distort the true meaning of the holiday.

Peace.

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and I participated today in an awareness presentation at work, led by our local American Cancer Society representative. I still find it hard to believe that people resist examinations that could save their lives, but some of the other attendees talked about their own hesitancy, or that of a loved one.

According to the Colon Cancer Alliance, Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S. The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 50,000 people died of colorectal cancer last year, representing about one-third of the new cases of that cancer that were diagnosed.

The sad fact is that 80% of all cases of colorectal cancer can be prevented with recommended screening–which too many people avoid. Colorectal cancer is one of the most detectable and, if found early enough, most treatable forms of cancer. Over 90% of those diagnosed when the cancer is found at a local stage (confined to colon or rectum) survive more than five years.

I’ve never had colon cancer, but people I know and love have, including my mom and one one my best friends, Don. My mom had a cancerous polyp removed, and with minimal follow-up treatment, has remained cancer-free for several years. Unfortunately, my friend Don wasn’t so lucky. Years ago, he had a section of his bowel removed to try to stop the spread of a cancerous polyp. We thought that the cancer was caught early enough, but Don died in 2005 after battling cancer that spread throughout his abdomen.

No one likes the screening tests that detect potential precancerous growths early, but they are a walk in the park compared to dying of cancer. I’ve seen it more than once, so believe me.