Strategic Communication and Emerging Media

Have you ever been accused of being an overthinker?  Never?  Really? Me either……  Just kidding!  It happens all the time, no biggie, I no longer take offense to it.   Somehow, it pays off.  I suppose you have to utilize the traits you come by naturally.  For instance, at work, I’m often asked to structure an email or proofread a letter before it goes out and all the while, poked fun at for changing and re-wording things.  “Didn’t you just say the same thing, but a different way”, I’m asked. Uh, yeah Felecia and that’s exactly why you asked me to do this. If I just typed up whatever was on my mind and sent it out to other professionals without wording it kindly, it would come across as harsh or unkind.  You have to think not only about what you’re saying and how the message is intended, but how someone else could read it and if they are going to take offense to it. Ya gotta look at this stuff from many different...

Is it just that time of year, or am I the only one who feels like they’ve been hit by a bus recently? This weeks topic has had my mind running in a million different directions and I’ve loved it, but I have had zero time to sit down and formulate or organize a single thought.   Leadership and vision.  What a crazy concept that the two must go hand in hand.  I love this. Of course a leader needs vision and any vision needs a leader.  It makes perfect sense. Leadership without a vision is merely management.  How have I not realized this before now? It’s kind of beautiful when we pick up on those blatantly obvious things, isn’t it?  Every great leader has had a vision. Martin Luther King, Steve Jobs, Ronald Regan, John F Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela all had a beautiful vision and without that vision would have been great leaders whose name you would have never known.   For example, if Martin Luther King ...

Alexander the Great said that “An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep”.  Ever wondered what he meant by that? A lion is an excellent leader, so a group of sheep led by a lion will be far more successful than a whole group of lions led by a sheep.  Lions lead, sheep follow.    Leaders come in many shapes and sizes.  They lead in many different ways. But, what makes a leader a great leader?  What makes a leader a lion? A few years ago I worked for a gentleman (let’s just call him Mr. D).  Mr. D commanded respect when he walked in the room. I mean, you knew he was the boss when you met him.  He had a loud boisterous tone, he spoke in a manner that never questioned, but implied you were to listen and obey.  It was rare that I ever had any run-ins or even conversations with him because he also preferred to stay in his office sitting behind his desk.  He was never engaged. He was ...

Y’all, this week has been a mess! Bronchitis hit hard early on and with all the steroids, antibiotics and cough syrup (let us not forget the joys of halloween mixed in there as well) I have been running on fumes. With that being said, let’s see what we’ve discovered in this weeks studies of social media, viral videos and personal brands. Recently, I was asked to join the Board of the ‘Northwest Alabama Reading Aides’, a local non-profit agency that assists adults who have little to no reading skills. I was honored to be offered this seat at the table after a couple years of off and on referrals to the organization. At the first board meeting, I learned that their social media accounts had a total of 109 ‘likes’, they were surviving on a budget that was less than my annual salary and the entire board was a group of baby boomers. Is there anything wrong with a group of baby boomers? No, not at all. They are a lovely group of people who deeply care about others and want to serv...