by Caroline Leach | Sep 7, 2015 | Corporate Communications, Learning, Social Media
It’s hard to tell who’s more excited about the start of a new school year – my children or me.
While every new season and every new day bring a fresh start, there’s something extra special about the fall.
Maybe it’s the combination of a new school year, a new football season (full disclosure: I work for the company that brings you NFL Sunday Ticket) and a new world of possibilities.
You get the benefit of a new start, without the pressure to make resolutions that a new year brings.
Fall is the perfect time for kids of all ages to recommit to learning. Here are my favorite ideas for learning something new this season.
Go online. Your professional association probably offers a myriad of on-demand webinars. I’ve been working on my APR recertification through the PRSA website, with sessions like Digital News Releases, Twitter PR Secrets and Media Pitching for 2015.
One of my favorite bloggers, Penelope Trunk, has amazing career courses at Quistic. I can’t wait until the end of this month when her series of Myers-Briggs sessions delves into the ENTJ type.
And one of the exciting things about the company that acquired my employer this summer is the access to hundreds of online courses through AT&T University.
Go the library. My neighborhood library has a great section of new releases when you walk in the door. I can stock up on all the latest books with a swipe of my library card.
I just finished Daniel Levitin’s The Organized Mind, with strategies for “thinking straight in the age of information overload.” Because our brains can’t keep track of all the stimuli that bombard us, it helps to set up systems to get information out of our heads and into external storage systems. This premise also reminded me to read the refreshed version of David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
And when my brain really needs a break, there’s nothing like the charming reading room at the Malaga Cove Library. Reading, reflecting, thinking or just chilling out are the perfect activities in this historical landmark built in 1929.
Go back to school. Whether it’s a MOOC or a university extension class or a local community college, there are lots of options. This may be my next strategy for learning Spanish, especially because I need an accountability mechanism!
And going back to school doesn’t necessarily mean doing so as a student. You can learn just as much by teaching a course – the process of distilling your thoughts into a structured framework can be an invaluable learning experience.
Mix up your exercise routine. My evening walks and treadmill sessions just earned me a New Zealand badge, according to a congratulatory email from Fitbit. But besides actually wanting to travel there sometime this decade, I’d like to experiment with some new forms of exercise.
This seemed like the perfect weekend to try Cardio Barre and stand up paddle boarding. And I loved them both. My mind recalled my years of ballet training much better than my body did, so I’ll have get up to speed on the barre over a bit more time.
The mind/body connection between exercise and the brain is fascinating, as Gretchen Reynold explores in her “Phys Ed” column in the New York Times.
Be a tourist in your own town. It’s easy to get complacent and not take advantage of all your city or town has to offer. My husband and I started the holiday weekend with a favorite walk around the Lake Hollywood reservoir.
Our reward afterwards was the Urth Caffe, where we talked about fun things we could do this fall and winter, like go to a few college football games and finally see the Rose Parade in person.
And my good colleague Katie Jenks gave me a great lead on a comedy club. A good laugh is just the thing to put life into perspective and making the living much more fun!
by Caroline Leach | Aug 30, 2015 | Careers, Change, Corporate Communications, Learning
A colleague recently asked me about the top three qualifications in public relations, today and in 2025.
It was for a curriculum review at a university’s journalism and mass communications school.
My first thought was about the tsunami of change we’ll see in the next 10 years. It would be easier to predict what the next three to five years will bring.
The Future Work Skills 2020 report by the Institute for the Future came to mind. Smart machines, new media and global connectivity are just some of the trends reported that will shape the future of PR and corporate communications.
For today, Tell Me About A Train Wreck, my blog post on what I’m looking for in a new hire, led me to the top qualifications for 2015:
- Critical thinking. Using reasoning and and systems thinking to make decisions and solve problems is the foundation for this field (and many others). This is a key skill in the framework for 21st century learning.
- Writing – for a social, mobile, global and video-based world. Writing reflects sound thinking. And in a world suffering from information overload, writing today has to be clear, concise and compelling.
- Business acumen. A thorough understanding of the business, the competition and the industry is key to successful PR and corp comms. Give equal weight to learning about PR and the business world.
As I started projecting future qualifications, I ended up with the same three. Yet, those will hardly be sufficient for what the world will look like a decade from now. So to those foundational skills, I would add:
- Tech savvy. This encompasses everything from video production to learning to code. As the Wall Street Journal reported, it’s about gaining “procedural literacy” and thinking about how processes work in the world. In the PR realm, it will become increasingly important to bring art (writing) and science (technology) together to engage and influence people in the future.
- Data analysis. With the explosion in data creation, it will become increasingly important to analyze data, see patterns, choose an appropriate course of action, and know how to ethically and appropriately present data to change behaviors. This is also vital to consider on a personal branding level through Michael Fertik’s The Reputation Economy.
- Creativity. This is another 21st century skill. And it’s one that’s closely linked with innovation. With data, technology and information, a creative ability enables connections and something new and fresh from considering and combining seemingly disparate ideas and concepts.
With so much to learn, where’s a good place to start?
Often, it’s by doing one new thing and taking just one step.
As a new school year kicks off, I’m recommitting to learning a new language with my Spanish studies. My husband is brushing up on his Italian, and our children are heading back for the first day of school.
What are you learning this fall?
by Caroline Leach | Jul 4, 2015 | Corporate Communications, Leadership, Social Media
A birthday calls for celebration and reflection. And our nation’s birthday is no exception.
It’s a perfect day to be thankful for the many freedoms we enjoy in the USA. As a communicator, I believe our freedom of speech is particularly profound.
When our founders penned the Declaration of Independence 239 years ago today with its reference to the right to pursue happiness, they likely could never have imagined today’s world of social media, 24/7 news cycles and Sunday morning talk shows.
It’s distressing and frightening to hear about bloggers in other parts of the world who are sentenced to cruel and unusual punishments because they have dared to share their views.
That’s a right we are fortunate to have every day in America. However, freedoms come with a flip side called responsibility.
Words have impact. They can build people up. Or they can tear them down. Sure, according to the letter of the law you can post hurtful, snarky or even untrue content online. But why would you? What point does it serve? How does it make the world a better place?
Do you want to make the world’s problems worse? Or do you want to be part of the solution? As a realistic optimist, I like to believe people would overwhelmingly vote for the latter.
A very public figure in a recent TED talk on the price of shame called for a return to empathy and compassion. The talk had a call for us to become “upstanders,” by speaking up and standing up for others.
That would improve our world in so many ways. Yes, you can say anything you want. But your words will have consequences, good or bad. And if they’re digital words, they will last forever. So think before you send, post or tweet.
Penelope Trunk had great advice in her webinar called Reach Your Goals by Blogging. For those wanting to develop their careers through blogging, her advice was simple: “just don’t write about where your security clearance goes.”
If you don’t work on a field where security clearances are required, it simply means to think about what’s confidential and sensitive information, and don’t blog about that.
That still leaves a myriad of interesting topics to write about. And it fits well with the Josh Ochs mantra I mentioned in How to Be Social. If you keep it “light, bright and polite” in social media, as Josh recommends, you’ll be in good stead.
That doesn’t mean you have to be an online Pollyanna or avoid addressing big issues head on. But it does mean to think about discussing them in a constructive way, being balanced and looking for solutions.
This will become more and more important the more digital our world becomes. In The Reputation Economy, author Michael Fertik talks about how all kinds of decisions affecting you will be made in the future — based on the digital persona you either actively or passively create.
Make sure it’s the one you intend. Speak as freely as you like, but realize there will be consequences, good or bad.
One of my first bosses in corporate communications had great advice. Highlight the benefits of the company or the particular initiative, he said, and showcase it in a positive light. Tell the truth, act with integrity and address “what’s in it for the audience.”
With that said, how do you balance freedom and responsibility?
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