This post features a sequence of four videos about strategy, in which I have a conversation with Mark John Stewart, an entrepreneur of note (Wentworth Strategy, FlyPrint), not-for-profit co-founder (Empowerment Squared) and MCM strategy instructor. We really got into it. Enjoy. These videos were recorded to serve the community of learners who are seeking Accreditation …
Category Archives: Business
New Year’s Resolutions 2021
This year was a strange year. COVID-19 kept us at home and made many of us sick – I had extended family members who caught COVID-19 and survived, thankfully. As many of you know, my life revolves around my work as a professor of communication studies and communications management at McMaster University and my work …
New Year’s Resolutions 2018
2017 – A year of resolutions met The last few years, I have focused my New Year’s Resolutions on well-being, and I have made progress – in 2017, I built my fitness by doing more cardio, going vegan. I wrote a draft of a book on social media and management, which I hope to get …
Back from research leave
This Canada Day marked my return from a year’s research leave. It has been a good year- I moved into a new home, got involved in the federal election, made a bunch of great new friends, and wrote most of a new book on social media in Canada. I also became pescetarian and mindfully started …
Strategic PR and the value chain, pt 5: building relationships in social media
In yesterday’s post, I discussed how public relations became more strategic, as it evolved into a two-way symmetrical model, focused on building relationships between organizations and their publics. Today, I will discuss how social media has changed the landscape and evolved PR strategy from a two-way symmetrical model to a two-way dialogical model. Social media has …
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Strategic PR and the value chain, pt 4
Yesterday, I mentioned a piece published in the McMaster Daily News featuring my colleague @TerryFlynn’s ideas on the various scandals in journalism, particularly the Leslie Roberts one, which is directly linked to public relations. In this great piece, Terry mentioned something that stuck with me: “Let me first address the issue of the name of …
A tribute to Terry Flynn, my dear colleague and PR mentor
Today, my colleague Terry Flynn, co-founder (with Maria Russell) of the McMaster-Syracuse Master of Communications Management program (of which I am director), was interviewed for the McMaster Daily News today. The piece listed his recent achievements and focused on his opinions on the unfolding crises in journalism in the Leslie Roberts, Amanda Lang and Jian …
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Strategic PR and the value chain, pt 3
Yesterday I mentioned the concept of strategic PR and linked it to relationships. What did I mean? At the core of any enterprise, particularly nascent ones like startups, are a set of relationships. The owners or managers of the business have to build relationships with funders, employees, various media, government, third party regulators, and many …
Strategic PR and the value chain, pt 2
Yesterday, I talked about how PR pros have to make the value case for their services to business people. Let’s unpack that idea a little more today. To anyone who works in the public relations, the idea that you should focus on building relationship as a new or on-going business seems obvious. However, that isn’t …
Strategic PR and the value chain, pt 1
It is important for public relations pros to think about where you fit in the value chain of an organization. In a world of always-on, instant communications, it is easy to think that organizations will automatically recognize how important building an managing relationships with stakeholders and other audiences is. The thing to remember is that …