How often do you come across a situation where a business and one of its key employees have become so closely identified with one another that they are almost considered one and the same? Steve Jobs and Apple, Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, Simon Cowell and American idol. When this happens, brand performance becomes tied to the iconic employee – for better or for worse.
I’ve worked in Public Relations for roughly 4,560 days. And during every single one of those days, I’ve spent some time trying to land that major story in The Wall Street Journal or Fortune for our clients. I love the power of digital PR, but guess what? Most of my clients still want to be quoted in the journalism blue-chips.
Last month, I attended the Association of Management Consulting Firms’ (AMCF) seminar on innovation. Like many consultant gatherings, the event featured high-profile panelists from industry, academia and publishing. But unlike many such gatherings, the tone was highly pragmatic. And the questions raised were ones you don’t often hear: “In today’s hyper-competitive market, is there such a thing as too much innovation? How much large-scale change can an organization handle?”
It started off as most things do, with a casual discussion about technology on a Friday afternoon in the office of a SVP of a NYC PR agency. The topic of discussion – iPads. After a bit of discussion, we wandered off on a tangent. “You know one if these days a restaurant is going [...]
