At AHA, we have done a great deal of work studying online behaviour relevant to communication. What is being said and discussed online is a key component for an organization – from building and managing its reputation to dealing with potential issues and crisis communication. However, there are still large organizations that have not yet come to terms with this for some reason. Some aren’t even monitoring what is being said or who is saying it. More and more we are seeing issues come up, not from an outside source, but through online discussions by employees.

Social media gives everyone from employees to unions and association members the opportunity to gather and discuss things virtually. This is a new opportunity to engage with one another and to find like-minded people. And they are going to do it with or without your support, assistance or knowledge.

I spend a great deal of time speaking and working with CEOs, presidents, COOs, VPs and senior communications executives. Just about everyone I have ever worked with wants to do good things for the people that work at their organization. If there is something that people aren’t happy with, they want to know about it. If there is something that needs to be changed, they want it brought to their attention. People matter to them. And yet there is still a challenge, in some areas, in having the senior team see the value of social media or realize that it is now a part of everyday business life.

Imagine if people were encouraged to participate in honest, open and respectful dialogue using social media and discussions could be facilitated rather than controlled (or perceived as being controlled). It is a culture change, but it is one that is coming. And one, I strongly believe that organizations need to embrace.

Wouldn’t you rather be a part of the conversation – even if it was critical or negative – rather than have it go on without your knowledge or input?

There are times when the excellence comes in the moving forward component – in joining the conversation, in engaging with stakeholders, in reaching out and opening the door for discussion. Over the years, I have seen several client organizations get stuck – and I mean stuck – in rewriting speeches, articles or entire websites over and over again because they weren’t perfect. I have seen communications teams fracture over this type of approach. And it doesn’t mean the work wasn’t good or that it wouldn’t have been effective.

This type of dysfunction is more about the organization than about the work. Sometimes it’s a weird form of passive aggressive behavior. Other times it’s because someone (or several people) are paralyzed by the fear of moving forward and making a mistake. I can tell you that in many situations, the mistake is in doing nothing.

It is easy to hide behind perfection, the lawyers, or to create a committee that can’t agree and so nothing moves forward. When that happens, it isn’t about the communications strategy or initiatives, it is a much bigger issue that needs to be addressed. It’s about leadership and teamwork.

Check out the great piece on Ragan.com entitled: 6 lame excuses for not communicating for more on this topic.

How does your organization behave? Are you good enough?

Brian recently wrote 14 Best Practices for Long-Term Social Media Success, which appeared on Mashable. It is well worth a read. The 14 best practices put forward in this piece are gold; they are points that we drive home over and over again with clients. If you want to engage in social media for the long-term and create positive relationships with your community – read this blog post.

Sometimes, our role with them is to assist in developing communications vehicles – a website, an online newsroom, a Facebook or Twitter page or other social networking presence along with a strategy. Other times, we work with them on a business project and to help develop a communication strategy around it. Quite often, we are brought in at the start of the project and asked to contribute to the project as a whole – rather than being given the directive to “communicate this.” That’s always an exciting time because it shows that the client organization understands that communication deserves a seat at the leadership table. They see that a strategic communicator can provide value in a business strategy session, not just build a communications plan around a strategy.

Often we are asked to participate in product development brainstorming sessions, to contribute to refining a corporate structure, to work with them on plans for growing their business or improving their organization with a focus on becoming more relevant and valuable to stakeholders. As senior communicators, many of our clients find it of value to have us in at the start of the project to provide our input and feedback.

When I came across this article in Forbes online, it reinforced the value of communication throughout an organization and to external stakeholders as an organization focuses on innovation.  It’s worth a read.

It seems like a long time since I wrote an AHA blog post. We’re back in the office preparing for the new year. It’s been an exciting year for us here at AHA and we’re looking forward to 2011.

One of the topics of conversation that we’ve been having at our Vancouver PR agency revolves around exceptional customer, client or stakeholder service. For us, exceptional service is a priority. How we work with our clients, our AHA Crew, our suppliers and others is important and our focus on this area is reflected in the success of our work with clients and the overall success of AHA.

I have two other examples of exceptional service to share today – one is personal, the other doesn’t touch us directly, but is a great example of someone who clearly cares about what they do.

The first example is about Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Mayor Booker has been out and about – hands on dealing with some of the insane weather that the North East is dealing with. And he’s been tweeting about it, responding directly to constituents. He’s used humour, empathy, understanding and he has really connected with the people who are being hit with the extreme weather. Wired.com has a great piece on it that’s worth a read.

My next example is one that is personal. For many of you who interact with us at AHA, you know that Paul and I took some time off in December for a vacation. We started off in Barcelona, took a Mediterranean Cruise and then returned to Barcelona.

We had never been to Barcelona before so I had done some research online into hotels there. The Hotel Barcelona Universal stood out because the manager, Pablo Perez, was active online. If a guest had a complaint on TripAdvisor.com, Pablo responded – either to clarify, apologize or set the record straight. The fact is, no hospitality or tourism provider can ever please every person every time and sometimes, things happen and stuff goes wrong. I found that Pablo’s hands on approach gave me a great deal of confidence in the hotel and the service that we would receive there, so we booked three nights (one pre-cruise and two post).

Now, three nights in a hotel isn’t a big deal. We could have been treated to the basic service – get us in, get us out – but that’s not how Pablo or the Hotel Barcelona Universal works. I emailed Pablo to tell him that I appreciated his proactive approach and to ask about recommendations for restaurants. What I got back was amazing. Pablo went out of his way to tell us about events and activities that we might be interested in Barcelona. He recommended great restaurants and helped us get reservations. He explained what would be going on around Christmas Eve and Christmas Day there. He went out of his way to make us feel welcome and comfortable in Barcelona. Before we even landed, it felt like we had a friend there.

Pablo wasn’t at the hotel when we arrived, so we actually didn’t get to meet him until December 24 – almost two weeks later. However, the service at the Hotel Barcelona Universal was exceptional. Everyone at the hotel went the extra mile to help us, whether that was bringing our luggage (a lot of it!) from the taxi to our room, hailing a cab, calling to let the restaurant know we would be a little late for our reservation or giving us directions for the Metro. We were treated like we were the most important guests at the hotel. As I sat in the lobby and watched (as PR people are prone to do), I noticed that every guest was given the same respect, consideration and service.

How Pablo and the team at Hotel Barcelona Universal treated us made our vacation so much better. It made Barcelona feel like home; it created a positive impact that really impressed us. Throughout this hotel, people went out of their way to provide us with an exceptional experience. It was a highlight of our trip. I will tell anyone going to Barcelona that this is where they should stay. This is public relations at its finest, and is a great example of exceptional customer service.

I have to admit, I was obsessed with this story. And, from the sounds of it, so was a great deal of the world. I think that the reason for this is that there was ongoing, honest communication being put out about what was going on and there was a realistic hope of a happy ending.

The fact that the world was kept up-to-date on what was happening underground with the miners, with their families and with the rescue effort was incredible. We were allowed into the story and that made us feel connected. I think the Chilean government and the people working on the rescue did an exceptional job of providing information and because of that, they earned worldwide support. Not a small thing when you are in the spotlight like they were.

Sunglass maker, Oakley, stepped in and provided sunglasses for the men. Now, I have read some criticism about why Oakley did this; but, in fact, they were approached by a journalist covering the story. They responded and said yes, of course, they would provide sunglasses to help protect the eyes of the men. And to their credit, they wrote one blog post about it and that seems to be it. They didn’t try to maximize coverage of their role; they just did something good and that was that. Of course, as each miner came out of the ground, their brand was front and centre and was connected to the success of the rescue. They received an estimated $41 million in television coverage. But, they handled their contribution with class and style and if it benefits them, good for them.

There is a great article in the Jamaica Observer about leadership lessons from the mines that focuses on the communications efforts. It’s one of the best pieces I have read on this topic and worth a read.

The women that began these agencies are smart and innovative and are moving on to different chapters of their lives. I think it is important for those of us who have learned from them, looked up to them and modeled ourselves after them in so many different ways, to take a moment to acknowledge their contribution to PR in Vancouver.

They have changed the perception of PR professionals from one of people who run events to one of being strategic partners that have earned a seat at the executive table. They have mentored and inspired many people in the world of PR and have made an indelible imprint on the PR industry in Canada.

I am one of the women who have followed their careers and built my career – and AHA Creative Strategies Inc. – with their influence and inspiration, guidance and mentorship. In fact, we are fortunate in that we still get to work with (and call a friend) the incredibly smart and talented Della Smith formerly of QUAY and now of Q Workshops.  Working with Della is like receiving an ongoing master’s in strategic communications!

It means something about how the industry and the world are changing when some of the top Vancouver PR agencies, like Wilcox Group, close their doors. There is a shift in how we deliver PR and, if I am interpreting Mat’s announcement correctly, in the business model of how we run our PR agencies. At AHA, we took a flying leap into this new paradigm when we opened our doors. Our vision for AHA was to be a hot Vancouver PR agency that served the North American market. Taking a page from the book of QUAY Strategies, we kept ourselves lean and flexible, and we have had exceptional results.

We have amazing clients; some that are high profile enough that you might have expected they would be at a larger agency. That’s our special touch – we deliver the large agency results with the approach of a small, hands-on Vancouver PR agency. It’s the best of both worlds and we’re pretty excited about the future. Thanks to those who have broken down walls and crushed the barriers. We hope we will do you proud.

…If you noticed the writing for SEO in this release, thanks for paying attention. This post is a part of our SEO experiment – but the sentiments described here are real!

As I read the piece, I was thinking that I must not be reading this article right because I would have advised this cruise line to do exactly what they have done (I would have also prepared them to take some criticism about it and to be ready to solidly respond to critics with their rationale).

I was somewhat relived when I read past the article and got to the comments on this piece. Here, most commenters believe that the cruise line did the right thing. RCL has made a $1 million contribution to the relief fund, is donating 100% of its net revenue from cruise ship visits to Haiti; and using its vessels to drop off food, water, lounge chairs and beach furniture.

I see the value in what Royal Caribbean is doing; they are continuing to stop at Labadee, bringing much needed revenue to the people that work in this port. I am not sure what the value would have been to the cruise line or to the people that depend on the money they make from tourism if the cruise line had put this stop on hold. I think the cruise line is taking a lot of criticism from PR pros about the “optics” of this decision, rather than about the reality of it. I think it took some serious thought and courage for Royal Caribbean to make this decision.

Some of the critics are right, if a media outlet ran a photo of a group of predominantly American tourists frolicking on a beach just 60 miles from the earthquake zone in Haiti and put it up against a photo of the devastation, it would look awful. But what would the point in comparing those two be? Drama? Emotional conflict? Sensationalizing the situation?

In the AdAge piece, it talks about the damage to the Royal Caribbean brand from these photos. I did a quick search online and I can’t find any of these photos.

I don’t think Royal Caribbean made this decision lightly and I think that they should be applauded for the courage of their convictions. It would be interesting to hear the opinion of someone who lives and works in Labadee. What do they think of the ship continuing to bring tourists to this port?

I have to admit that when I saw Tony’s name on the program as a keynote and realized he was speaking about corporate culture, I wasn’t that excited about it. However, you can’t deny that Zappos.com has a great reputation as does Tony, so I went to see him speak because, well – he was there and so was I.

His keynote changed how I view the world. I am so glad that I attended and didn’t take the extra time to catch up on emails or go and find a Starbucks. While he spoke a great deal about a passion of his – finding out what makes people happy and the science behind it – he also spoke a lot about Zappos.com and why they are a success. He talks about this in more detail in an article in entrepreneur.com. It’s worth a read. I got a chance to connect with Tony after his keynote and he generously offered to share the Zappos.com culture book with AHA. Now, keep in mind that this is a busy person. He runs a company that has $1 billion in sales, he speaks at conferences and events all over the world and he is immersed in a range of other things – such as his passion for finding out what creates happiness, but he not only offered to share some of the ins and outs of Zappos.com with me, he made sure that he delivered on what he promised. Which is exactly why Zappos is a success. They walk the talk and so does their CEO.

Tony gave me some excellent advice about corporate culture and I realized how important it is for us at AHA and for our clients. I think sometimes it’s easy to define (and dismiss) culture as that “thing” that HR does, but it’s so much more than that. A great culture can take your business from viable to incredibly successfully.  It is how you approach and interact with your world. A strong culture can only be built and maintained through authenticity, integrity and transparency. What comes out of that is respect, affection and some fun. You can’t fake it, you can’t push it on people from the top down, you can’t mandate it, demand it or issue a memo declaring it – you have to grow it. At the heart of creating a positive culture is communication. At the core of good communication is the ability to actively listen, pay attention, hear what is being said and understand what the needs of your stakeholders are – internally and externally.

Zappos is based on a set or core values which resonated strongly with me. In fact, now that we have our crew solidified, we are developing a refresh set of our own core values at AHA that are inspired by Zappos.

Zappos core values are:

1. Deliver WOW through service.
2. Embrace and drive change.
3. Create fun and a little weirdness.
4. Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded.
5. Pursue growth and learning.
6. Build open and honest relationships with communication.
7. Build a positive team and family spirit.
8. Do more with less.
9. Be passionate and determined.
10. Be humble.

Zappos.com has done it well. Ask anyone who has dealt with this company and they will tell you that the customer service is excellent and that they would purchase from them again. I think that any organization that aspires to build a brand as strong as Zappos.com will have a focus on culture as their foundation.

In speaking at events, delivering workshops and collaborating with clients – many of the points touched upon in this article come up. Obama has made a commitment to move toward a more open and transparent form of Government – and while there are steps being taken to do this, it takes time. This is a big paradigm shift. Not just for the people implementing the tools, technology and developing the strategy, policy and process, but also for the people who are being asked to join the conversation. The logistical side takes time and resources, so does the culture shift.

This article also points out some of the misses from the Obama team; some initiatives are slower on the uptake or haven’t hit their stride yet. There are no hard and fast “blueprints” for opening up the conversation and making it work. There is some experimentation involved and some things will resonate with your community (the people formerly called “The Audience”) and some won’t. Sometimes, no matter how much research you do, you won’t know until you try.

We often refer to The Obama Standard. He has done a good job of starting the process of creating a government that provides a voice – through a range of initiatives including social media – to the people. While he has a much bigger budget than most organizations, he is still working through it step-by-step, project-by-project, and asking for input as they learn what works and what doesn’t.