Lobstah!

As they say in Boston, I went out last night for "Lobstah" at Shaw's Crab House in downtown Chicago.
It had been a long time since I'd last visited this Chicago restaurant, which has been in business for 25 years.
I enjoyed the Oysters Rockefeller (hard to find on most menus) and the Boiled 1 lb. lobster dinner.
As you can see, they equipped me with a stylish bib to prevent me from wearing my dinner home.
When I first arrived, a friendly waitperson named Courtney asked if I had ever been to Shaw's before and I mentioned it had been at least 15 years ago. So, when I had finished my meal, she said, "We want you to come back sooner than another 15 years, so dessert's on me!"
I worried down a Chocolate and Mint Ice Cream concoction that was heavenly.
Certainly didn't leave Shaw's in a Crabby Mood!

Strategizing for better employee engagement

One of today's meetings was with Kirstin Hinchcliff, Senior VP at Insidedge, with whom I met earlier this week. We talked then about Dow Chemical.
Today we discussed several programs, including one for Exxon Mobil. This large company has many employees and many locations. Developing programs tailored to the particular needs of certain employee groups at specific locations is one of the areas of expertise available through Insidedge.
Kirstin came to Insidedge from Accenture. This background brings unique talent to the team and helps her draw on that consulting experience to give clients advice that meets their unique challenges.
Kirstin and I share a love of reading and I'm out to make her a Kindle Convert!

Chatting with Al

This morning I had another rare treat in my visit to Insidedge and the GolinHarris offices.
I spent time chatting with Al Golin, Chairman and Founder of GolinHarris, in his Chicago office that has a magnificent view of the Chicago River and my building (The Wrigley Building). Al asked if I had taken my picture in front of my building during this trip. Not yet, but I still have another week to make that happen. And, of course, I checked up on my baseball stadium the other night, as those of you keeping up with my adventures will already know!
I had a chance to really get to know the person we have read about in textbooks and other publications and discovered that something I've believed for a long time proved very true with Al.
The people in our business of PR who are most successful are often the most unassuming, genuine people who wouldn't spend time tooting their own horn but, rather, ask good questions and make it a point to be down to earth and friendly.
As you can see, Al has a great smile, something that's always a tip-off to someone who will quickly put you at ease and share stories and a good laugh as quickly as he would discuss something sobering and serious.
Al and I agree that curiosity is one of the best traits for a successful PR person. It keeps things interesting and makes life a whole lot more fun.
One thing is abundantly clear. Al still comes to work because it's fun.
That's a lesson for all of us.
Thanks, Al. I look forward to spending more time with you next week!

Let's be careful out there

What do recent news stories such as these have in common?
Shirley Sherrod and the flap surrounding her speech about race.
A plus-size model complaining about her photo being Photoshopped to make her look thinner.
Mel Gibson's rants posted on the Web.
Answer:
Technology changes the public relations ballgame.
Lessons?
Be careful what you say.
Be careful what you believe.
Bad news travels fast.
Ask questions before judging.


In the case of U.S. Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod, it seems neither the NAACP, which quickly condemned her, nor Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who fired her and quickly decided to rehire her, bothered to do their homework. Technology affords us the ability to edit, take out of context, and send something off into the blogosphere faster than a blink.

In the case of the plus-size model, featured on the Today Show this morning, a nip and a tuck on a photo are a snap and can cause a major hiccup for a magazine or online medium using such a doctored image.

Then there's Mel. If ever there was an example of technology ruining a career, this is one for the PR textbooks. Coming back from this one looks impossible from here.
But, then, we said the same about Richard Nixon and Eliot Spitzer, right?

MSU Revisited

Last night I had the great pleasure of seeing one of my former masters students at MSU (Michigan State University: , Sumalya Sundaram. She and I have kept in touch since her graduation from MSU and she's been working in Chicago ever since in a firm that works in marketing and supply chain management.
Sumalya is originally from India and has one of the best smiles you'll ever see.
We had a nice dinner at Catch 35, a seafood restaurant recommended by one of my colleagues here at Insidedge
The food was great and we enjoyed live music from a terrific jazz band.
Seeing success in former students is a real high.
Congrats, Sumalya, on your Chicago success!

Olympic Fever!

During my meeting with Kirstin Hinchcliff, Senior Vice President at Insidedge, she shared the story of how Insidedge has helped Dow with its Human Element campaign for employee engagement.
Dow just announced last week that it will be a major sponsor of the Olympic Games for the next 10 years. Kirstin was there in New York for the big announcement.
You can see videos from this event at http://www.dow.com/
Check it out!
You'll also be interested in Dow's efforts at global sustainability.
SU students learning about corporate social responsibility will find this company particularly noteworthy.

We're all connected

PR is a business full of close connections.
It seems you mention someone in the business and next thing you know, you share two or three names of people who are friends or former colleagues.
Such was the case today when I met with Caroline Hoenk who is a Vice President at Insidedge in Chicago.
When we first met on Tuesday morning, I learned that Caroline was Carly Jarosz's boss at Financial Dynamics!
Caroline is an attorney who works with clients at Insidege and she and I met this afternoon to talk about her work with the SOA, Society of Actuaries. We discussed two other clients and some of the research she's been supervising, as well as how this research informs communications strategy. Fascinating stuff.
Caroline was very generous with her time.
I look forward to other meetings as my internship progresses!