Imagine you’re listening to a choir or a musical group and everyone is singing from a different song sheet. It will sound terrible. There wouldn’t be any synchronization amongst the group. You would be likely to run for the exits. Listening to a group that uses the same song sheet would obviously be a different listening experience (so long as choir has some singing ability!). “Song sheets” in …
Brandon Wright of UAB: Use Student Activism to Support Career Growth
“We have to be so cognizant of what we are putting online,” said Brandon Wright, Director of the University Alabama at Birmingham Career Center. “Impact and intent are two different things. Our students have to consider the impact of their decisions. That is what people see; people won’t see your intent. Students have to control their narrative and not allow mass media to tell the story for you as …
Resume Do’s and Don’ts
Did you know that some 40% of hiring managers spend less than a minute reviewing a resume? Don’t let this intimidate you. Learn ways to enhance your resume to secure your next job opportunity. On episode #3 of the Informational Interview 2.0 podcast, Kevin Anselmo and Heidi Scott Giusto discuss some key points to consider in writing effective resumes, as well as some pitfalls to avoid. Some of …
How to Encourage Faculty to Engage in External Communications
"Our school punches below its weight." "Our school is not as visible at it should be." "We need to strengthen partnerships and engage more broadly with the business community." These are common refrains I hear from university presidents, deans, marketers and other school leaders. I would argue that it is virtually impossible to move the needle on these concerns if faculty are not engaged …
Episode #12: The Power of Mobilizing Employees to Create Training Content – an Interview with Patrick Veenhoff of Swisscom
How do we get more colleagues to engage with L&D resources? This is a common concern facing L&D leaders. Swisscom, the major telecommunications provider in Switzerland, has been able to address such a question by encouraging employees to create training content. Patrick Veenhoff, Head of Learning & Development at Swisscom, shared his experiences with this innovative initiative on …
Academics: Create Content by Leveraging Different Assets
Terrific - as an academic you understand the importance of creating content for public audiences. (Watch this video if you need to be convinced why creating content from your research is good investment of your time). But maybe it is a challenge for you to identify ways to create content in a time efficient manner. Before you begin creating content, it is important to first think through your …
Episode #5: Launching a New Strategic Centralized Learning Function – an Interview with L&D Leader Malika Viltz-Emerson
What is the best way to launch a strategic centralized learning function within an organization? Malika Viltz-Emerson, an L&D leader who has worked for the likes of Xerox and Grubhub and is now the Senior Director of Global Learning, Strategy & Program Management with Microsoft, answered this question on episode 5 of the Learning and Development Stories Podcast. Linking Learning to …
Academics: Please Stop Rambling during Media Interviews
It was painful to sit through. A while back, I was listening in on an academic's interview with a journalist. Each answer was probably about eight minutes long as he segued from one topic to the next without giving the journalist an opportunity to interject. He was going on and on, flippantly using big words that the average person would need to look up. His points were communicated in a dry and …
Research Perspectives on the Challenges and Opportunities Facing Education Leaders
Frustrated by bureaucracy at your institution? Perplexed on how to manage the rankings process? If yes, you are not alone. My former IMD Business School colleague Janet Shaner, now the Founder of a consultancy called Top 10 Learning Solutions, surveyed management education professionals and unearthed some of their common challenges and opportunities. I believe there are insights from this …
Podcast Episode #66: Using Instagram to Communicate Research
How do you communicate research visually for Instagram? Perhaps you have wondered about how to do this, whether you are a researcher or academic, or if you are a communicator supporting these audiences. I have grappled with this question as I have put together communications training materials for researchers and academics. I am not a visual learner per se, and am quick to hear complaints …
How Media Relations Can Support Integrated Marketing Communications Goals
Technological advances, the ever-changing communications landscape and the disruption in the higher education space necessitate that marketing and communications departments strategically work together towards common goals. This means that everyone is aligned on what the objectives are and how to achieve them through the collaborative effort of those responsible for earned media (media relations), …
Think Like a Media Company with your Newsletters
Trivia question #1: How many different email newsletters does the New York Times put out? (I realize that I might have lost some ardent Trump supporters at this point who don’t like referencing a so-called fake news outlet. Sorry about that. I guess.) Think about the answer to this question …… The answer is 50 different niche newsletters. If you answered correctly, tweet me and I will give …
Donald Trump, Brexit and the Impact on Business Schools
One of the hallmarks of business education is “global”. It would be hard to find a business school that doesn’t highlight this word in its marketing materials. Global often refers to the make-up of the class as well as the content in the classroom. A number of business schools have applied global from a physical perspective by setting up operations in different strategic countries. There is good …
Join My Free Media Training Mini-Course on Periscope! (#MediaTrainingScope)
There are lots of shiny new objects that come out on a regular basis. All too often, what is the talk of town quickly fades away. I think Periscope is an exception. There are many unique differentiators about Periscope that set it apart from other social networks. If you haven't seen Periscope in action, I encourage to download the app and see how different individuals are using the tool. I have …
Episode #35: How to Work with Practitioner Publications Like Harvard Business Review
Getting visibility in Harvard Business Review can be a game-changer. In the case of thought leader Dorie Clark, an HBR blog post led to a full-length piece in the print magazine which then led to a new book (and she had written a follow-up book for good measure). On episode 35 of FIR on HIgher Education, senior editor Gardiner Morse discusses the best ways in which academics and PR professionals …