Crisis Guru

In his Crisis Guru commentaries Jim Lukaszewski provides real answers and real expertise to real questions about your most critical communications problems and issues.

To submit a question, please direct it by e-mail to crisisguru@e911.com. Be sure to include your full name, affiliation, address, and telephone number. All published questions will be identified only by title and industry. Your confidentiality will be protected.

Please direct all comments, questions, and return salvos to crisisguru@e911.com.

Question:

Dear Crisis Guru:

I was interested in your "Webinar" about training spokespersons . . . until I read the phrase "Spokespersoning is entirely a verbal skill." Knowing your reputation as an expert, I wondered if you had approved this copy.

Director of Communications Outreach
Midwestern University

Answer:

Dear "Interested":

If there is a legacy my writings and teachings can leave for public relations, it is that we all must do more critical thinking, challenging of conventional wisdom (especially our own), and take a more managerial approach to our work. These are habits that will make us truly positive, constructive, even strategic forces within the organizations we serve.
To be truly valuable, we need to be unconditionally and constantly open to explore, learn, and absorb new information we can then convert into useful advice.
Each year, my work takes me before all staff functions, at all levels - law, HR, finance, corporate relations, and operations. Public relations is the only staff function that insists on holding on to relatively unsophisticated belief systems:

Allowing the media to dominate our attention and the advice we give (when our bosses don’t care)
Assuming that there are singularly specific ways to do things, even when those we assist know that there are always several ways to accomplish any objective (sometimes without any kind of concerted communications effort)
Rather than celebrating a diversity of approaches and possibilities, trying to enforce our views or some “standard” approach on our fellow practitioners

In my experience, the truly valuable practitioner is a positive, constructive, pragmatic, outcome-focused “yes” person who works relentlessly for positive, incremental personal and professional improvement - every day. And they teach and coach those they advise on how to work, live, and achieve in a similar way.
My personal goal, every day, is to have and help others have a happy, useful, and important life - one day, sometimes one issue, problem, or opportunity at a time.
Yes, the words in the copy are mine. Why not join us and stretch your thinking? Then we can argue alternatives, and you can challenge my assumptions and experience. My hope, always, is that those who attend my Web seminars will do just that. It’s always refreshing to have a substantive discussion, even debate, on any important public relations topic.

Cordially,

Jim Lukaszewski




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CRISIS GURU #2 Real Time Answers to Real Time Questions In his Crisis Guru commentaries Jim Lukaszewski provides real answers and real expertise to real questions about your most critical communications problems and issues. To submit a question, please direct it by e-mail to crisisguru@e911.com. Be sure to include your full name, affiliation, address, and telephone number. All published questions will be identified only by title and industry. Your confidentiality will be protected. Please direct all comments, questions, and return salvos to crisisguru@e911.com. TODAY'S TOPIC: IS SPOKESPERSONING ENTIRELY A VERBAL SKILL? Question: Dear Crisis Guru: I was interested in your "Webinar" about training spokespersons . . . until I read the phrase "Spokespersoning is entirely a verbal skill." Knowing your reputation as an expert, I wondered if you had approved this copy. Director of Communications Outreach Midwestern University Answer: Dear "Interested": If there is a legacy my writings and teachings can leave for public relations, it is that we all must do more critical thinking, challenging of conventional wisdom (especially our own), and take a more managerial approach to our work. These are habits that will make us truly positive, constructive, even strategic forces within the organizations we serve. To be truly valuable, we need to be unconditionally and constantly open to explore, learn, and absorb new information we can then convert into useful advice. Each year, my work takes me before all staff functions, at all levels - law, HR, finance, corporate relations, and operations. Public relations is the only staff function that insists on holding on to relatively unsophisticated belief systems: Allowing the media to dominate our attention and the advice we give (when our bosses don’t care) Assuming that there are singularly specific ways to do things, even when those we assist know that there are always several ways to accomplish any objective (sometimes without any kind of concerted communications effort) Rather than celebrating a diversity of approaches and possibilities, trying to enforce our views or some “standard” approach on our fellow practitioners In my experience, the truly valuable practitioner is a positive, constructive, pragmatic, outcome-focused “yes” person who works relentlessly for positive, incremental personal and professional improvement - every day. And they teach and coach those they advise on how to work, live, and achieve in a similar way. My personal goal, every day, is to have and help others have a happy, useful, and important life - one day, sometimes one issue, problem, or opportunity at a time. Yes, the words in the copy are mine. Why not join us and stretch your thinking? Then we can argue alternatives, and you can challenge my assumptions and experience. My hope, always, is that those who attend my Web seminars will do just that. It’s always refreshing to have a substantive discussion, even debate, on any important public relations topic. Cordially, Jim Lukaszewski
The Lukaszewski Group Inc. 100 South Bedford Road, Suite 340, Mount Kisco, NY 10549 U.S.A., 914.681.0000-Office 914.681.0047-Facsimile 203.948.7029-24/7 Copyright © 2009, James E. Lukaszewski. All rights reserved. Permission to print one copy for personal use is hereby granted by the copyright holder. Reproduction of additional copies without written permission of the copyright holder is strictly prohibited.