IABC Be Heard Weblog

Chris Hall, IABC chief IT guy, at left by the screen, and his assistant at right, talk with a group of Houston ESIG members about the new Vendor Search service. Around the table counterclockwise are Carole Minor, Encore Communications; Jamie Roark, Simply Communicate; Susan Burnell, APR, Imagination Ink; Elaine Krause, Communications Outsourcing; Ben Wheatley, ABC, APR, Ben Wheatley Public Relations; and Theresa Parker, Torma Communications. Pam McConathy, Foresight Communications Group, was our photographer.

I had the privilege of participating in a focus group on Friday to give my opinion on an awesome new service that IABC is about to launch. Vendor Search (they’re still working on the name) will allow an independent contractor IABC member to post a page on the international site. It’s like the Houston Chapter’s Find a Freelancer section on our Web site, only global.

In fact, Houston’s leadership in starting an Entrepreneur Strategic Interest Group was a major reason for Chris Hall, chief technology officer at IABC headquarters, to come to Houston and find out what we think. Chris worked with Mark Schumann, ABC, to arrange the sessions at the Towers Perrin office downtown. Mark is the vice-chairman of IABC and will take the role of chairman of the international group next June. He is never at a loss to promote the Houston chapter and its innovative members.

Getting back to Vendor Search. About 20 percent of the IABC membership is made up of independent consultancy businesses from one-person shops to major companies such as Towers Perrin. Not since 2000, when the last 16,000-page Worldbook directory of IABC members was published, has there been a “yellow pages” section that promotes this important membership segment.

Unlike the print directory, IABC will not charge extra to be added to Vendor Search. “This is very much a value-added service for members,” Chris explained. “In these tough economic times, IABC is looking for ways to add value.”

It was tough economic times in the oil bust days of the 1980s that created an entrepreneurial spirit in Houston. “The role of the independent is unique to Houston,” said Carole Minor, Encore Communications and charter ESIG member . “No one has been doing this as long as we have and with a sense of community among our competitors like we have.” We all agreed that’s what makes ESIG so great. We’re all competitors but we like each other and support each other. We want to see each other succeed.

The IABC Vendor Search will be one more tool to help us succeed. IABC members in need of services in writing, design, PR or video for example, will be able to search the membership’s list of experts. It will be especially helpful when trying to find an expert in a certain part of the world.

Chris says the new service is on the fast track to be up and running in January. Be Heard. Be Noticed. Be Marketed.

The economic crisis will pass. At least I hope so. We have been through tough times before and survived, so it’s just a matter of time before all the smart people figure out how to fix this. Never mind that it was the smart people who got us into this mess. Anyway, I’ve been watching ezines come through my inbox with advice on how to cope. Here are few I thought worth mentioning starting with what our international office has to offer.

IABC Cafe2Go podcast
IABC President Julie Freeman, ABC, APR, and 2008–2009 Chair Barbara Gibson, ABC, discuss the impact of the financial crisis on the communication profession, the challenges for internal and external communicators, and how communication professionals can demonstrate their value during tough economic times.

Also coming

• The transcript of a panel discussion on the role of communication in the financial crisis will appear in the January–February issue of Communication World magazine.
• IABC and Mercer conducted a survey on the impact of the financial crisis on communication professionals and what they are doing to deal with it. The survey findings will be available free to IABC members in early December.
• In the December issue of CW Bulletin the foremost leaders in organizational communication will offer their advice and tips on how communicators can ensure they are a valuable asset to their organization during the current economic downturn, and look at what steps they can take to help their organizations survive.

Prolific Advice

Ragan Communications, that prolific authoritarian group out of Chicago, sends out out an enewsletter almost every hour (at least it seems that way) packed with advice. A recent one had the headline and summary, “Measurement and Creativity Are Important in Tough Times: Tips from communications experts on cutting costs without cutting corners.” Sounds good, but you have to be a Ragan Select subscriber to find out. What if your cost-cutting measures include paring down your subscription list? By the way, a Ragan Select subscription costs $279, about the cost of an IABC membership, which provides resources either at no cost or nominal cost. Anyway, Ragan is good at what it does and you might want to check out ragan.com to determine if a subscription is right for you.

Smooch Says…

I also received an email from someone named Smooch Repovich Reynolds who offered Ten Career Tips to Bring You Up in a Down Market. I don’t know if it was the name or the lure of another Top 10 list that made me open the email, but either way she (I’m assuming Smooch is a she) had some good points. Smooch is the CEO of her own executive search firm specializing in communications placements. So here are a few of the tips. If you’d like the full list, post a comment or email me (theresa@torma.com) and I’ll share.

Her first tip was to Focus, focus, focus – on the idea of doing great work in every aspect of your job. Also,

Be a superb listener for your colleagues at all levels of the company.

Reach out to experts outside the organization to learn more about key indicators that may affect the business of your company, and your role, in order to anticipate future issues better and provide more appropriate counsel. (Use IABC resources and network with your fellow chapter members, for example.)

Understand the pressures that your management team is facing and learn how to “lean into” them and provide strategic support as they determine how to navigate a troubled economy.

Yea! for Yahoo!

And here’s some advice from the all-knowing Yahoo! site. When stressed, repeat this mantra:

I am grateful.

I am strong.

I can get through this.

Communications is finally getting the respect it deserves on college campuses. At last month’s luncheon, speaker Deborah Barrett announced that Rice University has recently established a Program for Communication Excellence for its students. “We plan to position our communication program so that it reaches all students across the curriculum as part of their general education to ensure that our students obtain the level of communication excellence needed to be the global citizens we hope they become.” That’s what it says on their Web site. They have recognized the importance that communication plays in their graduates becoming successful engineers, business executives and scientists. Awesome! To read more about Rice’s program, see www.rice.edu/comm.

I am also very proud of the great strides that the IABC Student Chapter at the University of Houston has made. The chapter now has 20 members, led by Lauren Fry, president. The group has shown its creativity in sponsoring events of great benefit to its members. They have launched a lunch-time program called Pizza with the Pros in which they invite students to share a slice with a communications professional.

They also hosted a Media Homecoming event which featured a panel of UH alumni media types who shared their experiences in how they landed their jobs and advanced their careers. It was a standing-room-only crowd. I think the panel offered some interesting insights. The television and radio guys have been in the field for a while (seasoned I believe we say). Both wore suits. Another panel member was a former radio reporter now in media relations. She offered a unique perspective of going to the dark side. And the two guys who just graduated I mistook for students and not speakers (Oops!). Both work at the Chronicle. Both wore jeans. Both are bloggers–one in arts, one in sports. Both are contract personnel, which seems to be the way of the printed press these days.

One message they could all agree on was, “Don’t expect to land that end-all, be-all job right out of college. Be persistent. Be prepared to fetch the coffee, work the holiday shifts if that’s what it takes.

I am very proud to see communications students taking advantage of these programs. It would have been great to have this type of support when I graduated from UH in 1981. Thanks to IABC Board Member Lauren Bohnstedt and UH School of Communications rep and teacher Mike Emery for launching the student chapter. Thanks to Lauren Fry for being an outstanding first president and assembling an enthusiastic board. The UH IABC Chapter is one of only 25 student chapters in the IABC international organization and the only active one in Texas right now.

Houston universities rock!

Dad let me borrow his crown for a photo.

On October 23, I had the honor to be among some real celebrities–none of those tabloid types who pretend they are somebodies. I’m talking people who have accomplished great things in the real world. It was the 25th anniversary celebration of Torma Communications and 2d-a design collaborative. I have had the privilege of working at Torma for the past 10 years. To show you how this IABC networking thing works, Tracy and I were introduced to Ellen Custer, graphic designer and principal of 2d design about the same time I joined Torma. The client was Transocean. Our contact was Susie McMichael, ABC. We were working with Susie to develop a magazine for the company. In search of a designer, Susie asked fellow IABCer Ben Wheatley, ABC, APR, who he would recommend. He suggested Ellen, an active member of the chapter’s ESIG.

It was a good match. Ellen and I still work with Transocean even though Susie has gone on to other companies. But there you have my testimonial. Tracy spoke briefly at the monthly luncheon that Torma sponsored and said more than 90 percent of her business has come through networking and referrals in IABC.  Now that’s results!

Back to the dancing part. Ellen, Tracy and our Torma colleague, Susan Diemont-Conwell, all attended my wedding a coule of years ago. It was held in the Czech and German tradition of entertaining reception guests with a polka band, barbecue and cold beer. In fact, I never knew there was any other kind of wedding reception until my family and I attended a punch and cake affair when I was 10 or so. I kept asking, “When’s the band gonna get here?”

Anyway, they loved it so much, it was a unanimous decision that the Torma/2d design celebration would be a polka party. Cheers to 25 Years was a blast. It was held at the same hall as my reception. Same band, same caterer. Plenty of Shiner beer and an infusion of dancing by the Polka Lovers Klub of America (Po.L.K. of A.) Texas Chapter 1, of which my parents are the prince of princess. They wore their red and white costumes and performed traditional Czech and German dances. These folks are in their 60s, 70s and 80s and they can outlast anyone, any age on the dance floor. Their love for the music and dance is contagious. Our guests felt comfortable venturing onto the floor to learn more.

As my dad says, “It’s just hard to be sad or worried when you’re listening to such happy music.” I think that was his stress relief and I think that’s why he’s still dancing at the age of 83.

The stars of the evening were many. My husband, John, who wasn’t sure about the polka thing when we first started dating but who has come to love it as much as I do. My two sons–Will, who came in from Austin and has made music his profession, and Alec, who at age 14, is already quite an accomplished dancer. My dad and his fellow Klub members. Most are WWII vets who have a strong sense of family and country. I may not agree with their politics, but they are shining examples of what hard work and sound moral character can achieve. My employer and friend, Tracy, and colleagues and friends Ellen and Susan. They are stars in their profession, family and communities and I have learned so much from them. Our clients, family and friends and IABC colleagues. Each one shines brightly for their companies, families and communities.

All in all, I would have to score the evening a 10 with no one being voted off!

We had a great time doing the Chicken Dance, which according to IABC colleague Gretchen Weis, is also popular in mainland China.

IABC colleague Pegge Bogle, ABC; me; BHP Billiton client Teresa Wong; and Torma colleague Susan Diemont-Conwell make a grand entrance.

We see a red outfit in Ellen's future!

Tracy says Cheers to 25 Years as guests arrive.