What type of programs would you like to see in the upcoming year? What other suggestions do you have for the 2007-2008 Cleveland chapter board? We are looking for ideas to help us kick off a new chapter year, which begins this month.

The board is scheduled to meet Saturday, July 21, at the Embassy Suites in Independence. The retreat is the board’s major planning session for the chapter year.

We appreciate your feedback,

Marie Kilbane Seckers
IABC Cleveland

Last week, the chapter held our Annual Vision Awards event at Playhouse Square. This year, we tried a few different things including the venue and the time. Overall, attendance was lower than normal (50 compared to 100+) and we even saw fewer entries.

For those who attended, can you comment on what you liked or didn’t like and for those who didn’t enter or attend, please let the 2007 Board know what we can do to make this event and competition of value to you in the coming year. Thanks to everyone for your support of the chapter in 2006/2007!

Matt Evans
The Timken Company

So, maybe you’ve been a member for awhile. Have you thought about ways to stretch the value of your membership? There are many ways to get involved in IABC Cleveland in addition to attending programming events. Whether you can volunteer an hour a quarter or an hour a month, there are projects you can become a part of to help move the chapter forward. Not only that, you’ll have the opportunity to try out new skills, share your current skills, and meet communicators across communication disciplines right here in Northeast Ohio.

There are also opportunities to join the board and really stretch your skills and network, along with an opportunity to join each director’s committee and sink into a vital role.

Have a question? Want to learn more? Give us your comments to this posting.

Each board director would welcome assistance – and it’s another way to learn more or strengthen your skills. Here’s a brief snapshot of the work done under each board position:

Program Director: Randi Hansen works with the board to develop a variety of lunchtime programs and workshops to benefit members. Working with venues and speakers, gathering information for program publicity, day-of -event introductions and post-program surveys are among the program committee’s tasks.

Awards Program Director: Mary Horvat works with a committee to organize the Vision Awards competition and accompanying Communicator of the Year award. IABC Cleveland provides judges for a handful of other U.S. IABC chapters, many of whom offer reciprocal judging help for the Vision Awards.

Public Relations Director: Craig Ihms works closely with the program director, president and board to prepare information on programs and other IABC Cleveland news to the public at large, and tracks exposure. His goal is to boost the profile of IABC Cleveland through proactive media outreach.

Membership Director: Kendra Marino welcomes all new and renewing chapter members, organizing information on membership, providing incentives to current and new members, and tracking renewals and membership trends.

Member Communications Director: Marie Kilbane Seckers provides information to members on current IABC Cleveland projects and activities. Her committee updates members with a regular e-newsletter and maintains the chapter Web site. The chapter blog also is steered by her committee.

Treasurer: Matt Evans manages the chapter finances, making sure expenses are paid in a timely manner and income is correctly reported. The treasurer role has given Matt a good perspective of how a business runs and enables him to provide recommendations for the chapter based on available resources. The treasurer works closely with chapter administrator Pam Tallant.

Vice President: Matt Evans provides support to the president and takes part in various IABC Cleveland committees, including the Future Vision Award scholarship committee and Vision Awards committee. The vice president role is positioned as president-elect.

President: Tracy McDaniel leads and organizes monthly board meetings, providing strategy and support to keep the priorities of each director on track. The president also acts as a liaison to the IABC Heritage region and International, and represents the organization in dealings with other communication organizations in Northeast Ohio.

What communication channels do fellow communicators use to share information with their non-office employees – anyone who does not have regular access to a computer in the course of his or her job? I’m especially interested in communicating employee handbooks or policy guides. Is there value to printing handbooks, or has pushing employees to electronic versions worked for you?

Thank you.

cj

Connie Mayse, Manager
Employee Communcations
Time Warner Cable

How does your strategic communication plan align to the goals of your company?

As communcation veteran and IABC/Cleveland member Judi Pfancuff can attest, a solid strategic communcation plan will help you leverage resources and better manage both planned and ad hoc requests. As director of global internal communications for Eaton Corporation, she knows the benefit and necessity of having a strategic communication plan in place, and yes, it can be fairly simple and straightforward.

Judi shared her expertise with more than 40 area communicators at an IABC/Cleveland program Feb. 8. A special “thank you” goes to Judi and to Eaton Corporation for allowing IABC/Cleveland to share with you her basic outline. As “journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step,” I would suggest this outline below will help get you on your way. It’s two part — a communication plan outline, along with an outline for tactics and execution.

“Project x” communication plan should include:

1. Situational analysis and past communications — what has led up to the need for the current project and this communications plan?

2. Communications objectives — what is the intended effect of the communication on the targeted audiences?

3. Key messages — they are the “whys” and “whats” of the communication.

4. Audiences — who needs to receive the message?

5. Strategy — add information about the high-level strategy to be employed in this communications plan.

6. Tactics/Timinig — how will key messages and other communication information about the subject of your plan be communicated?

7. Evaluation measurement — define how the success of the communication efforts at meeting the communications objectives will be measured.

Project x Communications Tactics Execution Plan outline defines:
1. Audience
2. Messages
3. Tactics
4. Timing
5. Responsibility

I am putting together an internal communication summit for my company in February and want to ask my colleagues at IABC if they have presentations or other materials they would be willing to share.

The audience will consist of people responsible for communication within our division – some of them are “accidental” communicators and some are professionals. The purpose is to share best practices, develop consistency in communications, ensure we follow corporate style guidelines, and offer help and camaraderie and a shoulder to cry on, whichever is needed most.

The tentative agenda includes these topics:
*Corporate Branding – Internal & External
*Writing Guidelines
*Communicator as a Consultant to Business
*Tools for the Job
*Target Your Audience
*Measuring the Effectiveness of Communication
*Communication Planning
*Using Appreciative Inquiry in Needs Analysis, Planning and Delivery

Also, Ned Lundquist, ABC, will be flying in from Washington DC to address the group.

I figure our members probably have done something similar at some time or another, so I’m loathe to reinvent the wheel.

Connie J. Mayse
Manager, Employee Communications
Time Warner Cable Northeast Ohio Division

OSU’s win over Michigan on Nov. 18 was certainly a proud moment for Ohioans, an exciting event bringing a sometimes fractured public together for a shared experience. No surprise — it became front page news acrosss the state. The win was something to be thankful for, along with other more serious things for which we can individually give thanks.

How have you used this spirit of thanks, of perseverance, of overcoming adversity, which is such an underlying theme of the holidays? Do you have any interesting stories you’ve used in your internal or external communication? How did you find them? What type of response did you get? Share your thoughts here.

It’s all about you, as the end user or consumer is “king” on the Web, a point reiterated by Digiknow principal and founder King Hill. It’s the end user who determines content, forcing businesses and communication professionals like you to reevaluate when and how you communicate with your intended audience.

Hill remembers the “old days” of on-line bulletin board use the mid 90s, antiquated by today’s standards. We’re now at “Web 2.0,” where improvements in technology, faster speed, greater bandwidth etc. are allowing individuals and businesses of all kinds to have a more efficient and seamless connection to information on the Web. That we’re using the Web more efficiently and in a more integrated fashion is the biggest change according to Hill.

Check out a few of these Web sites below to help you use the Web more efficiently and think a bit more about its vast opportunities (and possible pit falls). It’s an incomplete list of some of the sites talked about in today’s presentation.

Digiknow: http://www.digiknow.com/home.php
Learn more about King Hill and his company here.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Provides an ever growing list of terminology related to the Web.
Get those definitions for vlogs, wikis, folksonomy, tagging, mashup and other Web terms. You’ll also find articles and discussion groups to help you navigate the Web.

Technorati: http://www.technorati.com/
Search engine for the millions of blogs in existence.

Digg: http://digg.com/
In this news site, the top stories are chosen by the “Digg” community of readers. Its topics include technology, world news, business and more.

Have some more thoughts? Send them our way.

How many times have you told yourself, “I could write a book?” You may have the characters, plot, or story line, but what does it take to get a book from your head into print?

On Oct. 12, IABC/Cleveland will host a writers panel with three published authors in fiction and non-fiction. If you have a question you would like them to answer, here’s your chance.

You’ll get the answer to these and other questions at the Oct. 12 lunchtime event.

Luanne Paynick, Creative Director and lead instructor at VoicePro, spoke Aug. 31 on “Influencing: A Balance of Logic and Emotion.” For anyone who wantes to lead, guide or influence others, she brought a presentation focused on outcome, using the “OBET” model. That is “o” for outcome; “b” for benefit; “e” for emotion and “t” for truth, ingredients needed to make a case — whether that be to your supervisor, your fellow employees or others. Still, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

What were your thoughts on the program? How would you like to expand your sphere of influence? Any examples of commanding leadership or plans that got bogged down due to miscommunication, missed cues or ambiguity?

One story from the business pages of the PD Aug. 29 comes to mind — “The ‘Macyizing’ campaign” led by CEO Terry Lundgren to reach out to the companies aquired in the Federated and May merger, all with distinct names and proud histories behind them. I found a link to the story, written by a New York Times reporter, at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/26/business/26macy.html if you missed it.

I’m not sure how long this link will be active. Certainly, it’s a strong story of “influence” and relationship-building used well — perhaps even necessary for Federated’s survival.