Leadership and Communication Workshop in March

Books give me great ideas, but they don't give me feedback.

That's why I'm glad to see that my friend Gloria Pierce is organizing a new course of the Individual Development Program. Under the auspices of the Business and Professional Women (BPW) of New Jersey, Gloria taught me personal communication and leadership skills in the ID program 15 years ago. (Frankly, I did not enjoy seeing my skills on videotape. Fortunately, the tape was VHS, so no one will be able to watch it anymore!)

When I read about her new class in the Independent Press I called her to wish her well with this course. She told me that this was a new, revamped ID program. She sent me the details, included below. That convinced me to sign up myself, instead of simply recommending the course to others. Men are welcome, too, Gloria said.

The IDP Leadership program will be March 14 and March 21 from 8:30 to 4. It will be somewhere in the Cranford or Kenilworth area, but the exact location will depend on the size of the class. For BPW members the cost is $50; everyone else pays $75. If you want to sign up, please call Gloria at (973) 375-5445.

IDP LEADERSHIP PROGRAM of the BPW/USA

The IDP Leadership Program is BPW/USA’s leadership development series. The program will assist people to succeed in meeting their goals for community action and Change.

The modules are:

Module 1: Historical perspective and current opportunities of BPW defining membership opportunities, objective, mission, vision, and legislative platform.

Module 2: Understanding peers and employees behavioral and communication styles – managing for improved performance.

Module 3: Reviewing behavioral styles and learning to recruit the right person for the right program/task.

Module 4: Learn how to create presentations

Module 5: Learn to give oral presentations

Module 6: Networking – A Skill for Life.

Module 7: Interviewing tips and techniques.

Module 8: Negotiating skills for the workplace and beyond.

Module 9: Developing leadership qualities that will help you rise to the top!

Module 10: Using parliamentary process can streamline any meeting and committee.

Module 11: Business etiquette: standing out from the rest by understanding how to be the best!

Module 12: Understand your advocacy role in your business and community.

Module 13: Learn about governing values – what is important to you, how do you see the world, and what do you believe in? Develop your goals.

Module 14: Develop media relationships for your business or organization.


©2005 BPW/USA 1

Web 2.0 Acid Test

I waited all day Thursday for the New York Times to call me.

I felt that Thomas Friedman's op-ed piece on the 11th was disingenuous in claiming that America's economic might was due solely to its "really flexible, really open economy" which tolerated creative destruction. I wanted to remind him and the editors that the European settlers had encountered a vast land rich in natural resources. If they found indigenous people living on the best land, they ejected them. In short, our success is also due to the wealth we have commandeered or stumbled upon, not only to economic policy.

I could have registered my opinion instantaneously by logging in to NYTimes.com and leaving a comment. But I really wanted an editor to read it and say, "Hey, this is interesting. My readers may want to think about that." If that had happened, they would have called me. But they didn't, and I have not posted my riposte, at least not until here and now.

That, I guess, is the litmus test of Web 2.0-ness. Is it important to you to put your opinion out on the Internet, or is it important to have an imprimatur? If, like me, you want the imprimatur, you may want to read Joel Stein's column '25 Things' we really don't need in today's LA Times.

Scanners

If you scroll down this page and look on the left-hand side you will see that I have replaced the old picture of me.

With a scanner, anyone who can doodle can now be a graphic artist. Obviously. So why are we still seeing so much clip art?

Is This the Future of the Media?

A friend of mine's story is troubling me. She said she sent a press release to a trade journal this week. She received an email back telling her that the publication was no longer accepting press releases. If she wanted her release to be published, she would need to become an author on the publisher's new site. Then she could submit her press releases.

She needs the 46 industry journals the publisher represents more than they need her. Ergo, she became an "author" on the site. Then she was told she would need to create her own "topic" under which she could submit her press release. It took her an hour to create the topic, she said, because she needed to devise a slogan and a mission statement, and she needed to choose a few articles from the publisher's archives to populate the topic. In essence, she was creating a mini-website for the benefit of the publisher.

I think I understand the point of view of the publisher. Ad revenues are falling, and with email it is easier than ever to send press releases, so the publisher is deluged with material. For search engine optimization, the publisher needs unique content. But because ad revenue is flagging, the publisher can't afford to pay reporters to turn those press releases into fresh thoughts and insights. "I know," the publisher proclaims. "I'll have those overpaid PR people do it instead. And if I give them each their own bylines, they'll take professional pride in their work, so they'll give me original content. And, eh, maybe some of them won't take off. That's okay, because the same people who aren't shelling out for advertising are still paying their PR people to do things like this."

My friend glumly reported that she was proposing titles for topics such as "Database Management Journal." "Actually, I would love to be an editor," my friend said, "but I want to edit something I know about. I don't want to be forced to edit a topic just so I can submit a few press releases."

Let me assure you, when my friend edits the DatabaseManagementJournal.publisher.com because the publisher can't or won't pay an editor, we are all in trouble. She knows little to nothing about databases. Any application that depends on her advice may very well fail.

Put editing back in the hands of professionals.