The biggest benefit for me -- and for my clients too-- is that this sort of collaboration tends to stimulate innovation, which is essential to a successful strategic communications program.  It is what motivates us to do what we do. It energizes us, gets our adrenalin going, makes us look forward to going to work each day. It fires us up and if we are lucky, it has the same creative effect on our clients.

So as we close out 2010, I’d like to take this opportunity to officially thank all the people I’ve been innovating and collaborating with this year. Let’s do it again in 2011. Here’s looking at you, kids:

Jeri Pushkin, Dan Christopherson, Melissa Hernandez, Rachel Brand,Erika Gonzalez, Sara Goodwin, Margie McCarthy, Veronica Figoli, Liz Ullman, Ian Atchison, Pete Codella, Jennifer Heinly, Elizabeth Suarez, Heather Evans-Keenan, Jim Hooley, Robin Bond, Zack Littlefield, Steve Gray, Marv Rockford, Steven Shapiro, Laura Love-Aden, Ramona Tooley, Stacey Sepp, Lisa Cutter, Jane Dvorak, Warren Smith, Sydney Ayers, Gina Seamans, Brian Colucci, Roberta Cedillo, Janine Tafoya Manning, Steve Koenigsberg, Robyn Lydick, Brad Friedman, Saul Rosenthal, Wendy Aiello, Jeremy Story, Steve Olsen

Palmer Pekarek, Doug Hock, David Milstead, Caitlin Jenny, Tonya Ewers, Sarah Spaulding, Sarah Ellis.

I hope 2011 is happy, healthy and prosperous for you all.  

I’m proud of our client.

Suzanne Bragg-Gamble is the executive director of CoverColorado. When we first started talking to Suzanne about developing a communications program for GettingUSCovered, the new health plan for the uninsured that Suzanne administers, she was hesitant. She was uncertain what PR was, how it worked, or even if she needed it.

Despite her skepticism, she decided to trust our judgment. Since then, she’s participated in a press conference with the Governor, conducted multiple media interviews, published a guest opinion column, done presentations at hospitals, agreed to a marketing communications campaign and hosted a webinar for over 100 insurance brokers. She even let us set up a GettingUSCovered Facebook page. You might say that Suzanne is now a PR maven.

Do you have the courage to try something new? To take a leap of faith on something that makes you nervous? To overcome your fear and trust that you’ll be OK if you just dive in?

Regardless of our situation at work or at home, we ought to resolve to enter this New Year determined to try something different. To do something we never attempted, or look at something from another’s perspective. To get out of our comfort zone and accept a new challenge. To throw down the gauntlet to ourselves and boldly go where we never thought we would go before.

Now, that does not mean we need to be reckless or dumb about it. Let’s not make this too complicated or difficult. I’m not saying we should all start jumping out of airplanes. It could be as simple as signing up for some personal training sessions, starting guitar lessons or learning how to dance. For your business, it could be redesigning your website, updating your brand or starting a blog. Maybe you can get serious about reaching out to more diverse communities or allow your staff to handle more of the responsibilities you typically do yourself.

Looking what makes you nervous in the eye is a good test for any business leader. Learning to trust your gut, your team or your PR firm will help you let go of your fear and anxiety. It will help you move forward, not look backward.

I am proud of Suzanne for taking that big leap this year. We should all have such courage in the year ahead.     

The Chilean miners. Amazing story. The BP oil spill. That was depressing. The Mets. Don’t get me started.

Here at Pushkin PR, we’ve had some ups and downs as well. I lost my Mom. I also lost a few clients. On the positive side, I saw thundering herds of wild horses, launched a new website and Facebook page, began new relationships with some clients, and enjoyed my first year in my downtown office.

As each year ends we pause to take stock of what we accomplished and examine where we fell short. We set goals for the year ahead and begin preparing for how to reach them.  At least that’s what we do if we are not too paralyzed with fear to move forward.

For far too long, fear of losing a job, losing a home, going hungry or getting sick has been all too real for all too many Americans. But a lot of people are frozen by fear that is manufactured. Fear of immigrants, fear of airports, fear of deficits, fear of health reform, fear of anyone who looks or sounds or thinks differently than us. It’s emotional, it’s irrational, and it’s driven by cable TV and talk radio.  

It may be comforting to blame our troubles on someone else, but nobody gets anywhere if we are too paralyzed to move. We just get stuck. We stop innovating, we stop creating, we stop making things happen. America used to be a country that could do anything. Instead we are a country that can’t do anything except freak out. 

As we look ahead to 2011, it might be wise to think about what we can do to get unstuck. Personally or professionally, what will it take to let us look forward to a challenge again? To make us risk a leap of faith?  Can we secure an investment, grow our business, take a vacation or take on new employees? Can we initiate that long overdue project, contribute to a worthy cause, or volunteer our time to make a difference in our community?

Some fears are valid and some are phony. It is up to us to distinguish which ones are real. Will we face 2011 with hope or trepidation?  The answer to that question might determine how we feel about things a year from now.

I recently went through this process myself when I worked with my web designer, Insyntrix, to help them understand what I was looking for in a redesigned Pushkin PR website. If you haven’t taken the time to think about your brand lately, I highly recommend it.

We began by thinking about the attributes and qualities that I hope Pushkin PR represents. Not only our core values and what we stand for, but also what sort of words would I use to describe our personality? You can do this with a brainstorming session, over a few beers, or like I did, just by sitting down and putting those words on paper.

The first thing that was obvious to me was that Pushkin PR is acoustic, not electric. No gadgets or special effects, no amplifiers or synthesizers, no bells and whistles. Wooden, not synthetic. Authentic, not phony. Just a nice vintage acoustic guitar with a new set of strings. 

I also wanted to communicate that Pushkin PR is more than just me. It is a talented team of independent contractors and strategic partners who bring a high level of customized expertise to each and every client. We are thoughtful, direct, and focused on results. Just like Larimer Square is essential to the character of downtown Denver, we want people to think of us when they think about Denver PR.

Finally, I wanted to express that we don’t waste a client’s time or budget with a lot of bull. We practice Cowboy PR. That means we get straight to the heart of the problem and determine how to solve it. 

When Insyntrix began designing the new site they used this information to guide their choice of layout, colors, graphics and photos. It helped them make sure the website communicates Pushkin PR’s brand personality clearly and effectively.

Exploring your brand personality is a worthwhile process for any organization. Does it really express who you are or does it need updating? Is it clear or confusing? Is it creating the perception you want to convey? If not, you have some work to do. The sooner you get started the better. 

When Klingons or other enemies threatened the Enterprise, Captain Kirk had a good solution. He gave the “shields up” order and Enterprise and her crew were protected. If only life were like Star Trek.

If an enemy emerged that was bent on disrupting your event, embarrassing your executives, or otherwise damaging your reputation, what would you do? Panic? React defensively? Wet your pants?

From a strategic public relations perspective, it would be wise to engage them in a reasonable conversation and ask them to consider your point of view. You could agree to respectfully disagree and propose to civilly air out your differences.

Unfortunately, that approach is futile if the opposition is bent on creating a media opportunity to make their point. A determined group of true believers does not really care about facts or discussion or respect. They just want a big splash and they get excited seeing it all on YouTube. They don’t care about understanding, they need noise and chaos to survive.

So what can you do if confronted by such a group? How can you manage the situation and minimize the damage to your reputation? These five steps should help.

Sometimes a smile goes a long way. It can diffuse an angry situation and make it harder for the opponent to hate you. Of course, it is hard to smile at someone who is spitting in your face but it is always good to treat people with respect even if they are obnoxious.

The opposition already has its mind made up, but people seeing the news reports or videos may not. Make sure that your side of the story is getting through.  Use traditional media, social media and blogs to deliver positive messages about the important work you do. Give people the opportunity to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Be transparent. People become suspicious of your motives when they think you have something to hide. Be open about your organization, your mission, your work and your positions. You don’t have to give away trade secrets, but you should be open and honest and authentic in your communication.

Don’t get sucked into someone else’s agenda. Your audience is on your side, not your enemy’s. Get their support. Steve Goodman was a great solo performer. I once saw him stop an obnoxious member of in the audience by improvising the lyrics to the song he was singing to ask the person to please shut up or leave. The audience went wild because that was exactly what they were thinking. He didn’t miss a beat and an uncomfortable situation was resolved.

If the situation threatens the physical safety of you or your staff or the people attending your event, it is time to call in the cavalry. Don’t be afraid to ask the police or security to step in if the situation calls for it. That’s what they are trained for.

Nobody likes confrontations except for groups that thrive on confrontation. We don’t have a force field to protect us but if we keep our wits about us we can protect our ship and our crew. We can enter a hostile or alien situation and cause no harm. And as Captain Kirk would remind us, that’s our prime directive. 

Rural Colorado nonprofits are suffering. Always challenged by the need to raise funds, the economy is forcing donors and volunteers to make tough choices about where to spend their money or time. Resources are down and the competition is stiff.

I recently met with a group of nonprofit directors in Steamboat Springs, nestled in the beautiful Yampa Valley in Routt County. You would think with all the million dollar vacation homes and seasonal money flowing into Steamboat during ski season that nonprofits there would be golden. Not so fast.

Most of these directors are one-person or small shops, running an organization while also responsible for fundraising and marketing. Each of them is concerned about competition for donations from larger, better branded nonprofits that attract the well-healed seasonal crowd. They worry about being well-kept secrets. The idea of begging their friends for help keeps them up at night. They are not sure how to connect with potential volunteers.

We discussed a lot of ideas, starting with understanding what their brand promise is and how to communicate it in the right way to the right audience. Our discussion was focused on basic PR strategy. What do you want to say? Who do you want to say it to? What is the best way to reach them?

Based on that very energizing conversation, here are five steps small nonprofits can take to raise brand awareness:

As the gospel song says, “you don’t have to move the mountain, just show me the way around it.” The challenge is formidable but you have the ability to meet it. You are the answer to your prayers.

As our rabbi pointed out in his sermon, most of us are so busy that we have no time for reflection. We let apps and tweets distract us. We literally run into walls (or cars, or each other) because we are too busy texting to notice what’s right in front of us. Ironic that our smart phones make us so dumb. 

In our virtual world, our lives whiz by so fast that we miss the chance to connect with the people who actually make our lives meaningful. If we don’t remove our headphones and put down our iPhones once in awhile, we run the risk of confusing our virtual reality with actual reality.

Everyone can relate to the need to slow down our personal lives, but what about our business lives? Do we also need to unplug long enough to make some human contact with our co-workers, colleagues, staff and clients? Can we slow down enough to think? Can we allow ourselves to accept that someone might have a different opinion? Can we quiet down enough to listen? Because without silence there is only noise, and without different opinions there is no diversity, and without thought there is no wisdom, and without wisdom it is impossible to lead. And without leadership we are just not getting very far.

We owe it to ourselves and to the people we do business with to pay attention to what is  really important. The business of public relations is about relationships, and real authentic relationships depend on real authentic connections.

For example, what if we could: 

·      Make one day a week reality day. No emails, no Facebook, no Twitter. All contact must be by phone or better yet, face to face.

·      Hold regular informal staff meetings with no agenda except to get to know each other.

·      Personally meet with each client every month. Take them out for coffee, lunch or a beer. If that’s not possible, call them. Find out what’s going on in their lives and what keeps them up at night.

·      Invite your Facebook fans to an open house.  Get to know them outside of cyberspace.

These steps can help us put some soul back in our lives and our businesses. They can help us find our inner human. Disconnect so we can reconnect. Now, step away from the iPhone and no one gets hurt.