Articles

This WPNT Ltd. article from 2017 remains relevant today. While some of the references are dated in “Weathering the Trump Presidency: Be Your Stakeholders’ Go-To Source” the fundamental counsel is rock solid. Stay close to your stakeholders and amp up communications in this time of whip saw events and announcements.

Given the explosion of remote work and how extensively many organizations now rely on video technology for meetings, I recently detailed for CEO World readers the best workplace practices and offered recommendations for organizations. Because of how important this issue is in today’s work environments, I want to expand on ways the individual…

The shift to remote and hybrid work has made the decision to have cameras on or off during virtual meetings a significant issue for organizations, with pros including better engagement, non-verbal communication, and accountability, but cons like Zoom fatigue, privacy concerns, and technical difficulties. Experts recommend balancing employee preferences with organizational needs by rethinking meeting practices, developing thoughtful camera policies, leveraging technology features, and providing adequate technical support.

“They have been labeled many things: quirky, outliers, neurodiverse. Some of these individuals don’t fall into any of these categories. Their differences can be so subtle as to be imperceptible to many. I’m not referring to the stereotypical, anti-social software coders extraordinaire, who want nothing more than to be left alone with their algorithms. For the purposes of this article, I am calling them ‘differently abled’ employees.”

Like many large companies, my Fortune 100 client annually selects a group of graduate students from the country’s elite universities for a summer program that culminates in job offers for the cream of the crop.

In recent years, however, program leadership has identified a…

Every year, the world’s prominent English-language dictionaries add anywhere from a few hundred to 1,000 “neologisms”—newly coined words or phrases—to their pages. For Merriam-Webster and Oxford, it’s an exhaustive process that can involve tracking words from sometimes obscure uses into the mass-market national, and even global, lexicon. 

Amid today’s fractious political times and societal divisions, it may be time for business leaders and their organizations to step into the breach to narrow the divide and help solve societal problems. The very real alternative is continued gridlock, leading to problems deteriorating beyond off the scale of solvability, resulting in a damaged economy, and diminished global competitive advantage.

It can take 42 days and up to six months to recoup money for recruiting, hiring and on-boarding a new hire. Read more about a new, WPNT Ltd.-penned article that discusses some of the reasons and fixes for arduous hiring processes despite a labor shortage.

At their most basic levels, credibility and trust are the foundation of predictability. For all the bravado around disruption and bucking the status quo, predictability is essential to a well-functioning organization. To do their best work, employees need to be able to rely on leadership to create—and then respect—a plan to achieve the goals at hand, especially during uncertain times.

Stronger communications skills can benefit any organization. An important first step is to jettison the description “soft” and adopt a moniker that signals the importance and power in developing these proficiencies for competitive advantage.

“More companies are recognizing and developing an often-overlooked in-house resource—their boards of directors—to help address new and emerging threats…. However, few companies have elevated, to the board level, two functions often at the intersection of organizational threats and opportunities: HR and Communications…”

What’s Gained? What’s Lost? What’s The Sweet Spot? While early assessments of remote work have been positive, there are signs it, too, can be subject to the maxim, “too much of a good thing.” Can corporate culture, connection, creativity and collaboration be preserved when working from the kitchen table?

Financial comms, public to private to public and c-suite communications skill are part two of a conversation with WPNT Ltd. Associate Bruce Zanca. Following numerous communications leadership roles at blue chip companies and two tenures in White House administrations, Bruce offers guidance on how to run a successful IPO, and the essential need for effective communication skill in leaders.

In these troubling times where seeking to understand is key, here's an article on Medium.com published by WPNT Ltd. Associate Janice Hayes. Growing up in a bi-racial family her insights are particularly poignant.

The Pandemic of Privilege

I recently sat in on a team meeting with the senior lieutenants of a key function for a professional services company. Not knowing any of them, it occurred to me that there were no visual, outward signs to suggest who might be the leader. For decades, it was easy to spot the leader of any organization: a middle-aged white man dressed in a crisp business suit. But today? Not so much.

Bruce Zanca is a WPNT Ltd. senior associate. He has worked for two White House administrations and as chief communications officer for leading public companies. In the first of a two-part series, Bruce shares some insights from his career with particular importance to communicating in uncertain times.

At Long Last, a Meaningful Alternative

Never before have so many new words entered the English lexicon at such rapid speed.

Inspired largely by the never-ending proliferation of technology in our lives and a rash of national political and social movements, we now have “political words of the year,” “digital words of the year,” and even “WTF words of the year.” New words in 2018 included “mansplainer.” Read about word-evolutions.

The allegations, recriminations and public spectacle have subsided after the messiest Supreme Court nomination proceedings in more than a quarter-century, and the court has seated a new justice, Brett Kavanaugh.

A Cautionary Tale for Business Leaders On the Value of Credibility & Empathy.

Following a rollerblading accident that left my college-age son with a broken leg that required surgery, he spent several days recovering in the hospital.