five and one

five and one — No Comments
17
Jul 12

Five and One with Jeff Bajorek, Medical Sales Pro, Blogger, Obsessed Golfer

If memory serves me, I’ve known Jeff Bajorek since seventh grade, when we played on our middle school’s basketball team together.

Due to his superior athletic abilities (and ability to throw a curveball) our athletic careers diverted, then joined together again on the varsity baseball team, where we spent two years sharing quotes from Bull Durham and discussing the intricacies of the game of baseball.

Today he is one of the few people I stay in regular touch with from high school. (Facebook doesn’t count.) He’s a real gentleman, and the fact that he loves golf as much as I do helps.

I wanted to get him on the world famous Five And One to discuss why a medical sales pro feels the need to blog, as well as how his personal and professional lives intersect.

Please enjoy.

Brad: You sell ligaments to doctors. What could you possibly get out of writing a blog?

Jeff: Lots of things, actually.  The fact of the matter is, I really don’t care if anybody reads it.  I write it for me.  It’s an outlet for all of the ideas and thoughts swirling around in my brain.  Getting those down on paper, so to speak, helps me make some sense of them.

Some of the articles are clearly me coaching myself up under the guise of providing help for others in the same situations.  Other articles are just about things I find interesting.  The professional benefit is really one of exposure.  The sales profession is all about relationships.  It’s not just who you know, but who knows you, and how well they know and thus trust you.  I link to my blog on LinkedIn and Facebook every time I write because it gives people an additional means of getting to know me (if they so choose) in a medium that allows for that level of intimacy.

During a sales call, I rarely have time to talk about the lessons my kids have taught me.  Everybod’;s busy, and I’m competing for time.  I try to get my message across and get out of the way.  The blog gives the people that want to get to know me a way to do so on their own time and at their own pace.

You’ve mentioned to me that you want to model your social media presence after guys like Jeffrey Gitomer. But a quick glance at his Twitter profile shows that he tweets at his followers, not with them. I’d argue he’s the wrong guy to mirror. Tell me why I’m wrong.

Well, ‘model’ may be a loose term, but he’s the guy who convinced me that a social media presence is really something you can’t ignore.  If anything, I’d model his presence rather than his style.  He’s very blunt, in your face, and that works for him.  It’s actually what I like about him, because he knows what salespeople are doing wrong, and he tells them how to stop and doesn’t give them any excuses for their behavior in the mean time.

It’s hard to argue with the guy.  He’s written nine books which have gone on to be best sellers on Amazon.com.  The people that subscribe to him on Twitter and other social media outlets are looking for that.  They want to know what he has to say.

The toughest thing for me is to assume that I’m interesting enough for people to care that much about what I have to say.  So I write what I feel I need to write rather than what I think someone would want to read.

You like to use golf and your kids as examples of how we should conduct ourselves in a professional environment. Do you purposely seek out these correlations? Or does it just happen?

Most times it just happens, but I don’t think it’s a matter of coincidence.  Sports and kids are real.  We can all relate to one or the other.

I read a great article by Bill Simmons last week that tied them both in, and I really connected to it.  Not everybody who reads my blog is in sales, so I try to still make it relatable, make it inspiring.

Kids are born without pretense, they do things without fear of failure, and in many ways are perfect little human beings.  Athletes deal with adversity and overcome it on the biggest of stages.  We can all take something away from these lessons.  I just try to point a few things out here and there that resonate particularly well with me.

How important is social media to your business success?

I think it’s important.  In the medical industry, we’re very slow to adapt to it, but it can’t be ignored.  You really have to harness it at the very least to keep it from working against you.  It’s the way things are headed in any business.  My presence is somewhat limited right now because it doesn’t need to be more pronounced, but when you’ve got nations of young people overthrowing governments by way of status updates, you can’t deny the power in that.

It can be very difficult to get a blog to take off. It took Chris Brogan eight years to make any type of impact. How hard are you prepared to work to see your blog take off? Or is it just a place to put your thoughts down on paper?

I just searched for Chris Brogan, and even after seeing him, I have no idea who he is…  Maybe that speaks to how much more impact is out there for him to make, or I just offended 80 percent of your readership… [Editor's Note: Don't worry - those 13 people probably won't care.]  It’s going to take some time, and I’m really not making a serious effort at it right now.

My goal for 2012 was to write 50 articles.  I’m behind pace, but not to a point where I can’t recover.  My biggest issue is that I try to make everything perfect and complete.  I really think Seth Godin has a better approach.  He gives you two or three paragraphs a day, and like clockwork, they come every day.  But he’s also Seth Godin, and he writes for a living.  Could I spend fifteen minutes every morning putting something down?  Probably, but my expectation is not to make a living from doing this.

Finally, the random question:

You are, admittedly, obsessed with golf. Who would be in your dream foursome?

This one’s easy, because it was going to eventually be an article, but I didn’t take those fifteen minutes this morning…

Rory McIlroy- what a fresh-faced, immensely talented, and good-natured kid.  It would be difficult not to enjoy the time spent with him, and his golf swing is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.  Poetry in motion, a sight to behold (I’m done gushing now).  We’re going to be watching him win big tournaments for a long time.

Tom Watson- Class act.  Quality human being.  Eight major championship victories.  He reminds me of a wise uncle with a lot of experience and a willingness to tell the stories.  I couldn’t come away from that round without being a better golfer and a better person.

I’m going to go in a different direction with the third person but I’d have to say my golf buddy Steve.  I’ve never had a more intense rivalry on a playing field of any kind, and we have an even better personal friendship off the course.  A situation like this would be too good to experience alone, and I’d want someone to relive it with time after time.

***

Thanks to Jeff for taking time to answer my questions.

You can read all of the interviews in the series here.

five and one — 8 Comments
03
Jul 12

Five and One with Kerri Kilbourne, blogger at She Ordered What?!?

According to Kerri Kilbourne, she has a habit of asking the waitstaff at restaurants to choose her meals for her. This usually freaks out her dinner companions.

But, so far, the practice of putting her meal fortunes in someone else’s hands has turned out pretty well. So well, in fact, that she has decided to start a blog to chronicle her eating adventures.

It’s called “She Ordered What?!?”, which one can only assume was named because it’s how her friends react when she goes out to eat with them.

I have never met Kerri outside of Twitter, but she is on my list of people who I would like to meet in real life. (That list is titled “People Who I Would Like To Meet In Real Life.”)

When I learned that she had written more than 30 posts, I had to get her on the blog. Not only does she write about something most of us like — food! — but she’s local. By reading this post, you’re supporting your local bloggers.

In this session, we discuss where Kerri got the idea, where she wants to take it, and the best meal she’s had in Detroit.

Brad: Let’s start with the easy question: Where did you come up the idea to start She Ordered What?!?

Kerri: I’ve always been pretty open to trying new foods, and I’ve definitely always been indecisive! Years ago, I started relying on servers’ choices, and because I like to be surprised, I ask them not to tell me what they’re bringing. I find that when servers ask too many questions, or tip their hand, the meal isn’t as much fun for me (I start to over-think it!). As a former server, I know that waitstaff knows the menu best!

After several meals with coworkers, I had an epiphany…people are really intrigued when I “order” this way. They get antsy, nervous, sometimes scared, and excited to see how this will play out. So, I decided I’d start to blog about it – hoping a friend or two might read it. I’ve been really surprised and pleased with the response to “She Ordered What?!?”!

You grew up in Ohio (I think), but went to school in the South. As a born and raised Northerner, I’ve always associated the South with having really good food. How much of the content for this blog was born out of exposure to that type of cuisine?

Yes, I grew up in Ohio, on the east side of Cleveland, and went to school at Clemson, aka: the BEST college anywhere!!! Southern food is indeed fantastic! The BBQ, the veggies, the “comfort food”, etc. I do still love heading down south for football and Southern tailgating!

There were other triggers as well though. I was about the luckiest girl ever, since my first job out of college was as an engineer, supporting European accounts. I traveled regularly to awesome cities in Europe – and I had delicious food there!

I’ve also lived on the west coast (I moved from Orange County to Dearborn, Mich.), so I’ve had some great food there too – health-conscious, ethnic, seafood, etc.

It’s only fair to attribute my love of food to my varied experiences from throughout my life – from the times my parents exposed me to various dishes as a kid to my experiences as a traveling professional.

If I’m not mistaken, this is your first shot at blogging. How has it differed from what you expected? How has it met expectations?

While this is the first “focused” blog I’ve written, it’s actually not my first rodeo, so to speak. I wrote a personal blog a few years back, and I was the Clemson sports contributor for an Atlantic Coast Conference blog a couple of years ago. I learned from those experiences that blogging takes time, planning, dedication, and passion.

What’s different this time around is that I really feel like I’m doing something just a bit different from what others are doing. I don’t consider myself a “foodie” or a “food blogger”, although food is a big part of this. I’m also not a restaurant critic! I think of “She Ordered What?!?” as sharing experiences – plain and simple.

People have told me that they really enjoy reading about my experiences, and that they find the concept really interesting. Several folks have also taken risks in restaurants and have tried the “She Ordered What?!?” method of dining, with a handful (including my dad) having written guest posts for the blog. That’s been really rewarding for me – seeing others become inspired enough by my experiences to try something new.

It’s also exceeded my personal expectations. As I mentioned earlier, I simply hoped a few friends might read my posts!

The writing you do on your blog is vastly different (I think) from the writing you do for your job. Do you find that going to a different writing place helps your day job?

Yes, this is a total departure from my day job. Although, it’s funny…several coworkers (execs included) read the blog regularly, so it’s definitely not a secret!

I do think that having an escape from Corporate eBusiness has helped me. It brings out my creative side – which has always been there, but had been dormant for some time. I like having a balance of the “engineering” side of my personality with a less structured side. In fact, that’s one of the things some of our executives have commented on – Ker is “type A”, how does she surrender control? For me, it’s a great equalizer.

And, as you mention, I think Corporate America has benefited as well. I can think more creatively at work, I’m probably a bit more relaxed than I had been in the past, and it’s given folks a new insight into who I am outside of the office walls.

In a perfect world, where your blog is read and adored by millions, where will it take you?

Ah, this is a question I’ve been struggling with lately! I’ve had so much support from friends, family, and coworkers – and their imaginations are so much bigger than mine! I’m not sure I see the blog turning into an online video series for the Food Channel, but that was one big idea that friends had.

Right now, I’d simply like to continue to build a loyal following. I get very excited when other bloggers “like” my posts, or when I get a new follower. I hope that trend continues because it makes me feel like a legitimate blogger!

I’d also like to steal some ideas from blogs that I love, like Detroit Moxie. I’d love to have t-shirts made to get the word out about “She Ordered What?!?” A coworker is actually working on designing a logo for me right now!

All that said, I think I have to reserve the right to change my mind about what “success” looks like for “She Ordered What?!?”, and just admit that I’m at the bottom of that hockey stick curve you’re imagining with this question!

Finally the random question:

For the purposes of this Q&A, I’m sticking to the theme: What is the best meal you’ve had in Metro Detroit?

I’m going to cheat on this one, Brad. There are two meals that I really enjoyed – very different meals, and very different experiences.

First, I wrote a post about Tria, in the Henry Hotel. That overall experience was simply delightful! The servers were totally on board with the concept, and were very excited about the blog. They chose a delicious meal, a perfect wine pairing, and three fabulous dessert bites. They really made for an extraordinary night.

The second one (and not by order of enjoyment – just the second of the two examples) was the Mac Shack’s Koh San Road macaroni and cheese which I tried at a food truck rally in Waterford, Mich. Again, the owners were 100% on board with the concept (and have been big supporters since), and they chose a meal that I will admit I would have never chosen for myself (given all of the options). It was basically a Pad Thai macaroni and cheese – and it was AMAZING! Really flavorful, and quite unique. And, it was even better reheated two days later!

I have a lot more ground to cover in the greater Detroit area, so I’m certain I will come across more fantastic dishes, but those two currently top my list.

***

I would like to thank Kerri for taking time out of her busy dining out schedule to answer a few questions. The next time you are at a restaurant and are undecided, maybe you’ll take a page out of her book, and let the waitstaff order dinner for you.

Who knows – you might never order for yourself again.

five and one — 5 Comments
25
Apr 12

Five and One with Erica Moss, Interviewer Extraordinaire & Community Manager

The quickest way to my heart is through a good Q&A.

That means I kind of “heart” Erica Moss.

She is a Michigander-turned-New Yorker who is the community manager for Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Nursing program.

But when she’s not leading that community, she’s interviewing people on her blog. I suppose it’s the journalist in her that continues to seek out interesting people to talk to. The requirements to be featured are strict: you have to be cool and have the ability to answer ten questions. She’s highlighted some people who are, indeed, cool, and can answer a question.

Oh, and when she’s not doing that, she runs a feature on the Western Michigan University alumni page called “MyWMU Minute” where she interviews alumni who have gone on to do great things in life.

Needless to say, she’s pretty busy.

I decided to flip the tables and interview her. We’ll discuss what it was like going to the dark side, why PR people made her feel small, and why there’s no way to compare Michigan to NYC.

Brad: You are a former journalist. When PR people pitched you stories, did it matter if they had a compelling story to tell? Or were you only concerned with how it fit into your beat?

Erica: Perhaps it was because I was never considered a “seasoned” or “veteran” reporter, but I, honestly, can’t point to one pitch that ever truly wowed me. I think PR has evolved a lot, even since then, and is much more personable than it ever was, but I rarely received anything that didn’t make it blatantly obvious I was on a big list of contacts.

As a reporter, it’s always important to keep your beat in mind when reading pitches and press releases, but even if it wasn’t directly related to me, if it was well-written and I thought there was a true story to tell, I’d take the time to forward it to a more appropriate colleague. Non-tailored, generic outreach usually means you’re dead in the water.

When you moved from journalism to PR, how did your impression of us change?

The switch from journalism to PR was an interesting one for me because, to be quite honest, when you’re in J-school, public relations is often viewed as the “dark side.” I still had a lot of misconceptions about what it was: Was I going to have to bend the truth to help position my client in the best light? Was I going to have to badger reporters until they finally gave in to writing a story, just to make me go away? Would I even get to do much writing anymore?

Of course, the more I entrenched myself in the role, the more I realized how important public relations really is. Just as when I was wearing my journalist cap, I was meeting fascinating people and helping them share their stories with the world.

I never viewed PR pros as malicious or ill intentioned, but it was hard to ignore the ones who don’t always give the field a good name, either by being less-than-honest or overly aggressive in their approaches. Once I switched sides, I gained a whole new appreciation for what they do, however, and finally understood how integral they are in helping to shine a spotlight on the stories we read and see on the TV every single day.

You’re now the community manager for Georgetown University’s online masters in nursing program. I’ve heard of entire schools having community managers, but never specific programs. I assume it’s done, in part, to boost enrollment. Does it seem to be working? Do you think this is a trend?

Bottom line: We’re an online master’s degree program that boasts a state-of-the-art learning management system aimed at fundamentally disrupting higher education. If we didn’t place a large emphasis on building relationships online, people would probably start to question our credibility. Each of our partner programs are so unique that there’s no way one person could manage it successfully.

Our current and potential students are no different than a customer at Zappos: They expect us to be where they are and have their questions answered by a human being and in a timely manner, whether that’s on Twitter or a forum on AllNurses.com. Because a lot of our students find us through search, we also appreciate the value of a solid SEO strategy, which is completely integrated into our social media efforts.

We seem to be leading the charge in terms of this strategy, so I haven’t seen a lot of other schools executing it successfully, but I think you’ll absolutely start to see others having that a-ha moment. It’s so imperative to have someone on your team that has his or her finger on the pulse of your target audience, who knows how to speak to them in a real, authentic way, and who can also point to analytics that back up their efforts.

What are some of the digital tools you use to increase the school’s community?

Health care is a challenging vertical, but I’ve taken the approach of going where our community is, as opposed to trying to build something and asking them to come to it. There is a fairly healthy group of registered nurses who are active on Reddit, believe it or not, which was totally unexpected, but a great case study for how important it is to listen and learn before you jump in.

Facebook is our most vibrant community, by far, with almost 2,900 fans. We use it as a way to talk about new program offerings, trends in nursing and health care, and also to ask questions. It’s fun to discover passion points from our fans, even if it’s something as simple as pens (Nurses really have a point of view about them!) We’ve also hosted several chats in conjunction with NurseTogether.com that allow us to talk in real time with people who are interested in our program and share some of our personality with them.

It doesn’t matter where we are, though — it’s all about positioning ourselves as a helpful resource as opposed to a megaphone that wants to sell you on an advanced degree.

When you’re not handling that community, you’re the question-asker behind the “MyWMU Minute.” Getting alumni to talk about how they got to where they are is, in my opinion, a great way to instill confidence in others who are following the same path. How did you get involved in this project?

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more hard-core Bronco (except maybe Beth Kostecki), and I think a lot of schools struggle with how to tell the individual stories within their alumni base. You hear about the high-profile stuff (Oprah’s all-time favorite guest was a WMU alumna), but I knew of so many people in my own personal alum network that were doing cool things, too, and I wanted to give them a platform to shine.

I still have great relationships with many faculty members, so I reached out to the owner of the school’s MyWMU blog to gauge her interest in an ongoing series like the “MyWMU Minute.” She was more than excited, and soon I began sending her the Q&As from my network. I’ve been told the feedback from other faculty members has been overwhelmingly positive, and I appreciate the opportunity to give back to my alma mater, even in a small way.

Finally, the random question: What’s the best part about living in New York City that you didn’t expect when you moved there from Michigan?

It’s important — and obvious — to note that Michigan and New York City are polar opposites of one another. But I was in a sink-or-swim situation, and I opted to make the best of it, and there are, of course, a lot of perks to living here. The best: at any given time being 20 minutes away from some of the coolest landmarks in the world. In one day, I could visit the State of Liberty, stand in the middle of Times Square and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art — and still have time to visit the Empire State Building.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the food — there are more five-star restaurants than you can shake a stick at, and I’ve had some of the best meals of my life here. The bottom line, however, is that I’ve got mad Mitten love, and Michigan will always be my No. 1.

***

There you have it, folks. Six questions with Erica Moss that capture the very essence of her existence. I very much appreciate her taking the time to do this.

If you liked this interview, you’ll love the rest of the interviews in this series.

five and one — No Comments
27
Oct 11

Five and One with Megan Gebhart, 52 Cups

For all of its faults and petty arguments and useless knowledge, the Internet has provided us with an incredible opportunity to meet people who are doing awesome things.

The woman I interviewed for today’s version of “The Five and One” is one of those people.

Her name is Megan Gebhart. She is the blogger behind 52 Cups, one girl’s year-long experiment with caffeine and conversation, one of the coolest blogs I’ve come across lately.

I think we, as humans who aspire to be successful, are programmed to go to college, get a comfortable job, get married, create a legacy, and die. And when you read it like that, it’s sort of depressing.

Megan is not following that agenda, which is why I was drawn to her quest in the first place. As you’ll read below, she’s not content with being comfortable.

I’m thrilled she took time out of her coffee-drinking and conversation-ing to answer six of my questions.

Brad: So, first of all, where did you get the idea for ’52 Cups’?

Megan: Two years ago, out of the blue, I received an email from a kid named Brett. He was also a Michigan State student and had heard I was interested in entrepreneurship. He wanted to get together for coffee to see if there was a way we could help each other out with our respective projects. I said yes, never expecting that result of the meeting would be an incredible friendship that would really influence my college experience.

One day I was thinking about the impact that initial cup of coffee and thought, if one new connection could change my life, what would a year of new connections do? I figured there was only one way to find out decided to launch the yearlong experiment.

After the recent passing of Steve Jobs, a lot of the coverage (especially blogs) focused less on the technology he created, and more on the words he shared with the 2005 Stanford graduating class: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” Not to say your idea is foolish, but what you’re doing seems to fall under this idea that you are trying to discover your passion, than settle for a desk job. Am I wrong in operating under this assumption?

I think that’s a pretty great assumption. I often use the term naive when I talk about the start of the project. I really jumped into it headfirst without taking a lot of time to consider the details, which, under the right circumstances, can be a great approach. I was so excited about the idea of 52 Cups I couldn’t wait to get started and I had a sense that if I worked hard to create good content the project would fall into place. I also wasn’t expecting the project to lead me to a job–my plan was to do what everyone expected me to do and get a fancy corporate job.

After 52 conversations though, I’ve definitely adopted the “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” mentality. I’ve talked to so many people that have followed their passion and found careers they truly love. It’s not easy to chase your passion, but it is worth it. I first listened to Steve’s commencement address seven months ago and I like the “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” quote; however, the line that really stuck with me was:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living some else’s life.

Because of 52 Cups I feel comfortable chasing my passions instead of seeking the comforts of a 9-5 job.

The list of people who you’ve had coffee with is pretty eclectic. You’ve talked to everyone from the head coach of Michigan State’s basketball team, to the co-founder of Apple Computer. How do you decide who to talk to?

A quarter of the Cups were people that I knew of through Twitter, Michigan State or just being fans of their work (like Wozniak and author Seth Godin). The rest of the Cups were recommendations from friends. I was doing a lot of traveling so I would ask close friends if they could suggest someone that might be interested in meeting me for the project.

According to my math, you have three cups worth of conversation left. What will you do after the last cup?

The answer to this question is a little tricky. I’ve got a few ideas/opportunities that will allow me to continue traveling, writing, and meeting new people–it’s just a matter of sorting out the details. Fortunately, I’ve still got a little time and am really excited about what this next year will bring.

Has this project lived up to your expectations? In other words, have you gotten out of it what you anticipated?

Absolutely. In fact, it’s exceeded my expectations. I can’t imagine what my life would be like had I not done this project–the friendships created, memories made, and lessons learned have profoundly changed my perspective and helped prepare me for a career I’m really excited about.

When you set an ambitious goal that you’re really enthusiastic about–and push through the good time and bad–you often get more than you anticipate because pursuing something you love opens doors you didn’t know existed.It’s an addicting experience, I’m already trying to figure out what I can do for my next big project!

Finally, the random question: If you could hand-pick a job right now, what would it be?

I think Ellen Degeneres has a pretty great job–she gets to meet people, share interesting stories and have a lot of fun in the process. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past year with 52 Cups and I’ve never been happier.

***

Mad thanks go out to Megan for participating in the interview.

You can read all of the Five and One interviews here.

five and one — 1 Comment
18
Oct 11

Five and One with Gini Dietrich, Arment Dietrich & Spin Sucks

If you work in the public relations field, chances are good you know who Gini Dietrich is. If you don’t, consider this your introduction.

Gini is the CEO of Arment Dietrich, a digital marketing firm based in Chicago, and the chief blogger behind Spin Sucks, one of the most well-written and engaging PR blogs out there.

Of all the PR people who I follow on Twitter, Gini is the one who really seems to grasp what social media is all about: conversation. There are a lot of “personalities” on the Web who demand large followings, but she actually deserves it. Even in this day and age of transparency, I’m still amazed that the CEO of a company takes the time to respond to comments with such regularity. (And such humor.)

Even though I’ve never met her in person, I really wanted to pick her brain on a few topics, so I reached out to see if she would be willing to participated in the world-renowned Five and One series.

I’m glad she said yes.

Please don’t let her allegiance to the Chicago Bears take away from this interview, okay?
***

Brad: You are the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a digital marketing firm based in Chicago. When I hear the words “chief executive officer” I think of a largely inaccessible executive sitting high atop an office building somewhere overlooking a city, with three levels of security access between them and anybody who wants to meet with them. But in our profession, CEOs seem to be taking on a more accessible role with their employees?  Do you agree? If so, why do you think this is?

Gini: Well you clearly have never been to my office. We are in the penthouse suite, four floors above the city of Chicago. And there are three levels of security: The code on the front door, the door to our office, and Jack Bauer.

 All joking aside, it’s hard for me to assess whether or not CEOs are more accessible in our industry. I know, at the global firms for instance, accessibility to the CEO isn’t existent. But I also think people are tired of corporate America and working for the man who seemingly does nothing. I’m a big fan of running the business with open books so everyone can see what I do (or don’t) make and where the cash goes. That makes for a better culture that develops trust. There are plenty of organizations that do this and plenty that do not.

One thing that strikes me about you is your ability to stay “human” across all of your social channels. Whether it’s your blog or your tweets, you seem more like one of us, and less like a CEO of a company. (I mean, you recently posted on your blog a picture of Betty White with some, uh, deep thoughts. I couldn’t see somebody like Steve Ballmer doing that.) Do you make a concerted effort to remain “human”?

But wasn’t that picture funny?!? I keep waiting for my mom to call me and use my middle name. She’s been busy. She clearly hasn’t seen it yet.

 I don’t really make a concerted effort to remain human, but I DO make a concerted effort not to use any of the social platforms to vent. You’ll notice I never seem to be in a bad mood. If I’m grumpy, I stay away from the social channels. So if you haven’t “seen” me in a few hours, read into it what you like.

Speaking of your social channels…you blog. You tweet. You record video blogs. And, oh yeah, you run a company. How do you find time to do all of this?

Clones. When I hired my assistant, Patti Knight, I told her the number one job was to create clones for me. She figured it out and we have a patent pending.

Honestly, some days I don’t do it very well. I do better at the beginning of the week than toward the end. But I’ve learned how to compartmentalize things so they can done with focus. For instance, Mondays are staff and clients meeting days. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I spend with my team working on client issues or strategy. And Thursday and Friday are for getting Spin Sucks Pro launched (finally) and core business growth, such as business development or sometimes just upgrading the blog.

What is one skill that every public relations professional needs to have in today’s professional environment?

Just one?!? I think every PR pro needs to understand search. It’s no longer just about backlinks and meta descriptions. PR pros need to understand the basics of search, how the spiders work, and how to write content that is both valuable and proves high Google juice.

Social media has obviously altered how we do our jobs. What do you think is the next trend that will shape our industry?

I hate to say this out loud, but I think PR is going to part of a total integrated marketing program vs. a stand-alone discipline. Unless the entire industry can work together to create a standardized way of measuring results that drives business results (you know, the kind the CFO cares about) then we will become solely a tactic.

Finally, the random question: I love to read, and I love to hear what others are reading. So, what is the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?

OMG! The Hunger Games series. I seriously had to tell myself to go to work and, as my reward for working the entire day, I would get to go home and read. I read all three in a week. So. Freaking. Good.

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Again – big thanks go out to Gini for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions.

You can find all entries in The Five and One series here.

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