I will be the conference chairperson and presenter at this event in October. Please 

Strategic Internal Communications Conference:

How To Use Social Media & Traditional Communications To Engage Employees, Drive Performance & Add Value

October 3-6, 2011 in San Francisco

Agenda: http://www.aliconferences.com/conf/internal_comm1011/index.htm

 Mention “SF IABC” to receive a special $200 discount!

Seems like some folks think that we are back to where we had started. Some say “Calling all great minds!” or “Time to get creative!”. I say that we can dig ourselves out of this hole with the a similar thing that got is here in the first place: People. The punchline is that the “People Power” needs to be heading in the other direction. Less shopping, less credit cards, less waste. More online shopping, more non-credit payment methods, more efficiency. Here are a few additional things to consider as people seek more ways to do more with less:

AT WORK

Over-communicate: Use social media, “manager brown-bag” conversations, town halls and other ways to communicate and engage employees who are all seeking more ways contribute to the success and profitability of the their company. Let’s face it, people are more willing to go the extra-mile if it mean’s staying out of the unemployment line – it’s a win-win. Don’t forget, this is a two-way conversation. Employees speak-up and leaders need to listen now more than ever.

AT HOME

Be efficient: I’m not just talking about recycling. This past Father’s Day was a great example of many families figuring out new ways to celebrate and appreciate their father’s without spending too much money. It’s sure easy to get creative when you don’t have a choice isn’t it? Other ways of being efficient at home include cooking more meals than one at a time, investing in reusable food storage containers, being “water considerate’ and going more places as a family.

People Power is really a common sense approach to making sure you are doing everything for yourself, your family, your community and your company to live a long and healthy life. Let’s not over complicate things or else we’ll lose sight of the bigger picture, again.

Smart content, every Monday morning at 10:00 AM (PT).

Today’s communicators need to be equipped with the tools and techniques to understand and connect with their audiences. Gordon Rudow, CEO of Bonfire Communications, and a wide array of thought leaders discuss this challenge and provide both breakthrough thinking and practical actions to help you FIRE UP and drive new action with the people who matter most.

FIRED UP! is a weekly radio show that explores the connection between communications and human motivation. The program is dedicated to making professional communicators more effective at motivating people to buy products and services, agree to strategies and business initiatives, and proactively embrace efforts requiring shifts in thinking, feeling, behaving, and interacting. While taking a stand for relevance and compassion, we will share ideas that create higher returns on our audience’s communication investments. In that sense FIRED UP! is a show that delivers both business impact and social importance.

Guests so far have included some of the smartest minds in the Corporate Communications, Change Management, Internal Branding, and Human Resources industries. Thought leaders include Dr. Beverly Kaye, Marshall Goldsmith, Dr. Dawna Markova, Terry McKenzie, Jeffrey Saltzman, Shel Holtz and Language in Common. Many more minds are coming soon, so please stay tuned.

Subscribe on iTunes™ and please vote and let us know what you think.

Of course, you can also follow FIRED UP! on twitter.

IABC World Conference 2009: i am a communicator TWO from Preston Lewis on Vimeo.

IABC World Conference 2009: i am an ABC from Preston Lewis on Vimeo.

IABC World Conference 2009: i am a COMMUNICATOR from Preston Lewis on Vimeo.

SF IABC Paper Hearts

We had a great time at the conference this year. Thanks to the SF IABC Planning Team, everything went off without a hitch. Thanks to Joy in my office, I was able to have some fun with my new Flip Video HD cam – check out the video’s here.