Karen Katz will take over as CEO of Neiman Marcus in October. Like many new CEOs, she wants to take the company where it's never been.

She's not thinking of global market or brand extensions or new product lines.

She wants this well-known, upscale brand to embrace social media. As Katz said in the most recent issue of Fast Company:

"We have to use the digital domain to reach even more people and be a resource to

I've been playing with some thoughts about how PR/marketing/communications is evolving.

The purpose of marketing is still the same: help organizations achieve desired results. Too often we forget this one, but the CEO never does. So, results are one end of the marketing continuum.

The other end of that continuum is distribution -- the many ways we reach clients and prospects. This is where most of the change is happening.

Scott Schwertly, who is the CEO of Ethos3, was my latest guest on the Atkinson Public Relations podcast. That's not him in the picture above. You'll understand if you visit the Ethos3 website.

Here is a recap of what Scott and I discussed.

PROCESS

Scott breaks a presentation into three elements: content, design, and delivery. The problem with most presentations is that people immediately begin focusing on the

Our friend Rex Hammock has a great series of posts he is calling Content That Works.

Rex should know. He is a veteran of the custom publishing industry and has been blogging for nearly a decade. Yes, 10 years. Rex has earned the authority badge.

The series is Rex's opinion about content that works on the Web and what content will help prospects make decisions. He puts content into two categories: chronological (e.g. news) and

"Freeze! This is the police! You're under arrest! On your knees! Put your hands on top of your head!"

We know the scene too well. Some police officer has finally cornered a suspect after a 10-block chase through the city. It's a staple of every copy show on TV.

Marketing that is designed to interrupt our lives follows the same model.

Sale!

Best interest rate available!

Guaranteed!

We see these

We seek authorities. Clients value them. Reporters use them as sources. Conferences ask them to speak.

The mindset of an authority is different from traditional sales and marketing. We explored the steps for an organization to become an authority in a previous post.

This time, we'll concentrate on the mental side of the process.

Mindset of an Authority

1. Perspective

Authorities understand the history

We’ve always revered authority. It was a privilege once reserved for academics, scientists, and top executives in organization.

Appearing in the Harvard Business Review will always be a career-validating achievement. At the same time, free and inexpensive publishing tools have democratized the concept of authority.

Here are five steps anybody or any organization can apply to become an authority.

1. Pick a topic.

Revered