Earlier today, Sue Atkinson, chairman of Atkinson, and Mark McNeely, managing partner of McNeely, Pigott and Fox, issued a joint release to announce a strategic alliance designed to draw on the collective strengths of the two Nashville-based firms.

Atkinson says the new alliance with one of the largest public relations firms in the Southeast will give clients of Atkinson Public Relations access to services and resources not currently offered in-house.

Read the news release

Being green used to be a nice characteristic that companies could roll out to demonstrate their social responsibility. This approach worked well in a time when people usually only thought about the environment on Earth Day.

The times have changed. Al Gore’s Oscar win, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Vanity Fair cover, and the Toyota Prius have swung the pendulum of environmental responsibility from “should do” to “must do.”

Recycling is a start, but watchdogs expect more. Building construction with LEED standards, energy management policies, and hybrid fleets are quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception.

Companies without progressive environmental policies have their reputations at risk. Going green is now good business.

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Some people say that a problem is nothing more than a decision waiting to be made. Yet, decisions can be problematic if they result in misunderstanding, hurt feelings, and second guessing. This problem is often not the decision itself but a lack of agreement on the process for reaching the decision.

Success guru Brian Tracy believes there are basically three types of decision processes:

• Command. A command decision is made by a single person based on instinct, previous experience, and available information. Think of a general on a battlefield ordering troop movements. Command decisions are especially important in crisis situations where immediate action is paramount.
• Consultative. A consultative decision is a milder version of the command. One person still makes the decision but only after seeking the advice and insights of others. This decision requires more time to formulate but has the advantage of additional points of view.
• Consensus. A consensus decision is made by a group of people. For example, any form of voting is a consensus decision. Consensus decision can take on many forms from a super majority to a majority to a plurality (if many choices are on the table). Consensus decisions have the advantage of debate around the pros and cons of alternatives.

Agreeing to the decision process clarifies how and when the decision will be made. It prevents misunderstandings and hurt feelings. It sets expectations for input. And, it sets an expectation for how long the decision process will take.

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Next time you have to send an email attachment, try limiting it in size to less than one megabyte. Corporate email systems are programmed to be highly suspicious of large attachments and may block any email with a large attachment. PDF and image files are usually the biggest offenders. If you can, send a web link to the PDF or image file as an alternative to attaching it.

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Marketing has its own set of metrics like any business function. Marketers talk about awareness, market share, lead generation, media hits, etc. The question for CEOs is how these metrics translate help make better business decisions.

Having the marketing team translate its metrics using the following three questions can help bridge the gap between marketing activities and the bottom line:

1. How much business has been gained and at what cost?
2. Is the cost too high or would more business be gained by more investment?
3. Is the balance of cost and investment about right in relation to the return of profitable revenue?

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www.wikipedia.org

If the Internet is a free market for information, then Wikipedia is online equivalent of Wall Street. Founded in 2001, the website has quickly grown into one of the largest online reference tools. The website derives its name from the term “wiki,” which means website that allows visitors to add, edit, and remove content. Wikipedia functions like a free market because it’s self-correcting; when someone enters erroneous information, someone else is likely to quickly replace it with correct information. Wikipedia’s size and depth makes it an ideal place to start a research project. At the same time, make sure to confirm any information at another reference source.

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Simple Solutions – Harness the Power of Passion and Simplicity to Get Results
by Tom Schmitt and Arnold Perl

Simple Solutions is written for executives facing the exceedingly complex challenges of today’s business world. The authors – Tom Schmitt, leader of FedEx’s global supply chain, and Arnold Perl, renowned management attorney – provide an excellent playbook that leaders can use to get their team focused on results that matter to the organization.

The authors’ formula is comprised of two parts. The tools are management savvy, people skills, collaboration, time management, and execution. They match each tool with a corresponding passion: ambition, leadership, vision, focus, and determination.

The book is chocked with case studies from Schmitt’s work organizing the global sales force and supply chain for FedEx as well as Perl’s leadership in bringing an NBA franchise to Memphis and securing community support for the FedEx Forum.

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