5 Common PR Mistakes

The thought of contacting a journalist and media agency can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be! We’ve been around the PR block and learnt a thing or two about what NOT to do when trying to gain media exposure for you and your business.

Here is your 5 COMMON PR MISTAKES TO AVOID download a peak at what to avoid with DIY publicity

Want to learn more?

If you want to learn more about how to be a self-sufficent PR gun, hurry and book now for our ‘PR Secrets for Beginners’ workshop which is running July 14th, Syd with young PR and publicity extraordinaire Jonica Bray.

As busy people it can be tricky to keep a finger on the pulse in all areas of your business or organisation. So knowing how to continually promote you and your organisation through media channels can be daunting…unless you have the know-how.
Effective PR is important to any organisation for a number of reasons. Mainly because it raises your profile to your audience, positions you as an expert in your field, helps to build your database and most importantly INCREASES SALES and exposure for what you do!

Book Now to come to our engaging and highly effective workshop so you learn the Tips from Jonica who has worked on the inside as media for many years.

Releasing Potential through Leadership

When you run your own business or social enterprise leadership skills are vital. Whether it is leading yourself, your volunteer team, your staff or your customers. And often as a young person you are taking on a leadership position for the first time, so you are just building your own leadership skills.

Great leaders make things happen by releasing the energy of others.

Traditionally the role of leadership consisted of controlling your subordinates. An effective leader was seen as someone who was able to get others to follow their orders with the results achieved limited to the vision and ability of the leader.

In an attempt to better understand the role of leadership and its ability to influence performance, leadership
guru Malcolm Knowles from the Uni of QLD business school looked at organisations as though they were
a system of human energy. Here’s what he discovered about what makes great leaders.

1. Leaders offer challenges and share responsibility
Creative leaders make a different set of assumptions (essentially positive) about human nature from the
assumptions (essentially negative) made by controlling leaders.
Creative leaders have faith in people, offer them challenges, and delegate responsibility. When people are given an opportunity to contribute, they’re more creative and productive. The more they feel their unique potential is being used, the greater their achievement.

2. Leaders involve their staff
Creative leaders know that people’s level of commitment to a decision is equal to the extent that they feel they have participated in making it. Creative leaders therefore involve their employees in every step of the planning process.

3. Leaders believe in self-fulfilment
Creative leaders understand that people tend to rise up to other people’s expectations of them. The sports
coach conveys to his team that he knows they’re capable of winning, the good supervisor displays faith in
her employees that they will produce superior work. There’s a positive relationship between positive
self-concept and superior performance.

4. Leaders value individuality
Creative leaders realise that people perform at a higher level when they’re using their unique strengths, talents and goals rather than trying to conform to an imposed stereotype. Team arrangements are therefore encouraged in which each member works at what they’re best at and enjoys most.

5. Leaders stimulate & reward creativity
Creative leaders understand that creativity is a basic requirement for the survival of individuals, organisations
and societies. Leaders exemplify creativity in their own behaviour and build an environment that encourages
and rewards innovation in others. ‘Failures’ are treated as opportunities to learn, which encourages
experimentation and growth.

6. Leaders love change
Creative leaders aspire to make their organisations innovative rather than static. They understand the theory of change and are skilled in strategies to cause it and deal with it.

7. Leaders emphasise internal motivators
Creative leaders focus on building achievement, recognition, fulfilling work, responsibility, advancement
and growth, and try to minimise dissatisfiers like organisational policy and admin, supervision and status.

8. Leaders encourage self-direction
Creative leaders understand that we all move toward states of increasing self-directedness and that we
look to leaders for guidance through this process.

What could you achieve today by releasing the energy of others?

Tips for Resolving Conflict – Avoid The Biffo!

In work and play what most of us want to know is what to do about the boffin in the corner office who’s always ticking you off, how to excel in your current job when you’ve got a ‘personality clash’ with your boss, or what to do when disagreement is the standard at every meeting. Here’s some things to consider.

Conflict is a multi-lane highway

Conflict is a situation where two or more parties perceive another’s goals, values, interests or behaviour as
opposing to their own. So conflict not only involves the ‘facts’ but also the way we feel about the facts. Your opinion on a situation is one possible point of view and is neither right or wrong, it’s just one interpretation.

Conflict is normal and everywhere

You know the saying, ‘there’s always one in every group’ ie: there will often be someone in any given group
of people that will get on your nerves! Expecting otherwise is unlikely because we all come in different
shapes and sizes, and that means different styles of behaviour, communication and ways of thinking.

Conflict is not necessarily negative – it can mean danger or opportunity. Within any office there’s usually a common desire to keep things running smoothly, so there’s a temptation to avoid or ignore conflict. On the flip side, stifling conflict can cause stagnation. If you’re focused on innovation and continuously meeting the challenge of change and opportunity in a creative way, dealing with rather than avoiding conflict will help you get there by using conflict as a key to finding solutions for the future.

Conflict is not a contest

Often when we’re angry, disappointed or annoyed, we love being right, justifying our position, and claiming
a Rocky-esq victory unto our foe! Unfortunately, that’s probably not going to create a peaceful resolution,
or put an end to any underlying issues. Why do you think Rocky had so many sequels?

To use another clichéd management term, you’ve gotta create a ‘win win’. The idea of win/lose – where one
party wins and the other loses – will not make for a happy workplace! Conflict requires us to seek a
resolution that works for both people. Remember, you’ve got to work with this person.

Tips for Creating a Win/Win

* Avoid making personal attacks – you’ll heighten the conflict and muddy the issues.

* Get to the heart of it (minus the emotion) using phrases like ‘When you (describe the action ONLY)… I feel… because…’

* Involve the other person in creating a solution. Try: ‘Here’s the problem as I see it. How do you see it?
What do you think we could do about it?’ Then listen to their ideas!

* If the methods you use to resolve conflict aren’t working, don’t keep spinning your tyres, find a
new approach.

* Make common courtesy and grace a personal value. Good manners are a mark of respect and
professionalism, and are genuine conflict-melters.

Building a Great TEAM – First Steps

Finding the right people to work with – whether for your own business or the various projects you’re running – is less about warm and fuzzy feelings of ‘teamwork’ and more about generating productivity and values alignment.
Let me explain.

It’s one thing to get a group of volunteers or staff together to participate in a team building adventure course that identifies the leaders and followers of your team. It’s a whole other story to take serious time out to really investigate the skill gaps of your team and then fill those gaps with people who share the same
values and business vision.

So STEP ONE to building a great team is to conduct a ’skills audit’ of your existing team (which may only
consist of one person so far – you!). Do you and your team have all the vital business roles like accounting,
marketing, strategy, IT etc, covered? If it’s time to expand then it’s time to fill some of those gaps.
Start
plugging the holes where your business or project will most benefit – either in terms of sales/income or
productivity/delivery/service. No use hiring a web guru to build a funky new website if your main product is
denture cream for over 60’s!

STEP TWO – don’t choose staff based on their skills alone. You need to create a ‘values match’. Not unlike
the perfect match of dating, you need to hire people who value the same things as you and your biz/project.

So think about your biz/project’s vision … can this potential new person help you to reach that goal? Are
their dreams and ambitions aligned with yours – both personal career goals and the goals of the biz? There’s
no use hiring a great finance guy who could care less about animal rights if you’re trying to find homes for
stray pets.

On a less obvious level, if you value integrity, freedom and creativity, you want to find teammates who share
those similar philosophies. A clash of values is one of the key reasons people quit their jobs or become
de-motivated and unproductive.

The other key to building a great team around you to help you achieve your goals – and this applies in
business as well as life – is the value of networking.
Networking is still a bit of a dirty word, implying
endless sessions of Friday night drinks and self-absorbed schmoozing. Not so. Effective networking is
about accepting invitations to events and opportunities that directly help you to build your own skill set and
mix with like-minded people who you can learn from and share experiences with.

The more people you meet and genuinely share your experiences and contacts with, the more business
opportunities naturally come your way. The key word there of course, is ‘genuine’. If you’re just attending
networking events to plug your own biz people will quickly lose interest. If you’re interested in learning new
skills, swapping ‘war’ stories, and helping others out, ‘biz karma’ brings it right back to ya.

So before you draw up contracts and job descriptions, think about what you need and what values you are looking for.