We Can’t Independently Manage All Our Activities, But We Can Manage How We Look At Them. By Thomas J. Roach Perspective gives our actions meaning, and perspective takes it away. Years ago, when I worked in the corporate offices of the Carson Pirie Scott corporation, Vice President of Human Resources Bruce Rismiller got philosophical and told a group of his…
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The Habit of Character
Public Relations, Marketing And Advertising Create The Illusion That We Can Manufacture Reputation, But It Is A Fool’s Errand. By Thomas J. Roach Reputation is a broad term that implies prestige, reliability, quality, values and strength of character. Much effort and money is spent touting the other attributes, but the important one is character, and character must be observed. Our…
Read MoreCommunity Relationships
When We Say Community Relations, What We Really Mean Are Community Relationships. By Thomas J. Roach Terms like community relations and public relations are misleading. They objectify complex, dynamic social interactions as if they were tasks on a to-do list. The people outside the organization are not one entity. They are individuals: mayors, judges, business owners, and neighbors. They can’t…
Read MoreCommunication Networks
Communication Networks Exist With Or Without The Help Of Management. Joining Them Is A Lot Smarter Than Trying To Beat Them. By Thomas J. Roach All human interaction functions within informal communication networks. Governments, corporations clubs, groups of friends and families, all consist of individuals sharing information, developing tacit rules of conduct, constructing identities and forming consensus. The great temptation…
Read MoreThe Making of a Media Release
Mass Media Are Still The Best Channels For Reaching The General Public. By Thomas J. Roach When it comes to free public communication, mass media are still the best channels for reaching the general public. Social media and web pages are best used for targeted communication. Important networking publics interface on social media, and websites are visited by costumers researching…
Read MoreCommunication and Technology
The Emergence Of Artificial Intelligence Is Just The Latest Development In The Menacing Partnership Between Technology And Human Affairs. By Thomas J. Roach Over the last 100 years, while technology dramatically changed how we live and work, it quietly changed who we are. We think of technology in terms of physical objects like computers, electric automobiles or smartphones, but the…
Read MoreAsk the Right Questions
We Conduct Job Interviews To Try To Predict What They Will Be Like After We Hire Them. By Thomas J. Roach Employment interviews are like a game. The interviewee anticipates what the interviewer wants the new hire to be like and appears to be that person. The interviewer should know that the interviewee is anticipating what they want and try…
Read MoreThe Limits of AI Technology
The Most Important Aspects Of Human Interaction Cannot Be Automated. By Thomas J. Roach Artificial Intelligence depersonalizes communication, and therein lies its greatest limitation. Automation is a mechanical or electronic technology that removes the human footprint from a process that produces goods or services. Ancient Greeks employed water wheels to grind grain. During the Industrial Revolution, steam and internal combustion…
Read MoreHow Important is Communication?
Here Is A List Of Communication Responsibilities Every Company Should Consider. By Thomas J. Roach In the last 100 years nothing in business has evolved as much as communication and communication technology. During the Great Depression and WWII eras, competition was less challenging, and employees were grateful just to have jobs. Companies needed only basic advertising and newspaper public relations…
Read MoreWhen We Speak of Things That Matter
The Art Of Communication Is Balancing Who You Are And What You Believe With The Expectations Of The Audience. By Thomas J. Roach Nothing is more naïve than dismissing communication by saying, “it’s only rhetoric,” or “it’s just political correctness.” The first and most important lesson about communication is that it is strategic. The world we live in after we…
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