GUEST BLOG: We're not in Kansas anymore

I hope you read all this text but, if you simply can't be bothered, I won't be offended but do skip straight to the following link: http://annagillespie.blogspot.co.uk/p/we-are-not-in-kansas-anymore.html
- As long as you have a pulse you won't regret it.

Still here? Ok I'll go on before you get to read the guest blog. I was planning on writing a blog today but that changed after I read a blog by someone I knew.

Anyone that knows me, and most of you reading this don't alas, knows that I've not had the easiest of times over the last 9 months or so. However, having read the latest blog by Anna Gillespie the Director of Business Development at the amazing charity Mayday Trust I realised how lucky I am. 

I've worked with Anna with two different organisations but, as much as I always liked and respected her, I had no idea of how much of a special person she is until recently. She has helped me enormously in my personal and working life. She has an insight that screams 'CEO in waiting' and has supporting people at the forefront of her thinking whilst understanding how to achieve that on a business level. 

I know it's bad but I don't respect the vision of many people. Whether that's because I'm up my own backside or because I'm more like some of the gracious plaudits I've been lucky enough to receive, I'm not sure but I really rate Anna. 

It's because of that that I'm not posting her blog for me here. Instead I'm going to ask you to exercise your finger, click your mouse and go here and read her wonderful, extremely touching and important blog http://annagillespie.blogspot.co.uk/p/we-are-not-in-kansas-anymore.html instead. 

I'm asking you to read Anna's blog for yourself then start following it. You can find her on Twitter @annagillespie74 and her supporting people charity is @MaydayTrust or go to www.facebook.com/MaydayTrustOfficial and like them

Ok then....off you go and see how some people really #MakeADifference and set about #ChangingLives

I'm feeling crazy

I'm feeling crazy. I'm going to do something that will blow your mind once you have finished calling me a dreamer and a loser. To be continued.......................... Click the link for your first tip

Every bit of Blu-tack counts

"Every bit of Blu-tack counts."

I heard someone say this today. It was someone that's great to work with even when we disagree - I reckon they'll fall into the point 2 camp that you'll find later in this blog.

Sometimes the title of blogs I read are so delightful that the blog itself cannot live up to it. "Every bit of Blu-tack counts"  is one of those.

Upon hearing it said, I immediately thought 'that sounds like a great blog title'. A shame then that it's too nice a title to spoil with a blog. So I will abandon the blog there.

 You will now feel one of two emotions: 
1) That you have wasted your time reading this blog
OR
2) Be inspired to think and contemplate the many usages of such a title.

If the former strikes a chord with you, we are unlikely to have much in common and you're probably too busy muttering a snide remark or jibe in the direction of someone with real talent. There's a good chance you dream of carrying a placard that says "Down with this sort of thing" but never dare to even take that tepid protest a stage further and realise it.

However, if the latter, we should meet for coffee, perhaps some cake, and then work out how together we can make a difference whilst turning the world on its head. I'll bet you're not a huge fan of steering groups for most challenges, and have a creative streak that I'd probably admire.

There's a very good chance that you're smart enough to be sending a DM to @thatPRman right now. Speak soon then.....

PS Be brave good people.....be brave - dare to dare. #creativity
PPS I bet if you chose emotion 2 you've just realised you're in both camps after all.
PPPS If you've just said "What a load of..." - you're right.

Save your BBC

Here’s a thing that matters greatly to you. You may not think it does but believe me it will. Hopefully it won’t be too late when you realise the impact of not saving your BBC.
Every licence payer in the UK has a vested interest in this blog. It’s a local issue of national importance.

The BBC seems intent on the closure of factual production in Birmingham. This will have a direct impact on every household of the West Midlands that watches news programmes, every cameraman, journalist, presenter of any station and perhaps most importantly to the region and its standing in the UK.

With the loss of this facility virtually no network programme making (besides some small independents) will remain in the West Midlands. In the 70s and 80s huge chunks of BBC and ITV output was made at either Central (previously ATV) or at BBC in Pebble Mill. That has gradually been eroded as production has moved to Manchester/Salford or London, in both cases.
There has been an outcry when other industries have moved out of the West Midlands - but the politicians remain silent over this particular industry. Shouldn’t this be a key issue for those hoping to be Mayor of Birmingham or Police Commissioner of West Midlands Police?
If you live in the West Midlands and aspire to a life in the media - you will have to move away in the future to get a job - most already have to.

The BBC is making cuts to network newsgathering - but again it is concentrating its efforts in Salford, London & of course Cardiff and Glasgow as well. Is anyone speaking up for Birmingham? No – didn’t think so.

Can you imagine another situation like the riots without a regional BBC prescence able to keep you up-to-date and warn of any dangers? How many of you kept checking your radio, television or BBC online to check on the latest developments as the situation escalated? Or what would have happened if Tariq Jahan, widely attributed with stopping the riots following the death of his son, had appealed for calm and there were no news teams on the scene to report it?

Incredibly, BBC 5Live are getting rid of their dedicated reporters in the Midlands!

If you live in Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Solihull or elsewhere in the region then don’t be fooled into thinking that the Save BBC Birmingham campaign doesn’t apply to you. It applies to you just as much, perhaps more. Without the support of the central hub in Birmingham, how long before your hyper local news is effected in the same, or perhaps more drastic, way?

If you work in the media how long before you have to move to another region to stand any chance of continuing in your chosen career or else find a new career?

There are clear holes in the BBC argument to remove production. Most of them are finding their basis in austerity. They have a lease on the Mailbox until 2026, so plans are afoot to take half the building away, pay huge redundancies & relocation fees (funded by your licence fees), then doing the same again at some stage in the future by moving admin staff from London to Birmingham. What is the cost of not keeping the creative industries the West Midlands?

At present the West Midlands boats the “Second City.” With so many creative industry jobs already moving to Manchester, Bristol and London, the consequential increase in unemployment and news vacuum you can bet that the success of those three cities will be tantamount to the demise of the West Midlands. It is set to create a Bermuda triangle like space of everything in between.

Discussions include moving the rural affairs expertise from Birmingham to Bristol because it shares some similarities with the Natural History Unit based there. That’s like asking the LTA and FA to share because they are both sports played with a ball. Go figure.
The problem that Birmingham & its broadcasters have, is that they have no powerful advocates on the national stage, and for that reason they are overlooked. I understand great incentives were offfered to ITV and BBC to move to Salford. Birmingham (or Wolverhampton or Coventry ) could have done the same, but didn't. But that doesn’t have to be the end of it.

Bottom line is that network news and radio's coverage will be severely hit in places like the Midlands. While there are cuts in Salford and London too, they're not going to have any serious impact on the output from those areas.

The BBC powers that be will argue that their correspondents in Salford and London can easily get in the car and travel to areas where stories are, when they are big enough. How can they decide what is difficult without a local prescence and how can they react to breaking news? I’d suggest they can’t. We have some of the finest broadcast journalists in the country and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to lose them.

I’m not originally from the West Midlands but I have made it my home. For me that means it matters. Make it matter to you too. You’ll be poorer off without it in more ways than one and the effects on the region as a go-to place for employment, tourism, and events could be lost forever.

• So let’s Save BBC Birmingham.
• Let’s ask our politicians and councilors to Save BBC Birmingham.
• Let’s ask the Birmingham Mayor to candidates to Save BBC Birmingham.
• If you care about your region let’s Save BBC Birmingham.
• If you work in the media or PR let’s Save BBC Birmingham
• Let’s ask the candidates for commissioner of West Midlands Police to Save BBC Birmingham.
• If you live in the West Midlands Let’s Save the West Midlands…….
• If you live anywhere in the country and value local news and factual production let’s Save BBC Birmingham.
Save BBC Birmingham – after all….you need it - you pay for it.
#SaveBBCBirmingham

Help and support?

Hello everyone - I need your help and support

Not my usual @thatPRman blog but one where I will be asking for your help and support.

I am going to have to get mega fit (basic fitness would be a start), shed several stone and cycle well over 1,000 miles in fourteen days. I will be cycling from John O'Groats to Land's End but unlike others I am going to cycle into Wales calling at Swansea and Cardiff also whilst not missing out Birmingham en-route. It's the equivalent of over 3 marathons a day for 2 weeks. I'm yet to refine the ride but it will look something like this map:

"...make a genuine difference..."

I have decided that I want to try and make a genuine difference to changing lives of at least some people for the better. We are going to choose four charities, that could really benefit from an injection of cash.

I say 'we' as I'd like your help. I need to choose four charities or charitable organisations. I'm open to any suggestions but I'm interested in youth/children projects, supporting families in need/crisis, mental health, bullying, and/or charities that support people with illness or their families. Ideally the money raised will go to specific projects or work and will

I will post details in the coming weeks of how you can help with financial contributions but in the meantime please send any suggestions of charities or offers of help with bikes, places to stay en-route or just shouts of encouragement would be really welcomed at my email address thatPRman@gmail.com. You can also contact me on Twitter @thatPRman or by phone on 07912 762850

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE copy and paste this link to your Twitter and Facebook pages and help drum up support.

Right this is calling for me in my conservatory:

social housing 'consensus' is proof of its professionalism

It is without doubt that Guardian Housing Network Editor Hannah Fearn is one of the most innovative and passionate people in housing.

Hannah asks the questions that others in housing think but don't ask and offers support to the sector when others fail to. Her questions can sometimes be uncomfortable for the sector though, and that's whether you are a government minister or a housing association, but undeniably they are necessary and a breath of fresh air.

It is for these reasons that I have asked Hannah to be my guest blogger about the social housing 'consensus'.

I’d also highly recommend that you sign up to the Guardian Housing Network here though if you work in the housing sector and care about your profession I’m sure you will have done so already. With no further delay then over to Hannah………

social housing 'consensus' is proof of its professionalism

Pictured: Housing Minister Grant Shapps

Earlier this week, at a seminar organised by the Guardian Housing Network, the discussion turned to professionalism. With no accredited course or series of examinations to mark us out, how do we know that housing professionals are meeting a basic set of standards in their work? How can we be sure they are striving for an agreed common good, rather than simply "pushing paperclips"?

One of the most frustrating soundbites to catch the public attention, largely thanks to the concerted efforts of housing minister Grant Shapps and his slick team of PRs, is the idea that housing professionals are caught in the quagmire of a "lazy consensus".

Lazy? Certainly not. Housing staff have shown an admirable resourcefulness, faced in the past five years with untold changes to the structure of their sector, continual cuts to government support for their work and the need to innovate to stay afloat. The speed and dexterity with which housing associations responded to the introduction of Affordable Rent is illustration enough of the appetite for working hard to make change.

But is there a consensus in housing? I would argue there is. Another frustrating message currently touted by Shapps and others, including Westminster council, argues that housing is not a right but a privilege. We, as a professional group, disagree. Maslow's hierarchy of needs, that great cornerstone of undergraduate study, tells us that shelter comes right up there with food and water as a basic human necessity. Without it we cannot function, let alone flourish.

Those working in housing don't need Maslow's colourful pyramid to tell them this basic fact of life. We know that without a decent home, all other social outcomes are compromised. A chance at an education requires a quiet and safe place to concentrate; children in very over-crowded living conditions are least likely to thrive in school. Good health is predicated on a safe, warm home; living in a damp property increases the risks of respiratory disease, while poorly maintained homes are a major risk to elderly and frail residents.

So if there is one consensus in the housing sector it's this: housing is a human right, and one that professionals will strive to provide for those who cannot, for whatever reason, meet this need for themselves. This is the essence of professionalism in housing.

Speaking at this week's seminar, Abigail Davies, assistant director of policy and practice of the Chartered Institute of Housing, pointed out that if we do not like a phrase such as the "lazy consensus" we should not spend time repeating it. But while it's already in the public sphere, let us turn it to an advantage and celebrate the positive consensus that we share.

Hannah Fearn – Editor of the Guardian Housing Network

This article first appeared in the Guardian Housing Network Editors blog on 10/02/12 here

Many thanks Hannah for agreeing to be my guest blogger.

Square pegs fit round holes

Square pegs fit round holes.

Please take the time to read all of this blog. I humbly, not brashly, submit it could be the most important blog you or your business ever read. I'd so love to believe that as it's written with heart :-)

The world is changing. No, I don't mean there's an end to racism and other injustice, nations haven't shifted from austerity to prosperity in a seamless shift overnight.

What is changing though is the mindset of some people in business. Teams of 'round peg for round hole people' have started to recognise the value of the odd square peg person.

I've worked with businesses where I've seen square pegs around the business. It's exciting and so heartening. I know that square pegs can make some people uncomfortable even there but relax people. If you trust them they will remain the most loyal. Don't pull the rug from under their feet just because they see things differently. That's more priceless than any mastercard advert strap-line could come up with.

I'll be the first to admit I'm a bit of a square peg but that doesn't stop me being a huge team player. I've been very, very lucky so far. I've always worked, albeit by luck rather than judgement, for companies that knew how to how to harness my square peg-ness and get the best out of me and my ideas for their business. Because of this I feel confident enough to write this blog.

There was a time, and let's be honest it still exists in introspective businesses, that the 'square peg' person would have been vilified - accused of not being a team member or not with the program. The truly smart teams though, now recognise the worth of the square peg man or woman. It's the people that recognise this that are the true leaders.

So smart industry is shifting its attitude to square pegs - are you? This shift is possibly due to the late, great Steve Jobs from Apple. A man who is spoken of with admiration and awe now, was once vilified as being too much of a square peg, not a team member, seen as not being an 'Apple person' and even thrown out of his company - Apple.

Of course, he ended up back at Apple and history now speaks on his behalf. From an ostracised, even loathed square peg to a square peg that people realised cared more about Apple and changing lives than they ever dared to believe the day they threw him out.  So my second doff of cap goes to Steve Jobs and Apple for daring to let his square peg fit their round hole. For eventually recognising that althought it would be a nightmare if everyone was a square peg, it is vital to welcome one or two into the team.

So square pegs really do fit round holes. Who would have realised they care the most? Who would have thought? Who would have dared to have thought? Go on - I dare you.

Note: Be bold and change lives no matter what your industry - make a difference.

Online Piracy Act

If the Online Piracy Act is not, at the very least, re-shaped then many of my favourite news sites could in future be saying the following:

































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"I wonder if...."

Anyone that knows me knows I love ideas. Grand, small, ambitious or simple ideas, they all float my boat. To me they're like air. I need them and when they're as fresh as a chilly morning they excite and inspire me. Here’s my quick guide to ideas about ideas.

1) Never be afraid to have an idea. Every great idea starts with a “I wonder if….” moment.

2) Don't worry about having bad ideas, they're the route to great ideas - nobody just has great ideas. The trick is applying a filter to ascertain what's good and what isn't. Just don't implement an idea until you are sure as can be that every particle has been filtered.

3) Be prepared to fail. The greatest ideas are fraught with the greatest challenges, some of which will be out of your control. That is not a reason not to pursue them though.

4) Never sit on a good idea. By all means schedule the idea for the most opportune time but doing nothing shouldn't be an option

5) It's fine to copy ideas (just don't breach copyright). Someone once said to me “Why shouldn’t I copy an idea. After all, that way I know it works” – Fair comment, though always apply number 10 of these points.

6) Find your own angle to ideas other people have. Look outside your industry/business and see if their ideas that you can tailor.

7) Trade ideas with other ideas people. This can be incredibly productive and more often than not inspires extra ideas for all concerned. I speak to my contacts constantly running ideas I have past them, testing the water.

8) It's good to be an ideas square peg for a banality round hole as long as you remember what you need to achieve from being so.

9) Always credit the people whose ideas you use or who inspire ideas from you. You may be the one implementing them but you should still doff your cap to the original ideas person and/or idea inspiration. Failing to do so is tantamount to stealing the idea, which leads me nicely to…….

10) Never try to, or accept, credit for ideas that are not your own. Anyone who has ideas will have experienced this and found it to be royally frustrating.

There you go – ideas about ideas. I look forward to hearing yours soon.

Will you be GREAT in 2012? (What counts and how will you survive?)

Adverts for newspapers are encouraging us to be "Great, Britain" in 2012. Such an important comma between those two words but how do we become 'Great' in the world of PR and Communications? What are the new challenges that we as PR professionals and the businesses we communicate on behalf of, must overcome to be 'Great' in 2012.

Is it time to throw away the comms text books? Perhaps not but it is time to tear out whole chapters and insert new ones. Social media isn't a new idea in PR but its place is ever evolving and presents new challenges to businesses and PR professionals alike.

PR used to be judged by how many column inches were secured. There have always been flaws with that such as the value people present are always based on 'rate card' advertising prices. The Advertising Equivalent Value is £XYZ the PR Manager/Director would bellow executives as a justification of their worth. 2011 was the year that such measures of judging comms/PR finally became ineffectual and, worse than that, wholly misleading.

It could be argued that the best PR professionals are now the hardest to gauge. A dilemma for a business - for these professionals can make one Tweet, one Facebook post and make things happen for your business. They can set a ball rolling that you will never fully realise but will certainly feel the effects of either directly or indirectly.

I recently made a simple video filmed mostly on my iPhone. It gained masses of tv, radio, online a physical press as well as over 3000 YouTube hits. It would have been a incredible figure based on old school advertising value equivalent figures. So much of that exposure would not have been picked up though. Not one of those YouTube views would have been calculated by any "cuttings service" though, not one of my tweets would have been attributed any particular worth. How useless a service then that cannot gauge the effect every tweet has every day, hour, minute, second? Furthermore, not one relationship building tweet that led to other opportunities would have been recognised by these methods.

These are different times and PRs need to morph quickly, if they haven't already, or leave the arena. Some will advocate new roles (for themselves to fill of course) but it won't be the same. The "old school" may accuse you of being self-serving, self-promoting but pay no attention. Those that cannot keep up have always sought to "have concerns" over how the innovators do things - the once vilified Steve Jobs at Apple anyone?

The other day a comms person in my industry, that should know better, accused another of being self-serving - I was gobsmacked. I really rate the person they were referring to. It's a shame the person that made the comment so obviously doesn't "get it." It's essential we all do.

Great comms people today will still use all the traditional tools of their trade though. No comms professional should ever arrive at your business unable to hit the PR ground running. The best PR have always come with a host of contacts that are either relevant, or can put them in touch with people who are. If they don't have that the smart businesses always smell a rat.

These days businesses can buy in contact information. It costs thousands, though has some uses, but it will never be a replacement for actually knowing your contacts. There's also a case to say that such purchases are unnecessary for those that can be bothered to build their own. After all, you are already speaking to the media aren't you? You know where to look don't you?

The savvy PR will engage directly with the media, customers and other key stakeholders via social media, picking up a phone, going to see them. The less savvy turn themselves into professional administration managers and comms of a bygone age. Sure, still professional - but more admin rather than comms focussed.

Comms teams can still use alternatives like email newsletters, for now, but be smarter. Embed video links, use 'one liners' to encourage click through. The click through should then land on your website or socmed portal and so drive up hits to your website and YouTube channel alike. This will increase consumption of your messages and your improve your search engine optimisation.

Do all of the above though and soon enough you'll see others in your team get results, perhaps even bigger results than you, if they care enough about what they are doing even if they've been unable to previously. After all, PR does not mean posting an article yourself on the website belonging to someone else and those that just employ this or traditional methods will find it hard to exist in modern PR.

The modern day PR needs the trust of their CEO and company if they are to be 'Great.' They need to be allowed to innovate, shoulder criticism from others that do not really understand or fully use social media, cope with others stealing the credit for their ideas and be part of a 24/7 business. Businesses, embrace those in your teams that do this. Don't ostracise them as you can bet they are the ones that want the best for your business if they are going to these efforts and they are the ones that can deliver too. PR professionals, it is our job to "Get it" then "Get on with it."

Be brave in 2012 everyone. Be 'GREAT.'



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Statistics and figures - an estimation of an estimation.

Settle yourself down - this will be a bumpy ride/blog. Let's examine the criteria and statistics recently attributed to "troubled families" and where they come from. Estimations of estimations or just figures plucked from the air? I hope you have the patience to wait and ponder occassionally.

So we’re told there are 120,000 "troubled families" in the UK and we assess them as such by their ability to meet a minimum five of seven criteria. This will be simple to understand then right?

But haven't we heard these figures and criteria before?

As politicians scrambled to explain why rioting and looting was rife back in August 2011, didn't some blame 120,000 "problem families?" But wait...that wasn't the first time was it? It’s a recurring number but where does it stem from?

When the coalition published their Child Poverty Strategy in April, they referred to an "estimated 120,000 families in England with multiple problems”.

But wait.... let's not go deep into the 120,000 without exploring the five in seven criteria....
A 2007 Cabinet Office report stated: “Having multiple problems is defined as having five or more problems from a basket of seven indicators including being in a workless household, overcrowding, maternal mental health problems, long-standing limiting illness, low income and ability to afford basic items of food and clothing.”

Now, wait again....doesn't that ring a bell? Meeting five out of the seven criteria anyone? Hmmm....

* No-one in the family is in work.
* The family is living in poor or overcrowded housing.
* No person has any qualifications.
* Mother has mental health problems.
* At least one parent has a long-standing illness or disability.
* The family has a low income.
* The family is unable to afford a number of food or clothing items.

No that’s not the same thing put differently (honest) but the markedly different 2011 version provided by David Cameron in his announcement on how to tackle "troubled families." Convinced?

A disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act by the Department of Education reveals that the 120,00 figure is an approximation of the 140,000 in the UK. The 120,000 is an estimated figure for England rounded up from an estimated 117,00 families. So, it's an estimation based on an estimated number - "good job" as my 5 year old likes to say when pleased with himself for tidying away his Power Rangers. Trouble is he has usually missed the rest of his toys scattered around his room. So what has been missed in providing these statistics?

On one regional radio show I heard the Head of Children Services for that area calculate they had 2% of the 120,000 families and claimed that equated to one, to one and a half, thousand families. Shouldn't that be 2,400 if correct? A career at the Department for Plucked from the Air statistics awaits you ma'am.

Now, wait again...can these figures be right?
The population in England mid 2007 was estimated at 51.1 million. In 2011 it was estimated at 52.2 million. That's an estimated 2.15% increase.

Back to the "facts"...
Apply this increase to the original 120,000 families and there has been a relative decrease in the number of “troubled families” in the UK in the last four years. Had it risen in line with the percentage increase in population, as you’d expect, there would now be an estimated 122,580 "troubled families" no doubt rounded up to an estimated 125,000 "troubled families."

Result! 5,000 fewer "troubled families" than we could have had.

Wow, we're good at sorting out issues in the UK - we just estimate our estimations and it all makes sense, right? Glad I was able to clear all that up for you.

Rockstars, me and you, business for everyone, Winnie the Pooh.

I didn’t sleep well last night. Something was on my mind. I started to read quotes by other people. Some are famous, some aren’t but all are worth reading regardless of whether you agree with them or not, much like this blog really - at least that's the hope.
I stumbled across this quote:

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

That was a quote attributed to Apple Inc. Was it written by Steve Jobs or by someone perhaps influenced by him? I don’t know and, quite honestly, I don’t intend to try and find out because that's not what matters - it's what the quote says that does.

Such quotes can strike fear into the hearts of some people. They will talk of potential loose canons, contrive against those who try and innovate for fear of being outshone, manipulate others in the work place to have concerns about those who dare to be creative but are they right do that? Whoever made the above quote from Apple clearly doesn’t think so.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not an advocate of crazy ideas that can threaten a business. Business aside there are peoples lives, livelihoods families that all rely on any business that employs them but upsetting the status quo? Hands up – guilty as charged – I’m a fan of people that do that in a measured way, with the right heart, with the hope that it will benefit the business they work for, its customers and colleagues. Always know though that if you do this you will always make some people nervous as hell.

Nonetheless, upset the apple cart. No apples need get bruised and there is no need to hang the person that gave the apple cart a bump.

Instead why not embrace those people, encourage colleagues to first understand the thinking behind the bump but if you can’t resist then at least ask all colleagues – get a wider view. Don’t try and squeeze out of people negativity about the bumper because you feel threatened – it’s disingenuous and can confuse young colleagues especially. Another quote “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”

Instead inspire colleagues – encourage rock stars in your work place – you’ll find they are the biggest team players you’ve ever known. They think outside themselves, their immediate team, their section of your business.

They are not a threat to you, not the loose cannons – trust them, don’t try and marginalise them, or cause problems for them, and you’ll find they have the biggest hearts and exciting minds. They won’t always get it right but when they do – boy oh boy!!!

I’m not sure if I’ve heard the term ‘rock stars in your workplace’ somewhere else. Apologies if I’ve stolen your notion but no matter as I believe in it. Encourage them, let them fly, let them make mistakes, let them show you what they can do, let them shine. If they do something great and you can’t think of greatness yourself then bask in the reflected glory. Nothing wrong in that as, if you have encouraged them, then you are just as part of the great ideas as they are – if you don’t you’ll ruin the opportunities for your colleagues, customers and the business you work for.

Dare to do something different today. Make a difference.

And now some light reading………….
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them” – Mother Teresa

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere” – Albert Einstein

“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me….Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” Silverstein

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh?” he whispered.
“Nothing said,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. “I just wanted to be sure of you.” – A.A. Milne



-End-

Trusting in you at Bromford

Colleague engagement: two words that strike fear into the breast of many a manager, and indeed their employees. But for us, it is very simple. We believe that to be happy at work we must help our employees to feel comfortable enough to be themselves in the workplace.

We encourage our colleagues to bring their personalities to work, not foster a persona that bears little relation to their life and relationships outside the job. To stifle someone's personality at work is positively Dickensian; why, as a business, include personality description in a job specification and then fail to make use of it? You wouldn't buy an expensive computer system and then leave it standing dormant.

Our internal social media platform, Yammer, has no rules and actively encourages our people to say what they think about their work. It provides an informal link for everyone who wants to join in, including the most senior colleagues in the organisation.

We encourage customer service staff to be themselves in their relationship with tenants. We ask them to give honest, no-nonsense advice, make the most of every conversation, recognise everyone's differences and show enthusiasm and individualism.

Equally, we don't prevent the use of social media at work but actively encourage it. If you use it at home, we trust you to use it here – just make sure you think before you tweet. We encourage a culture where it's OK to break the rules when it's the right thing to do. We don't want to find our people hiding behind policy and procedure.

Who we are, our experiences, our ideas and our interests are all part of what makes us individuals and the employees we become. We identify this in people right from the start of the recruitment process, where we'll just as likely gain an insight into the real abilities and motivations of a candidate by playing a board game with them as discussing their CV.

Once in post, we encourage colleagues to take ownership of their role and help to steer the future of the organisation. We motivate everyone to be an active, not passive, member of the Bromford community. Nothing is more motivating to colleagues than to know their ideas matter and there is a mechanism to make sure those ideas are heard throughout the organisation.

Our advice to others is: be a 3D business. Engage your people in what you do, how you do it and why you do it. Learn from other people and unashamedly incorporate the best of those ideas into your business. Most of all, ban the words "staff" and "department". Nobody spends lives their life in a department and shares lunch with staff. We are colleagues, and we work in teams.

National Influence - what's that all about?

In my last blog (read it below the one) I touched on vision. In this blog I'm going to talk about national influence and the type of vision required achieving that. I’m not going to bore you with the complexities but rather briefly signpost the way forward.

To even begin to reach a position of national influence in communications for any organisation, it has to decide what that means to them:

• Is it a supporting role to bridge the gap between the core business and political lobbying in which it can top and tail the efforts of an executive board?
• Is it part of the overall strategy to grow a business and bring new business on board either directly or indirectly?
• Where a business has multiple brands, is it to help grow awareness of them and the work they do/ products they have?
• Should you turn your back on the brands and concentrate on the core business?

To do the latter would surely be to the detriment of both brands and core business. That said one can only do so much so we have to ask ourselves how best to spend our time.

A huge part of national influence can be achieved through talking and listening. A very difficult thing to qualify so it takes a brave and trusting organisation to charge someone with that role – to understand there is no mathematical or work evaluation that can identify where, or even if, it is having an impact. Nonetheless, for those brave enough to enter this arena the unseen rewards can be endless.

Profile = national influence. Don’t underestimate the importance of a simple tweet exchange between your communications professional and the media.

These days some of my most effective work is done via private DMs (Direct Messages) on Twitter and Facebook.

I’m presently working on a temporary contract at Bromford Group and it’s really refreshing to see the trust they put in all their colleagues. They take the view that they trust their people with the most vulnerable in society and to going into other people’s homes, so they have decided they should trust them online too. It takes a brave business to do that but a wise one nonetheless.

It is as much about talking to people face to face, by telephone, email or social media as it ever will be about your next press release.

So to the questions posed at the start:
• Yes it can top and tail to any lobbying and increase its effectiveness.
• Yes it should be part of your overall business strategy and can bring new business.
• Yes it should include growing awareness of brands.
• Of course it should play a key role in brand communications.

Allow your communications professional charged with national influence to cherry pick the projects they work on to the benefit of national influence – trust them like Bromford trust their people with social media – have vision.

The future’s bright – the future’s influence.

IDEAS - it's not a dirty word.

I started this blog and, after posting a couple of press releases I liked, stopped. The reason being, a blog is not really the place to copy and paste press releases no matter how excited you are about their content. After all I send them out to anyone I would want to/need to see them. Secondly, I wasn't sure what this blog should be about. I wanted to write one but is that reason enough? I decided the answer was no.

So instead, I will write about things I care about. I'm now 8 weeks into my career at Bromford and rather than the much touted 3 month window of opportunity to see where changes could be made, the ideas seem to be growing. Equally, I feel like I’ve been here years yet also like I’m on day one. In part that is because I can see how much enthusiasm being on the radio and television has brought to many colleagues.

This soft old, welsh fool is so heartened by when I see colleagues telling each other they are "stars" now that they have been in the media. It's great and inspires so many ideas and the reason to help push the company on in the great work we do for the people that need us. We talk to them about being empowered and what could be more empowering than seeing people inspired by something you have contributed to?

Some of the ideas I come up with I have to stop and check myself. I know they are just too grand or the timing is maybe not quite right. I encourage my colleagues and friends in the media to talk, to bounce ideas around, to support each other. Let’s have a million ideas. It doesn’t matter if we reject 999,999 of them if that one idea we carry forwards makes a difference. My apologies if that sounds a little airy-fairy but trust me it works.

Colleagues and media friends have been so nice about the No Postcodes video http://bit.ly/qi1s6F but there were so any people that were important to that. I wouldn’t have had the idea if others hadn’t started the process of talking and doing. I remember it being a small mention about an event we were going to be putting on, being told to list the event on the NHF website. The vision can be greater thought I.

I’ve heard people say we were “lucky with the timing.” We weren’t – we spotted an opportunity for the people we support – we showed vision of where we could take it, we added a bit of us - add a bit of you in what you do.

We need vision, we need to encourage people to have vision, we need to be prepared to fail – if there is vision and an understanding of what we can achieve then I would never criticise a colleague that stuck their neck out to that aim. A friend at work the other day spoke to me about a project he is working on and said: “I need my No Postcodes Lee. What can we do?” - so refreshing.

He has seen that there are opportunities beyond what we have done historically. One of our directors was really encouraging when he wrote a comment about getting on and doing. That's what it's all about for me - what it's always been about and now I'm somewhere that encourages that. "Uh oh," thinks I. There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and there is much to be done but we can achieve it all together. We can work smart and achieve the world – never lose that view of the world. We get older, put on suits with pin-stripes and it can disappear, people can even begin to view it as childish naivety. Keep the belief inside you though and it will shine outside.

We need to understand the comment “So what?” Don’t feel rejected if someone says that but instead think good point. If you can’t answer the question with complete conviction then it’s back to the drawing board not to the corner of the room to hang your head. Always believe the next idea is a great one. Looking back at this text I can see I’m at risk of becoming evangelical – I try not to be. I don’t want to drag anyone with me, I want people pushing me up the hill. I want to be in awe of you and your ideas. The MD of Bromford Support was saying "So What?" about something we were discussing the other day. He was right. So what? Who cares? Who are we telling? What are we telling them? Where is the end goal?

I believe in strategy - some people feel the need to write that down, others need to read about it, others just get it and get on with it. Of course we need to produce strategies, and it is important to be able to convey what we are trying to achieve to colleagues involved, but what is more important is always the doing – the implementation.

It is natural that some people will be against change but that is no bad thing. Those people provide the opportunity to check yourself - consider the flaws in any idea. It's the easiest thing in the world to come up with amazing ideas - harder to think why they wouldn't work or shouldn't go ahead. Some people will naturally feel threatened by ideas. They really shouldn't. Embrace them, challenge them, go with the flow - contribute.

There are many ways you can benefit the organisation you work for. I have an idea for re-structuring the team I work in and how they work to the better benefit of not just the team but the entire organization and how to assist in achieving its key objectives. It’s not my job role to do that but I’m going to put them forward as the colleague engagement at Bromford encourages you do that - how good is that? Very good I'll tell you.

At Bromford I feel I can do that – that, on the whole, my big size 12s are nimble enough not to tread on too many toes just by sharing an idea and it will be welcomed in the creative and well intentioned way it is meant.

Ok so I’m starting to move from evangelical to advertorial but it’s true. Every organisation can learn from what how Bromford is operating and every organisation can learn from each other.

So to the end of my advertorial/evangelical blog today.

I’ll write another blog soon - I'm off to talk my wife into moving to Hampton Lucy not Shenstone - wish me luck.

Leading housing association voice concerns over UK child poverty

Leading housing association voice concerns over UK child poverty

11^th October 2011

A leading UK housing association has voiced its concerns over reports from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) that child poverty in the UK is likely to exceed three million by 2013.

Bromford, a leading UK housing association, have responded to the IFS statistic that by 2013 one in four children in the UK could be living in poverty – the current Government target is one in ten. This would see a reversal of the trend in recent years that has seen a reduction in poverty amongst UK children and Bromford are concerned that such positive strides should not be undone.

Bromford’s executive director, Phillipa Jones explains: “The IFS have raised a valid concern. We invest in the communities we work in to build people's skills and capacity in line with the government's agenda that the route out of poverty should be work pay. This is the most effective way to reduce the number of children living in poverty.

“Every effort should be made to ensure that the implementation of any fiscal policy does not undo the advancements that have been made. Were we to see the projected figures of the IFS realised the UK would witness the highest rate of absolute child poverty since 2001 and the of relative child poverty since 1999.”

Bromford Support provides additional support to families helping them achieve their personal goals. In the last year over nine thousand people were supported in this way with a strong emphasis on reducing dependency and maximizing opportunities for training and work.

Wendy Stephens, Head of Bromford Support, echoed the concern: “The overwhelming majority of people we work with are in receipt of benefit and therefore already living on a very low income. The potential worsening of that situation would be catastrophic to the lives of many children and set up a cycle of deprivation that becomes hard to break.

“Last year nearly seventy percent of the people we supported were in difficulty with accrued debt and over fifty percent required assistance just to secure settled accommodation for them and their children.

“Everyday, support workers witness the reality of the low incomes our customers receive and the effects of child poverty with a need to access food parcels and grants etc just to get by. Any threat of an increase in child poverty must be urgently addressed by government.”

Bromford CEO replies to Prime Minister

Bromford CEO replies to Prime Minister

 

6^th October 2011

Mick Kent, CEO of housing group Bromford, has responded to prime minister David Cameron’s pledge this week to ‘inspire a new Tory housing revolution’ to tackle the faltering housing market.

 

The Prime Minister was speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. David Cameron spoke of how the Government are addressing the shortage of homes and the fall in the housing market brought on by the debt crisis.

 

Mick Kent, CEO of central England housing group Bromford, commented: “The Prime Minister has spoken of encouraging right to buy by increasing discounts and investing the sales proceeds to provide replacement homes for affordable renting. 

 

“We would want to be convinced that the numbers add up and that the money would be ring-fenced to replace each lost social housing home.  If that really can be achieved we would welcome this move to meet the housing needs and aspirations of existing and future residents. 

 

“The pledge to release publicly owned land for housing development along with the Homes and Communities Agency’s plans for facilitating this could be very significant in stimulating the housing market and we would urge the government to make a good proportion of this land available at a subsidized price to enable more affordable homes to be provided.”

 

The Bromford CEO also addressed David Cameron’s announced commitment to families, parenting, childcare and tackling the problems in society that led to the August riots.

 

Mick explained: “Bromford works with thousands of disadvantaged families and young people, helping them to realise their potential, improve their employment chances and contribute positively to their communities.”

 

“October is Supported Housing Month and many young people we are supporting are showcasing their achievements in a way that gives me great faith in the future of this country.  With the right support and encouragement our young people can be a force we should all be proud of.”

 

 To find out more about the services of Bromford visit www.bromfordgroup.co.uk or call 0330 1234 034.

Press release by Lee O'Hanlon

Developing a habit for winning awards

Developing a habit for winning awards

“It’s not just our homes that get a seal of approval,” declares home developer.

5th October 2011



A Bromford Developments Ltd (BDL) employee has scooped a prestigious construction award at a ceremony at Birmingham’s ICC.


Peter Hamon, site manager for BDL, has won a National House Building Council (NHBC) ‘Pride in the Job’ seal of excellence – his second award from the prominent housing body in the last two years.

Bromford construction manager Archie Haywood enthused: “This is a magnificent achievement for Peter and everyone at Bromford is thrilled for him. It’s great to see our people be recognised as highly as the developments they work on.

“Around 18,000 sites registered with NHBC are eligible yet only 130 seals of excellence are presented across the country so it is a hotly contested award.


“Peter is presently site manager at our new housing development, Priorsleap, at Priorslee Road in Telford. It is already clear that Peter is executing the management of that site to the highest standards also.”


The seal was bestowed on Peter at the end of September for the quality of the work and his professional standards at a Bromford housing development site at Church Road, Wrockwardine, Telford.

He was also honoured with a quality award in 2010 for his efforts on the Bromford Homes site at Love Lane, Cleobury Mortimer.


Peter is thrilled at the latest acknowledgement of his standards of work: “I only joined Bromford just over three years ago so I am very proud to receive two awards from the NHBC in that time.

Every effort is being made by the whole team involved in Priorsleap to ensure we execute the same exacting standards there.”


The judges score site managers on 38 activities including consistency of high standards, leadership, technical expertise through to standard of workmanship and the ability to skillfully interpret drawings and specifications.


To find out more about the award winning homes at Priorsleap and other Bromford housing developments visit www.bromfordhomes.co.uk or call 0845 6010 878.

Press release by Lee O'Hanlon