Whether implementing a new organizational strategy, initiating a pivotal project, or simply nurturing a team, success in today’s world requires much more than traditional management competence. It takes leadership!

Our January program, led by Roger M. Ingbretsen, a coaching and organizational consultant with three decades of leadership experience, will focus on professional development with a presentation on "Exemplary Leadership: Developing your Reputational Capital." Ingbretsen’s presentation will cover a series of tools for helping public relations professionals take responsibility for their own professional PR.

Ingbretsen recently launched his own leadership and organizational consulting business building on a successful career in operational and leadership positions in the military and in business. Most recently, he served as director of executive development for Itron, Inc., where he is credited with "raising the bar" for the successful company’s leadership team.

Ingbretsen has a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University and a dual undergraduate degree in economics and business administration from Park University, as well as 1,500 certified hours of training in technical disciplines. He has published more than forty articles, numerous white papers and two books, including the recently released "Personal Knowledge to Shape Your Future."

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It’s the Evaluation, Stupid!

I just read a news story indicating that Washington State’s unemployment numbers dropped slightly for the second month in a row but still are significantly higher than the national average. This article follows several others I’ve read about the so-called jobless economic recovery. Even as the GDP and stock markets creep north, employment is stalled. And the economists don’t expect things to rev up anytime soon.

What does it mean? In a nutshell, if you’re fortunate enough to still be employed, you have probably inherited the work of others and aren’t going to get relief in the near future. And if you’ve been laid off, it’s not going to get any easier to find a new job.

This makes it all the more important that public relations professionals evaluate their work against the strategic goals of their organizations and against the bottom line, even if that is expressed in non-financial terms. To that end, our Feb. 6 SPRC workshop will be devoted to giving communications professionals the qualitative and quantitative tools to measure the effectiveness of their efforts.

Our nationally-recognized speaker, Katie Delahaye Paine, has worked with some of the largest and most respected companies in the country, lectures at public relations conferences around the world and is the founding publisher of The Measurement Standard, the first newsletter for marketing and public relations professionals dedicated entirely to measurement and accountability. You can read more about Paine and the workshop elsewhere in this newsletter.

But something said by our December speaker, Bob Sevier, sticks out to me as a necessary precursor to thinking about evaluation. In order to assess whether your work is valuable, or even necessary, to the success of your organization, you need from your leader some clear direction expressed in terms of target audiences or markets, strategic goals and desired outcomes. Bob said that "it’s really, really expensive to be vague about vision and goals." We probably feel that pinch when we can’t defend ourselves against a budget or staffing cut and then, after the cut, keep doing most of what we’ve always done because we don’t know what we can afford to stop.

If you find yourself in that situation, and I know I’ve been there, maybe you can be more proactive about helping your organization clarify its vision, goals and desired outcomes in the form of a strategic plan. In addition to helping you organize and prioritize your work, being the strategic planning champion may strengthen your position within the organization. Preview our January program, it’s good PR for the PR professional.

And I’ve yet to meet a CEO who doesn’t appreciate seeing how inputs (budget dollars, staff, etc.) translate into desired outcomes. So make plans to attend the January 9 meeting and the Feb. 6 SPRC workshop and develop the tools you need to connect yourself to your organization’s bottom line. Then, if your boss ever asks why your operation matters, you can say, "it’s the evaluation, stupid."

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Shawn Shukle, Advertising Events & Coop Coordinator, The Spokesman-Review

Dana Anderson, Senior Manager, Customer Solutions, Avista Utilities

Jill Strait, Student, Gonzaga University

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Need An Intern?

Wanted: Two organizations willing to mentor a student working part-time, maximum of 30 hours per week for ten weeks, on a project or projects related to public relations (this includes skills related to advertising, journalism, broadcasting and marketing).  The intern will be paid a $1500 stipend by SPRC. Deadline is February 13, 2004. Click below for the application!

http://www.spokaneprcouncil.org/documents/03-04_Host_App.pdf

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Nationally Recognized Speaker to Lead Feb. 6 Workshop on PR Evaluation

With budgets tight and staffs stretched thin, it has never been more important to evaluate whether our public relations efforts are effectively delivering on what we promise and advancing the strategic goals of our organizations.

But public relations evaluation really isn’t, or shouldn’t be, anything new. Katie Delahaye Paine, founder of KDPaine & Partners LLC and publisher of the Measurement Standard, the first newsletter for marketing and public relations professionals dedicated entirely to measurement and accountability, has been successfully making the case for PR evaluation for 17 years to some of the largest and most successful businesses in the country. And Paine will share her expertise, data and tools on PR evaluation in the 2004 SPRC workshop, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at the Gonzaga University Law School. The workshop is free to SPRC members and only $25 for non-members.

Prior to founding her own consulting business, Paine was the director of corporate communications for Lotus Development Corporation and manager of merchandising for Hewlett-Packard Personal Computer Group. She works with some of the world’s most admired companies including Raytheon, JP Morgan Chase and Visa. Most recently her endeavors have been focused on providing cost effective measurement programs for non-profits, small businesses and government agencies.

Paine was an initial founder of the Institute for Public Relations special commission on measurement and evaluation. She served as the U.S. liaison to the European Standards Task Force to set international standards for media evaluation. She writes a monthly column for PR News and is a regular contributor to many other publications. An accomplished speaker, Paine frequently lectures to conferences and universities including The Conference Board, Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators, Institute for International Research and the PR Executive Forum.

Additional details about registration will be forthcoming, but please mark your calendars now to attend the Feb. 6 SPRC workshop.

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Palm Pilots, Planners and Pens Ready?

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Desautel Hege Communications is pleased to announce a new addition to the team and three promotions designed to position the firm for growth now and into the future.

Cher Desautel is now the President and chief executive officer of Desautel Hege Communications with responsibilities ranging from company planning to financial operations. Desautel’s communications background spans multiple industries. Before becoming a partner in 1997, she served as the vice president of communications for Medical Service Corporation of Eastern Washington (MSC) for 10 years. She holds a Master of Science in Communication from Eastern Washington University and is accredited in public relations through the Public Relations Society of America.

Michelle Hege will serve as the chief operating officer, focusing on the design and oversight of daily operations, account management and business development. Before joining the firm in 1998, Hege was a communications administrator for MSC. Hege holds a Master of Science in Communication from Eastern Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts from Whitman College. She is accredited in public relations through the Public Relations Society of America.

Sara Johnston was promoted to vice president. Johnston’s role is to enhance company performance through the management of efficient flow of client work through the agency, from initial proposal to final results. With more than five years as part of the Desautel Hege Communications team, her experience spans multiple industries and diverse projects. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications/Public Relations from Eastern Washington University.

Mary Jane Brukardt recently joined the firm as an account manager. Her 20 years of experience and extensive background in healthcare, high-tech, and higher education will add to the firm’s growing expertise. Brukardt also brings strong organizational and strategic thinking skills to every challenge. Her award-winning efforts include speech writing, web-site and e-communication support, print publications and annual reports. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and is currently enrolled in the Executive Masters Program in Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Founded in 1996, Desautel Hege Communications provides a full spectrum of public relations, public affairs and marketing services to clients throughout the Northwest. The firm was recently named as one of the 50 largest minority and women owned business enterprises in Washington by the University of Washington Business School in conjunction with the Puget Sound Business Journal.

The recipient of the 2001 Best of Silver Anvil Award from PRSA and the 1999 Dussault Award for excellence in public relations, DHC emphasizes strategic analysis, planning, implementation, training and program evaluation. The firm’s 12 employees serve clients in a variety of sectors, including governmental, tribal, environmental, technology, energy, non-profit and health care.

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Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.

Rudyard Kipling

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