http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?prod_abbv=vital Just another WordPress weblog Wed, 22 May 2013 14:47:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A couple of years ago I wrote "Murray's Manifesto," which claimed that the only thing employees want to know from the CEO and other top execs is: They want to know what kind of people they are working for. Let me repeat: They want to know what kind of people they are ... http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=715&prod_abbv=vital PR legend Jack Felton died last Saturday at 84. You know what I remember about Felton? Exactly everything he wanted me to take away from our only meeting. In a warm and enthusiastic way, he was talking about the importance of communication. He had a glass of water at the lectern ... http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=712&prod_abbv=vital Nelson Algren wrote about a guy who made money up and down Chicago's Division Street by finding lost dogs and collecting rewards. Sounds pretty labor intensive until you understand that he was the one who stole the dogs in the first place. Is that what your job seems like sometimes? Stealin' ... http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=711&prod_abbv=vital I offer this to prime the pump for a request. For a piece I'd like to compile here, please send any videos you have of truly terrible speeches to vseditor at mcmurry dot com. —DM http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=710&prod_abbv=vital At a conference last week, they had an enormous screen where could be seen all the live Tweets about the conference. The well-paid keynoter offered a stultifying list of loosely-related facts and quips designed to show the audience how knowledgeable the speaker was but to leave the audience both dumb and ... http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=709&prod_abbv=vital "So, four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent an amazing new nation, right?, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are at some level created, sort of, equal." (Click on the links to be reminded of my mild objections to these ... http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=706&prod_abbv=vital A computerized voice describes the speechwriter's job in this You Tube version of the speechwriter entry on Wikipedia, and unintentional hilarity ensues. (Or is it just me?) —DM http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=702&prod_abbv=vital Last week, I received a message on LinkedIn: "The speech is for a mobile payments industry audience; looking for something 'visionary,' however. ... We are working on an extremely tight timeline—a week." —DM http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=700&prod_abbv=vital A job listing this week issued from the firm managed by veteran headhunter Smooch Repovich Reynolds (yes, her real name) included this sentence: "the talent who will be considered for this role must have a proven track record working with CEOs and senior management team members working across all executive ... http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=699&prod_abbv=vital Viewer discretion advised, as this message is delivered with suitable profanity. —DM http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=698&prod_abbv=vital