Bloggy Business Today

The image of a company in the community correlates with public relations.  It influences the company’s dealings with customers, employees, stockholders, and anybody else who may be affected by its presence.

An executive have a comparable image situation with a company.  The co-workers, subordinates, neighbors, customers and even casual acquaintances are the viewing public.  However these people are familiar with the executive only superficially.  Hence, the executive is also judged by these people based on perceptions which make all the difference in his personal and career life.

The following are tips on how an individual can work on improving public relations:

• Express personal views and conviction openly among the people in the organization.
• Show genuine interest and desire in handling problems and in overcoming obstacles.
• Be aware as to how personal image affects the subordinates as well as the superiors.
• Established a realistic personal career goal and venture on developing personal image to achieve set goals.
• Be creative and periodically present money-making and money saving ideas that will benefit the company.
• Clearly analyze personal skills and talents, use them appropriately and make these abilities known to everyone in the workplace.
• Work laboriously to be able to establish self as being a cooperative person in the workplace.
• Direct superiors must be made aware of personal goal that are realistic, reasonable and attainable.
• Do favors for people and perform services for others whenever the opportunity arises.
• Honestly and gladly welcome new responsibilities for personal and for the department.

In the 1991 film “Other People’s Money,” actor Danny DeVito plays a memorable role as “Larry The Liquidator,” a ruthlessly opportunistic corporate raider who threatens to take over the family owned New England Wire and Cable business.

As Larry is in the process of taking over Gregory Peck’s business at the stockholder’s meeting, the character delivers the following gem about losing market share in a shrinking market:

“You know, at one time there must’ve been dozens of companies making buggy whips. And I’ll bet the last company around was the one that made the best goddamn buggy whip you ever saw. Now how would you have liked to have been a stockholder in that company? You invested in a business and this business is dead. Lets have the intelligence, lets have the decency to sign the death certificate, collect the insurance, and invest in something with a future.”

To borrow DeVito’s example in “Other People’s Money,” the modern automobile supplied the death knell to the horse-and-buggy industry.

What will eventually replace your business? What technological advance will render your product or service obsolete?

It may feel strange to think about a point in time where your business, company or product is no longer useful, but it shouldn’t be. As a business owner, it’s extraordinarily useful to be able to project into the future, to try to read the tea leaves for your product and market.

With time and forethought, you can plan in advance for nearly any potential outcome. By thinking ahead, you can help your business evolve with the times. Instead of being the company that passes the torch to the next big thing, be the next big thing. Pass the torch to yourself.

[tags]buggy_whips, gregory_pecks, corporate_raider, cable_business, technological_advance, danny_devito, business_company, death_certificate, stockholder, business_owner, stockholders, market_share[/tags]