I love the Thanksgiving holiday, so in celebration of this special time I share the following thoughts of inspiration:
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Posted by Duane Hallock
As Thanksgiving Day approaches, I am reminded of the words of Melody Beattie who said, “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” With a profoundly grateful heart, I share the following 10 things for which I am thankful.
4 Comments | Life in General | Tagged: abundance, cancer survivor, career transition, family, friends, gratitude, health, health insurance, holidays, Job Search, marriage, medical coverage, networking, sabbatical, thankfulness, thanksgiving, unemployments | Permalink
Posted by Duane Hallock
My family and friends live life to its fullest. They are thankful for the abundance that surrounds them and they articulate their thankfulness in countless ways. Often they simply say, “Thank you!” Sometimes they send handwritten notes or e-mails expressing their gratitude. Occasionally I’ve been given a Starbucks gift card in appreciation of a special favor.
Almost everyone I encounter has a special way of saying thanks.
On rare occasions, however, I encounter someone who falls short, someone who fails to express gratitude. Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | Life in General | Tagged: abundance, gratitude, mindfulness, Red Cross, thanksgiving, United Way | Permalink
Posted by Duane Hallock
The mission of my marketing department, as described in a previous post, is to 1) build interactive relationships, 2) increase community support and 3) generate revenue. How do we actually do that?
My marketing team here at the American Red Cross accomplishes its work in these three steps: Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | Marketing & Strategy | Tagged: 2.0, communications, Facebook, Google, mission, mission statement, personal mission, publications, Red Cross, social media, TweetDeck | Permalink
Posted by Duane Hallock
As a marketing professional, I often ask myself why my organization needs marketing. Why does my marketing department exist? What impact do we really have?
Sometimes I think it would be fun to remake the classic movie A Wonderful Life so we could see what the world would look like had we never come into existence. What would the company look like if marketing never appeared on the organization chart? What would be lost if my marketing group “went out of business?”
Leave a Comment » | Marketing & Strategy | Tagged: 2.0, fundraising, marketing, mission, mission statement, nonprofit marketing, Red Cross, revenue | Permalink
Posted by Duane Hallock
I think committees are a colossal waste of time. Too often they focus on process rather than impact. The typical agenda emphasizes “coloring within the lines” rather than creating collaboration. Attendees are probably there because they are required to be, not because they necessarily have something to contribute.
Over time, a committee tends to take on a life of its own. It creates work to perpetuate its existence. It looks for problems to solve in areas where problems didn’t exist until they were created by problem-solving committee members.
When I’ve chaired committees I’ve often struggled to understand why the committee was originally created and why it continues to exist. I’ve been a member of committees where I was able to catch up on my reading while held hostage by PowerPoint presentations intended to torture me with a meaningless dump of information. As a nonprofit leader, I’ve staffed numerous committees where I wondered how to best use the time of busy volunteers who thought committee work was a good way to be engaged in a worthwhile cause.
Leave a Comment » | Marketing & Strategy | Tagged: agenda, collaboration, committees, PowerPoint, problem solving, synergy, task forces, vision, volunteers | Permalink
Posted by Duane Hallock
In these strange economic times, too many good people are unemployed. I’m grateful for my job, yet I know there’s no such thing as complete job security. This is a scary time, yet I fear something more frightful than unemployment.
I’m afraid of obsolescence—becoming obsolete, irrelevant and dispensable.
Every employee, every worker and every professional has an expiration date (and I don’t mean a date with death). Like milk in the grocery store, everyone has a “Best If Used By…” label. Everyone has a skill set, a knowledge base or a network of contacts that will be outdated very quickly in today’s fast-paced world. No one buys sours milk, no matter how fresh it once tasted. Neither do employers hire or retain obsolete workers, no matter how productive they once were.
2 Comments | Life in General, Life's Transitions, Marketing Oneself | Tagged: blogs, Chris Brogan, Job Search, job security, mentors, new media, podcasts, Seth Godin, social media, strategy, Susan Bratton, traditional media, unemployment | Permalink
Posted by Duane Hallock
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I communicate with passion and purpose to inspire those searching for beauty and truth.
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