Will You Realize Your Vision in 2017?

by Frank L. Williams At its heart, leadership is about two things: vision and influence. As a leader, you are charged with leveraging your influence to rally your team around a positive vision for your organization’s future.  First, let’s discuss influence. Influence is not about your position or title. It’s not about where you sit…

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15 Years? Hard to Believe!

Yesterday, we held a ribbon-cutting to celebrate 15 years in business. It’s hard for me to believe that much time has passed since I started Pioneer Strategies. On the one hand, it seems like it was yesterday. On the other hand, it’s almost like I don’t remember ever doing anything else.  Our first client in…

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Planning for PR Impact: The Right Tools for Your Strategy

by Frank L. Williams In last month’s article, I continued my series on Planning for Impact by discussing how to identify strategies to achieve your desired outcomes. As a refresher, planning for impact means that, instead of starting with desired outputs such as sending a certain number of press releases or posting a certain number…

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Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru social media clinic

Last week, I decided to grab lunch at the Chick-fil-A drive-thru on Oleander Drive in Wilmington. When I arrived, I noticed that they were doing something I’ve seen them do a few times: Chick-fil-A team members were standing outside, personally greeting customers and taking orders. I’ve always thought this was a nice touch, so on…

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Planning for PR Impact: Identifying Strategies

by Frank L. Williams In last month’s article, I continued my series on Planning for Impact by discussing the importance of defining your desired outcomes. Planning for impact means that, instead of starting with desired outputs such as sending a certain number of press releases or posting a certain number of items on Facebook, you should begin…

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Taking Time to Recharge

by Frank L. Williams In today’s hectic business climate, it can be all too easy to spend so much time at work that you burn yourself out. I don’t just mean physically being at work. If you’re away from the office, but still mentally immersed in every little detail of your job, you are essentially…

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Planning for PR Impact: Defining Your Desired Outcomes

by Frank Williams In my most recent article, I discussed the importance of planning for impact.  By this I mean that instead of starting with desired outputs, such as sending a certain number of press releases or posting a certain number of items on Facebook, you should begin by discussing your desired outcomes.  Put another way,…

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Planning for Impact

by Frank Williams Over the years, I’ve heard clients and colleagues offer a number of reasons why they want to engage in a public relations or marketing communication campaign. When I ask about their goals, the responses often center on outputs like sending a certain number of press releases, posting a certain number of items…

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What is your Focus?

by Frank L. Williams It has been said that ‘if you chase two rabbits, both will escape.” Like many of you, my inner entrepreneur naturally wants to test out any new idea or seemingly good business opportunity that comes along. This could apply to taking on a potential project that is out of our wheelhouse…

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Public Relations: A Strategic Cornerstone, Not an Afterthought

by Frank L. Williams In last month’s column I focused on the fact that public relations should be a leadership function within an organization. The prior month’s column sought to dispel a few misconceptions about PR. Today’s column will further connect the dots between those two issues by touching on a common misconception many organizational…

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