Gilchrist Group Founder/CEO Pamela Gilchrist will serve on a leadership panel at the first Live2Lead Global2Local event being held in Northern Kentucky on Friday, October 8th. The Pivot To Progress discussion will guide leaders in a conversation about how to navigate change from Covid-19 to new talent recruitment and business pressures. Learn more at www.live2leadnky.com
Author, Speaker and Business Leader Pamela Gilchrist will be a featured speaker at the NKY Chamber It’s Time to Take the Lead Women’s Leadership Summit on June 29, 2016 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.
Gilchrist, known for Optimizing Outcomes™ for business and leaders will present “Fast Fixes To Ditch Team Dysfunction.” This popular session focuses on why people click or conflict and what you can do about it. As a Certified Personality Style Trainer, Gilchrist will reveal nine universal personality types and provide life hacks for building effective relationships with each style in the workplace.
“You will gain insights on popular figures from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to Prince and Oprah Winfrey that will help you easily identify personality patterns,” Gilchrist said. “Whether you’re frustrated by constant correctors, pleasers, competitors, naval gazers or dreamers, my fun, energetic session takes the top off of the box of life and gives you the instructions.”
Nearly 500 women are expected to attend this inaugural conference for the Regional Women’s Summit, hosted by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Women’s Initiative. Speakers will inspire and educate, promising substantial take a-ways to bring back to the office. The conference is designed for young professionals, mid and senior career women, those contemplating second careers, and entrepreneurs. Learn how to become an effective professional and acquire the skills you need to ascend to the next level of your career. Register at: www.nkychamber.com.
A former Fortune 500 insider, Gilchrist is founder and chief strategist at the Gilchrist Group, a management consulting, marketing and training firm. A sought-after speaker for conferences and industry events, she also confidentially coaches leaders on personal branding, C-Suite communications, key messaging, executive presence, speech development and platform stagecraft. For more than 25 years, she has studied and applied behavioral communications methods that achieve proven results in marketing/communications and personal development.
Featured in the New York Times Best Selling Chicken Soup For The Soul, she is past president of the National Speakers Association Ohio Chapter, an Accredited (APR) member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and member of its prestigious Counselors Academy. A Michigan native, Gilchrist holds a master’s degree from The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, and is a certified personality type trainer through Loyola University Institute of Pastoral Studies in Chicago.
Pam Gilchrist Wins Top Award For Brand Management
Pam received the award for her work on law firm Strauss Troy’s brand management video: “Brand Storytelling Through Client Testimonials.”
“The goal of the project was to be client centric, to let our clients tell the story through their own eyes and share how our attorneys have helped their businesses grow,” Gilchrist said. “In professional services, especially the legal industry, brand differentiation is a critical. While referral still plays an important role, 75% of pre-purchase decisions are made after verification online at a firm’s website, on Google or You Tube. This new digital asset will further distinguish Strauss Troy as the firm of choice for businesses in the region.”
Judges Comments Included:
Pam is Chief Strategist at the Gilchrist Group and also serves as Director of Marketing for Strauss Troy. She holds Universal Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), is a member of the prestigious PRSA Counselors Academy and has held numerous national and local leadership positions in the organization throughout her career. She earned her master’s degree from The Ohio State University and bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University. Her work has also won top honors from the International Public Relations Association, as well as numerous national, district and local awards. Her experience includes work inside three Fortune 500 companies, as well as serving as an account executive at a regional ad/pr agency a.
The East Central District is comprised of 16 chapters of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), concentrated in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Western and Northwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. The District’s 37th Annual Diamond Awards competition recognizes shining examples of public relations campaigns and tactics.
Are you a sachkan neshama (Hebrew: soul player)? Great entrepreneurs put their whole hearts into their venture.
In her article “How to know when to leave your job and start your own company,” Business Journals Contributing Writer Dana Manciagli got great advice from Nir Polak, CEO and co-founder of Exabeam, an emerging big data security analytics company, on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. http://bit.ly/sachkan-neshama
If you are an entrepreneur, or are considering it, you know it’s not for the faint at heart. Be a soul player — and go all in!
The Howard Hughes International Airport has a new tenant. You Tube.
You Tube Hollywood hopes to up the anti on quality content as creatives and marketers flock to the new space.
“Today anyone can easily create video, however, not everyone can create high-quality, relevant, interesting video,” said Pamela Gilchrist, Chief Strategist at Gilchrist Group. “I hope the new facility provides marketers with an opportunity to explore new tools and techniques.”
“Next month YouTube will begin to extend the invitation to brands, a handful at first and up to 100 by the end of 2014 (and will open up an East Coast counterpart in downtown Manhattan next year). The idea is to improve the quality of marketers’ YouTube content and indirectly play matchmaker between those marketers and YouTube’s creators who flit in and out of the production facility…The idea is to improve the quality of marketers’ YouTube content and indirectly play matchmaker between those marketers and YouTube’s creators who flit in and out of the production facility,” wrote Ad Age’s Tim Peterson in the August 2, 2013 article.
YouTube Pro Series is a new monthly talk-show-slash-how-to-session for YouTube creators to talk business. The series co-producers can explain it better.
By, Pamela Gilchrist, MA, APR, CPT
Author | Speaker | Strategist
Why reinvent yourself?
Sometimes you change. Sometimes the world changes around you. This constant change requires both being adaptable and resilient. As we go through this metamorphosis, like a caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly, we find the need to reinvent ourselves.
Reinvention is not just a renewing or refocusing internally. Most likely, it will lead to a change in our external manifestation – or personal brand.
You likely put a fair amount of mind time, money and effort into how you look and interact in the world around you. What you may not realize, however, is that our personal brand isn’t so much about who we say we are, as it is about who others say we are.
It’s worthwhile to take an intentional look at how others perceive you. Ask yourself three questions:
Editing our updating your personal brand, doesn’t mean that have to change your values, foundational character or personality. Instead, think of it as putting your best foot forward on the path you want to take.
Powerful leaders understand that they need to shed what’s not working for them, and adapt their style to new environments. When I coach leaders on executive presence, we talk at length about sending the right signals to the right people to move strategies ahead.
The more evolved leaders that I have worked with over the years intuitively understand that they do not need to fear revealing their true-selves. Authenticity and transparency serve them well and give them added credibility. On the other hand, leaders who are insecure or afraid often feel the need to mask their truth and present a persona that is delinked from their inner-self.
Integrated leaders, those whose insides match their outsides, have the law of attraction on their side. They naturally draw other positive people into their circle. People want to be around them, and want to be a part of everything they have going on.
As a powerful woman with a purpose, it’s important to periodically evaluate the need for reinvention, in your life, your career and with your personal brand.
A frequently requested speaker, Pamela Gilchrist is chief strategist at Gilchrist Group a consulting firm that works with leaders and their organizations on executive development, strategic thinking and high-impact branded communication. She will share ideas for your own personal brand reinvention at the Up Woman Circle, February 1, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. To learn more about Pam and book her to speak at your next event visit www.pamgilchrist.com follow her @pamgilchrist
“Executives often fail to recognize that delivering high quality is not enough to gain a marketplace advantage; there must be a perception among customers that high quality exists.“
David Aaker, professor of marketing at Berkeley
I ran across this quote from Aaker in an article on Reputation Management by Gary North. North was specifically talking about how Maytag went down the drain in a matter of months by squandering brand loyalty with shoddy products. But Aaker’s point is timeless — Don’t hide your light under a bushel basket.
How many great organizations do phenomenal work and always go the extra mile for their customers — but nobody knows? They forgot to tell their story in a compelling way to the marketplace.
If your company fits this category, here’s what you need to know.
The marketplace must “perceive” value. That’s why I trademarked the phrase: “Perception Is the Reality we manage™.” Before a perception can even be formed, however, you’ve got to be on your target market’s radar.
There is still tremendous client loyalty for great brands. In today’s hurried, over-produced world, however, they won’t tell your story unless you make it easy for them to do so.
The best way to do this is a little “prepackaging” of your message.
It starts internally. Do you know your unique selling proposition? Are your executive team members, board, employees and shareholders clear on your organization’s key strengths, messaging and go-to-market strategy?
In a survey of corporate employees, 95% said they did not know or understand the strategy for their organization. Shocking? Maybe. What this tells me, is we have work to do.
Employees are your chief brand ambassadors. If they aren’t clear on your message — you can’t expect anyone else to be either.
Let’s also take a look at your client or customer base. Do you regularly communicate with them in an engaging manner? Not to SELL anything — but to connect? Have you shared an insight or article with them? Have you reached out to them and shared your organization’s latest successes and tied those successes to a discreet customer benefit?
Marketplace advantage is achieved not only by maintaining high-quality products and services, but also by shaping perception in the marketplace.
Traditional advertising has a place in building awareness, but that’s shrinking dramatically. Brand ambassadors and some genuine fact-based earned buzz, will build your base and help expand your reach to new customers who are ready for a test-drive.
To read the full article on how Maytag, Dell, Schlitz and other organizations suffered from slips in quality and reputation go to: http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north579.html
Pam Gilchrist Celebrates Winning Three 2012 PRSA Blacksmith Awards With Strauss Troy’s Lucy McCormack (l) and Richard Colvin (r)
Leadership communications strategist Pamela Gilchrist earned a top Blacksmith award and two silver awards from the Public Relations Society of America Cincinnati Chapter for her work with law firm Strauss Troy Co., LPA.
Gilchrist earned awards for her brand identity research for the law firm’s recent rebranding initiative, the brand announcement news release and corresponding media placements. The Blacksmith entries were judged by a panel of independent judges from the Orange County, California PRSA Chapter.
Judges comments on the brand research included: “The research was excellent with solid outcomes. Beautiful graphics. Excellent results. This could not have been an easy task.” With one judge giving the work a rare perfect score of 100.
Additionally judges comments on the news release and resulting news placement on the front of the Sunday Business section of the Cincinnati Enquirer were: “Very comprehensive release touched on all aspects of the firm’s culture and purpose.” And, “Excellent placement…the company leaders should be very pleased.”
The research methodologies Gilchrist used included quantitative research, benchmarking, industry trends analysis and qualitative research to build a research-based brand platform and gain shareholder buy-in.
“Pam is a tremendous asset and this award is confirmation of the quality services that she provides. As we continue on our aggressive growth path, her leadership in cultivating opportunities that have big impact will continue to be invaluable. These awards are validation of this work,” said Attorney C. Richard Colvin, chair of Strauss Troy’s marketing committee.
“As we looked to the future, it was essential that we better align our brand with both our high-quality heritage and our penchant for providing personalized innovative solutions,” said Strauss Troy President James G. Heldman. “The branding work that Pam Gilchrist has done has really upped the firm’s game.”
About Pamela Gilchrist
Nationally recognized author and speaker Pamela Gilchrist, MA, APR, CPT, is chief strategist at the Gilchrist Group®. She optimizes outcomes to close the gap between strategy and success. Her work focuses on breakthrough business strategies, change leadership and high-impact communications.
Gilchrist has held top leadership communications posts inside three Fortune 500 companies and has consulted with organizations across the country to guide executives through a myriad of change initiatives, mergers and acquisitions and growth strategies.
She is president-elect of the National Speakers Association Ohio Chapter where she was recently named 2012 Member-of-the-Year and is also is featured in their new marketing strategies book: Speak More! Gilchrist is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) where she is a member of the Counselor’s Academy and has earned PR Professional-of-the-Year, Best in Show and many top honors including the Golden World Trophy from the International Public Relations Association (IPRA). Pam has earned top honors from Bulldog Reporter and has presented her Expert Influence™ Academy program at its national conference. Gilchrist holds a master’s degree from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s from Western Michigan University.
About Strauss Troy
Since its founding in 1953, Strauss Troy has stood apart from the competition by providing the highest-quality legal services in the most personalized, prompt and economical manner possible. As a full-service law firm, Strauss Troy has diverse expertise and a history of proven success. No matter what issue you face, the firm has the right professionals, working together as a team, to get you the answers you need quickly and affordably. Learn more at www.strausstroy.com.
Strauss Troy’s areas of practice include: Corporate | Business, Criminal | White Collar Defense, Domestic Relations | Family Law , Labor | Employment, Litigation, Municipal | Government, Real Estate | Finance, Tax Planning | Compliance and Trust | Estate Planning.
Strauss Troy is recognized as a leading law firm in the Greater Cincinnati | Northern Kentucky region and is a Martindale-Hubbell Top Ranked Law Firm™ in Fortune Magazine. The firm is recognized as a U.S. News & World Report Best® Law Firm, and many of its attorneys are honored as peer-rated Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Attorneys, Best Lawyers® in America, Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars. The firm is also listed as a top law firm by the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Enjoyed sharing personal branding strategies at NSA Ohio this weekend. We all have a brand, whether we know it or not. So be intentional. Image-crafting matters. As Bill Stainton said, you never know when a client or prospect is near. He was traveling on an airplane, reviewing his notes for a speech, when the woman sitting next to him said “You must be our speaker!”
While there is no doubt that Penney’s needed change to stay competitive — was his radical reinvention strategy just too radical? Was it a “communications problem?”
“Improvement merely lets you hit your numbers. Creativity is what transforms,” said Johnson in a March 2012 Fortune article about his coming out party.
In my nearly 30 years of experience working with companies big and small, this statement is true. And working with an organization in the midst of transformation can be exciting. But, retraining behavior is extraordinarily difficult.
From a business standpoint, you have to have enough financial runway and latitude to drive a new strategy forward long-enough for stickiness. (JCP didn’t.) From an emotional intelligence standpoint, that stickiness and new behavior can be incredibly tough to achieve — after generations of conditioning a set of shopping behaviors. (There was little communication on what specific actions JCP wanted customers take. And no sales, meant no call to action or motivation to “buy now.”)
JCP forgot something incredibly important — ASK YOUR CUSTOMER. (What do you want and how do you want it? Then, market-test the heck out of the concept to see if their buying behavior matches their wish list before launch.)
People like to feel like they are getting a deal. It’s psychological. It’s shopping 101. By competing on price, JCP had to make an incredibly clear and compelling case to the consumer. It didn’t. It’s a major fail whale.
And while I love beautiful marketing pieces, all of JCP’s environmental, scene driven photography didn’t sell one blender. Why? Because there was no compelling copy to describe the item, no customer benefit and no clear pricing.
Another multimillion dollar marketing mistake.
Customers are dropping like flies and credibility is gone. It will be a long-climb for JCP to recoup its losses.
Date: Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 5:30am CDT
After J.C. Penney cut 350 employees from its Plano headquarters Tuesday, retail analysts said they are unsure how the company can continue to follow through with its transformation strategy. One analyst even said it was time for CEO Ron Johnson to leave.
“The next step is the CEO has to go, I guess,” said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York-based Davidowitz & Associates, a retail consulting and investment-banking firm. “Because if it stays like this, the question will be, ‘What credibility does he have to do anything?’ He will have lost all credibility.”
Davidowitz has previously made his position on the J.C. Penney transformation clear, saying Johnson “caused incalculable damage” to the department store chain.
Other retail experts expressed more optimism about J.C. Penney’s plans, even as they said they were uncertain about the company’s turnaround.
“It is probably more of the same as they try to reduce their cost, but they are under a ton of pressure,” said Dwight Hill, managing partner at the Plano-based The Retail Advisory. “I am still fairly bullish about their strategy, but I’m not sure Wall Street is going to be patient enough for them to continue to go down this path.”
J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) said Tuesday’s job cuts were part of the company’s plan to cut $900 million in annual expenses by the end of 2012. J.C. Penney executives declined requests for an interview.
The company needs to do a better job of communicating that the layoffs are part of a “multi-stage turnaround process,” Hill said.
“With sales dropping as they are, they have an even greater need to reduce this SG&A cost,” Hill said.
The drop in sales is mainly due to the lack of coupons, Davidowitz and Hill agreed.
“They’ve begun to realize the coupon and sales addiction probably runs far and deep,” Hill said. “And customers don’t want to go cold turkey.”
Davidowitz didn’t offer many solutions for J.C. Penney, saying, “I’d have to spend months figuring out what to do because the mess is so deep.” He still can’t believe that J.C. Penney would abandon its core customer so quickly in order to test a new pricing and marketing strategy.
“People in retailing fight for decades to get market share,” Davidowitz said. “And here’s the reason, because it costs a fortune to get a new customer. You advertise, you spend a fortune to get a new footstep to give you a chance. It’s what retailers work on every day, ‘Let’s try to get this customer to give us a little opportunity.'”
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/blog/morning_call/2012/07/jc-penney-analyst-the-ceo-has-to-go.html?s=print
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