Shannon's thoughts on marketing, public relations, social technology, entrepreneurship and other things

Microsoft’s BHAG: A computer on every desk and in every home.
Google’s BHAG: Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

What is your Big Hairy Audacious Goal? Do you want to…

• Be the keynote speaker at an international conference? 
• Have 40-50 employees and clients from the Atlantic to the Pacific? 
• Get your doctorate and be a tenured professor? 
• Start a non-profit, foundation or be a philanthropist? 
• Own a 120-unit apartment building? 
• Be an elected official? 

So often businesses expend a lot of resources to develop their "vision.” You hire consultants and coaches and you go on retreats and attend seminars, and usually the answer is right in front of you all along … you simply forgot it.

Think back to when you first had the idea for your business, before you launched, before you registered for your L.L.C., even before you secured the domain. Go all the way back, when you dared to share the idea with a girlfriend, sister, Mother or spouse. In the midst of the excitement about your new adventure, you had the arrogance, foresight and courage to utter your BHAG. Do you remember? Are you still on track to achieve it or has the day-to-day of doing business clouded the vision for your business?

Here are some simple steps to keep your BHAG alive:

1. Write it down – it does not exist if it it is not written down. 
2. Post it – put it somewhere you can see it everyday and multiple times a day. 
3. Speak it – repeat it to yourself out loud several times a day. 
4. Track progress – acknowledge the small steps to achieving to your BHAG. 
5. Move it, move it, move it – your BHAG won’t accomplish itself. 

From the proverbial horses mouth, Jim Collins, BHAG co-creator on How can you tell if you have a good BHAG? (video)

Shonali, let’s begin at the beginning, what is your story?
I started my professional career as an actress.

Huh, what, you’re an actress? Who knew?
Yes, I earned my bachelor’s degree in economics and then completed a three-year program from the National School of Drama in New Delhi. I was an actress and director in India. I did mostly theater, but also some television and radio; my acting name was Shonali Ghosh. I began helping people with their public relations needs, which led me to start a business in event management and PR before I moved to the US.

[the author’s mouth hangs open as Shonali continues]

I moved to the US in 2000 after marrying an American, and he was very keen that I continue my acting career. But frankly, I’d been in the throes of the whole “drama thing” for so long, and I didn’t want to have to start at the bottom all over again in the States. Since I had some experience of PR, I started networking and found a job with a boutique PR agency in San Francisco, where we were living at the time. That was actually a terrific fit, because at the time, the agency did a lot of PR & marketing for Bay Area engagements of Broadway shows…so, in a way, I was still getting my theater “fix.” The rest is history as they say.

Now, having worked at small and large agencies, as well as in-house, I consider myself a PR agency of one. I’m not your typical agency, though, focusing solely or primarily on media relations. I like to work with individuals and organizations on their overall communication strategies.

Nugget of knowledge: My goal is to get them to understand how good communications can help them solve problems.

How have you been able to capitalize on your acting training and experience to help organizations with their communications?
Excellent question. First, part of acting is reacting, listening to your fellow cast members and reacting to them, this is where magic happens. To become a good actress, you have to listen with your eyes and your body. You have to pay attention and react to your audience as well because their reactions are not predictable. My training taught me how to be a good listener, and in turn, I’d like to think I help organizations become better listeners. Second, I learned to understand body language, which is an invaluable skill. Our tweets have body language. Word choice, capitalization, grammar and so on, comprise the body language of our tweets. Finally, I learned to project, not just my voice, but my energy. I leaned how to interact with an audience and bring them into the story we were telling.

Nugget of knowledge: This is key for organizations, as they have to capture and hold an audience’s attention with stories about products and services. It’s about my clients first, not me.

How did you begin your virtual life?
I began slowly with Twitter. I followed people I knew and respected in real life. My “tipping point” came after the terrorist attack in Mumbai, where I was anxiously trying to find out how my friends and family were. When the attacks started, there was nothing on TV here in the US. So I found news feeds from Indian television online and started sharing what I was seeing, or “secondary reporting” via tweets. I became immersed in it over those days; I remember it was Thanksgiving, and I pretty much spent it in front of my laptop and then the TV, when they started reporting on it here. And as you know, once you start, you can’t stop. Twitter is tough to understand until you actually do it. It was my comfort level with Twitter that led to my blogging.

Speaking of which, your blog is Waxing UnLyrical, how do you maintain it with everything else you’re involved in?*
It is difficult to get one’s head around blogging if one hasn’t done it before, and I’m trying to get better at it. I was hesitant at first, thinking like a lot of beginner bloggers, “why would anyone want to read my blog?” But as I got comfortable on Twitter, I realized that I often wanted to share opinions that needed more than 140 characters, and felt more and more compelled to turn to the medium. I jumped in at the start of 2009 and am trying to find ways to make it engaging, entertaining and enjoyable.

One advantage is that it’s a personal blog, so I write about whatever I want. Initially, I took this all over the place, even sharing recipes that I developed (I love to cook), but as I’ve been reading and learning more—I subscribe to quite a variety of different blogs to see what I can learn from them—I’m trying to focus it more and more on PR, social media and related topics. But there’s still a personal voice, I think, which I would not want to let go of, if I can help it. The other thing I’ve started doing recently is bringing on regular guest bloggers. This helps with the regularity of content and it also helps keep the blog fresh.

Is this a personal pay-it-forward plan?
You can say that, my first blog post was for Communication Overtones, by Kami Watson Huyse, APR, aka @kamichat. She really gave me the confidence to start writing; I mean, I’ve always been a decent writer, but not having written consistently for a while, I was intimidated by some of the blogging I saw. I still am, but a little less scared now, and I want to give that same opportunity to other bloggers.

Since so many people helped me get started, I figured that if I can help someone find their voice, then I want to do it.

*For those who don’t know Shonali, she is an adjunct faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University, the current president of the International Association of Business Communicator’s DC Metro chapter, managing editor for Women Grow Business, contributor to BNET.com, an entrepreneur, public speaker and last, and certainly not least, a wife.

This week’s Awesomely Fantabulous Woman is Liz Scherer. She is a wordsmith of the first order, beginning her writing career at the old age of 7. If you don’t know her, you should follow, friend and connect with her ASAP. We had a great conversation and I learned a lot about Liz and her secret to success, which makes me want to be even more like her.

I began by asking Liz how she would describe herself:
I’m a writer and a journalist specializing in health, particularly women’s health. I’ve been writing since I was a child, and I was first published when I was 7, it was a poem. I transitioned to non-fiction after I graduated from college. I wanted to combine my business skills  and my passion for writing, which lead me to healthcare public relations. This is about the time I also  started getting published as a medical writer.

I didn’t know you’re a writer, I thought you were in marketing?
People don’t know how to classify me because of my different hats. Marketing is an underlying foundation, but I’ve always been a writer. The 80s were when I started getting paid as a writer; I was first published in 86. Then I began health reporting as the digital space grew.

I know you’re passionate about women’s health, what was the impetus for your blog, Flashfree?
I started my blog in 2008 because I finally had something to say.

Come on Liz, those of us who know you, know you always have something to say.
Seriously, I had gotten away from creative writing for some time and I needed to write about what was happening to me, my body, in my own voice.

Why write about such a personal issue?
Well, I’ve been a long time advocate of women’s health, it’s a key interest of mine. As I started my journey through this stage of life, I began doing research, and I found there wasn’t a lot being written for me. I’m a “tail gater” not quite old enough to be an official baby boomer and I’m a little too old to be part of Gen X. I was unhappy with the information I found about perimenopause. In particular, there was also limited information on natural alternatives to HRT.

How much longer do you think you’ll keep writing about menopause?
Right now, I do it because there’s a need and I enjoy it. When there isn’t a need or it stops being fun, then I’ll stop.

You’re also a contributor to Women Grow Business, how long have you been in business and how have you managed to stay relevant?
I attended a TEDxEast event and heard a presentation by Baba Brinkman about evolution, and from there I was able to put a name to something I had been doing my entire career. I call it “Evolutionary Marketing,” which is based on a three -ronged algorithm: performance, feedback and revision.

Please explain.
Sure. Performance equals quality control, for instance, making sure I deliver well-researched, well-written content on schedule. Feedback means client retention, am I listening to my clients, am I still meeting their needs, is my business growing? Finally, revision is the evaluation and adaptation stage, these are my business drivers.

So, these are the keys to your longevity?
Yes, I keep adding new skill sets, offering a mix of services to my clients. “My adaptability has allowed me to run my own business and be successful  since 1992."

If you thinking of starting a blog, at some point in time you will experience the plight all writer's dread: the lack of inspiration, more commonly known as writer's block. However, it doesn't have to be the curse so many have extoled it to be, it can a gift, if used properly. Yes, writer's block on one topic can be an inspiration for another topic. It is an opportunity to start blogging about a different topic or explore a new interest.

Writer's block can also be your body's or brain's way of saying "time out." The commitment to blog consistently can be draining: researching topics, writing posts, posting, formating, sharing, commenting on other blogs and the cycle repeats itself. Everyone needs a few days away from the grind, even if only for a few days.

If the situation persists, consider one of these tried and true solutions:

1. Breathe - back away from the computer. Go outside, get some fresh air and let Mother Nature speak to you.


2. Exercise - go for walk/jog/run, ride a bike or swim a few laps. Move your muscles and get your blood flowing to your brain.


3. Read - blogs, comics, magazines or newspapers. Glean inspiration from others.


4. Eat - feed your brain cells. Fix yourself (or go out for) a healthy meal with a lot of colorful vegetables and lean protein.


5. Create - doodle, knit, paint or write. Get the synapses on the other side of your brain popping and firing.


6. Talk - forget kids, adults say the darnedest things. The seemingly most insignificant conversation can lead to a blog post.


7. Dance - as if no one is watching. Turn on some tunes and let your body do its own thing.


8. Watch - look at what is happening around you. You will be amazed by what you see if you take the time to observe people.


9. Sleep - does a body good. Give your mind has an opportunity to rest and rejuvenate.


10. Meditate - when you've done everything you can think of, try doing nothing.

How do you view writer's block, gift or curse? How do you deal with writer's block?