It's a Small World Afterall

A week and a half down and still a lot to learn! Before I get started on this weeks' details, I wanted to share an interesting article I read during my first day of work last week. Considering I was new, I spent a fair amount of time becoming acclimated with the company I was about to spend two months working for. I read their April Bulletin and came across an interesting article called, “The Widening Communications Gap in Corporate Leadership”. It spoke about a survey that was conducted which found leaders falling short of expectations (especially Americans and Europeans) and how 31% of those surveyed believed leadership would get worse in the next year (31%), while only 27% predicted it would improve. However, China has a different point of view and holds their leaders at a higher regard. Nearly half (49%) of Chinese “have more confidence in their political and business leaders to navigate the world through difficult economic times”. The article continued by stating that the most important attributes for a leader in China to demonstrate are ethical business practices (42%) and trustworthiness (39%).

Another interesting discovery in the article was a direct link between personal leadership and powerful communication. I have found in my own personal research and studies (CMGT 536 - Team Leadership) that as Comm majors we usually believe effective communication is the most important attribute for good leadership. Apparently the Chinese feel the same since 87% believe effective communication is extremely important to strong leadership. Personal “presence” and involvement of a leader in communicating is also vital since in-person contact is the most credible (57%) with blogs, print media, facebook, and advertising not considered good mediums to gain face, according to the article.
However, I found another source, "The Top 10 Leadership Qualities" for Americans, and communication isn't even on there! It mentions having a common vision and communicating that message, but I believe that communication is even more than just a vision. It's those random water-cooler conversations, brainstorming meetings or casual lunches where the best ideas are born.

I guess us Comm majors are more similar to the Chinese than I originally expected. It’s a small (PR) world afterall.

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Now on to this week... The majority of my time has been spent doing trend market research for our biggest client. I found some interesting charts and graphs as well as additional helpful information that seemed to impress my boss. I've reached all of my deadlines ahead of time and am eager for more work to show my true potential. Who wouldn't be impressed with color coordinated spreadsheets? :-)

Monday I assisted with one of the highest level industry meetings in Hong Kong, attended by over 800 delegates, speakers, and government officals. It was an interesting experience! Since I've been involved with events for many years now, it was a nice comparison to see how they are run in another country. Just as efficient as the MTR, my collegues also had everything planned and prepared down to the minute. Unfortunately, the language barrier came into play again as I was posted at the registration table where some guests would come to me for assistance, while others waited to talk to a Cantonese speaker (there were 65 Wongs!). The hall was lavishly decorated and the speaker that I saw was very inspiring. 

 

One of our other big clients is in the automotive industry and I have been assigned the task of compiling a presentation for when they visit us in July, along with arranging for an exclusive with an international media outlet to do a story on them. Not my favorite, but an essential part of PR... Media pitching will begin shortly!
My week continued with additional research for an airline client regarding the new intelligent seating system called SeatBuddy by Satisfly. Pretty interesting results! In addition to daily research for current clients, I am currently creating a presentation for a potential client to showcase what we can do for them if they choose us to be their agency. I'm actually really excited about having the opportunity to be creative and learn more about design at the same time.

It's still early in the program, but so far, besides the language barriers and cultural differences, the business work and PR in general is exactly the same here as in the U.S. You still deal with the same issues and the same trials and tribulations. Intern work is tedious and not often the most glamorous, but it's essential and a good learning experience. 

I'll leave you with this quote by reiterating what I discovered my first day on the job.

"The art of communication is the language of leadership."                                                              - James Humes

...And especially in our field, communication is everything.