May is Minnesota Membership Month and there is no better time to join. If you’re a new or lapsed member who joins or re-joins IABC, we’ll waive the application fee!

As an IABC member, the opportunities are endless to grow your network, improve your communications skills and  access professional development resources locally, regionally and internationally.

There are networking events (including a Minnesota Twins outing for members only in July),  professional development seminars and workshops,  and many other great opportunities, especially through volunteering, to connect with communicators in Minnesota.

And as a member, you’ll have exclusive access to an international network of professionals and priceless resources to help you perform better at work, or land a new job. You’ll get free access to:

• Discovery: IABC’s new online archive of content that is easy-to-navigate and all in one place. Members have complimentary access to CW and CW Bulletin articles along with select Research Foundation reports.
• MyComm: IABC’s online communication planning tool
• The Job Centre: IABC’s job listing site
• MemberSpeak: An online meeting place for IABC members around the world

To learn more about IABC, visit www.iabc.com or visit the IABC Minnesota website to check out upcoming local events or to read the latest chapter news on our blog.

Remember, this offer ends May 31 so act fast and we look forward to welcoming you as an official IABC member!

Tiffany Jungers
VP of Membership
IABC Minnesota

*Please remember: applications must be received at the San Francisco Headquarters office during the month of May to qualify. This promotion does not apply to current members, transitional members or students, who never pay the application fee anyway.

Whether you’re a newcomer looking for potential job opportunities or a seasoned professional wanting to stay on top of our ever-evolving industry, you’re sure to build connections here. You’ll have the chance to speak with everyone at this popular event in five minute intervals, so be sure to bring plenty of business cards for a lively lunch hour of speed networking!

Register now!

Event Details

Wednesday, June 27
Noon – 1:00 p.m. (registration starts at 11:30 a.m.)

Padilla Speer Beardsley
1101 West River Parkway
Suite 400
Minneapolis, MN 55415

Registration Details

$15 for members
$25 for nonmembers
$10 for students

Register now!

Thank you to our event sponsor!

The reality is that independent consultants often put professional development training low on the to-do list. Yet keeping your skills and knowledge up to date can help you stay motivated, grow professionally and improve the chances of landing future business.

So how do you make ongoing learning a priority?  Where do you look for resources? How do you fit it into the often-competing priorities you face as a business owner?

Join us for this brown bag session to help you take charge of your professional development. The session will be facilitated by Ann Boyum, a certified coach and leadership trainer for Target.  Ann will take participants through a series of questions to identify development goals and challenges. Then, to help you determine which development opportunities are right for you, you’ll identify the way you learn best.  Come ready to collaborate — the session will end with the group sharing ideas on seminars, webinars, training sessions, books and more to help you achieve your goals. 

Register now!

Who should attend:  Self-employed marketing and communications professionals, as well as those thinking about this career path.

What else you need to know: The IABC Minnesota Self-Employed SIG (Special Interest Group) session is an informal brown-bag session, bringing together independent consultants to learn from our speakers – and each other. Plan to bring your lunch, or stop by and pick it up at Byerly’s before joining the session.

About the facilitator: Ann E. Boyum is a certified coach, leadership trainer and business development consultant for Target. Ann provides coaching and consulting areas such as talent management, transitions and change and learning solutions.  Her passion is helping people reach their full potential in a career that aligns with their passions and skills.  As an experienced Coach and Consultant, Ann provides the tools and techniques to help her clients improve their performance as well as their quality of life.

Event Details

Self-Employed SIG: Are you paying attention to your professional development?
Monday, June 18
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (registration starts at 11:15 a.m.)

Byerly’s Community Room
3777 Park Center Boulevard
St. Louis Park, MN 55416

Registration Details

$15 for members ($25 at the door)
$30 for nonmembers ($40 at the door)

Register now!

Registration for this event ends at midnight on June 13. If you want to register for the event after that date, please contact the IABC Minnesota office at 612-333-4222 to inquire about availability.

Bridget Jewell joined Mall of America in August of 2007. As public relations manager, she focuses mainly on pitching stories to the media and plays a critical role in crisis communication and management. The public relations department at Mall of America gains more than $400 million annually in media coverage. Jewell is responsible for coordinating live media, serving as a spokesperson for Mall of America, editing press materials and project management as well assisting the department with social media initiatives, community management and serves as the editor for the Mall of America blog. Jewell holds a bachelor’s degree from University of St. Thomas.

Register now!

Event Details

Managing, championing and defending a brand: Lessons from Mall of America
Tuesday, June 5
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. (registration starts at 8:00 a.m.)

University of St. Thomas
1000 LaSalle Avenue
Opus Hall Room 202
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Registration Details

$35 for members if registered before Friday, June 1 ($45 at the door)
$55 for nonmembers if registered before Friday, June 1 ($65 at the door)
$25 for students if registered before Friday, June 1 ($35 at the door)

Register now!

Registration for this event ends at midnight on June 1, 2012. If you want to register for the event after that date, please contact the IABC Minnesota office at 612-333-4222 to inquire about availability.

Luckily, I have a lot of great reasons to celebrate this month and don’t need to make on up.

My twin nieces are turning 16. My mom’s 80^th birthday party is Memorial Day weekend. My parents will finally move out of their house after three years of trying to sell…a huge relief to them and their children. Almost 11 years of daycare are coming to an end (a bittersweet moment). My company is celebrating 50 years since the first Target store opened its doors.

And last but not least, the Bronze Quill awards gala is coming up on May 17.

This is the moment when we recognize the outstanding work of local professional communicators. They’ve put hours, days, weeks and months of time and energy into their work, and when that was all complete, they took more time to summarize the effort, gather up their work products, and showcase to the awards judges the impact they made on their organizations.

It’s no small feat to enter a Bronze Quill award, and winning one is even more challenging. Judges look for superior strategy, objectives and measurement that go beyond counting clips, innovation and creative problem solving.

I hope you can join us on May 17 for this momentous occasion. Even if you didn’t enter, you’ll hear what your colleagues are doing to make them stand out in the industry, and you’ll likely uncover an idea or two that you can implement in your organization.

Our keynote speaker is Bruce Moorhouse, an innovative leader and current professor at the University of Minnesota, who will share some secrets of using social media for personal and professional success.

See you on May 17!

Trace Ulland, ABC
President, IABC Minnesota

Keller

As three communicators recently celebrated IABC memberships of more than 15 years, they reflected on the continued value they received from the organization throughout their memberships. Bobbie Keller of Keller Communications, Brian Everett of MindShare Strategies and Anne Rodenberg of the Catholic Community Foundation reveal how IABC has impacted their careers over the years and why they continue their memberships.

Keller, IABC member for 33 years, said that the organization has grown with her as she evolved from corporate communications to her own independent firm.

“I had a lot of help from the contacts I made with IABC,” said Keller. “When I went on my own, I called many of the people I had met, and some of them were actually among my first clients.”

She added that the professional connections are not limited to those located in Minnesota, but expand internationally. Keller said that as an IABC member, she feels more professional and shares a particular camaraderie with others in the organization.

Everett

Everett, IABC member for 23 years, agreed that IABC provides access to professionals of all levels within the industry, giving him broader perspective on communication strategy and execution.

 He said that IABC also offers exclusive and relevant industry updates, both from the programs he’s attended and from the professional contacts he’s made.

“I get a lot from the information that IABC gives on emerging trends and best practices,” said Everett. “It’s nice to hear what other people are doing and how they’re doing it. I can stay on top of the issues and better approach different challenges.”

Rodenberg, who has been an IABC member for 17 years, said that she also values the connections she’s made through IABC, but she would not have met nearly as many people unless she had made an effort to volunteer.

“You need to get involved as a volunteer if you want to get the most out of an organization like this,” said Rodenberg. “I gained a lot of experience that I otherwise wouldn’t have in my jobs. IABC gave me a safe space to learn and develop other skills.”

Rodenberg

All three professionals said they were actively involved with IABC Minnesota as volunteers, which encouraged them to attend IABC national and international conferences. Keller, Everett and Rodenberg each noted these conferences as their favorite memories with IABC, saying that they expanded their network in the Twin Cities and made many strong friendships along the way.

“As a working professional you have to surround yourself with other people who do what you do,” said Rodenberg. “Gaining the perspective of other people opens your mind and opens possibilities for exploring your own potential. Why wouldn’t you want to join a top-quality professional organization?”

Written by Emma Stenzel
IABC Minnesota Communications Intern

Dateline: Marco Polo International Airport, Venice Italy

“All flights are canceled due to fog. Please contact your airline for further details”.

Venice Italy is one of the world’s foggiest cities. Each year, hundreds of flights are cancelled or delayed, stranding thousands of passengers. Venice’s fog is an act of nature so little can be done except to wait for it to clear, but its impacts are profound … major inefficiencies in the basic purpose of transportation … getting people from point A to Point B on time.

Most organizations operate in a type of fog as well. The impacts of this organizational fog are much the same as the fog found in Venice. Because the direction and priorities are unclear across the entire organization, just like the planes in Venice, important initiatives are delayed or never take off at all.

Organizational fog also shrouds the path to collective action and success. Because of this, members of the organization are forced to guess or interpret what the path ahead is and to take the actions they hope are consistent with that path. Just like the dangers presented by a real fog, organizational fog greatly increases the organizational risks of moving too fast, too far or in the wrong direction.

Organizational fog envelops everyone in the organization but leaves everyone’s own close-in space fairly clear. Consequently, different parts of the organization tend to work at cross-purposes and proceed with caution … venturing only as far as they can see.

In organizational fog it’s also quite natural for organizational leaders, because things are clear for them, to believe that things are clear for the entire organization while, in reality, the organization sees mostly fog. This “it’s clear for me” phenomenon is supported by many studies that have repeatedly shown that typically less than ten percent of an organization’s members understand the strategy and their specific role in its success while, at the same time, most organizational leaders believe things are clear.

The good news is that there is a difference between real fog and organizational fog.

Organizational fog can be lifted. By focusing on creating clarity and alignment, organizational leaders can quickly replace organizational fog with a clear direction that can be translated by every member of the organization into the specific actions and decisions most critical to organizational success.

We, as communication leaders can play a pivotal role in this process.

Just as the fog lifting in Venice enables the transportation system to perform as intended, so too does the lifting of organizational fog through clarity and alignment to create organizational efficiency, effectiveness, growth and long-term organizational success.

Submitted by Bruce Moorhouse

Bruce will speak at this year’s Bronze Quill Awards Celebration on May 17 about the opportunity for us as communication professionals to step into a leadership role and help lift this organizational fog while claiming a “seat at the table” with leadership. Attendees will gain insight from his 35 years in communications, leadership at 3M and his current role teaching the the capstone course for undergraduates in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Minnesota.

May is IABC Minnesota’s Membership Month, which means if you are a new or lapsed member and join or re-join IABC this month, we’ll waive your $40 application fee!*

As a member of IABC you’ll have exclusive access to local networking and educational events, as well as International resources. Below are just a few examples of helpful resources you can access with a membership:

• Discovery: IABC’s new online archive of content that is easy-to-navigate and all in one place. Members have complimentary access to CW and CW Bulletin articles along with select Research Foundation reports.
• MyComm: IABC’s online communication planning tool.
• The Job Centre: IABC’s job listing site.
• MemberSpeak: An online meeting place for IABC members around the world.

To learn more about IABC, visit www.iabc.com or visit the IABC Minnesota website to check out upcoming local events or to read the latest chapter news on our blog. We look forward to welcoming you as an official IABC member!

*Please remember: applications must be received at the San Francisco Headquarters office during the month of May to qualify. This promotion does not apply to current members, transitional members or students, who never pay the application fee anyway.

Take Wells Fargo for example, I’ve been a corporate member through Wells Fargo for more than six years and have helped to coordinate our corporate membership for the past five. We have more than 60 members across the country, but we all get the benefits of one renewal date, discounted membership fees, and discounted rates to attend the World Conference and on IABC knowledge resources.

Personally, it’s been a great opportunity for me to network across our large organization and I’ve got a library of IABC books, manuals and research reports to refer to. Plus, I’m excited to be attending my first ever World Conference this year in Chicago and to finally be able to use the 10 percent discount on my registration.

Bottom line – it saves my company money and helps me connect to other communicators in my company.

Want to learn more? Look through the corporate membership information on the IABC International website and let me know if you have any questions about starting a corporate membership in your company. We’ve got local resources to help you out too!

Need some help convincing your boss? Check out Why Your Employes Should Be IABC Members on the IABC International website.

Jennifer Doll
Co-VP of Communications/Corporate Member
IABC Minnesota