Countown 2007: Three Questions to Fourth Quarter Focus

One quarter - time enough to produce an effective public relations campaign. As my clients face fourth quarter, a frentic-paced time of year, I suggest a forty-minute evaluation based on three key questions:

• Where do we go from here?
• What is the successful outcome we expect as a result?
• What is the next action we must take?

Let's say, for example, that you eect to focus on one major public relations campaign in conjunction with an event. Blogger friend and marketing troubleshooter, Mary Schmidt, AIBA Executive Director Rebecca Jo Dakota and I implement this suggestion in conjunction with Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance, AIBA, next week. AIBA is hosting an annual event, the Keep it Querque Gala at Los Poblanos on Monday, November 12, 2007.

Step one involves developing a list of potential results such as: feature story around the event, backgrounder on keynote presenter, FAQ's, blog submissions, letters to the editor, news notice published, general feature article in local paper, calendar item, news release, website submission, forum posting.

As Step two, prioritize the items listed above. Break each item into tasks, assigning the person responsible and a deadline. Simply make a spreadsheet with these columns : item, person responsible, deadline.

In Step three, designate the next action item and begin to move forward with it.

Does it work? We'll let you know. At the very least, this is the agenda for our October 5th meeting. My preview with a couple of other trials this week says yes. So, if you want to maintain focus during the Holidaze, take these three questions, and run!

When Life Interferes, Re-Focus

My focus, like any entrepreneur’s, suffers through life cycles. Experience dictates differentiation between mood cycles and true life cycles that are big interruptions: family members or close friends getting sick, injured, or dying.

As one of seven children, I’ve been exposed to busy schedules for some time. The degree of interference seems to depend on me, not them. When my outlook is balanced, life works. In other words, I write blog posts, produce articles, see clients. Without balance, life interferes.

In the past, I’ve taken concentration for granted. No longer. I want websites that make me think, videos that inspire, ideas unrelated to the business world. Just a couple of choices include:

http://www.peaceinspiration.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vB59PkB0eQ

Finding your support for concentration is a valuable piece of the puzzle. What’s your secret?