The end of May has come so today we celebrate this day to remember the original Indigenous Heroes of America. We salute their courage and kindness as we reflect on their beautiful culures and lore. Today we will explore Five Native American Sayings for a Strong Heart. ONEYou must speak straight so that your words…
Orwell Revisted: 3 Ways Tech Will Change the World
As always, the evil scientist laughing diabolically does not realize how his monster will one day wreck him. He is too giddy about his temporary gains, blinded by the opportunity to finally matter and lord over those who dismissed him. It’s a great storyline, but increasingly a realistic one, where life imitates art. When Smart…
Without A Word: Top 3 Nonverbal Communication Tools
Whether you are a kindergarten teacher or a corporate executive, communication plays a vital role un your day to day work. And while most peoole are not spending their hours studying communication theory, we have all mastered a level of comunicational competence. It matters very much what you put on paper and what you say. …
A Case-Study on Communicating Human Value: Human Development
Many forget the damaging effects that come from a life of staggering poverty. The innability for a country to lift itself out of poverty through development, production and real participation in the World market has lasting generational effects. Researchers at Cornell University in the field of epigenetics found that both racism and poverty can have…
Small Business In The Age of Change
May has been christened Small Business Month. You’ll likely be reminded of some if the benefits of small business and entrepreneurship in the coming weeks. This week especially, April 30-May 6, 2023 is Small Business Week. It’s a great time to remember the vital role that small businesses plays in daily life, economics and societal…
The Commsletter
As April comes to a close, I want to let everyone know about the Commsletter. It’s a monthly newsletter that troubleshoots and critiques communications and messaging in public life and offers advice. There will be feedback on press conferences, public statements, publicity and public misteps and other PR/Communications related happenings around the world. We will…
Strategies for Implemenation
Many excutives, officials and government agencies are not aware of the benefit a skilled communications strategist can provide. Particularly for developing economies, emerging markets and new artists–strategy in communications matters. Many make the mistake of comissioning big box ad agencies and public relations firms. Some make the miscalculation of hiring retired politicians and lobbyist to…
The Road: Living Beyond Your Culture
I made my first trip to Africa in 2016. I visited the costal state of Ghana, Africas first nation to gain its indepedendence from Colonial Hegemony. The nation wrested its freedom from the brutality and exploitation of the United Kingdom. It was a proud time, and I was able to witness those commemorations through visits…
Communicating Systems of Order and Value
One of the greatest aspects of communications is the ability to make sense out of chaos. Communications goes beyond ably communicating a thought to ensuring that communication has impact. That communication enables populations to learn new common values and processes that move their nation forward and not backward. Communicating for wider adaption and adoption is…
Our Own Cause
On Saturday will be the anniversary of the memorial of Ida B. Wells, a pioneer in investigative journalism, women’s rights and black American civil rights. March is also women’s History month, and to commemorate this monthly is only fitting that the life and legacy of Mrs. Ida B. Wells be celebrated. Wells, was born into…
Communicating The Market
Lately, there has been lots of talk about Banks. It seems to have quite a lot of people upset or at the very least nervous. And while Banking system may be teetering–it is not for the reasons we assume. In fact, much like the international chaos that is beating down developing economies and the interests…
Eight Chinese Proverbs for Love, Business and Life
Every year we have included the sage of theater from popular and lesser known African Proverbs to help in life, love and business. This year the blog has expanded to include the sage of great thinkers from Chinese and Native American culture. Today we will explore eight proverbs for love, business and life from the…
Cut The Market: Creative Strategies to Beat the Fed
The F.W. Woolworth Company became a retail power during the depression, amassing a fortune in smartly priced products that undercut the market. What started as a small mom and pop suddenly became a mass distribution giant selling everything from cookware to toys and electronics. Opened in 1879 in Utica New York, it was the forerunner…
Bending to Justice
It has been recorded that the first slave rebellion occurred in 1739 in the colonies when African slaves sought their freedom from human traffickers. The trend, contrary to popular belief and most popular slave narratives, rebellions were a real issue. Not only did slavers employ patrols that evolved into America’s modern day police, but psychological…
Communication for Outcomes and Evolution
Perhaps one of the greatest efforts of human kind is its ability to create tangible change in community. This is evidenced in even the most rudimentary coalitions that come together to serve the common good and underscore humankind’s ability to communicate for effective outcomes. Yes, the zenith of human capacity, innovation and production is a…
Better Business Options
Please join me in a moment of silence and prayer for the victims of the deadly earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. May they recover and prosper. ~February 2023 If you are an entrepreneur or thinking about starting a business, things can get pretty complicated these days. Finding the right location, industry and even product has…
A Tech World Evolving
Recently in a landmark case against tech giant, Google, India won a judgement in its Competition Commission concerning the techco’s monopoly on mobile and smart phone operating systems and core apps. The ruling brings with it fines worth $161 million USD according to a Reuters reports. In an attempt to stem attrition, Google has quickly…
Five African Proverbs for a Rapidly Changing World
It’s that time of year again when we revisit the wisdom of the ancients. In our annual series on African Proverbs, we are happy to introduce sage from the wisdom of other cultural traditions famous for their wisdom in upcoming blogs in the Spring. Today we will explore Five African Proverbs for Direction in Rapidly…
May the Odds Ever Be In Your Favor: Beating the Algorithm
increasingly SMEs, creative professionals and entrepreneurs have had to become more tech savvy. This has been a natural occurrence over time as technology has come to dominate our world. While there will always remain evil scientists looking for ways to create tech to destroy and intentionally obsolesce workers, we’ve still seen some great advances in…
Bridging the Communication Gap
Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law. Immanuel Kant, German Philosopher When parties sit down to discuss arbitration or negotiate a deal, several factors need to be examined. The most important factors beyond the details of the deal are whether both parties adequately understand what the other is…
Thank You 2022!
Welcome to the last 2022 blog! It has been a great year with lots of exciting changes around the world. I am particularly excited about what 2023 holds in store for communications, technology and world changes. I am hopeful for the future, particularly for developing economies and emerging producers. It is time for those in…
Communication for Impact
In the early days it was easy to communicate any message you wanted regardless of the verity of it. Those with access to mainstream media, powerful television and radio stations and crafty marketing agencies were able to create the narrative they wanted. Viewers were to be counted and not heard–regardless of how skewed the depiction….
Three Tips for Navigating the New Communication Landscape
While the world continues to speed along into new frontiers, so too must your communications strategy. Many SMEs and particularly small businesses and entrepreneurs are increasingly relying on social media, and that is a good thing. However, as times and values change, it is necessary to be vigilant as a social media manager, communications professional,…
World News Roundup 2022
Taiwan President Quits DPP After KMT Win China–Election proved once again to be pivotal in Taiwan. Particularly for the Democratic Progressive Party on the local level, where the party floundered. It’s leader later resigned as chair. Perhaps the most telling factor is that local people voted overwhelmingly for the Pro-Beijing Kuomintang–proving the visits and rhetoric…
World News & Cyber Monday
Thanks for visiting. I wanted to offer you. Another opportunity to capitalize on Cyber Monday. So this World News Roundup features a new Cyber Monday offer! You can also read and share the article without the Cyber Monday offer at the end of the article! Taiwan President Quits DPP After KMT Win China–Election proved once…
Three Reasons Coaches Win in Business
Coaches Know Team Work Outranks PositionMost team members have positions (e.g. goalies, forwards, outfielders, and left wingers). But even so, these players are allowed the latitude to move or act outside of those positions when circumstance necessitates. The center in a basketball game will take a shot from the perimeter if he has a good…
Export Your Narrative
Nations rarely think of media as a part of their national offering.It is probably one of the more neglected exports developing nationpossess. Instead of focusing on telling its own narratives, it relieson foreign media to do the job. Many times that media is not exportedbecause it is not translated into English or presented in a…
Six Steps to a Better Business Atmosphere
Ambiance goes a long way to influence customers to purchase. We are all familiar with the idea of “setting the mood.” Try to consciously set the atmosphere for your clients and employees. Remember that your employees’ experience at your business is as much of factor in your customers’ decision to buy as the product. Don’t…
Management Mistakes That Kill Motivation
Nothing is more frustrating than the mistake you don’t know that you are making. It’s frustrating, because if you knew where in the process you went wrong, you could correct it. So you find yourself going in circles. Here are two common mistakes managers and leaders make that throw the entire teams into flux. Partial…
Go Global With Sister Cities
Every year the US exports 2.2 Trillion dollars in goods and services. According to the Small Business Administration, only 1 percent of US small businesses export. That means the majority of exporters in the US are large enterprises. Frankly, international trade in goods or even services can be scary for a small business. There are…
Marketing Missteps: “Because-I-Said-So Marketing”
Perhaps one of the largest handicaps in the marketing world is a homogeneous creative team. This is particularly true when hoping to reach diverse or dissimilar audiences. I like to call it “Because-I-Said-So Marketing,” its marketing that is so tone deaf and devoid of research that it makes the target market question not only the…
Social Media for Small Biz and Emerging Markets
As a communications professional, small businesses, minority owned enterprises and emerging markets are my fan favorites to work. I really enjoy this area, because many developing markets, small businesses and as minority owned businesses have not yet harnessed or completely understood the full value of social media, public relations and/or community relations. Many small businesses,…
East vs. West: A Clash of Civilizations
In an unusual turn of events, the European Union, led by Germany has determined to sanction Russia over unconfirmed suspicions of misconduct in mid October, 2020. The EU, guided by what has been termed a Franco-German plan, issued sanctions against the Kremlin for the suspected poisoning death of Moscow detractor, Alexei Navalny. The stunning move…
The Covid-19 Escape Hatch
Never in recent history has their been an opportunity to huge for nations to reset themselves and balance power. The Covid-19 Pandemic has helped to shift already decadent world powers and rising stars. Some nations took the opportunity to pay themselves handsomely, through clever sleight of hand by their central banks. Others, mostly developing nations…
FX in Spotlight As Ankara, Others Push Back.
For many years, Europe has relied on Turkey to help stem the tide of migrants due to its strategic geographic location. However, now the nation of 82 million people has become an item in geopolitics over the past five years, asserting itself with a new found vigor and conviction. Turkey has become a key player…
Eastern Europe in 3-Way Tug of War with EU, US and Russia
As COVID-19 payments begin disbursement throughout European Member states, the EU Commission has found renewed interest in the affairs of Eastern European states. Additionally, as the EU seeks to establish its viability, and replace the gaping hole left by the United Kingdom, greater attention is being given to those states. According to an official European…
Energy and Interests: Bulgarian Upheavals in the Balkans.
Bulgaria, has been plunged into public demonstrations against its government since July 9, 2020. Now going into its 66 week of protest, The Slavic nation, along with major Bulgarian enclaves around the world, have seen demonstrations and protests. It is believed that some are displeased with what is perceived as rampant corruption and misuse of…
Trade Wars Redux: King Cotton Always Wins
Today, the US is once again entangled in the politics and economics of cotton. The United States has announced that it is prepared to ban cotton and tomato imports from China’s Xinjiang over allegations of forced labor. The irony lies in that the world’s once largest economy, built on forced labor in cotton production, is…
Re-Orienting the Philippines
Despite the worldwide boom in Covid-19 cases in the early part of the year, the Philippines infection rate remained relatively flat. Only in recent times has the archipelago seen an increase in cases, spiking in August with over 55,000 cases. Those are still conservative numbers, even for a nation with a population of just over…
Re-Start: Waking the Lion: Africa’s Reentry into the Market
In recent years African states have begun a concerted pivot toward agriculture and renewed interest in farming and aggro-processing. Undoubtedly, the ability for African nations to produce and process its own food—ready for consumption and export would create new opportunities, but also guard against unforeseen humanitarian disasters like Covid-19. For African states, its greatest hit…
Canary in the Cave: Italy’s Lost Lessons on Geopolitics and Economy
As Corona virus cases begin to creep upward in Italy, the country which was once the epicenter of the Eurozone’s Covid-19 cases has begun closing social centers and implementing mask mandates. The nation has been the proverbial canary in the cave for the West for years now, even in the pandemic. The nation is fighting…
Mexico Fights to Save Economic Progress
Only recently, Mexico’s infection rate has increased exponentially . Worldwide there are nearly 18 million Corona Virus cases, with some of the highest numbers in the Western Hemisphere. In addition to the infection rate, the death toll has increased to the third highest in the world, eclipsing UK mortality numbers in July, according to an…
Re-Start: European Union
In the coming weeks we will review several regions and the measures they are taking to restart their economy. We will seek to predict and analyze some of those changes in the series Restart. In this nonconsecutive series, this week we will examine the European Union’s plans and look forward to reviewing other schemes aimed…
A New Manifest Destiny
Despite the ravages of the Corona-virus, the US trade and tech war and its challenges in Hong Kong and Taiwan, China saw positive growth in Q2 of 2020 according to a report from the Asia Times. Even India’s economy expanded 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2020 despite the prowess of the pandemic. Could…
Media Lessons from the International World
When I was new in the social media game, I assumed the more followers, likes and fans I had the better. And for a great many social media managers and companies, that is still the overall thought. It always looks good to have a wide cadre of followers and fans, seeing your “content” and your…
Serbia Test EU Resolve and International Institutions Amid Covid Spike
Greece just barred citizens from the landlocked country of Serbia following that state’s declaration of a state of emergency on July 3, 2020. The news comes on the heels of growing COVID-19 numbers in the Balkans, with Serbia currently registering 16,420 cases and 317 deaths. Ironically, Belgrade made the decision on the same day that…
Clashing Elites: Failure and Fortune Re-Imagined
The trillion dollar stimulus package that has primarily gone toward bailing out American industry, was financed by its major debt-buyers, like Japan, UK and China. The US is once again selling debt through the Federal Reserve to to stabilize the US economy, other Western nations will likely follow suit– just as bad debt was sold…
Repackaging the Developing World
Nations around the globe are mulling over how to restart and rescue flagging economies brought on by the worldwide COVID-19 Pandemic. Among those seeking a solution to economic woes are the world’s “developing economies,” many that often have GDPs lower than many Western multinationals. These nations must not only determine how to solve the new…
Egypt, Libya-Local Peace Deal Under Fire
While the world waits watching COVID-19 infection rates, and worldwide protest against ethnic violence among a largely unarmed populations by America’s Rank and file sworn to serve and protect, another storm is brewing in Libya. The only African state to have at one time had zero debt and proposed a Gold-backed dinar, has been plunged…
Germany Tasked With EU Recovery Woes
Germany is slated to take the helm of the European Union’s Presidency of the Council in July. Currently at a 62 percent GDP to debt ration it has been tasked to take the helm of the beleaguered Union struggling with debt ratios at or above 100 percent. Greece, has ballooned to nearly 200 percent, and…
Lela Winston 