Three years after venturing out on my own with Mike Randall Communications I am now ready to evolve to the next step.
Over the past 25 years the one thing I have learned more than anything else is the importance of engaging key stakeholders in an ongoing manner.
Without relationships based on trust and transparency you have nothing. Without goodwill from key stakeholder groups you have no long-term sustainability.
Engage Atlantic is the culmination of years of working with companies and organizations to engage stakeholders for one purpose or another.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Thursday, September 08, 2011
CBC.ca | Information Morning Moncton | His Story
I enjoyed recalling our efforts during 9/11 this morning on CBC's Information Morning.
Hope you enjoy!!!!
Monday, August 29, 2011
A lesson for us all
Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.
Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.
I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.
A few additional thoughts:
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.
To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.
To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.
To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.
My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
All my very best,
Jack Layton
Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.
I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.
A few additional thoughts:
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.
To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.
To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.
To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.
My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
All my very best,
Jack Layton
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Don't Over Estimate the Power of Tools in Engaging Stakeholders
One of my guilty pleasures is receiving my monthly edition of Men's Journal. The articles, photos, lifestyle pieces give me that pause to dream, relax and indulge and not necessarily think of work.
This months edition was no different until I got to an advertisement promoting magazines.
Obviously a joint campaign by some of our leading pop culture magazines, the ad promotes magazines for their "stickiness" pointing out that the majority of readers of magazines spend more dedicated time reading the magazine that they do with many other areas of their life. The ad states;
" Media continue to proliferate. Attention spans continue to shrink. And free content is available everywhere, from the Internet to the insides of elevators.
Why then are 93% of Adults still so attached to magazines? Why do so many people, young and old, spend so much time with a medium that's paper and ink, a medium you actually have to pay for in order to read?
In a word, engagement. Reading a magazine remains a uniquely intimate and immersive experience. Not only is Magazine readership up, readers spend an average of 43 minutes per issue."
Well it really got me thinking. How engaging is social media? How much of a relationships do we create through 140 characters at a time? How does losing intimacy and immersiveness play on the relationships long-term?
This is where I contend groups and organizations have to be realistic about the tools they use and the real impact those tools have on building long-term sustainable relationships with key stakeholders.
I think what's important to remember is that tools, like social media, are just that - tools. This is not the second coming of television where, as McLughan said "The medium is the message." If that were the case the message would be "I don't care deeply about what you care about." "I am only interested in your opinions as long as you can provide it in 30 words or less. You're opinion is no more important that my other 1.6 million followers. #winning."
Stakeholder Engagement is more than twitter and facebook. Stakeholder engagement is long-term relationship building on a number of fronts.
While social media has its place and allows us the immediacy of knowing what's happening where, don't lose sight of the importance of really connecting with people through face to face conversations, engaging video and audio, powerful words and opinions and most importantly - genuine listening.
Ask questions. Create Trust. Make people feel as though they really matter. That's engagement. That's intimacy. That's an immersive experience.
Do that and you've got a relationship you can count on when "IT" hits the fan.
Mike Randall
Engage Atlantic
This months edition was no different until I got to an advertisement promoting magazines.
Obviously a joint campaign by some of our leading pop culture magazines, the ad promotes magazines for their "stickiness" pointing out that the majority of readers of magazines spend more dedicated time reading the magazine that they do with many other areas of their life. The ad states;
" Media continue to proliferate. Attention spans continue to shrink. And free content is available everywhere, from the Internet to the insides of elevators.
Why then are 93% of Adults still so attached to magazines? Why do so many people, young and old, spend so much time with a medium that's paper and ink, a medium you actually have to pay for in order to read?
In a word, engagement. Reading a magazine remains a uniquely intimate and immersive experience. Not only is Magazine readership up, readers spend an average of 43 minutes per issue."
Well it really got me thinking. How engaging is social media? How much of a relationships do we create through 140 characters at a time? How does losing intimacy and immersiveness play on the relationships long-term?
This is where I contend groups and organizations have to be realistic about the tools they use and the real impact those tools have on building long-term sustainable relationships with key stakeholders.
I think what's important to remember is that tools, like social media, are just that - tools. This is not the second coming of television where, as McLughan said "The medium is the message." If that were the case the message would be "I don't care deeply about what you care about." "I am only interested in your opinions as long as you can provide it in 30 words or less. You're opinion is no more important that my other 1.6 million followers. #winning."
Stakeholder Engagement is more than twitter and facebook. Stakeholder engagement is long-term relationship building on a number of fronts.
While social media has its place and allows us the immediacy of knowing what's happening where, don't lose sight of the importance of really connecting with people through face to face conversations, engaging video and audio, powerful words and opinions and most importantly - genuine listening.
Ask questions. Create Trust. Make people feel as though they really matter. That's engagement. That's intimacy. That's an immersive experience.
Do that and you've got a relationship you can count on when "IT" hits the fan.
Mike Randall
Engage Atlantic
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Change Is In the Air
What that means is one quarter of my professional colleagues and acquaintances that I have worked with in the past 5 years are doing something else.
Some, like myself, have entered into the world of self-employment. Others have changed companies, directions and entire career callings.
In some respects it speaks volumes about our time.
The more I speak with people, ask questions and just plain listen, the more I get the feeling we are all searching from some change. We are struggling to find inspiration in our day to day. We lack exciting leadership. We lack a true crisis or issue that will define this time and this generation. We are walking through our privileged lives with no real purpose, movement or manifesto guiding our actions, thoughts and plans.
We need something in our lives that excite us and gives us reason to get up each day. Something to excite our children, something that drives us to make a placard, write a blog or just stand up to be counted.
Here's the thing. Instead of everyone wishing something would change, why can't we unite and create the change that each of us is longing for?
If we're tired of the same old type of leadership - why don't we do something about it?
If we're longing for something to believe in - why not collectively come together and decide what that should be. Maybe the environment. What about our children? Anyone for true global citizenship where every child has an opportunity to learn, live and grow?
Friday night I attended the Atlantic Brand Confabulation where Gene Simmons reiterated that the something to believe in is cold hard cash. He gave example after example of how life is better with the almighty dollar. While some agree with I think even that rings hollow for most these days - where we have proven time after time that money does not buy happiness.
So where are we going? What should we stand up for? What is our raison d'etre?
Where are the leaders who will inspire us to even think about the possibilities and where we could go?
What does our future hold?
It's ours to shape. It's ours to dictate. It's ours for the taking.
Use your voice. Stand up to be counted. Believe one person can make a difference and that together anything is possible.
Be passionate.
Be Real.
Follow your heart.
Engage...
You'll be amazed and what you receive.
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