Why Small Businesses Need PR to Beat Big Brands
Last week a friend of mine, Juma, gave me a lift in his old pickup. In the back were two hand-made beds so beautiful I asked if they were imported.…
When Leaders Change: The Job of a Communications Team
The Hardest Question in the Room A young communications officer called me the morning the news came out. She had watched the Vice President resign, the Ruling Party remove Dr.…
A Human Trafficker Doesn’t Buy Weapons, He Buys Words
The fight against human trafficking will not be won by shouting louder. It will be won by communicating smarter. A group of young people from Pwani, Singida, Arusha, Mwanza, Tanga…
PR at the Board Table: A Company’s Reputation Is Not One Department’s Burden
BIG companies rarely collapse because their product was poor. They collapse because their reputation was poor. That much is not in dispute. The trouble starts when Heads of Corporate Affairs…
Communication That Won’t Learn from Risk Learns from Collapse.
BEFORE a company collapses in the market, it first collapses in its communication. No argument there. Companies worldwide are pouring billions into digital transformation, yet 70 percent of those projects…
A Business Doesn’t Collapse on The Pitch, It Collapses in The Office.
I was in a meeting with some company executives in Msasani, listening to one Managing Director complain bitterly about his staff. "These people don't feel connected to the company," he…
THE REFINERY THAT SAILED PAST TANGA: What Africa’s Boardrooms Must Learn From a $17 Billion Silence
There is a kind of pain that does not come from losing. It comes from losing a fight you did not know you were in. That is Tanzania's pain this…
PR Without Digital Is Invisible
An agency man not taught by his clients is taught by the algorithm I sat once with a young account manager, the kind who still believes a press release faxed…
The Best Startup Doesn’t Win; The Most Visible One Does
A Beautiful App That Nobody Ever Saw There was a young man I once knew around Sinza. His mind was frightening. He sat in his small rented room, between a…
Listening Is Public Relations
In this country we have become experts at speaking. The microphone has reached every corner. The launch event has its own calendar. The report has its own season. We have…