• On Culture

    Bizarre, quirky, thought-provoking. Some stories that might make you shake your head in wonderment or disbelief.

    Some Ways to Avoid Using the Word Firing

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    Kudos to James Kennedy, publisher of Executive Recruiter News, for this list of many terms you can use instead of that dread word, firing. Asked to resign Axed Canned Career assessment and re-employment Career transition Chemistry change Coerced transition Decruited Degrowing Dehiring Deployment Deselected Destaffing Discharged Dismissal Displacement Downsizing Excessed Executive culling Force reduction Fumigation […]

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    Professors Top the Believability Charts

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    The New York-based public relations firm Porter/Novelli conducted a survey of 1,100 consumers in 1996 to determine the credibility of information sources, individuals, groups and institutions. The survey basically confirmed the declining credibility of the news media and the public’s lack of trust in big business and institutions. But one bright spot for higher education […]

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    Baseball Manager Leyland Dreams of PR Career

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    Jim Leyland, manager of the Detroit Tigers, says he dreams of settling in to the quiet world of public relations when he is through managing. When he managed the Pittsburgh Pirates, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Paul Meyer his “ultimate dream is to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates until I get out of managing. And then […]

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    Why God Never Got Tenure

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    Here’s why God never received tenure at any university, thanks to Bob Guthrie, who was the PR guy at Creighton University when he mounted this on the Internet. He had only one major publication. It was in Hebrew It had no references. It wasn’t published in a refereed journal. Some even doubt he wrote it […]

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    Can We Learn from Geese Flying in Formation?

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    You’ve probably heard this old geese chestnut of unknown origin, but it does make the point about teamwork and collaboration, and besides, we got this from our father-in-law so it had to make the cut. This fall when you see geese heading south for the winter, flying along in a “V” formation, you might be […]

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    A Real Estate Agent You Can Trust

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    When we were in the housing market some years back we got a direct mail piece from a local agent. Most direct mail goes immediately in the trash, but this one was too good. Hi friend, Yes I want to call you freind (sic), and I hope you will consider me one. Everyone needs a […]

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    Survey Shows Public Mistrust in Crises

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    In a survey conducted by the New York-based public relations firm Porter-Novelli, 65 percent of respondents said when an organization declines to comment in a crisis it is implying guilt. Only 19 percent of those surveyed felt companies are totally truthful in crisis situations and 75 percent said companies refuse to take responsibility for crises. […]

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    Survey Says CEOs Get Best Ideas on the Toilet

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    The results of a survey of 2,500 corporate executives conducted by Charles Thompson to determine where they get their best ideas. While sitting on the toilet. While showering or shaving. While commuting to work. While falling asleep or waking up. During a boring meeting. During leisure reading. While exercising. On waking up in the middle […]

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    Discipline Problems in 1940s a Far Cry from the ‘80s

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    These lists resulting from statistics compiled by the California Department of Education came out at the end of the 1980s. The top discipline problems facing public schools in the 1940s and 1980s: 1940s Talking Chewing gum Making noise Running in the halls Getting out of turn in line Wearing improper clothing Not putting paper in […]

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    Information Overload a Fact of Modern Life

    by  • December 2, 2011 • On Culture

    Communication saturation is a part of daily life in 21st century America. So many communications channels, so much information, so little time. Author Richard Saul Wurman laid the problem out clearly in the 1990s with his book, “Information Anxiety.” Wurman’s book was loaded with interesting facts and information that put the problem in context. For […]

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