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The Latimer Group looks in the mirror, in an effort to add deeper value to our clients
January 2006
Volume IV, Issue 1
The Latimer Group is solely focused on helping
executives and sales
professionals develop world-class communication, public speaking and
presentation skills.
Our programs are customized and specifically designed to create
authentic presentations delivered in the voice of the speaker.
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Adding Deeper Value
There are risks and costs to a program of action. But there are
also risks and costs to comfortable inaction.
- John F. Kennedy
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We live in a complicated world, overwhelmed with choices and data. To
stand out amidst this cacophony of information, we must hone our message to our audience
and make it memorable and clear. We must make it easy for our audience to digest and act
upon what we say, or else our message will get lost in the din of the competing “noise.” This
is a constant mantra of The Latimer Group.
Our world is complicated. We are able to – and are expected to – communicate
in so many different ways and formats. We have constant access to information about markets,
competitors, suppliers, and customers. We have multiple audiences, each with their own
unique communication requirements. We also need to communicate through multiple communication
platforms – in person, on the telephone, and through the media. We need to think
about these multiple information sources, audiences, and communication platforms and then
evaluate how to adjust our message accordingly.
This reality leads to an undeniable fact for business leaders: The modern business environment
is constantly evolving, offering continual opportunity for the organizations willing to
embrace change, and significant risk for the ones that stand idle. Successful communication
is not easy. It requires work, and a regular glance in the figurative mirror to make sure
you and your organization are communicating your message effectively, in all ways, to all
audiences.
While The Latimer Group advocates regularly looking in the mirror, we do not expect every
self-evaluation to lead to dramatic change. Constant evolution is not always required for
success. But the courage to look in the mirror is. Success requires the strength to look
at the market – and at yourself – to determine whether your organization is
as competitive as it can be.
Peering into the Looking Glass
At the Latimer Group, we do more than encourage our clients to look in the mirror. We
regularly take a long look at ourselves as well.
With the close of our third year of operations, we have examined the value we add to
our clients, and we have asked ourselves if there is more or deeper value that we can add.
In this issue of The Beacon, we would like to share what we’ve found through
our own period of introspection and use our process to spur you to take a reflective view
of your own organization.
When we looked in the mirror, this is what we saw: We work with our clients on their
ability to persuade through the spoken word. We help them hone their public speaking and
presentation skills. We help them lead more effectively, sell more products and services,
and raise more capital through stronger verbal skills. We help everyone who works with
The Latimer Group design and deliver their message more powerfully and more persuasively.
But is there more? As we look, unblinking, at our value proposition, we have asked ourselves
if we can add even more depth to our client offering. The answer has been a resounding “yes.” As
I wrote above, in the wired world in which we live, there are many ways we must communicate
with our multiple audiences.
Until now, The Latimer Group has been largely focused on face-to-face communication.
But after taking this long, hard look in the mirror, we realized that we have been ignoring
several important communication platforms. Until now we have not had the expertise to help
clients communicate remotely, through the media and through broadband platforms like web
casting.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Marni
Lane, the newest member
of The Latimer Group. Marni comes to us after a decade at ABC News, where she was a producer,
writer and editor. She is a media expert, who will be an invaluable resource to our clients
as they prepare to communicate through the media, be it television, print, radio or web.
From her experiences producing investigations, breaking news, long-form feature stories,
series and special events, she knows how to communicate a message effectively, considering
the type of story and the medium.
She knows what journalists are looking for in television interviews, through her experience
with Peter Jennings on ABC’s World News Tonight. She knows how to ask the
hard questions and get to the heart of an issue, through her experience working with the ABC
News Investigative Unit. She knows how to tell a story with a good narrative, through
her experience working with PrimeTime Live. She knows how to communicate well
on the web and in print, through her experience coordinating editorial content for ABCNEWS.com.
She brings a range of skills and experience that previously did not exist at The Latimer
Group, and her presence translates into deeper value for our clients.
The Latimer Group will continue to assist our clients with face-to-face communication
such as formal speeches, town hall meetings, business presentations, and in-person sales
calls in the same manner to which they have become accustomed. But Marni’s expertise
allows us to coach and train our clients to communicate well through the media, and through
remote communication such as conference calls and web casts, which are playing an ever-increasing
role in business today.
We have looked at how your organization’s message will need to be delivered differently
in a formal speech vs. town hall meeting vs. business presentation. We have developed specific
strategies for coaching a client through an interview on television vs. radio vs. print
vs. broadband. We realize you need to be persuasive in a variety of ways, and our ultimate
goal is for you to be effective, regardless of the medium in which your message will be
delivered.
Going forward, we will continue to refine our message to make it easier for our audience – clients
and potential clients – to understand our deeper value proposition. And we will continue
to evolve our thinking and our intellectual property so that we can add maximum value.
Are You Willing to Take a Look?
As we bid farewell to 2005 and welcome 2006, we invite all of our clients and friends
to take an introspective look at their own organization and communication needs. As you
think about your own organization, consider a few questions:
- Is your message reaching your customers and your marketplace in
a powerful and persuasive way? Are you sure?
- What are the risks to your business and your organization caused
by ineffective communication?
- Do you have a clear message? Can you articulate it?
Are you prepared to articulate it face-to-face and through the media?
- Can everyone
in your organization articulate it?
- Have you thought through the differences between the speech you
need to give this week, the presentation your sales team is preparing for later this
month, and the television interview your CEO is giving next month?
- How much is it worth
to you to be absolutely certain your entire organization can articulate your message
in a clear, consistent and powerful way?
If your answers to these questions are uncertain
in any way, we can help you.You and your organization need to be effective
and persuasive communicators. Prolonged success requires it. Are you confident in your
organization’s
skills? In closing, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all clients
of The Latimer Group for entrusting us to help you communicate more effectively.
And we would also especially like to thank those who have referred business to us.
That is the ultimate endorsement, and we appreciate it sincerely. We wish you a prosperous New Year.
Dean M. Brenner
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© 2006 The Latimer Group. All Rights Reserved.
Dean M. Brenner -
The Latimer Group: 203.265.4344.
Feedback or comments: dmbrenner@thelatimergroup.com.
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