The 80/20 Rule

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

In other words, 20% of the effort/investment leads to 80% of the results. For example:
- 20% of the people do 80% of the work;
- 20% of your activities generate 80% of your results;
- 20% of your clients generate 80% of your revenues.

If we assume that this rule applies to the time, energy and resources we invest in our businesses and our marketing communication efforts, we should think through its implications.

Consider this: if 20% of our effort generates 80% of our results, that means the other 80% of our effort is only generating 20% of our results.

This begs the question: are we wasting 80% of our time and energy? Granted, some of the things on which we spend that 80% of our time and energy are things that must be done. However, many of the things on which we spend our time and energy are likely not that important; we simply do them because we've always done them, and we might be better off to eliminate them from our routine.

As an example, if you are in five business networking groups, and 80% of your revenues are being generated by clients from one of those groups, you may be well advised to drop the other four and focus your efforts on the one that is most productive. Doing so could exponentially multiply your productivity.

In the case of things which take up time and are part of the "unproductive 80%" but still have to be done, we should consider whether we would be better off to delegate or outsource those items and spend our time and energy on the 20% that yields results.

Eight Years Later: Reflecting on 9/11

by Frank Williams

On the one hand, it is difficult to believe that eight years have passed since the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01. On the other hand, we seem remarkably far removed from the horrific events of that now infamous day.

On 9/11, Al Qaeda struck at the heart and soul of our nation. We were attacked by an enemy that reviles our freedom and wants to kill us (there is no point in mincing words on this issue). For the first time in many years, Americans felt as though our way of life — our freedom, this grand, unprecedented, unparalleled experiment known as the United States — was threatened by an enemy who had now proven they could hit us where it hurts.

America rallied in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. We were united in our desire to defend our nation against future terrorist attacks, which I have no doubt were already in the works. We were united in our desire to help those impacted by the attacks. We were united as one people, under one flag. When it came to defending our nation and our freedom — which I believe to be the pre-eminent role of the Federal government — partisan differences went by the wayside.

Three weeks after the 9/11 attacks, I had the opportunity to travel to New York City on an outreach trip with a group affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ. We saw the still-smoking rubble of Ground Zero from a couple of blocks away. We spoke with countless people who had lost friends, family members and co-workers — including a woman who had been to more than 30 funerals in three weeks. We saw the strain and sadness in the eyes of the firefighters and policemen. We saw the many posters people had posted of missing loved ones in the hope that they might somehow be found alive and well. The things I saw and heard during this trip made a permanent impression on me. The experience was one for which I am grateful and that I hope to never repeat.

Eight years later, I fear that the lessons of 9/11 are fading. I fear that we have become complacent regarding the defense of our nation. I fear that we have become so numb that we now fail to see our enemies for what they are: enemies. This is evidenced by the fact that the phrase “Global War on Terror” is out and “Overseas Contingency Operation” is in.

As 21st Century Americans, we are the benefactors of those who fought and died to win our independence more than 200 years ago. We are the heirs of those who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy and in the Pacific. They have left us a legacy of freedom; we are now called to be good stewards of that freedom, to protect it and preserve it for future generations. Freedom is not free, and we can never take it for granted. We knew this all too well in the days following 9/11; let us never forget the lessons of that day.

Below is an article I wrote shortly after my trip to New York City following 9/11 entitled “An Unimaginable Experience in New York City: October 4-7, 2001” (written October 11, 2001)

I recently had the opportunity to spend several days in New York City with an organization called Priority Associates, which is affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ. Our primary mission was to distribute a magazine entitled Fallen, but not Forgotten and to reach out to the residents of New York whose lives were blindsided by the tragic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Late on the evening of Wednesday, October 4th eight of us departed from Clayton, North Carolina in a 15 passenger van and headed north on I-95. We arrived in New York City early on the morning of Thursday, October 5th and immediately went to work distributing Priority Associates’ Fallen, But Not Forgotten magazine. The magazine is an outreach document which discusses the aftermath of the terrorist attacks from a Christian perspective. On Sunday, October the 7th we left New York and returned to Raleigh, thus ending an experience which I will never forget.

A few words and phrases come to mind when I attempt to describe my experience in New York City. Unimaginable. Incomprehensible. Tragically sad. Awe-inspiring. Hopeful.

I would like to begin by saying that the images we see on television cannot do justice to the damage we witnessed. Further, I don’t believe what we were able to see does justice to the full scope of the damage and devastation inflicted as a result of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. The damage is incomprehensible. A combined 220 stories of steel and glass came crashing down, compacting into a dense, white-hot pile of rubble. According to an NYPD officer with whom I spoke, the temperature inside the pile of rubble was estimated to be nearly 1200 degrees at the time of our visit — three weeks after the attacks. The amount of dust in the air was unbelievable. When we returned to our hotel at night, our white washcloths turned partially brown or black as a result of the dust in the air. The rubble and ruins we were able to see were unbelievable… they truly looked like a war zone from a World War II movie.

The sights were almost surreal, but the dust and smells were all too real. The sight of a clothing store in which the contents were still covered in dust was hard to believe. The trucks taking load after load of rubble out of the ground zero area, the sight of National Guard and military personnel in the streets, the ruins of the Twin Towers, the view of damaged buildings near the remnants of the towers, the parking garage containing the dust-covered cars of missing people — all of these things truly drove home the unimaginable magnitude and scope of what happened on September 11th.

This trip drove home the human toll of the terrorist attacks as well.

One member of our group struck up a conversation with a lady while we were riding the subway, only to find out that the lady had worked on the 86th floor of one of the towers. By the grace of God she was down in the lobby when the plane hit, but over 30 of her co-workers were not as fortunate. She has been going to one or two funerals per day over the course of the past few weeks. To put this into perspective, she has very likely been to more funerals in the past month than I have attended in my entire life.

Everywhere we went we saw pictures of people who were missing. Family members were still clinging to any shred of hope that their missing loved ones might still somehow be alive. The sight of the memorial wall in Grand Central Station was particularly moving. This wall, which was basically an island in one of the main halls at the station, contained pictures of scores of missing people, along with descriptions of them and who to call if they were found. What the people of New York are experiencing is unimaginable.

We had the chance to talk with a number of NYPD officers. These brave men and women lost many co-workers in the terrorist attacks, yet they had little time to mourn. Their jobs called them to duty in these most difficult of times. I could see the strain on their faces. Other members of our group who had the chance to speak with members of the fire department said much the same.

The terrorist attacks also took a major emotional toll on New Yorkers who lost no friends or family members as a result of the attacks. Many of the people we met at ground zero are long-time New York City residents. For a significant number, this was the first time they had been able to make themselves visit the site. Many of them no longer felt safe in their city. Another lady, who had lived in New York for many years, told us that she basically watched the Twin Towers being built from her apartment terrace 30 years ago. She equated the loss of the towers to the loss of two children, saying “I watched them grow up and now they’re gone.” Whether right or wrong, the Twin Towers were a major part of the city’s identity, and as they crumbled so did the feeling of security many New York residents possessed.

The scene in New York City is indeed a tragic one. It helped awaken me to what is really important in life. It drove home the point that any day could be my last, and that we should take nothing in this life for granted.

There is, however, a ray of sunshine in the dark cloud that is the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, and that ray of sunshine gives me reason to be hopeful. The people of New York — the people of America, for that matter — are more open to God than at any time in my life. The positive reception we received in during our time was nothing short of surprising. The number of people who would read the entire Priority Associates magazine and then come back and ask for additional copies was equally uplifting. In addition, the number of people who would initially say “No!” when we offered them a magazine, and who would then stop, turn around, and come back and ask for a copy was breathtaking. It was as though they heard a voice that told them that they needed to read this publication. Finally, we saw very few of the Fallen, but not Forgotten magazines in the trash or on the ground. People were keeping them and reading them. At last check, I believe Priority Associates has distributed approximately 1,000,000 of these magazines since the attacks.

Another silver lining in the cloud is the spirit of servanthood I witnessed among the people in New York. Everyone there seems to want to do something to help. Everywhere you turned you saw flags displayed. Everywhere you turned you saw someone who was trying to do something to help others.

These two rays of sunshine give me hope that this tragic situation will result in something positive for our country. The spiritual renewal and the patriotic unity I have witnessed are unprecedented in my lifetime. These attacks, which were intended to divide our country and break our spirit, have had the opposite effect. It is my prayer that these two rays of sunshine will continue to shine brightly over the dark cloud that still lingers in the aftermath of the attacks, and that the lives we touched will be forever changed.

This was a trip I will never forget. It is an experience for which I am grateful, and one which I hope I never have the opportunity to repeat. May God bless America and protect us from such future attacks.

Pioneer Strategies celebrates eight years in business

LELAND, NC – Pioneer Strategies, a public relations agency that does business in southeastern North Carolina and the Raleigh-Durham area, recently celebrated eight years in business. Since its inception in August 2001, the firm has provided public relations counsel and services to more than 70 small businesses, non-profit organizations, political campaigns and other organizations throughout North Carolina.

“We are excited to reach this important milestone, especially in light of current economic conditions,” says Frank Williams, president and founder of Pioneer Strategies. “In challenging times such as these, businesses and other organizations need strong, focused marketing programs to ensure that their efforts hit the mark. We look forward to continuing to work with our clients to help them fight through the headwind of this recession.”

Pioneer Strategies’ work has been recognized with several awards. The agency won a Silver Award at the 2006 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication banquet, earning recognition in the open publications category for State Auditor Les Merritt’s 2005 Christmas Card. The firm also teamed up with Fountainhead Technologies, a Raleigh-based Web development firm, to win a 2005 MarCom Creative Award for the Town of Leland’s Web site.

Pioneer Strategies is a public relations agency that provides businesses, associations and other organizations with strategic public relations counsel and communication services. Pioneer's services and expertise include strategic communication planning, media relations, campaign planning, executive public relations counsel, community relations, special event planning, copywriting and speechwriting. For more information, visit www.pioneerstrategies.com or call 910-371-3408.

Pioneering Quotes

"Develop the winning edge; small differences in your performance can lead to large differences in your results."
- Brian Tracy

"Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities; integrity, intelligence, and energy. But if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."
- Warren Buffett

If Your Press Release Doesn't Stand Out, It is Dead On Arrival

Earlier today I received a press release sent to one of the online publications I manage. The release stated that leaders of an organization recently met with a Member of Congress to introduce themselves and their organization. The release also included a list of other upcoming meetings as well as instructions for anyone who wanted to support its activities.

Critical Mistakes: This sounds straight-forward enough -- but the organization made several critical mistakes with its press release:

• The organization's name was listed as an acronym throughout the release. The full name of the organization was never spelled out. I had never heard of the organization or the person who sent us the release.
  
• Nothing in the release explained the organization's mission or purpose. After reading the release, I had no idea WHY they met with a Member of Congress. The same release which stated that the organization's leaders introduced the group to a Member of Congress failed to introduce it to editors and reporters.
  
• Other than invoking the name of a Member of Congress -- who happens to represent a district 200 miles away from our publication's coverage area -- nothing in the release made it newsworthy, especially given that I have never heard of the organization and knew nothing about its mission.

The press release did include a link to a Web site where I'm certain I could have obtained more information -- but nothing in the release motivated me to click on that link. If you want a reporter to take the next step to click on a link to your Web site, your release has to give them a reason to do so. Further, if the headline and introductory paragraph fail to capture the editor's attention, they will likely never make it to the portion of the release which lists your Web site.

The bottom line: if your press release doesn't get an editor or writer's attention, it is dead on arrival. Many editors and reporters receive hundreds of press releases in a given day. If they don't know you and are unfamiliar with your organization, your release had better stand out from the crowd or they are likely to discard it as lacking newsworthiness.

Social Media and Your Business: A Small Leak Will Sink a Great Ship

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship."

This principle applies in many areas outside of our finances. From a public relations perspective, a seemingly innocuous statement made or action taken without proper forethought can become a major problem. This is especially true in the rapid-fire world of Twitter and Facebook.

This week, I was made aware of a situation which bears this point out. A person in a position of prominence posted an item on their Facebook page which generated a significant amount of discussion. Unfortunately, one of the other people participating in the discussion posted a comment which included a racist statement. The person who started the discussion posted what was in essence a "You Tell 'Em" response -- a response I believe they posted without having thoroughly read the comment to which they were responding. The person's knee-jerk response to the comment blew up in their face, resulting in a negative news article which branded them as a racist.

The moral of the story: be careful what you post on Facebook, Twitter, blogs or any other social media site. If you are responding to something, make sure you have actually read what you are responding to. If you have to think twice, don't post it. If it could easily be taken out of context or distorted, don't post it. Once you post it, it's out there -- and Google has a very long memory.

Pioneering Quotes - Opportunity

"I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one."
- Mark Twain

"Opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we usually expect it to beckon us with beepers and billboards."
- William Arthur Ward

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."
- Helen Keller

Press Releases: Details Matter

Those who know me know that I am involved in a variety of civic and political organizations. In one of those groups I am working to help the leaders learn how to write and distribute their own press releases. During this process I have been reminded of the importance of attention to detail when working in this area.

A few key details to which you should pay attention include:

• The subject line. If you are distributing your press releases via e-mail (which you should be), the subject line must get the editor's attention. If not, they may never open it. In one of the groups in which I am involved, the person who distributed our most recently release simply put the name of the organization in the subject line, with no other information. A busy editor who receives hundreds of press releases each day might never open that e-mail or see the press release.
• Targeting. Make sure you send your release to the right reporter or editor.
• Formatting. Send your press release as plain text in the body of the e-mail (not as an attachment), with little or no special formatting. As someone who receives press releases for several Web sites I manage, I cannot tell you how important this is. If a press release contains lots of special formatting, one of the first things I do is remove all of that formatting and convert it to plain text. If there is so much formatting that the release is difficult to edit, it had better be newsworthy or it will never see the light of day.
• Specifics: Include the basic information (who, what, when, where, why and how) related to whatever your release is announcing. In the case of the press release mentioned above, it was intended to announce an upcoming event. The person distributing it followed a template which included all of the specifics on the event. As an example, if you are announcing an event, always include the full street address of the location. Do not assume that reporters or others know where the venue is located, no matter how well known it may be.
• Press Contact: Always include the name and contact information of a person reporters can contact with questions. Make sure that person can actually answer reporters' questions if they receive such a call, and make sure they are available to do so.
• Send Yourself a Test E-Mail: Send the press release to yourself before you send it to your list. Triple-check it for formatting errors, special characters which mysteriously appear, etc. In the press release referenced above, the contact e-mail address for the organization came through with strange formatting when it was distributed.

This is by no means an exhaustive list; these are simply a few things that have jumped out at me as I have worked with the volunteer organizations in which I am involved.