Creativity, the key to success?

        At terpAMA, we believe that marketing is the art of business. As marketers, we’re never going to be expected to simply plug in numbers or play by the book. Instead, we’re going to need to be innovative and creative in order to succeed. I recently came across Fast Company’s list of the 100 most creative people in business for 2012, and was inspired. The list spans a wide range of people, and highlights some of their most innovative ideas and accomplishments. It stresses the need to take risks and think differently, not only in business, but also in order to make a change in the world.
    There are people from companies that are constantly applauded for their creativity like Facebook, Starbucks, and Nike, but the list also includes musicians, artists, non-profit business owners, and even government institutes. The diversity of industries that Fast Company recognizes adds so much more value to this article. Even though Nike may be a lot more flashy and fun, there are many people thinking outside the box to solve problems, really important problems, in other industries as well. One of my favorites was number twelve, the founders of Voto Latino, Rosario Dawson and Maria Teresa Kumar. They recognized that very low numbers of Latinos we’re voting in elections, and so they engaged Latinos with a mobile marketing strategy that simply reminded young Latinos to vote via text. Through this use of tech in politics, they have been able to reach this demographic of young Latino voters. Not only is it a great marketing strategy, but it is also for a great cause. Other highlights from the list include Ceelo Green, Steven Zeitels (the surgeon who restored Adele’s voice!) and even Shaquielle O’Neal and his social media strategy.

Check out the article and explore it a bit. Learn how they have achieved such great success. Keep it in mind for when you need a bit of inspiration to fix a problem.There is so much we can learn from these leaders in business and so much we can contribute if we continue to search for new solutions and fresher ideas.

Who was your favorite? Are there any you would add to the list? Leave a comment below- we’d love to hear about it!

Communicate with Impact

“It’s not what you say, but how you say it.”

Every business professional has heard these words of wisdom at some point in his or her career. We all remember that one professor or friend who seems to drone on and on about one topic or another, but no one can ever remember what that person actually said. To avoid being “that guy”, it's important to remember that impactful communication is about so much more than words.

Whether we notice it or not, the majority of our perception of a message comes from non-verbal communication of the speaker. According to studies on interpersonal communication, researchers have found that the overall understanding of a message is broken down as follows:

Verbal = 7%

Vocal  = 38%

Visual  = 55%

This means that over 90% of our communication is transmitted not by our words, but through our body language, tone of voice, pace of speech, appearance, eye contact, etc. Impactful communication requires clear and specific speaking, the use of visual aids, knowing the audience, and varying tone of voice to stress main points.

Also, one must remember that impactful communication is two-way: it involves both good speaking and good listening. Good listeners keep their focus solely on the person speaking, let the speaker speak without interruption, and ask questions about what is unclear. The best part of being a good listener is that it becomes incredibly easy to learn about the world around you.

From recently entering the working world, I have found that impactful communication is an essential tool for each and every aspiring professional. I constantly communicate with co-workers and supervisors on everything from my opinion on how one of our company's processes to an update on my progress on a project or task. With so much work to do and only a short workday (you’d be surprised how fast a day at work can go), it is actually good business to communicate well. In fact, it can be very costly to communicate poorly. In one case, miscommunication from legislative budget writers cost the state of New Jersey more than $200 million.

After all, wouldn’t the world be a better place if we could all just understand each other?