StrengthsFinder: Helpful or not?

Earlier this week, a few fellow marketing department coworkers and I took the StrengthsFinder test and went to a Human Resources workshop designed to help us understand our results. I tend to reflect a lot about my relationships, whether it be with coworkers, superiors, community members, patrons, or my personal relationships. I found StrengthsFinder to be a good exercise in reflection. None of my top 5 themes surprised me, but I found some of the suggested action items on how to incorporate my strengths into the workplace helpful, although some of them felt a little too much like a zodiac for my comfort, such as "Find someone with strong Command or Activist strengths to pair with." However, what I found to be even more helpful was hearing my coworkers' results, and how they interpreted or explained them. This allowed me insight into our work relationships, and understanding why certain protocols, processes, or environment details are important to different people. 

Do you think personality tests such as this are useful in the work place? If you've taken StrengthsFinder specifically, what did you discover with your results? Have you shared them with your coworkers/superiors? If so, has that affected the way you work together?

Awards 2013 - Celebrate your work!

We have made some changes to UMCF maroon and gold awards this year that we think you will love:

• 2013 awards will be presented at a member appreciation party on May 29 - this will be a swank event you will not want to miss.


• Winning entries will be displayed gallery-style at the May 29 event, with winners on hand to talk about their work between bites of delicious hors d'oeuvres.


• We have a new award this year for best use of the Driven to Discover "Discovery illuminates everyone" campaign in any medium. This award is sponsored by Olson, the advertising agency that created
  the D2D campaign, and an Olson staff member will be one of our judges this year. Tips on using this theme

The eligibility period is March 1, 2012 to Feb. 28, 2013, so the work you are doing now will be eligible. You may enter in as many categories as you wish, and there is no entry fee. Read more about past categories and winners - Advisory only, as rules and categories could change for 2013.

Look for more information about awards and member appreciation night in coming weeks. In the meantime, save the date - May 29. It will be a great party and a great way to celebrate our work.

-- Ann Nordby and Kris Junker, UMCF awards committee co-chairs

Break Time

This morning I heard this story about treadmill desks. Pretty nice set-up. Well, with that and the upcoming University holiday on my mind, I'm reminded of how important it is to move around and take a break. 

Oh, there are helpful apps too, like BreakTime--it never forgets your breaks.

 

U Relations | Here to Help

Today I went to the UMCF program, Beginner's Circle: Working
with University Relations, and discovered a pocket of resources for us as
communicators. I am fairly new (one and half years at the U) and have had
veterans tell me that you are not a real U employee until you have been here
for ten. It was nice to hear that for some people that were closer to the
ten-year mark, this was good information all around. So, whether you are new to
the University or have been here for years, there was a little something for
everyone.

The panelists were: Ann Aronson, responsible for marketing
and branding; Laura Johnson, responsible for creative services; Chuck Tombarge,
responsible for the news service; and Jay Weiner, the presidents speechwriter.

Here are some of the resources they provide:

New Service: (www.umn.edu/urelate/public-relations.html)
Will work with you on a press release or connecting you to local reporters. Provide
media training for faculty and staff. Provide council on social media strategy.
Write a column from the president in your department/units newsletter.

There are four staff members, broken into beats that
they cover:

• Julie Christensen covers public affairs, access, engagement, philanthropy and
  diversity.


• Steve Henneberry covers liberal arts, humanities, and video.


• Matt Hodson covers STEM, research, science to industry, business, and
  agriculture.


• Patty Mattern covers administration, athletics, crisis, and efficiency.

Creative Services and Marketing Communications: (www.umn.edu/urelate/marketing.html)
Provides consulting in collaboration with marketing and branding for marketing
strategies, electronic communications, shared media, design, writing, editing,
multimedia, and photography. The U Story on the homepage is also handled
through creative services and ideas can be submitted to urstory@umn.edu.

The overall focus for University Relations this year is
President Kaler's priorities that can be found here: www.umn.edu/president/initiatives-priorities/index.html.

Do you have other resources that would be helpful for
navigating communications at the U?

I am also looking forward to the next program, Expert
Insights: Dave Pyle, Former bureau chief of the MN/WI Associated Press on
December 5.

The Creative Process

Recently, I've been doing some research on the creative process to help describe to my non-design educated co-workers what it is I actually do all day. I came across this beautiful, informative, and short video of the very talented minds behind MINDCASTLE. 

http://mindcastleblog.com/blog/2009/12/27/holidays-are-awesome.html

I would also be remiss to not mention the (presumably) fabulous National Design Week last month in New York at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Launched in 2006, National Design Week is held each year in conjunction with the National Design Awards program. During National Design Week, Cooper-Hewitt's award-winning Education Department hosts a series of free public programs based on the vision and work of the National Design Awards honorees. National Design Week culminates with the National Design Awards gala ceremony. Definitely something to keep in mind for next year. 

http://www.cooperhewitt.org/national-design-awards/ndw

Throwdown: "People" vs. "Faculty and staff" in web navigation

People who go to college, school, department, and other higher education websites want to find the faculty, staff, physicians and residents, students, and other people at those sites. Sometimes there's a link that says "Faculty and staff." Sometimes a link for "People." Sometimes it's something else completely.

So...

Is it people?

Is it faculty and staff?

Something else?

It's a throwdown: People vs. Faculty and staff. Which side are you on and why?

What is Basecamp & How I use it

I was introduced to Basecamp, which is a project management
software, during one of our board meetings and wanted to find out more on how
it will benefit our team. Please click: http://ridz.sg/blog/2010/08/what-is-basecamp-and-how-i-use-it to read more
about this online collaboration.

I've been using Google Docs for many of our department
projects and wanted to break down the benefits of each here:

Google Docs:

• User creates a document (word processing,
  spreadsheet, etc.) and the document "lives" in the cloud.


• User invites other users and gives them certain privileges (read only, edit, etc.).


• The doc is always available since it "lives" in the cloud.


• Multiple people can be editing and/or viewing the doc at the same time - nice feature if two or more people are collaborating on a conference call and working on the doc at the same time.


• Users can export the doc to MSWord format, for example, if the user wants to get it onto their desktop.


• Feature set is good but is pretty basic - enough so that some users may not have all the cool features that they enjoy on their desktop apps.


• Biggest benefit is that many users can see and edit the document from many locations at any time since it's living in the cloud.


• Biggest downside is that some of the more advanced app features from desktop apps may not be available.

Basecamp:

• User creates their document on their desktop and uploads a copy to Basecamp.


• User can specify who can see and download the document.


• Users who want to work on a document download it to their desktop and then upload it again when they are done. Users can specify whether or not to send an email notification when a new revision has been uploaded.


• Basecamp allows you to see previous iterations of the document - all versions are stored permanently.


• Basecamp has tons of nice project management features: basic project calendar, allows you to set up and assign milestones to specific dates and people, alerts assignees when a milestone is imminent or is past due, assign To-Do's with deadlines to individuals, track hours worked.


• Stores threads of conversations (messages) in a central location so all project-related conversations are easy to find.


• Nice email notification features when changes are made to project components.


• Iterative storage of project-related docs.


• Available apps for the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.


• $24/month pay as you go vs. Google Docs which are free, but if you are needing some project management features then the price is WELL worth it.


• Biggest upside: great project management features, very easy to set up and use, love the pay as you go (no long-term contracts), nice conversation thread management, nice email reminders.


• Biggest downside in comparison to Google Docs: If users need to collaborate and edit a document simultaneously someone will need to set up a webinar (free for up to 3 people using Acrobat Connect, though there are several other free and paid screen-sharing software apps out there).

I guess it ultimately comes down to preference
in choosing a platform that best works for your team.

5 steps to maximize your membership

The Communicators Forum board recently sent this email inviting members to make it your communications year and take advantage of membership benefits and value.

Here are five steps to maximize your membership.

STEP 1: Complete this brief member survey by Friday, November 16.

STEP 2:
Save the date for these signature events:

• 
  Member Appreciation Event - May 29, 2013, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis
• Annual Conference - June 25, 2013, all day, Carlson School of Management, Minneapolis
  

STEP 3:
Plan to enter your best work in this year's Maroon and Gold Awards, entries due February or March 2013 for work done anytime in 2012.

STEP 4:
Attend a program. The next two are:

• November 15, 12-1:30 p.m., 100 Murphy Hall - Beginner's Circle: Working with University Relations (panel discussion)
  
• December 5, 12-1:30 p.m., 2-233 Carlson School of Management - Expert Insights with Dave Pyle, former bureau chief of the Minnesota/Wisconsin Associated Press
  
  

STEP 5:
Give yourself a creative reboot and try something new.

• Volunteer for a committee
• Visit a museum or see a performance on campus
• Explore UMCF communications resources, comment on Pinterest, tweet or retweet your UMCF colleagues
• Get creative sharing ideas in the comments on the member survey
• Comment on this blog

FULL EMAIL TO MEMBERS BELOW

Communicators Forum members,

As a Communicators Forum member you are part of a network of professional communicators who are smart, talented, inspiring, outspoken, strategic, reflective, candid, diplomatic, pragmatic, resourceful, thoughtful, pioneering ...

who execute social media campaigns, plan and write website content, design educational materials, set strategic direction, consult on best practices, create compelling videos, pitch stories that showcase the U's impact, manage creative teams, tell stories that matter ...

and the list goes on!

The volunteers working behind the scenes to make things happen have an exciting year planned for you (yes, YOU), with some programming and key dates below. We want you to make it = YOUR YEAR. It's the year of the communicator. Your year.

Some steps to maximize your membership:

STEP 1:

So we can shape activities to meet your interests, complete this brief member survey by Friday, November 16.

STEP 2:

Save the date for these signature events:

Member Appreciation Event - Year of the Communicator

May 29, 2013, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis

This new event will celebrate members with appetizers and cocktails; inspiring display of awards entries, Mike (people's choice) judging, and awards ceremony (separated from the annual conference); group palm readings, and more surprises.

Annual Conference - Year of the Communicator

June 25, 2013, all day, Carlson School of Management, Minneapolis

The annual conference will be one to remember with a new location and exciting lineup in the works. Be sure to share any speaker/topic ideas on the member survey!

STEP 3:

Plan to enter your best work in this year's Maroon and Gold Awards. Submissions will be due sometime in February or March 2013, for work done anytime in 2012. All entries will be displayed and awards given at the member appreciation event in May. Share ideas for new awards categories on the member survey.

STEP 4:

Attend a program. Thanks to everyone who was at Wednesday's tour of the For the Common Good exhibit at Andersen Library, and congrats to raffle winner Allison Gahlon (Learning Abroad Center)!

• November 15, 12-1:30 p.m., 100 Murphy Hall - Beginner's Circle: Working with University Relations (panel discussion)


• December 5, 12-1:30 p.m., 2-233 Carlson School of Management - Expert Insights with Dave Pyle, former bureau chief of the Minnesota/Wisconsin Associated Press

Learn more and register >

STEP 5:

Give yourself a creative reboot. Take a walk. Go to a museum on campus. Visit the Forum website, comment on the blog, (check out these past poll results, very fun--many introverts and English majors!). Volunteer for a committee by contacting one of the chairs listed below. Forward this email and spread the word to colleagues who aren't members--that $40 goes a long way for value.

Whatever steps you take (whatever moves you make), we hope you dare to make it your communications year.

Sincerely,

your Communicators Forum Board of Directors, 2012-13

Kate Sophia, chair / Academic Support Resources

Rebecca Noran, vice chair / Academic Health Center

Kelly O'Brien, chair emerita / College of Liberal Arts

Sarah Hollerich, at-large director / Academic Support Resources

Melissa Wray, recorder / Northrop Concerts and Lectures

Didi Nguyen, treasurer / Academic Support Resources

Lani Payette, chair, technology committee / Training Services

Katie Covey, co-chair, marketing and promotions committee / Weisman Art Museum

Erin Kober, co-chair, marketing and promotions committee / Student Unions and Activities

Cullean Colby, co-chair, program committee / Carlson School of Management

Jen Thissen, co-chair, program committee / College of Liberal Arts

Kris Junker, co-chair, awards committee / College of Veterinary Medicine

Ann Nordby, co-chair, awards committee / University of Minnesota Extension

Erin Lauderman, co-chair, conference committee / Weisman Art Museum

OPEN: co-chair, conference committee (contact Erin at elauderm@umn.edu if interested)