With the Super Bowl days away, what are you most excited about – the game, the half-time show or the commercials?

I have to admit, I’m much more interested in the commercials and half-time show this Sunday.

Although Madonna’s half-time show is not expected to be as risqué as Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s, Madonna is certain to provoke and provide lots of opportunity for talk. TMZ and others have leaked that “Vogue” will most likely be one of the five songs during her performance.

But what have me excited about the Big Game are the much anticipated commercials. From Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno for Acura to Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller, to the CareerBuilder.com chimps, the spots are bound to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. For a sneak peek at some teasers, check out AdWeek’s preview.

By the way, the Giants are playing the Patriots.

How much is enough for families who lost loved ones and passengers scarred by the biggest cruise ship accident in recent memory?  Carnival, parent company of Costa Cruises, is finding out.  Today, the cruise ship giant offered passengers a settlement of $14,500 per person, plus full reimbursement for their cruise package and expenses.  It’s a costly  move for Carnival, but is it enough when you consider the sheer volume of lawsuits looming?  Given the amount of news coverage and the difficulty with search and rescue, will Carnival’s efforts effectively repair their brand and image?  This is an ongoing debate between the attorneys and PR teams at companies around the world.

The bottom line is Carnival had the opportunity to do a lot more during the initial investigation.  They missed opportunities to try and rebuild their credibility, which quickly eroded when the poor decisions of the ship’s captain came to light.  As divers continue to search for bodies, Carnival is trying to move on and sell more cruises.  They have an opportunity to talk about policies and procedures on board all their vessels to reassure the general public that their ships are safe and secure.  Expect Carnival and the cruise ship industry as a whole to take a financial hit as potential passengers look elsewhere for vacations.  The long-term effect is up to Carnival.  How they handle these difficult weeks and months ahead will determine the future of the company and quite possibly the industry.

Think about it, if you were a passenger or you had a friend or family member on board, what would you want Carnival to do? What would you expect them to say? If you haven’t discussed your own corporate messaging strategy lately for everyday news or crisis communications, call TVG at 314-991-4641 or click here to send us an email.  We can help.

Last Thursday, MoDOT went a long way toward calming angry drivers who were stuck in hours of traffic because of a mere half-inch of snow. Past storms have dropped much more snow on St. Louis and didn’t cause nearly as many problems. What went wrong this time? MoDOT’s Director Kevin Keith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “We didn’t do a very good job and my reaction to that is I’m disappointed. I want to apologize to the people of St. Louis and those in that part of Missouri for our efforts. You should expect more from us, and you’ll get it.”

Did Keith need to go that far in his apology? I would say no, but the fact that he did speaks volumes about Keith as a leader and about the entire MoDOT organization. When it comes down to it, MoDOT guessed wrong based on the forecast, and they accepted full responsibility for that guess. When is the last time you saw someone accept full responsibility for something that was out of their control? If Keith and his team had guessed the other way, treated the roads with solution and salt, and the forecast had been wrong, they could have been criticized for wasting taxpayer dollars. From a media and crisis communications perspective, Keith did everything right. He accepted responsibility and vowed to do better in the future. Now, let’s cut MoDOT some slack and see how they do with the next snow storm this winter.

When was the last time you or your spokesperson had media and crisis communications training? If you can’t remember, give us a call. We can help! You can also take our crisis communications threat matrix quiz.

Happy Friday the 13^th! Did you know this superstitious day is not only associated with bad luck, it also affects consumer decisions?

The Stress Management Centre and Phobia Institute, based in Asheville, N.C., estimates that $800 million to $900 million is lost every time the 13th of the month falls on a Friday, as people avoid doing business, leaving their homes or flying. This is due partially to the fact that between 17 million and 21 million people in the U.S. suffer from some degree of fear related to Friday the 13^th.

The official names for fear of Friday the 13^th are friggatriskaidekaphobia and paraskevidekatriaphobia, which cause symptoms as severe as panic attacks. Stuart Vyse, professor of psychology at Connecticut College, says the superstition that associates Friday the 13th with bad luck is one of the most widespread in Western culture because it is passed down from generation to generation.

For more interesting facts about Friday the 13^th, check out this article.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/01/12/f-friday-thirteenth.html

St. Louis is a health care town and we wanted to share some highlights from a recent article in the Academy of Health Care Management Journal, titled “Health Care and Social Media: Building Relationships Via Social Networks”, along with some ways local hospitals are using social media.

Health care providers are joining the social media wave as part of integrated marketing outreach to engage and build relationships with current and prospective patients. Some of social media’s benefits to health care marketers include building trust from consumers, helping simplify an intimidating service, answering consumers’ questions about their health conditions and learning what consumers are thinking and saying.

Health care can be complicated. Therefore, when consumers want to determine which provider to go to or find potential solutions for an ailment, they often turn to the Internet and social media. The extensive health information online makes it even more important for providers to be a part of the conversation on social media. Patients can use social media to learn how providers approach cases and get a feeling for their personality.

Not only is social media a valuable relationship-building tool, it helps health care providers learn what questions patients have and what their concerns and needs are.  Providers can reply directly to questions and can send customized messages to individuals using social media.

If you’d like to see how some of St. Louis’ health care experts are using social media, check out these sites:

• www.facebook.com/#!/MercySTL
• www.twitter.com/#!/bjc_healthcare
• www.youtube.com/user/SSMHealthCareStLouis

Do you seek out health information online? Which social media outlets are you most likely to use when seeking out health information?

Source: Hackworth, B.A. & Kunz, M.B. (2011). Academy of Health Care Management Journal.

I was reading the latest issue of Time magazine (1/9/2012) and ran across Joel Stein’s “My Psychic Powers at Work”.  I was most struck on his amusing take on the end of the world on Dec. 21, 2012.

That’s based on the Maya calendar.  The end of days of the 13th Bak’tun, or the end of a 5,125 year cycle happens December 21, 2012.  We’ve had no end of cable channel programs and movies on what this means.

So, how do people react?  Of course some would decide to do a “Rave to the Grave” dance party Dec. 20-21 in Oslo to welcome in Armageddon.  Nearly 14,000 Facebook users say they plan to attend.  But the Maya (we learn it’s not Mayans) around today, say it’s not the end of the world.  It’s just the beginning of a new time and “new things are going to happen.”  What a relief.

Does this mean we still need to form those New Year’s resolutions, or do we skip a year? After all, what’s the point if you can’t try to remember last year’s resolutions every January 1?

As you head into this year, there are a few resolutions you can make within your company. Improving communication among your staff and to your external audiences is just one of them. If you need help improving  your communications efforts this year, The Vandiver Group can provide customized services to get you where you want to be.

By Laura R. Vandiver, Director of Research and MBTI^® Certified Practitioner

Thinking (T) and Feeling (F) & Judging (J) and Perceiving (P)

For the past few weeks I’ve been talking about the MBTI^® tool and how TVG uses it.  Today, I’m focusing on the T/F and J/P preferences.

Thinking and Feeling

First, let’s look at Thinking and Feeling.  These designations have to do with how people make decisions, which is a big part of team dynamics. Thinking types tend to approach decision-making analytically and logically. They are most concerned that everyone is treated equally. Feeling types tend to guide their decisions based on their personal values, and place importance on group harmony. They tend to be compassionate and want everyone to be treated as an individual.

Practical Tips for Team Leaders: Thinking types will present you with unbiased facts when faced with making a decision, while feeling types will help gauge the human impact of the decision.

Judging and Perceiving

This dichotomy on the MBTI scale has to do with how people view the outer world. Judging types tend to take an orderly and methodical approach to the outer world, while Perceiving types like to keep things open and spontaneous.

Practical Tips for Team Leaders: Judging types are fantastic at coming up with plans and checklists, and tend to be deadline-driven. However, they may sometimes lose sight of all the options available to them. Perceiving types are often open to last-minute ideas and are flexible and adaptable. They become energized by tight timelines and will sometimes work until the last minute to get something done.

The Vandiver Group, Inc. has several certified MBTI^® trainers to help your teams learn to work better together. Click here to learn more about MBTI^® training for your team, and TVG’s additional training classes designed for your business success.

So you’ve proofread your resume a hundred times, checked for spelling and grammar, made sure all of the bullet points are aligned and inspected the document from top to bottom. Now you just have to save it so you can email it to prospective employers.  That’s the easy part, right?  Well, maybe not…

I bet you’re thinking about naming the document “Resume”.  How do I know that?  Because nearly every resume document shares the same name.  Before we talk about what to name your document, let’s review what not to name it.

Here’s a sample of some actual resume document names.

• “Yes – this is the correction version” (I’m glad I didn’t receive the previous version of this resume.)
• “Advertising Resume” (I wonder if there is a PR Resume, Marketing Resume and Communication Resume, too.)
• “Resume1” (Is Resume1 better than if I received Resume3?)

So now that those options are out, what should you name the document?  How about starting with your name? If you have other attachments, such as your cover letter, writing samples and references, wouldn’t it be ideal if the recipient of these files could save, sort and review them using your first and last name along with any attachments included with the document?

Everyone says your resume is your first impression, but in this electronic age, the name of your document is actually the first impression for HR and talent acquisition departments.  And, if you’re selected to interview for a position, wouldn’t you rather have them call you by name instead of asking for “resume1”?

Stay tuned for more resume and interviewing tips from the TVG staff.  For information on our current job openings, email info@vandivergroup.com.

By Laura R. Vandiver, Director of Research and MBTI^® Certified Practitioner

Sensing (S) and iNtuition (N)

TVG uses the MBTI^® tool in some of our training seminars and facilitations with teams.  For the past few blog posts, I’ve talked about the four-letter designation that indicates each person’s preferences.  Today, I’m going to cover Sensing and Intuition.  These two designations indicate how people prefer to gather information.  Sensing types prefer to take in information that they can gather through their five senses. They tend to be detail-oriented and like to find concrete, practical solutions to problems by relying on their past experiences. Intuitive types, on the other hand, see themselves as big-picture people. They prefer to focus on the future and all its possibilities, and they like to think about things as patterns and meanings rather than specific details.

Practical Tips for Team Leaders: Intuitive types will excel at coming up with great ideas for projects, but will often need to rely on sensing types to help build the precise steps to achieve the end goal. Use the inspirational talents of the intuitive types to come up with multiple possibilities for solving a problem, and then recruit the sensing types to discuss all the related facts and details to choose the best solution.

TVG offers MBTI^® classes and uses the tool in training teams.  Want to know more about our training seminars? Go to the “Stratigem” section on our website or, click here.

TVG has been recognized again by the St. Louis RCGA with a St. Louis Green Business Challenge award. RCGA started the program two years ago.

Andy Likes, Director of Media Relations, accepted the award for TVG. The program encourages companies to take steps toward more sustainable business practices.

Some of the ways TVG improved our sustainable business practices in 2011 included:
• Our Green Team held employee educational sessions that discussed tips for being greener around the office and at home,
• TVG provided recycled materials to a local church to help in their fundraising efforts, and
• TVG used and recommended soy ink and recycled stock for marketing materials.

Andy Likes accepts TVG’s St. Louis Green Business Challenge Award of Achievement. At left is EarthWays Center at Missouri Botanical Garden’s Director, Glenda Abney, and at right is RCGA Executive Director, Richard C.D. Fleming.