Dick Martin – författare

In this deep and engaging exploration of diversity in America, author Dick Martin explains how we can bridge personal differences to experience great professional success. OtherWise goes far beyond census data into the realm of cognitive and social science, helping readers break through stereotypes and fears to gain a profound understanding of people unlike themselves. This is not touchy-feely stuff, but rather crucial information for businesspeople everywhere whose success depends on embracing the diverse and sometimes divisive realities of their workforce, suppliers, and customers. Readers will discover what America''s changing demography means for business, how unconscious biases shape behaviors and beliefs, how to connect across cultures, borders, and perspectives, and how to move beyond tolerating differences to capitalizing on them. Even as the US grows increasingly diverse, most professionals have little real knowledge of those with different backgrounds, opinions, and beliefs. Multiethnic marketing materials are mostly a token gesture, and within companies that have diverse teams, that breadth can sometimes feel more like a challenge than an asset. OtherWise strips away the barriers of “us” and “them” and lays bare profound truths for relating to and working with one another.

For better and for worse, few companies have been so prominently and constantly in the public eye as AT&T. Through decades of growth and dominance, followed by its 1984 breakup and a litany of well-documented troubles, the company has soldiered on, by turns thriving and hanging on for dear life.Perhaps no individual experienced as much of the roller-coaster ride as Dick Martin, an executive vice president and 30-year AT&T veteran with both a bird’s-eye view of and a crucial role in the company’s bumpy history.Tough Calls is the ultimate inside look at how AT&T tried to cope with a “perfect storm” of fierce competition, economic turmoil, and punishing media scrutiny. Mixing unflinching candor with love for the company he helped steer -- and clear respect for many of his long-time colleagues -- Martin takes you through boardroom and back room to shed unprecedented light on:* How the 1996 bungled announcement of 40,000 layoffs nearly destroyed the company* How flawed succession planning precipitated sharp declines in AT&T’s stock price* The never-ending, ugly turf battles with the “Baby Bells” brought on by the AT&T breakup* How even small interest groups can have a tremendous influence on business decisions, and how the media are largely responsible for determining what is business news on any given dayTough Calls is also a cautionary tale to be heeded by all businesses, using AT&T’s experience in the brutal telecom wars as a backdrop for new strategies in weathering unforgiving business conditions. Just a few of the lessons to be learned include:* How to avoid the most common mistakes that executives make, such as being held hostage by unrealistic expectations, waiting too long to make critical changes, and building their celebrity rather than their credibility* How to balance internal and external communications, and how and when to deal with the business media* How to improve relationships between PR executives and the “C” suite -- CEO, CFO, Chief Counsel, etc.--and how to make public relations more strategic* How to build and sustain favorable brand recognition and investor allure even in the face of bitter competition and unpredictable market conditionsAs candid and fascinating as it is constructive, Tough Calls is itself a call to attention and to arms, in preparation for the many battles that every business must eventually face, against fierce adversaries, and even within its own camp.

This book represents a practical guide to ethical decision-making tailored specifically to the needs of those who practice and study public relations. It traces the development of ethical theory from ancient Greece through the works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to modern day public relations executives including Harold Burson, Robert Dilenschneider, and Richard Edelman. The book helps readers build personal frameworks for ethical reasoning that will enable them not only to recognize the ethical issues at play in public relations practice but also to analyze the conflicting duties and loyalties in these situations.This volume fills a gap in the currently available books on the subject, most of which either lack theoretical grounding or practical application. Illustrative cases used in this book span a wide range of public relations functions. To update readers on issues discussed in this book, the authors have started an online conversation.