I Dreamed A Dream.

There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he’ll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I’m living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

The most inspiring and soul stirring performance ever. This is the story of Susan Boyle who has encouraged everyone to not only dream but hope that it will come true someday. This is the story for everyone who has dreamed, who has failed and stopped dreaming – its an inspiration.

A bit of wikipedia information follows for background:

Susan Boyle (born 1961) is a Scottish singer and church volunteer who came to public attention on 11 April 2009, when she appeared as a contestant on the third series of Britain’s Got Talent. Boyle found fame when she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables in the competition’s first round.

Before she sang, both the audience and the judges appeared to express scepticism based on her unpolished appearance, and apparent awkwardness. In contrast, her vocal performance was so well received that she has been dubbed “The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell”. She received a standing ovation from the live audience, garnering yes-votes from Cowell and Amanda Holden, and the “biggest yes I have ever given to anybody” from Piers Morgan. The audition was recorded in January 2009 at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow, Scotland.

The juxtaposition of the reception to her voice with the audience’s first impression of her triggered global interest was amazing. Articles about her appeared in newspapers all over the world, while the numbers that watched videos of her audition set an online record. By 20 April 2009, viral videos of her audition, subsequent interviews of her, and her 1999 rendition of “Cry Me a River” had been viewed over 100 million times on the Internet. Cowell is reported to be setting up a contract with Boyle with his Syco Music company label, a subsidiary of Sony Music.

The video:

Personal Take:

I have watched it — umm..I have lost count but watched it too many times. And everytime I had a tear (quite a few actually) in my eye. From the look of “this is going to be a rather amusing show” that the judges had before Susan sang to the looks shock to utter appreciation left me completely moved. Her voice was spine tingling and an emotional powerhouse.

Literature has time again talked about underdogs being humiliated and ridiculed but in the end coming out victorious and Boyle stands for this “fairy tale”. A true example of never judging a book by its cover.

“I know what they were thinking, but why should it matter as long as I can sing? It’s not a beauty contest.” – said Susan Boyle to The Sunday Times

It reminds me, at this turning point of life, that its not about having the best of everything – looks, money, brains, etc – but making the best of what you got that matters. Boyle reminds every layman that she too is flawed and has faced disappointments in life but that didn’t stop her from trying again – stopped her from dreaming.

A new age Cinderella story for all. I suppose that is what makes adults different from children – we forget to dream and to believe in miracles, fairy tales, ourselves and in others. We tend to become more and more cynical as life happens to us and this is like an awakening call to all of us to dream, dream and dream, and most importantly believe in them.

A speech Larry Ellison (Oracle CEO) gave at Yale University to the Graduating class of 2000. What follows is a transcript of the speech delivered by Ellison at Yale University:

“Graduates of Yale University, I apologize if you have endured this type of prologue before, but I want you to do something for me. Please, take a good look around you. Look at the classmate on your left. Look at the classmate on your right. Now, consider this: five years from now, 10 years from now, even 30 thirty years from now, odds are the person on your left is going to be a loser. The person on your right, meanwhile, will also be a loser. And you, in the middle? What can you expect? Loser. Loserhood. Loser Cum Laude.

In fact, as I look out before me today, I don’t see a thousand hopes for a bright tomorrow. I don’t see a thousand future leaders in a thousand industries. I see a thousand losers. You’re upset. That’s understandable.

After all, how can I, Lawrence “Larry” Ellison, college dropout, have the audacity to spout such heresy to the graduating class of one of the nation’s most prestigious institutions? I’ll tell you why. Because I, Lawrence “Larry” Ellison, second richest man on the planet, am a college dropout, and you are not. Because Bill Gates, richest man on the planet-for now anyway-is a college dropout, and you are not. Because Paul Allen, the third richest man on the planet, dropped out of college, and you did not. And for good measure, because Michael Dell, No. 9 on the list and moving up fast, is a college dropout, and you, yet again, are not.

Hmm… you’re very upset. That’s understandable. So let me stroke your egos for a moment by pointing out, quite sincerely, that your diplomas were not attained in vain. Most of you, I imagine, have spent four to five years here, and in many ways what you’ve learned and endured will serve you well in the years ahead. You’ve established good work habits. You’ve established a network of people that will help you down the road. And you’ve established what will be lifelong relationships with the word “therapy.” All that of is good. For in truth, you will need that network. You will need those strong work habits.

You will need that therapy. You will need them because you didn’t drop out, and so you will never be among the richest people in the world. Oh sure, you may, perhaps, work your way up to #10 or #11, like Steve Ballmer. But then, I don’t have to tell you who he really works for, do I?

And for the record, he dropped out of grad school. Bit of a late bloomer.

Finally, I realize that many of you, and hopefully by now most of you, are wondering, “Is there anything I can do? Is there any hope for me at all?” Actually, no. It’s too late. You’ve absorbed too much, think you know too much. You’re not 19 anymore. You have a built-in cap, and I’m not referring to the mortarboards on your heads.

Hmm… you’re really very upset. That’s understandable.

So perhaps this would be a good time to bring up the silver lining. Not for you, Class of ‘00. You are a write-off, so I’ll let you slink off to your pathetic $200,000-a-year jobs, where your checks will be signed by former classmates who dropped out two years ago.

Instead, I want to give hope to any underclassmen here today. I say to you, and I can’t stress this enough:

LEAVE. Pack your things and your ideas and don’t come back. Drop out. Start up. For I can tell you that a cap and gown will keep you down just as surely as these security guards dragging me off this stage are keeping me dow…”

(At this point The Oracle CEO was ushered off stage.)

Public Relations is the most underestimated function in an organization. However, ironically, according to research, it is the key function that is blamed when an organization is going through crisis. It could pretty much claim to be the only one that is liable for the actions of other functions. So what is the role of this highly misunderstood, often referred to as the step-sister of Marketing, function?

Well, there might be many “professional” definitions that refer to public image management, media manipulation and/or events management, but I would like to define it simply as effective stakeholder relationship management through effective communication skills.

Stakeholder is yet another term which is often considered synonymous to the target customer and that is what makes Public Relations different from Marketing. For the success of any organization it is necessary to consider all its stakeholders – internal and external, direct and indirect, probable and sometimes the most improbable ones too. Some of the stakeholders to always keep in mind are media, financial community, clients, employees, unions, partners, government and politics, interest groups, opinion leaders and for the believers, may be even God. Further, it is also necessary to understand what drives these stakeholders – is it adaptability or are they goal oriented, is it a latent pattern they are striving to maintain or do they just want to integrate with a particular part of the society. It will be interesting to wonder what drives God but that is another topic to be discussed another day.

Having defined what I mean by stakeholders, let’s talk about the key to successful stakeholder management – communication. In today’s information age, there is abundance of data (which needs to be sieved through for the right information) available at the click of a button and also different channels through which one can access it. Hence, one needs more than just mastering a language (English being the most universal one for corporate communications) to communicate effectively. One needs to have a keen sense of understanding of the ecosystem of any business. An in-depth analysis of the business and communication situation is imperative before even trying to reach out to the stakeholders. To succeed, in today’s world, one not only has to listen to the public opinion but actively engage and hopefully leverage on this opinion for the benefit of the organization. Let me clarify it isn’t about controlling the opinion but “letting go”[1] that is the key to success.

In the days of our grand parents, communication was face to face with almost no scope for misunderstanding each other. However, today there are enough and more channels and modes of reaching out to our stakeholders and the challenge is choosing the most effective one for dissemination of the core message. The channel required to create knowledge is often very different from one that is to change opinion and yet more different from one that is to ensure an action is taken. Speaking of channels, some of the most traditional forms of media are opinion leaders, news paper, radio and television. However, unlike most fields of invention that have a lifecycle with a definite end, the field of communication has innovations and more innovations which all snow balls, the new channels like the internet just adds to the existing channels and makes the life of the public relations expert more challenging and yet more exciting.

Today, as a very knowledgeable man has said, we are digital immigrants in the world of digital natives[2]. Consumers today are cynical – 68% of the people, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, believe in the opinion of their peers (raised from 22% in 2003) than the organization. To put it simply, the traditional top-down approach to communicating to stakeholders might be necessary sometimes but if is the only channel chosen then we are just missing the point. It is the world where the “digital natives” are connected, contributing and in control of their experiences. They are intelligent enough to sieve through the sales and promotions, and find just the information they are looking for. Reputation of an organization can be built up or dashed down in seconds with this immense accessibility of information.

Speaking of reputation, public relations through effective stakeholder relationship management eventually strives to manage the corporate reputation of the organization. And the most common mistake that a public relations expert makes in doing so is having an excellent understanding of the stakeholders and organization and an even more impeccable dissemination/execution of the core message but failing to listen and incorporate the feedback of the stakeholders. This, I suppose, is the result of being used to the traditional top down approach of the media, but once again we have to acknowledge the fact that the rules of the game has changed and change is the only thing that is constant in today’s world.

That was a rather intense discussion into all that happens within the Public Relations function but why then there is a public opinion that this is a field that represents event management, press releases and media parties – a feel good industry for the people who strive to be taken seriously in the corporate world. This is because all that is visible to the rest of the world is the various instruments (like events, press releases, talks, magazine articles, etc) that are a result of the intense understanding of the business and its ecosystem. It is almost comparable to an Iceberg whose tip is the only part that is visible and hence underestimated whiles the huge mass of “ice” lies just beneath the water.

In conclusion, public relations and effective communication is not a function that exists to pick up from where the so called “serious and important” people in the corporate world finishes. It has a very important entity of its own that has the rather challenging task of managing the reputation of an organization through effective stakeholder management and communication skills.

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[1] A. G. Lafley, CEO of P&G

[2] Rupert Murdoch, CEO of Times Corp.

It’s not that unusual when everything is beautiful
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

The sky knows when its time to snow
You don’t need to teach a seed to grow
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own

Isn’t it remarkable?
Like every time a raindrop falls
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

Birds in winter have their fling
And always make it home by spring
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

When you wake up everyday
Please don’t throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
Cause we are all a part
Of the ordinary miracle

Ordinary miracle
Do you want to see a miracle?

Its seems so exceptional
Things just work out after all
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

The sun comes up and shines so bright
It disappears again at night
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

It’s just another ordinary miracle today