Cross-posted from the FIR Podcast Network

Steve Crescenzo and Kathy Klotz-Guest were Shel Holtz’s guest co-hosts this week. The conversation covered these items:

• Nearly a quarter of employees can’t name their CEO or even pick him or her out of a lineup. What should CEOs be doing about this (and does it even matter)?
• Are town halls the worst way for executives to communicate face-to-face with employees?
• Political discussions are on the increase in the workplace and the results aren’t always good. You can’t banish such talk, so how should companies manage it?
• GE has just launched its latest branded content effort and once again, employees are front-and-center.
• Companies in the news have become the targets of online memes. Should companies ignore them, argue with them, or join in the fun?
• Dan York reports on breached email accounts, the Jakarta Declaration issued by UNESCO on World Press Freedom Day (and its call for open encryption), the challenge of cities besieged by delivery trucks (which result from the rise of online retailing), the future of jobs and jobs training, and a May 11 Chatham House event on the impact of the Internet on societies.

Connect with our guest co-hosts on Twitter at @crescenzo and @kathyklotzguest.

Links to the source material for this episode are on Contentle.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

FIR was recorded using Zencastr.

About our guests:

Steve Crescenzo started Crescenzo Communications 15 years ago after leaving his post as Editorial Director and VP of New Product Development at Ragan Communications.(Steve does a lot of great communication work, but his wife Cindy runs Crescenzo Communications.) Both Steve and Cindy do presentations, internal communication audits, and internal communication consulting. Steve and Cindy both present frequently, together and solo, at a number of communication conferences at events, and Steve has been recognized as the top speaker at IABC’s world conference a number of times.

Kathy Klotz-Guest, MA, MBA, is a business storyteller, creative facilitator, and speaker. Founder of Keeping it Human, it’s her mission to help organizations turn jargon-monoxide into compelling stories and uncover bold ideas for marketing. A podcaster and comic improviser who launched her one-woman show in 2015, she is also the author o”Stop Boring Me! How to Create Kick-Ass Marketing Content, Products and Ideas Through the Power of Improv.” Her work has been featured in Convince and Convert, SNCR.org, Business of Story, MarketingProfs, Ragan.com, PR Daily, Pragmatic Marketing, and CustomerThink. Her 7- year-old is still her favorite audience!