Holtz Communications + Technology

Krishna De gives a nice overview of SaaS project management services in the latest episode of “The Podcast Sisters.” In her quest for the perfect service, Krishna queried her Twitter community and looked at the various suggestions they sent her against her well-thought-out list of criteria. She settled on Basecamp.

I’ve used Basecamp and have tried a couple other options, but have gone a…

In a single blog post, Scott Monty has put on a clinic on how a company can bring social media to bear in the face of difficult times.

Scott, who manages Ford Motor Company’s social media efforts, has assembled his own manifesto, “How You Can Use Social Media to Help the U.S. Auto Industry.” The post is much more than an appeal for aid, though;…

The Big 3 U.S. automakers—GM, Ford, and Chrysler—want the $25 billion federal legislators are hesitantly dangling in front of them. Today, Democratic leaders insisted that the trio spell out their plans for spending the $25 billion (which presumably won’t include additional private jets).

My advice to these companies: Go considerably further than a spending plan.

On his “60 Minutes” interview this past Sunday, President-Elect Barack Obama…

I have come to the sad conclusion that the people running AIG are idiots. Dolts. Complete and irredeemable morons.

I defended the Southern California retreat for which AIG took so much heat. That event was an incentive for top-performing life insurance salespeople. It was part of the compensation for their contributions and necessary to keep the company’s top performers from defecting to the…

All the job cutback news from the last several weeks, culminating in American Express’s announcement that it will cut 10% of its workforce—7,000 jobs—has me thinking about communicating layoffs. Sadly, it’s a chore I’ve had to perform several times in my career.

My worst experience—which was also my first—goes back a long time ago in a Fortune 500 company far, far away. (Well…Los Angeles.) As the…

At one of the Fortune 500 companies where I directed corporate communications, many years ago, a reorganization consolidated some of the company’s business units. In a game of executive musical chairs, one high-ranking exec was left without a job.

The press release the company issued used the typical jargon claiming that the poor fellow was leaving the company “to pursue other opportunities.” I suppose that…