The Yin and Yang of CR

So why “Blazing the Two-Fold Path” (again, maybe it is only Mom who is asking that question)?  Nevertheless, I’m going to talk about the Two-Fold Path anyway.  It’s my blog and I can ramble if I want to. 

I’ve already talked about the Two-Fold Path being the yin and yang of doing community relations.  The yin, doing good CR work for the right reasons … to help the community.  The yang , creating a strategy and a plan around your outreach work.

Yes, I admit that this is not rocket science.  However, you’d be surprised at how few companies actually take the time to create a strategic plan for their community relations programs.  At Avnet, we’ve taken it a step further and we’ve used (yes, I mean used) CR to help us brand our company in our headquarters market (the Phoenix metropolitan area, knows as the Valley of the Sun).   Once again, this topic is more fodder for a later blog (dang, this blogging is kind of addicting.  Wish I hadn’t resisted it for so long!).

Like I said, not many companies are doing the yang.  So, I find myself blazing a new path as I catapult (sometimes uncontrollably) toward this blended, yin/yang strategy.  For, me this is a cool thing.  I happen to be a hiker so blazing a path is nothing new to me.   And, just like in real life, I get lost, I call for help and then I either get back on my path or I blaze on down a new path like the proverbial bull in the china shop (ask my boss, Al, and he will readily compare me to a bull in a china shop, or an elephant on a rampage).

So, here is my blog, what I hope will be “a guide to community relations” for all you other trail blazers.