You Still Have To Write For Humans (And Not Just Eighth Graders)

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Anyone who has been in marketing eventually is advised to “write like an eighth grader.” People who offer this advice may cite legitimate literacy studies showing that the “average American” reads at the level of a seventh- or eighth-grader. If that is true (especially since more than 90% of adult Americans 25 years or older have graduated from high school), I’d like to have a word with our education system.

Maybe this is unfair, but when I hear people say, “write like an eighth-grader,” it sounds a lot to me like “dumb it down.” Yes, I fully agree that marketers should express themselves simply and directly. As a consumer or B2B buyer, I wouldn’t have it any other way! Who has time for a lot of smoke and mirrors or hyperbole? We’re all busy and just want to solve our problems or enable opportunities.

Technology can be very difficult to understand, let alone explain – healthcare technology even more so. And don’t get me started about life sciences and advanced medicine. But it’s our job to make sure we’re getting our clients’ messages across in a crowded, noisy market.

Take this blog post. I am not writing this at an eighth-grade level because my target audience is marketers and healthcare professionals, and I’m supremely confident that most of the people in those jobs can handle a flashy four-syllable word or two.

Going back further, I’ve been writing about enterprise technology and healthcare technology for many years. My primary target audience has been CXOs, the people who make buying decisions or can influence buying decisions. CXOs tends to be well-educated and articulate. If they were placed back in middle school today, I’m convinced most would get gold stars for their outstanding reading ability. I believe in you, CXOs!

So while “write like an eighth-grader” is a pithy and memorable phrase that will get you lots of likes and fond references to Strunk and White on LinkedIn, understanding your audience and writing to their level is much better advice. If you do this effectively, you can connect with existing and potential customers on a human level, show you understand their problems and needs, and persuade them that you have the right solution. And that’s how sales are made and brands are built.

Resist SEO tyranny

Speaking of connecting on a human level, digital marketers also are constantly told they must “write for SEO” (search engine optimization) – almost always, incidentally, by SEO experts. (Just sayin’! 🤣) This process may require clumsily shoehorning highly rated “keywords” into the first 100 words of your text, writing “compelling” meta descriptions, inserting links in the text (but not too many), and other best practices that can change depending on Google’s latest search engine tweaks.

When I was freelancer, I worked for a content company whose platform literally wouldn’t allow you to submit an article unless it met about a dozen SEO criteria. The pain and shame of mutilating my copy to meet the exacting standards of a string of code in C++ forever will haunt me.

I don’t know much about SEO, but I do know a lot of smart people believe in its ability to help improve Google search rankings and raise a company’s visibility. But I worry that an excessive emphasis on SEO eventually can be counterproductive because the writer ends up writing to an algorithm. Not only does that feel restrictive, but you run the risk of sounding like everyone else writing SEO-driven copy.

SEO is a tool. “Write like an eighth-grader” is a concept. Don’t let either get in the way of you communicating on a human level with your target audience. Yes, you should be concise and direct, but there’s nothing wrong with showing a little personality or using humor when appropriate. These techniques might not register with an algorithm, but they will help your company or client connect with plenty of people on a human level. And that’s worth a lot.

Whether In PR Or Elite Sports, We Need Cultures That Support Mental Health

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Let’s face it— sports are hard in terms of physical and mental health. Exerting your body over-and-over again through training and competition; preparing for years just to have an opportunity to perform at one event; facing defeat; facing injury; facing expectations; facing regiments served at the expense of family and friends; facing doubt in your abilities; facing identity crises.

Most elite athletes bear the burden of this reality. Furthermore, many have to deal with it behind closed doors. It isn’t surprising, then, that peering past the lens of ‘glitz and glamor’ reveals biologic mechanisms dealing with stress and emotion.

The sport of alpine skiing was foundational for my childhood. Growing up in Utah, the Rocky Mountains catalyzed my ski racing identity and shaped me into the man I am today. During my time at Amendola, I’ve witnessed how a a healthy team culture creates a healthy organization; and it’s planted at a humanistic level.

Confidence in your own identity is your most authentic self, and the most successful. Similarly, a PR/Marketing company that is authentic in its ethos is going to engage in successful business practices. The exposure I’ve had with a company that holds these values true has paralleled aspects of my experience as a professional athlete. Specifically, the importance of team culture; and most poignantly, culture in an industry that can tangibly improve the lives of athletes struggling with mental illness.

Since retiring from ski racing following the 2020/21 season, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on what this narrative has meant to me. In doing so, I wish to share my perspective on a subject that has only recently been absolved of its taboo undertone.

Mental illness plaguing sport isn’t a new phenomenon. Whether it’s been Naomi Osaka’s efforts in destigmatizing mental illness, or the vulnerability illustrated by Olympians in The Weight of Gold, society has begun to unpack the ways in which archetypes of hubris and machismo have negatively impacted the world of sports. Sure enough, studies show that athlete populations are saturated with mental illness, and they are inept at seeking support. 

For me, a silver lining from Covid-19 was being able to take a break from studying and competition at Dartmouth College to compete professionally in Europe. I was disillusioned by paying tuition for education via Zoom, so I took advantage of the opportunity to double-down on athletics once again.

Fast-forward to February 2021, and I’m in Bulgaria peering out of the start gate at my first FIS World Cup event. I was in the midst of the best athletic season of my career—witnessing the fruition of my hard work. Grit materialized into accomplishing a dream I had been working towards since I was a few years old. It’s a surreal feeling to experience something you’ve romanticized your whole life. Some things seemed better, some things seemed worse, and other things you couldn’t possibly imagine.

However, in this outpouring of love and recognition for what I’d done, one emotion stuck with me: pain. 

It baffled me how unperturbed I was in the wake of my athletic success. I wasn’t proud of myself; I was only disappointed that I didn’t do better. As the season came to an end, I returned to the U.S. feeling tired and confused. How could I make it to the World’s highest stage in ski racing, just to feel average? Unbeknownst to me at the time, the ‘best season of my life’ had turned out to be the mental health equivalent of the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”

As I put the pieces together, I realized how fractured I’d become. I thought of the countless times I’d looked in the mirror only to see a version of myself that I didn’t love; it was the body that I was told I was supposed to have in order to be successful at my sport, but it wasn’t a body that made me happy.

I recounted the years that my metric of self-worth was tied to how fast I had skied that day. I remembered working out twice, maybe three times a day, and still feeling as if it wasn’t enough. I pictured my coaches in the midst of my best results, reiterating for me to keep pushing, keep improving. I remembered toxic locker rooms, where if you didn’t epitomize masculinity, you were considered weird.

Regardless, it was in this darkness that I’d found commonality with other athletes who’d struggled with mental illness; I wasn’t alone. (You, reader, YOU are not alone). 

So here I am, retired from a sport that seemed to be my only life-source. In the midst of this “identity crisis,” I’ve been on a journey towards self-discovery. Albeit I did not wish to lament. I look back on ski racing with a heartfelt nostalgia; I have been fortunate enough to travel the world doing something I’ve loved, and I’m equally grateful for the triumphs, as well as the tribulations, that have contributed to my journey. As fractured as I was, it created the man I am today, and I’m proud of that person.

Fortunately, there are more avenues than ever for mental health outreach. De-stigmatization of mental illness in conjunction with other aspects of social progress paints a future of athletics in which it’s ok to be vulnerable, and it’s okay to not be okay. Within the scope of healthcare, mental health services have a high ceiling for innovation and growth. We’ve already seen a surge of digitalized mental health care/outreach in response to a pandemic-fueled mental health crisis.

The need for mental health solutions is only going to increase, because internal and external stressors are more prevalent now than ever before. Corporate environments that champion diversity, equity, and inclusion reap benefits through improving the lives of stakeholders. Toxic culture—whether it’s in sports, PR or other business—is antithetical to growth. Now more than ever, we are seeking help, and it’s only going to make the world a better place.

How Vampire Words Suck The Life Out Of Your Business Writing

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Imagine your boss issues the following email at the end of the day: “I’m bringing in bagels tomorrow morning.”

Yay, bagels! You make a mental note to skip breakfast tomorrow to make room for schmear.

Then your boss emails: “I’m going to prioritize bringing in bagels tomorrow morning.”

OK, a little less definite, but still a high probability of bagels. I mean, it’s a priority, right?

Then, a third email: “I’m going to focus on prioritizing bringing in bagels tomorrow morning.”

Bagels are starting to look iffy.

And, finally, she writes: “I’m beginning the process of focusing on prioritizing bringing in bagels tomorrow morning.”

Does that leave you with any hope of bagels? No, it does not. It’s just going to be you and your Cheerios tomorrow morning.

Your boss might be every bit as sincere in her last statement as in her first, but she won’t be able to convince anyone of that. Her original statement about bringing in bagels has been diluted by the addition of “beginning the process,” “prioritize” and “focus” — vampire words and phrases that drain the vitality out of writing and weaken our communications.

Business writing is a Transylvania full of vampire words that fasten themselves onto perfectly good sentences, suck them dry and leave them limp and bloodless on the page. What should have been a simple memo or email gets cluttered with unnecessary qualifying phrases until sentences collapse of their own ponderousness and lack of clarity.        

But this isn’t simply a matter of style. Vampire words also imply a lack of commitment and purpose, even a sense of self-doubt. Compare these two sentences:

Team A will analyze the results and deliver a recommendation.

Team B will focus on analyzing the results and leverage its assets to prioritize delivering a recommendation.  

Which team do you trust to deliver a recommendation? The action in Team B —analyzing results and delivering a recommendation — is besieged by vampire words and left sounding uncertain and indefinite.

But there’s good news. According to folklore, vampires can’t come into your house without an invitation. Likewise, vampire words can’t enter your writing without you allowing it.

Since that’s the case, why do we invite the bloodsuckers in?

A lot of it stems from an unmerited distrust of the simple declarative sentence. Remember those grade school sentences about Dick and Jane going out to play? Or the Hemingway you read in high school? That simple, straightforward style works in business writing, as well:

We will deliver the report by the end of the month.

We will conduct an A/B test on the competing headlines and report the results.

The test group liked the blue logo better than the red one.   

I know what you’re thinking: Those are short sentences composed of short words. What if people think I don’t know any big words or can’t write long sentences? What if people think I can’t twist incentive into a verb?   

Rest easy. Put yourself in the shoes of the recipient of a white paper or report composed of clear, direct language and free of vampire words. Wouldn’t that be refreshing? Wouldn’t it be nice to finish the text without any lingering doubt as to what parts of it meant or whether you peered hard enough between the lines?

Communicating clearly and simply with business associates and clients – with minimal jargon as my colleague Megan Moriarty would say – might astonish them at first, but they’ll come to appreciate it. And, who knows, they might even reciprocate. Think of the misunderstandings and confusion that could be avoided.

So review your business writing and drive stakes through those vampire words. If necessary, hang a string of garlic cloves over your laptop as a reminder.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Began Leading A Company

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I’ve always felt like I was born to be an entrepreneur; leading a company is in my blood because both of my parents started their own businesses.

I was always a “go-getter.” When I was 18, I took a commission-only summer job selling Cutco knives, and within a month I broke all the sales records and was a top producer. At the age of 20, I started my first business, which was a storage company that targeted college students in Boston who needed a place to store their personal items for the summer. About 500 students signed up, and in a few months, we turned a profit of more than $8,000.

After the requisite tour of duty in Corporate America doing public relations, I took a leap of faith and co-founded Amendola Communications with my husband Ted. Within six weeks, I had five retainer clients.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Of course, it hasn’t always been easy. From a shifting media landscape to evolving client expectations to a crippling pandemic, numerous challenges have popped up over the years. To surmount these obstacles, we’ve always been nimble and able to pivot when we need to. Instead of trying to force a square peg into a round hole, we’ve gotten good at shaving the edges off the peg. 

Here are five important lessons I’ve learned along the way about leadership and leading a company:

1. Hire where the talent is: When I started Amendola, I wanted to build a workforce in Scottsdale. Well, I did it, but I quickly discovered that when you don’t hire seasoned people in your market niche, it shows. The ramp-up time is too long and the quality of the work is sub-par, which means we couldn’t move up to the next level of clients. As I shared in this post, once I took location out of the equation things got much better.

2. Don’t try to do it all yourself: I was raised as a PR person, and loved doing pitching, managing accounts, and all the other hands-on pieces of the business. But it didn’t take long to figure out that while I was working on today’s clients, no one was out finding tomorrow’s. That’s a quick way to succeed yourself out of business.  So I hired some good people and gave up doing the day-to-day work to focus on business development, which is my superpower. We instantly became more profitable, and I found myself having a lot more fun.

3. Know what your company is good at and stick with it: You can’t possibly be all things to all people, nor should you try. Instead of taking on work that doesn’t suit your organization, whether it’s the wrong type of work, or the wrong market, or the wrong size of client, figure out where your niche is and focus your efforts there. If you do get asked to do something that you are not good at, refer the person who asked to someone who can do what they need. It’s a small world, and the odds are the good you do today will come back to you later. 

4. Hire people you like, that share the same philosophy, and fit in well with your work culture: It’s easy to fall in love with someone’s talent, but if they’re not a good personality fit, it can destroy the culture. And all it takes is one bad apple to turn a great place to work into a bad one. Hire the people who fit what you want your organization to be. Every couple of years we do an all-company retreat to a non-work area. Those are some of the best times because we have such a great staff of people and enjoy working together as well as mingling and socializing with each other. We care about each other and that comes from the top down.

5. Try before you buy:  If writing is important to your business, as it is in mine, don’t take people’s word for it that they are good writers. I think 80% of the country thinks they can write, but only maybe 20% can, at least to the level we need. Test every potential writer with a writing test, even if you love their samples. You never know if what you’re reading is their work or whether what they did was propped up by a great editor. It’s like the old saw says: trust but verify.

Leading a company will always have its challenges, but I have found that following these valuable lessons has helped pave the road to long-term success.    

3 Easy Steps To Writing a Value Proposition That Sells

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A value proposition is a simple statement that tells your customers and prospects why you are in business. At its core, it’s the promise your company gives customers about what it will deliver and why they should choose your product.

Value propositions form the foundation of marketing campaigns and sales pitches, so they can’t be vague or too general. The stronger the statement, the easier it will be to sell your product or services.

Putting in the pre-work to build a rock-solid value proposition is well worth the effort and will help you include precise results that benefit customers.  By following these three steps, you can create a value statement that sells:

STEP 1: Define your target market and ideal customers

Start by defining the most likely buyer of your product or services. You can conduct formal research using a third-party vendor or informal research on the internet. Narrow down your target by asking answering the following questions:

  • Is your target a person or a business?
  • Where are they located? 
  • What do they think or know about your current brand?
  • If a person, how old are they? What gender? What is their socio-economic background? 
  • Who else is competing for their loyalty in your market space?
  • Where does your target go to find information, e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter? 
  • What are their pain points?
  • What do they value?

STEP 2: Identify the problem you are trying to solve

How will you know if customers will buy your product or service? The answer is you must identify the problem(s) you are trying to solve. Otherwise, your solution won’t resonate with the customers you specified above. 

To clearly articulate the problem, think of your customer pain points as unmet needs. Then, answer the question, “How will your product or service specifically meet those needs?”

Examples of customer pain points include:

  • Inconsistent customer experiences
  • Poor quality of service or products
  • Complicated buying process
  • Not available on a preferred channel
  • Too expensive for what it delivers

STEP 3: Identify your unique market differentiators

To outperform competitors, you must identify distinguishing characteristics that only your company can own. These should be unique. If potential customers believe all available offerings deliver the same value, they will buy whatever’s available at the lowest price.

Ask questions that identify what benefits customers will gain from working with you. Examples of market advantages include:

  • Reputation – Employees, customers, partners, and the public hold positive opinions about your organization.
  • Innovation – The capability to develop new approaches using new or proprietary technology.
  • Customer Satisfaction – Processes and approaches consistently pleasing customers and resolving issues quickly.
  • A unique geographic location – Easier access to services for customer convenience.
  • Recognition – A logo and Brand image are quickly recognized and associated with quality.

Need more help? You can find free value proposition templates on marketing sites like Hubspot or check out this post from the Amendola blog.

An Open Letter To All Public Speakers And Soon-To-Be Speakers

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On behalf of conference program managers and producers everywhere, I’d like to share some insights for all public speakers and soon-to-be speakers. Conference season is coming. Submissions are being examined. LinkedIn pages are refreshing at a furious rate. And you might soon get that email that says, “You’ve been chosen to speak at XYZ Forum in Las Vegas! Congratulations! You’re going to crush it on stage.”

As the person who once-upon-a time chose, managed, and served as your shepherd to that fateful 30-minutes on stage, here are some helpful tips to make you and your session shine.

  1. Your presentation. I know you’ve got bigger fish to fry. Your presentation probably isn’t THE most important thing in life right now, but you know what? It will be for those 30 minutes you’re on stage. Pay attention to the deadline the conference gives you and get it to them on time. And give them the final version. There’s nothing worse than running into a room late waving a thumb drive to switch out your presentation because you had a eureka moment at 2:36 am to change “that” for “which” on slide 17. You know what? No one cares. And if it’s a number or data issue, make the correction on stage. Late presentations also increase the chances for errors so get that thing in and let it go. For some tips on making your presentation turbocharged, check out this post from my colleague Marcia Rhodes.
  1. Check the agenda. Programming an event is a lot like herding toddlers after packets of Fun Dip. There are a lot of moving parts. Things happen. I’ve had speakers cancel for plane delays, traffic, food poisoning, kids falling ill, and babies being born. COVID has introduced even more issues – for instance, a keynote speaker who was denied entry 20 minutes before go-time. It happens and things change so bookmark that agenda page and hit refresh. At least have a look at the agenda before you close your eyes the night before and dream of thundering applause and lines of people congratulating you as you come off stage.
  1. Know where you’re going. Have you been to Las Vegas? The Orange County Convention Center? Those places are immense. HIMSS alone has about 25,000 people and more signs than people. If possible, check where your room is the night before and if you can’t, check over your morning coffee while updating your presentation – which you won’t be doing. See? Caught you. Find your room and make sure you’re registered for the event and your badge is proudly hanging. I’ve had speakers running down the hall while the rest of their panel were taking the stage and, while they are drenched in sweat and trying to catch their breath, we’re trying to fish a microphone down their suit coat. Being late puts you in a bad mood and the AV person is none too happy either – trust me. Come early. Get a coffee or whatever you need and relax.
  1. Introduce yourself to the AV team. They’re there all day, couldn’t care less about the conference, the topic, or your presentation – but they’re making it happen, so introduce yourself. Ask them if everything is running on time (people tend to wax poetic on stage) and ask them where to wait when you’re getting close to your go-time. Be respectful. They might not care about your AI solution, but they do care about getting your mic on and making you sound good. If you’re anxious about your video on slide 24, you can certainly ask to review your deck but remember they’re managing 3-4 screens, have a pile of laptops to coordinate and more. If they are overwhelmed or dealing with someone who brought in a late presentation, it’s best to just trust the system.
  1. Go-time. When you’re finally on stage don’t use the podium. Walk. Pace. Stalk that stage like Mick Jagger, less hips, please. These conference rooms are big, cavernous and frankly can suck the life out of you. You have 20 to 30 minutes to shine. Make eye contact throughout the room. Talk to the audience. Use stories. Anecdotes. Show pictures of your kids. Throw a joke in if that’s your thing. Make it relatable. Show, don’t tell. I had a CISO from a major healthcare org explain to a group his sleepless nights when he realized his career had evolved from keeping credit cards secure to keeping people alive. It hit home. We had a vendor at an event illustrate his story about patient experience by sharing from pictures of a serious car accident he was in – and the room was silent throughout his whole presentation. Not a single piece of text appeared and it might have been the best presentation I saw in almost 10 years.
  1. Be cool. This last piece of advice is my favorite. Be cool. Just. Be. Cool. I might have suggested you act like Mick on stage, but off stage you’re just another speaker in a room full of them. Treat the conference staff well, your fellow speakers well, and the organizing team well. After the applause dies down, thank the emcee as you leave the stage and get yourself to the AV team to let them remove your mic and your job is done. Conferences are a lot of work – look around at some point next time you’re at one and think about all those moving parts. Sure, it’s not brain surgery, but it’s a lot of work and you’re one piece of the puzzle. Be an easy piece. The easier you are, the more you connect with people, the greater chance you’ll have of being invited back. I had speakers I’d email before I even put an agenda together because they were smart, easy, dependable and dynamic. Be that.

There is more but your Golden Rule is No. 6.

Public speaking is a lot. It’s not for everyone but remember, all those people in the audience, whether it’s 150 or 7,000, are there to hear what you have to say so you’ve already been accepted. They want you. The hard part is done. The mic is on, the PowerPoint is perfect and you’re going to crush it. Just get up on stage and take a deep breath. Everyone is rooting for you!

Need some inspiration? Here is a public speaker I thought was a particularly good presenter.

The Oxford Comma: Yes, No, Or Who Cares?

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The Oxford comma represents the rare example of a debate among grammar nerds that has spilled over into pop culture – at least a little bit.

From Vampire Weekend beginning a song with the pressing question of “Who gives a f— about an Oxford comma?” to a court case whose outcome hinged on the lack of an Oxford comma, few questions of grammar have captured the popular imagination like the debate over the appropriate usage (or lack thereof) of this one little punctuation mark.

First, let’s examine exactly what the Oxford comma – also called the Harvard comma and serial comma – is, which is more confusing to explain than understand through an example. The debate over the Oxford comma revolves around whether to include a comma before a coordinating conjunction such as “and” or “or” in a list of three or more items.

Here’s an easier way of thinking about it: Does the last comma belong in the following sentence? “The fruit bowl included apples, bananas, and oranges.” Oxford comma supporters would say that it does.

Adding to the debate, some of the top “authorities” on writing offer differing opinions on the Oxford comma, with the Chicago Manual of Style recommending it, and AP Style generally opposing it, except for cases in which omitting it would lead to confusion or misinterpretation.

And that is what really gets us to the crux of this debate. Grammar is about clarity, not memorizing seemingly arbitrary rules to separate “right” from “wrong” in writing. Here, the often cited “Ayn Rand” example can be instructive.

Consider the sentence: “This book is dedicated to my parents, Ayn Rand and God.”

In this case, the lack of Oxford comma seems to indicate that the writer’s parents are (somehow) Ayn Rand and God, while inclusion of the Oxford comma would more clearly illustrate that the writer is referring to three distinct entities.

To me, this seems to be the most compelling argument for the Oxford comma, while most arguments against it claim that it is often “unnecessary and pointless.” Indeed, in some cases the Oxford comma may be unnecessary, but because it doesn’t detract from the quality of writing or its clarity, I advocate for its usage.

Ultimately, what’s more important than deciding whether to use the Oxford comma is consistency in application. The worst Oxford comma-related outcome is when the same piece of content sometimes uses it, and sometimes doesn’t.

Unfortunately, in the end it’s somewhat of an unsatisfying answer, but it is also the one that makes the most sense when it comes to the Oxford comma: Decide whatever you like but make a choice and stick with it.

What’s My Tagline?: Grace Vinton and James Aita at HIMSS 2022

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The HIMSS Global Conference and Exhibition is a well-established healthcare innovation industry conference that Amendola has attended with our clients since the company’s inception. Members of our team were onsite at the 2022 event this year to support our participating clients.

Check out insights on this year’s tradeshow from one of our Media Specialists Grace Vinton on Healthcare NOW Radio’s, “What’s My Tagline.”

Being A Better PR Agency Teammate: 3 Lessons I Learned Riding My Peloton Bike

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Not too long ago, I was sitting in on our company’s bi-weekly Zoom meeting. As a fully remote PR company, I look forward to these meetings because it gives us a chance to unplug from work and really get to know each other beyond media pitches and byline writing.

My colleague Marcia Rhodes likes to open these meetings with ice breakers that force us to reveal more personal details about ourselves. This particular week we were discussing silver linings of the pandemic. Whether it was taking up a new hobby, a more flexible work schedule, or even washing our hands more, it was amazing to hear that we all could find positives in the pandemic’s difficult times.

I took a moment to share my journey with fitness, which led me to reflect on how it has impacted my professional life. In August of 2020, I found myself—like millions of others in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – prioritizing my mental and physical wellbeing. Enter Peloton.

Over 1,000 rides, 200 bootcamps, 250 strength classes, and 60 yoga classes later, the bike that goes nowhere has helped me prioritize my health during a time that felt so uncertain. Through the process of working on myself, here are the three lessons I have implemented as a teammate in the fast-paced world of public relations:

  • The importance of goal setting: I purchased my bike because I wanted to get stronger, improve my cardiovascular health, and perhaps shed a few quarantine pounds. By setting concrete goals, both big and small, such as exercising five times a week and executing 10 push-ups by December 2021, I have been motivated to strive for greater success.

Teamwork lesson learned: Set clear goals. In agency life, it is easy to find yourself overwhelmed trying to manage client expectations – which is why setting goals with your teammates to meet those expectations is important. My colleague Tara Stultz recently recommended setting goals for media placements and interviews when pitching media.

For example, my pitching goal might be to secure “one podcast interview with X trade publication for X client on how value-based care is addressing health inequities.” Having defined goals keeps the whole team accountable, motivated, and committed to crushing results for clients.

Wondering what goals to set this year as a PR or marketing professional? Check out this Amendola blog on resolutions for PR and marketing professionals. It’s never too late!

  • Remember that everyone is rooting for you: One of my favorite things about Peloton are the mantras the coaches have ingrained in my head. They not only get me through my morning workout, but I find myself using them in my personal life and in the workplace.

Here are some of my favorites:

“Your mind is your strongest muscle.” — Tunde Oyeneyin

“How do you do anything is how you do everything.” – Jess Sims

“You’ve made it through 100% of your bad days.” – Robin Arzón

“Allow yourself the opportunity to get uncomfortable.” –Alex Toussaint

Teamwork lesson learned: Our teammates want us to succeed! We all want to deliver the best press release, byline, pitch, but we can’t do it alone. I know my Peloton coach wants me to do my best, as do my coworkers. Get comfortable leaning on your team for help. As a team we all bring unique talents to the table, which is why I never hesitate to reach out to other team members when a pitch needs tweaking or a blog needs wordsmithing.

  • Be present: When I hop on my bike at 7:00 am I often find it difficult to focus on my task at hand—exercising. My mind has a way of thinking about everything else but. Did I send out the agenda for that call at 9:00? Do I have time to each lunch between editing that byline and jumping on a call at 12:00? Did I feed the dogs’ their breakfast? Did I fix that typo in the release that went out this morning?

Being present is one of the most difficult challenges for me to overcome. It is so easy to think about all the other things going on – and taking the time to be present with the task at hand takes PRACTICE. If I am not paying attention to my coach, I will miss an adjustment or a correction that could help me improve my form. The same applies with my team.

Teamwork lesson learned: Focusing on the moment matters. If I am trying to do ten different things while on a call with my team, chances are I might miss something. It’s not fair to my team or myself if I am not offering my full attention.

For example, if we only have 30 minutes to huddle on strategy for announcing a new product for our client, everyone needs to show up and be ready to rock and roll. And that takes some advanced planning, which is why it’s important to structure time with your team intentionally so that nobody’s time is being wasted—which goes back to goal setting! Focused attention and intentional listening go a long way in my workouts, as well as with my work with my teammates.

 We can learn so much about ourselves through our hobbies. Whether it’s reading, gardening, exercising, maybe even underwater basket weaving, the lessons learned doing the things we do to unplug from work are making us better workers, teammates, and leaders and I challenge you to reflect on those connections.

Oh! And find me next time on the Peloton leaderboard at @Maddi3ATX.