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Communicators tend to be inclined toward creativity. We are writers, videographers, and artists, after all. But a corporation can sometimes suck the creativity out of a person. How can communicators bring creativity and innovation to their work in an organization? What approaches work? And how can they convince senior leadership that it produces genuine results when we break out of the mundane reporting we see from so many companies? In this episode of Circle of Fellows, host Shel Holtz joins four IABC Fellows for a deep dive into creativity and innovation in the world of organizational communications.

• Pixie Emslie — Now retired from corporate communications, Pixie is a novelist. Her latest book, “Cry of the Rocks,” has been optioned for production as a feature-length motion picture. The book is a thriller that features kidnapping, a murder, and an international conspiracy. Previously, Pixie had a career in organizational communication that included media relations responsibilities. See Pixie’s LinkedIn profile.
• John Gerstner — John is a strategic communications leader whose work has spanned 30 years and 30 countries on five continents. He has career experience as an internal communications and intranet manager, consultant, marketer, website developer, video producer, book author, magazine editor, photo-journalist, conference producer, radio announcer and public speaker. He is CEO and founder of Communitelligence, an online learning community for corporate communicators. Previously he managed diverse communication assignments at John Deere. These included launching John Deere’s internal communication program and intranet, serving as the company’s first manager of environmental and safety communications and authoring an award-winning coffee-table history book, Genuine Value: The John Deere Journey. See John’s LinkedIn profile.
• Leticia Narvaez, ABC — Leticia Narvaez is CEO and Founding Partner of Narvaez Group, a consulting firm focused on strategic communication and communication training based in Mexico City. Lety brings 30 years of experience to her assignments. Her background includes top-level management positions at multinational and national corporations including Sanofi, Merck, Sharp & Dohme, American Express, and Ford Motor Company, among others. See Lety’s LinkedIn profile.
• Mark Schumann, ABC — Mark is the founder and principal of re-communicate. Most recently, he was VP of marketing and communications for Western Connecticut Health Network. He served as IABC’s chair in 2009-2010 and is currently IABC’s liaison to the Global Alliance. He was a managing principal and global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin for 26 years. See Mark’s LinkedIn profile.

About Shel Holtz

Shel Holtz, ABC (Accredited Business Communicator), is director of Internal Communications at Webcor, a commercial general contractor headquartered in San Francisco. Before joining Webcor, Shel spent 21 years as principal of Holtz Communication + Technology. In addition to integrating technology into communications strategies, his expertise includes strategic communications planning, change management, organizational culture, business initiatives and communications research. Full bio