Mixing Board

Mixing Board founder, Sean Garrett, has said that employee communications is the core muscle of communications. It's why we joined forces with Axios HQ. We also love the overdue innovation in the space and talked to Selena Strandberg at The Know about what her product is doing to help organizations see around corners and see emerging societal issues before they become next week's Slack conversation. Selena on how companies should frame their participation in societal conversations (or not): "Where we see the biggest conflict and problem is when a company says or does something that doesn't align with their values, and that goes both ways. I don’t have a one size fits all, it actually very much should not be one size fits all. It really does depend on the employer and who their stakeholders are, what their values are, and their priorities of the business. Things that are common across businesses that I've seen successfully opine on those issues and businesses successfully stay out of them, is objectivity and authenticity. "Companies that are authentic and true to their voice and values and can maneuver these situations in either direction according to those values. The objectivity piece is really important. There's a need for data and acting from understanding that data instead of gut and personal opinions. And there's a need for consistency. The objectivity kind of helps with the consistency piece." https://lnkd.in/g_2zQyha

Bruce Upbin was a managing editor at Forbes before he made the leap into comms in 2016. In this Studio Session, he shares what he brought with him from journalism to his corporate roles and how he's constantly adapted since. From the conversation with Sean Garrett... "I was a tech feature writer and editor. I like the grander stories, explaining what's going on with technology, introducing new technologies and the fascinating people creating them and bringing them to market. That training translates well to strategic communications and building categories. "Newsrooms tend to be these chaotic places with very direct, informal, abrupt orders and conversations. Snark and humor don’t work in the corporate world. And the clear hierarchy of a masthead looks nothing like what you get in matrixed corporate organizations. You've got to learn humility and how to work through stakeholders and get used to not always having your way. It's not?your?story anymore. You're advancing an organizational narrative and a lot more people have their say in the matter. "That said, the fluidity of newsrooms—being able to adapt quickly when priorities change—is an incredibly valuable teacher. We're accustomed to meeting tight deadlines. People in companies are amazed at how much ex-journalists can get done in a week and how fast they write. The core storytelling capabilities remain invaluable, but the transition requires conscious adaptation." https://lnkd.in/gkQUUWMC

"I'm supposed to be at my welcome lunch on day one, and Max, the co-founder of Grammarly, pulls me into a room and literally goes, "All right, should we proceed with our onboarding day as planned or should you help with the worst PR crisis we've faced?" I was like, "I should do the latter. The latter is what I should do." That's how day one of six years at Grammarly started for Senka Hadzimuratovic. In this conversation with Mixing Board founder, Sean Garrett, find out what happens next and so much more including a poignant and, sadly, timely perspective on her work helping Ukrainian Grammarly employees work through very real life and fraught situations after Russia invaded the country. (Yes, they started it.) https://lnkd.in/gT8Kv5qG

Laura Pearlstein Mills brings a refined brand sensibility based from working in the biggest global agencies to directly helping customers in her family retail business. In this Studio Session, she provides her views on how brand is evolving (or not) and how the craft best interoperates with comms. Laura also provides advice for those who are starting their careers in agencies: "Don't let the bullshit of the trappings around you in your agency get in the way of grappling really deeply with your client's business problems. That was my big a-ha when I went out on my own. As an overachieving, Type A, ladder-climbing, title-obsessed Ivy League graduate, I cared a lot about being seen as this smart kid in the room, about being seen as the best at my job, having my boss think my deck was really smart. I don't think I ever deeply thought about my client's businesses until I went out on my own. I was trying to get the pat on the head. That’s on me, but I’m also not sure the system was set up to require me to do that. That's a shame. I lost a lot of years. My advice for a young person is to avoid that trap." https://lnkd.in/gAcizKFt

Mixing Board is joining forces with Axios HQ to elevate communications in a way that's uniquely built for the future. Also a special thank you for the financial and wisdom support from Roy E. Bahat of Bloomberg Beta, Jim Hock of PSP Partners and Rebecca Reeve Henderson. These three investors helped Mixing Board from the start and are rolling their investment in Mixing Board and Axios HQ's shared future. And thank you to our longstanding and deeply valued advisors who also continue to support us in our next phase: -Ashley Mayer, Co-Founder at Coalition Operators and several times head of comms -- and who helped us dream up so much. -Carolyn Penner, Former comms leader at Dyson, Vine, and Twitter -- and someone always willing to get into the trenches with us to work something out -Clay Dumas, GP at Lowercarbon Capital and former CoS at White House Office of Digital Strategy -- A busy person who always makes time for what's important -Caroline Caswell, Marketing Partner at Operator Collective and former Pramana Collective partner -- the best conscience that one can tap and a true friend -Jonah Seiger, Founding Partner at Fuse -- a great bouncer of ideas -Michael Sippey, Executive in Residence at Reforge, former product leader at Twitter and Medium -- an incredible product mind who helps you see from new angles ??

Grateful for Abenaa...

Great insights from Jason Grosse on policy comms in a Studio Session conversation with Sean Garrett. "One of the unique aspects of policy communications is that, when it’s done effectively, the result can often look like ‘nothing happened’—and that’s a success in itself. It’s challenging to point to a blank slate and say, ‘Look, we prevented misunderstandings, we avoided regulatory friction, we built trust.’ But that’s what makes policy comms so crucial, even if its value isn’t always immediately visible. "When media, regulators, or lawmakers start raising questions, the need for well-crafted, proactive messaging becomes very clear. It’s about protecting the company’s reputation, clarifying our practices, and managing potential risks before they escalate. But the real art of policy communications is in those quieter moments in between, where the goal is to ensure our messages around complex issues—privacy, data security, AI ethics—are consistently present and understood." https://lnkd.in/g8MpirWA

Mixing Board founder Sean Garrett says this about the importance of internal comms: "Think of internal communication as your core muscle – it's the foundation that provides strength and stability. Neglect it, and you're building an organization that's weak at its center. You might have impressive "biceps" in the form of splashy feature stories or expensive brand campaigns, but if these don't align with internal reality, you're headed for trouble. "When internal alignment is strong, the ripple effects are powerful. It enhances collaboration, builds trust in leadership, and helps employees authentically share the company's purpose and values externally. This creates a solid foundation for all external efforts."

Her 14 years at GE that included three years as CCO is just one big thing of many that Deirdre Latour has done. Fortunately, she's not shy about sharing her perspective on lessons gained along the way. Here's one on managing up to a CEO in a big organization: "I managed up because you have to. It’s just lots of communication, and different communications depending on who the leader was, because every leader takes in things differently. If I sent a weekly update to the CEO, he would delete it. But he would call me almost every day. He would call me with whatever his agenda was, and I would say, 'Hey, do you have two more minutes? I have a couple things.' That would be my sales job and my time to share updates – I've done this in China, I did this over here, I want to make sure you know this. I made the most of whatever opportunity I had. It’s a lot of managing up because you have to. Everybody has to.?If you don’t communicate your value internally, who will?" https://lnkd.in/gBUNEhXG

"When founders instead think about comms through the lens of their most important audience (and what you want them to do/feel), the narrative that will most resonate (which probably isn’t about your latest feature, or even your business), and the channels that meet them where they are (whether owned or otherwise…use every tool at your disposal!), it becomes clear how essential this craft is to company building."