It seems as if companies in nearly every industry, from retail, manufacturing and entertainment to healthcare and consumer services, are talking about their digital transformation. Companies of all sizes are investing in technology to elevate their employee and customer experience, improve operating performance, reduce costs, and take advantage of massive amounts of data collected across its various systems.

When we arrived in the morning at Blue Mountain, a long line of eager skiers snaked around the ground level of the slopeside lodge, waiting to buy their lift tickets, maybe rental skis or a lesson. After standing in line for several minutes without much movement, an employee shouted for anyone who had purchased tickets already. Luckily, I purchased tickets in advance, back on Black Friday at 50 percent off.

I learned I could bypass the lengthy ticket counter line! The employee guided me to a bank of automated kiosks. I flashed a QR code on the purchase receipt saved on my phone, and the machine quickly popped out two plastic cards with our names printed on them. We could change into our ski boots and head outside.

I experienced Blue Mountain’s first digital capability when I purchased my discounted ski lift passes over Thanksgiving weekend. Blue captured my email address during the purchase, so its marketing team could send me e-mail updates on snowmaking and ski conditions, special events and promotions. Using the easy-to-operate automated kiosk to get the lift pass saved my son and me considerable time so we could enjoy the slopes more.

With clear skies and bright sunshine, our first ski run of the day allowed us to practice our techniques and loosen up our muscles for the day ahead. Actually, 11-year-old boys like Josh don’t worry too much about a warm up run; he simply speeds down the trail, looking for jumps and taking very few turns. Then came our next experience with Blue’s digital systems.

As we approached the lift at the base, Blue installed electronic gates to check lift passes and form the lines for the lift. Season passholders enjoyed a nice feature and could pass through the gate in a dedicated section that allowed them to skip the other lines. On our second run down, we chose a longer trail with several off-shoots, including one for a terrain park, I later learned. I completed the run and learned Josh veered left to the terrain park well ahead of me. In the past, I used to ski faster than him.

A few minutes later, when I attempted to pass through those electronic gates, my pass didn’t work. My son and I already had become separated early in the day, and my lift pass was electronically tagged with a message from Josh who went to an information desk inside the lodge. Another advancement in the visitor experience, and we stayed together the rest of the day!

In a matter of only an hour, I started thinking how even a Poconos ski resort’s digital advances made an impression on me. Sure, I could purchase advance tickets online. That’s expected these days. The kiosks that print out lift passes automated a process so employees could help those who needed more assistance. The electronic gates ensures all skiers had their own lift passes and monitors usage at each lift. I imagine the system can easily collect all sorts of useful data, such as the number of skiers and snowboarders at each lift, by hour of the day and day of the week.

Who knows what other information would be helpful to the management. We can imagine digital systems may track food and drinks sold in the lodges (lots on a Sunday of Presidents Day weekend!),merchandise in the ski shop, and track operations of the overnight snowmaking that’s so vital to skiing in Pennsylvania with little natural snowfall this winter and crazy fluctuations in temperatures from week to week. It is likely digital investments yield an assortment of operational and visitor information and insights.

Blue Mountain’s mobile app offers directions, current weather, a trail map, lodge menu information, an events calendar and loyalty rewards perks. Blue pledges more features to be added over time.

It won’t be long before we notice such examples of digital advances everywhere we work, shop, eat or visit. In an increasingly high tech world, hopefully we’ll still encounter the personal interactions that enrich our lives. Like over the hours skiing when I met new people from near and far with different backgrounds and professions, all coming together at the same place on a weekend, on the slopes.

Philadelphia Public Relations Association hosts media panel

So you want to get your story in the news?

Editors from five Philadelphia news media outlets offered tips and insights for working with their newsrooms this week to a large gathering of area public relations professionals eager for advice on pitching stories about their organizations, events, products and causes. Below are a dozen nuggets from each of the news editors.

The panel consisted of:

• Molly Eichel, lifestyle and arts editor, Philadelphia Media Network, described the recent consolidation of newsrooms an re-assignment of staff for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com. @mollyeichel

• Craig Ey, editor-in-chief, Philadelphia Business Journal since 2010, noted how media outlets have expanded beyond traditional print to digital, social, audio and video to share content on different platforms, expand their audiences and create events to “build our communities.” @PHLBizEditor
• Sharyn Flanagan, new magazine editor for The Philadelphia Tribune, who recently returned to Philadelphia after 15 years with USA Today. She encouraged the PR community to involve the Tribune in its media outreach. @ShayTorie

• John Mussoni, assistant vice president of news operations at WHYY, the region’s PBS and NPR affiliate, shared how news staff has needed to adapt their skills to how people consume news and content supplementing broadcast news with online content, social channels and podcasts. @whyyfirst

• Ashley Primis, executive editor for Philadelphia Magazine, acknowledged her team doesn’t chase every story and must consider its core “Philly mag” audience who are loyal readers valued by their advertisers. @ashleyprimis

The panel was moderated by Mike Neilon, pictured above, vice president, media relations, Bellevue Communications, and former longtime planning editor at 6ABC, on behalf of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association at Davio’s in Center City. He asked each of the panelists to describe how their outlets have changed with the evolving media landscape and how PR professionals can be most effective working with them.

1. Eichel emphasized shaping the story, zeroing in on why it is compelling, and figuring “how we can tell the story to reach our audience in different ways.” In contrast to when readers would always seek out the city’s major news outlets, Eichel said she often asks friends, relative and acquaintances “how do you get your news?” and now “we have to go to them where they are.”

2. Eichel said she is a proponent of the increasingly popular service journalism, referring to consumer-oriented features and advice, how to’s and guides. It also refers to content that contributes to or frames debate about issues of public interest. These stories can be promoted continuously and drive readership regardless of the news cycle.

3. “Human connection is really important,” Eichel added, which could suggest both the need to pitch human interest stories and also cultivating helpful relationships with reporters and editors.

4. Similarly, the Business Journal’s Craig Ey said relationships matter. “We listen to who we know,” so don’t be a stranger to news outlets important to your firm. Be an accessible and knowledgeable source when needed.

5. Ey surprised the audience when he said pick up the phone if you have a solid story idea that fits what we do. “I rarely get a phone call anymore, yet I may get 400 emails in a day,” he said, as other panelists nodded in agreement.

6. Ey said the Business Journal is trying to reflect greater diversity in its sourcing for stories, as well as themes, speakers and honorees for events. “How do we expand who we are reaching?” he said.

7. The Tribune’s Sharyn Flanagan encouraged the PR professionals to think more broadly that would be of interest to the African American community. Like other panelists, she said the Tribune is creating events “tied to our journalism,” seeking to attract a younger demographic “who will pay for experiences,” while the newspaper continues to skew much older in readership.

8. Flanagan emphasized the basics of media relations: “make our job easier” by providing descriptive details for your story, making subject matter experts available for interviews, know the news outlet deadlines, and make photos available.

9. When writing a news release, media advisory, or a pitch note to editors and producers, be sure your writing is clear, concise and clean of any spelling, punctuation or grammar errors, Flanagan warned. “How well you write shows how much you care,” she said.

10. WHYY’s John Mussoni offered these pieces of advice: “know our brand, the stories we tell and who our audience is,” and think creatively about your story angle. “Your story needs to be unique to get our attention,” said the broadcast news veteran.

11. Mussolini added persistence pays off. “Don’t worry about the pitches you don’t get, revel in the pitches you win with, the stories you get.”

12. At Philadelphia magazine, Primis encouraged sending a well-crafted personal note with a story idea, rather than a news release, and admitted “events rarely can get into my schedule.” While not every story makes the printed magazine, Primis said her staff looks to share appealing content that fits its demographic on its web site, on social media, and at events.

The media panel proved to be a popular program for PPRA with strong attendance. Check out www.ppra.net for membership information or information about other planned programs and events. On Twitter, follow @ppra

Authorities are calling the shooting rampage a hate crime after witnesses described the shooter’s rants against Jewish people. His social media posts were later found to be filled with prejudice and xenophobic comments. The term is defined as “intense fear of the unfamiliar or dislike of people different than yourself, strangers or foreigners.”

Last Tuesday, NBC’s Megyn Kelly began her 9 a.m. segment of the Today show, saying she was fired up about Halloween costumes. She said political correctness had gone amuck and wondered why it is inappropriate to dress up as blackface. Kelly was immediately suspended, later apologized, and NBC cancelled her show on Friday after giving the anchor big bucks to leave Fox News after a decade there.

On the Today show segment, Kelly and her guests suggested many Americans don’t know what is acceptable and what is not. If you are not sure, it’s best to not say or do what you may be thinking. Think before you speak, right? We all have so much to learn.

“It’s a matter of respect,” said Dana Beckton, director of diversity and inclusion for Christiana Health System in Wilmington, DE.

Beckton spoke on a lively panel about creating an inclusive workplace Thursday night, sponsored by Navigate Corporation’s Women’s Leadership Network in Philadelphia. As Erik Gudmundson, chief technology officer at Pegasus Technologies, began to facilitate the discussion, he said felt a bit out of place, being a white male business executive. Beckton quickly reversed his thinking, saying “We’re all diverse in some way.”

Dimensions of Diversity

Beckton described her work with staff at two area hospitals to promote respectful relationships and encounters among colleagues, patients and their local community. In a hospital environment, she said diversity and inclusion issues arise in many ways. She described the dimensions of diversity covering identity (such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical orientation, and appearance), but also family connections, generation, education, economic, social and political experiences, perceptions and values. “Diversity is not a black or white issue. It’s about bringing everyone in,” she said.

It is a broader way to consider diversity and inclusion. Beckton and other panelists said people get into trouble when they make assumptions, draw conclusions, or take actions based on their personal observations and beliefs without better understanding the other persons involved or the situation.

Other panelists were:

· Sulaiman Rahman, CEO of DiverseForce, LLC, a recruitment and retention firm that trains professionals of color on leadership and governance and matches them with nonprofit boards in the Philadelphia region;

· Pooja Bansal, an IT project manager at Barclays US, who came to the U.S. from India 10 years ago;

· Victor Hurdle, senior event manager, UpcomingEvents.com LLC, who previously worked in human resources, training and development and employee relations; and

· Liz Brown, managing director, Backstage Capital, who works to promote diversity and inclusion in tech, entrepreneurship and innovation and teaches at Drexel University and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Gudmundson asked the panel how workplaces can create spaces where all people can be who they are. The panelists and audience agreed that bias, unconscious or not, remains prevalent in the workplace.

Rahman said much more work must be done first among corporate leaders to ensure everyone feels welcome and workplaces can allow respect for differences among co-workers. “We must have cultural humility,” he said. “We don’t know everything, and we all think differently.”

Each panelist shared personal stories about how they encounter diversity in the workplace. A software engineer, Bansal said friends and co-workers wondered how she could succeed in a large financial services firm with a traditional white male workforce still dominant. “If they can accept me, I accept them, and we work together quite well,” she said.

In planning events of all sizes, Hurdle said he brings a sensitivity to diversity in food vendor selection to attract diverse participants, among other considerations. As a female tech entrepreneur and lesbian, Brown said she reflects multiple aspects of diversity and recently faced bias as a woman working with contractors during renovations of her new home, purchased with her longtime partner. Understanding diversity helps companies create better customer experiences, she said.

Diversity strategy good for business

The Women’s Leadership Network sponsored the event to highlight how most organizations recognize the importance of cultivating an inclusive workplace, yet still struggle with the cultural implications. Such efforts are critical for recruiting millennials, who consider an employer’s policy on diversity, equality and inclusion when deciding where to work, according to studies by PwC and Ernst & Young.

CEOs whose companies have a formal diversity strategy say it has improved their bottom line. The top companies for diversity are 35 percent more likely to achieve above average financial returns.

Yet, as grief and sorrow united people in Pittsburgh, Saturday’s violence showed what can happen with intolerance. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette executive editor wrote, “we knew it could happen anywhere.”

Without getting into the national issues to be debated before the court, what does October 1 mean to you?

It is a Monday, the start of a new work week. It is the beginning of a new month in the autumn season. Reggie Jackson was famously known as Mr. October, when baseball games really count after a long 162-game season. This MLB regular season ended over the weekend, so now Fox and ESPN can hype the exciting, tension-filled playoffs to be broadcast.

As the calendar turned, we will see pink and hear about Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Philadelphia Inquirer published a two-page spread about Cyber Security Awareness Month, sponsored by Dell. There’s also Disability Employment Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Dental Hygiene Month, Liver Awareness Month, and many other special observances, including Hispanic Heritage and German Heritage. We will hear about Fire Safety Week in the days ahead and celebrate Halloween at the end.

And, Oct. 1 marks the beginning of the third quarter, the final three months of the year. For those who work for public companies, it is earnings season, meaning investor-owned companies will report third quarter and year-to-date earnings later this month, and company performance up or down will make news and drive markets.

For you, the start of a new week, month or quarter may mean an assessment of what we did or how did we perform during the period just ended, and what are our goals for the new period?

Do you have goals for October?

I began the day, speaking to a personal coach, who asked, “What are your goals for the new day, the new week ahead, for our new month?” Way to get focused to start the day!

Sure, I said, I know what I want to accomplish. In reality, I learned my goals needed to be more clearly defined and stated desired, measurable outcomes — whether they are goals for your personal life, family, property, finances, or your professional life and career.

In our discussion, I was reminded how we allocate our time and plan our day should reflect our goals and values. It’s a new week, and always a great occasion to prioritize what we want to do and achieve. More importantly, for a new month, how will we plan our time to achieve a defined goal(s)? And, how will our goals demonstrate personal and professional values. My conversation showed I needed to adjust my plan and narrow my focus for greater impact.

A few days ago, I also had a conversation with another wise individual. He challenged me to re-think my current mission, and his pearls may mean something to you. First, he quoted Vanguard founder John Bogle, who said, “your horizon is forever.”

Quick nuggets for anyone who may presently be a “free agent”:

1. Know your identity. Know your value. Create an image for others of the value you offer. What is your value proposition?
2. Sleepless at night? Search for and identify companies, or organizations, that value who you are and what you offer. Can you address the challenges and issues that keep a certain company CEO or organizational leader up at night?
3. Be future oriented. Don’t be anchored by the past and what you have done in the years gone by. Make your past experiences and achievements relevant for any new role today and its importance to an organization’s future?
4. Aspire for something better. It may be easy to settle for what comes along. What is the role, or the ideal position and organization, if you could do anything?

So, what does October 1 mean to you?

With the leaves on the trees changing to magnificent colors, grounded by our personal and professional values and strengths, with the skills and experiences of our past, how will be best devote our time in this new season of October to be our better self and make an impact? Certainly, I feel challenged. Let’s go.

(Special thanks to Susan Morris, CPCC, ACC, www.morrisconsultinggroup.biz and David Light, www.certain.im)