Mastering Business for Strategic Communicators

Matthew W. Ragas, Ph.D. and Ron Culp are on the public relations faculty in the College of Communication at DePaul University in Chicago, USA, where they help develop the next generation of communications leaders. They are the co-authors of Business Essentials for Strategic Communicators.

• Foreword by Roger Bolton, president, Arthur W. Page SocietyPART I. Introduction1. Advising "the room where it happens": the business case for business acumen; Matthew W. Ragas, Ph.D. and Ron Culp PART II. Communications, Business Acumen and the C-suite 2. The communicator as integrator; Gary Sheffer & Weber Shandwick 3. Why business acumen matters more than ever; Peter Marino4. From farm to pharm: business and life lessons learned in the barnyard; Jeffrey A. Winton & Astellas PharmaPART III. Finance and Investor Relations 5. Taking the numb out of numbers: working with the office of the CFO; Kathryn Beiser6. The partnership between corporate communications and investor relations; Carole CastoPART IV. Human Resources and Employee Engagement 7. Mastering business means first understanding your people; Corey duBrowa8. Employees as drivers of corporate brand and reputation; Paul Gerrard and Angela Roberts9. Have a seat at the table - not on the fringes; Anne C. ToulousePART V. Corporate Strategy, Innovation and Legal 10. Collaborating with strategy and innovation: taking on the challenge to "communicate theamoeba"; Linda Rutherford 11. Telling the story of value creation; Clarkson Hine12. Lessons from my father: bringing the "greener rules" to corporate strategy andplanning; Chuck Greener,  13. Understanding the corporate legal department; Mark Bain & Baker McKenziePART VI. Marketing, Brand and Data Analytics 14. Driving to the right place: aligning communications with business goals andobjectives; Joe Jacuzzi andTony Cervone15. Peas in a pod: communications and the chief marketing officer; Richard Kylberg16. Learn the language of business and keep what you earn; B. J. TalleyPART VII. Social Responsibility and Transparency 17. Truth, trust and transparency: why hard facts and corporate honesty matter; Matt Peacock18. How communicators can help corporations make a difference; Stacy Sharpe19. Communications for social good; Andrew SolomonPART VIII. Communication and Corporate Transformations 20. Building communications' influence during corporate transformation; Kelly McGinnis 21. Accentuate the positive: the communicator's catalytic effect; Jon Harris22. Communications leadership that strong leaders expect; Nick TzitzonPART IX. Summing Up23. Observations and conclusions from "Masters of Business"; Matthew W. Ragas, Ph.D and Ron Culp

Veterans of marketing and business communication help communications professionals think like business people in order to contribute to the company and further their career. They cover communications, business acumen, and the C-suite; finance and investor relations; human resources and employee engagement; corporate strategy, innovation, and legal; marketing, brand, and data analytics; social responsibility and transparency; and communication and corporate transformations. Among the topics are why business acumen matters more than ever, the partnership between corporate communications and investor relations, driving to the right place: aligning communications with business goals and objectives, how communicators can help corporations make a difference, and communications leadership that strong leaders expect.