As this column is being typed on a Mac, the reminders are all around of the tremendous impact Steve Jobs had on our world.

I've spent a fair amount of time lately interacting with key executives involved in CSR.

The US Postal Service's woes are now center stage, as recent reports have noted it might have to shut down next year due to financial insolvency.

The challenges facing both political parties are historically daunting because a good portion of the target audience is apathetic - a toxic condition to any communications effort.

I spent the last year as an editor with Direct Marketing News, and in that year, I learned to talk about the customer - a lot.

Those who will be most successful in business, any business, have the deepest understanding about changes in the marketplace - changes that not only affect them, but their partners and clients, too.

Is there any end in sight to the News of the World scandal?

The NBA labor dispute, which reports indicate could jeopardize the entire 2011-2012 season, is a communications nightmare.

So, as predicted here a couple of weeks ago, News International CEO Rebekah Brooks failed to survive the maelstrom of controversy and criticism around the British tabloid newspaper scandal that is rapidly spreading over the Atlantic to the USA.

This was my first time being involved in PRWeek's Power List, our annual listing of the industry's top executives.