In Defense of Public Relations

Sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but summer is about to end.  This usually means students will be going back to school inching themselves closer to a diploma and possibly a career of their choosing like flipping burgers at McDonald’s.

This is the right time for experienced PR pros to think about how they mentor the younger PR executives and/or interns at their shop.  As we all know, school doesn’t even come close to duplicating what goes on in the real world of public relations.

So it begs the question. Are you a Mentor or a Monster? Take the simple quiz below and find out what you are or better yet, who you are.  (Disclaimer: not responsible for any self-realization or epiphany you may or may not experience.)

1. So your Intern/AC/AAE forgot a couple of punctuation marks and missed spelling errors in the activity report, pitch letter, press release, internal email to you, etc.  Do you fly off the handle and go medieval on junior’s a$$ for typos?

A) Yes  B) No

2. When you call a team meeting and one of your team members (say an Account Supervisor) comes up with a brilliant idea, do you present the idea to the client as your own?

A) Yes  B) No

3. Let’s say you present the brilliant idea to the client, but the client reacts by saying, “that was the dumbest thing you’ve ever suggested,” do you now backtrack and say the idea came from someone else?

A) Yes  B) No

4. Do you expect to learn from the most junior person on your PR team even if this person answers to the name “stupid or moron?”

A) Yes  B) No

5. Have you ever told someone on your team to LIE to a client about a media opportunity or a missed deadline you were responsible for?

A) Yes  B) No

6. Have you ever requested any one on your team who has thousands of Twitter followers to give you a #followfriday shout out or re-tweet your incoherent blog post?

A) Yes  B) No

7. When you read PRCog’s recent post, This is a Call (Out), did you feel sympathetic to the type of douchebag-ery Cog was addressing on his post because you had asked someone from your team to do the same?

A) Yes  B) No

8. When someone on your team secures an awesome media placement, do you ask “where are the rest of the hits?”

A) Yes  B) No

9. When you call a brainstorm session, do you end up dishing out all the ideas and not let others weigh in?

A) Yes  B) No

10. Do you call yourself a mentor in public when in reality everyone calls you monster behind your back?

A) Yes  B) No

I guess it’s obvious that if you answered YES to most of the questions, you’re not a mentor.  This doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t get the job done or you’re a bad PR professional, but chances are you don’t and you’re bad at what you do.  This also means that you define PR as phony relations.

So take this post as a reminder that you were once a young impressionable PR pro and that the folks who report to you could someday head their own agencies or work in-house and become potential clients.  Also, if there are enough people who wish you get hit by a bus, it may just happen.  I know I sleep better at night knowing I didn’t bring anyone to the dark side, or at least, that’s what I believe.

(Questions are based on real-life experiences at the insane asylum I call the firm)