I agree the "cult of personality" was one of the symptoms, although not completely sure it was one of the causes.

A core issue is that businesses don't HAVE to be moral. The market in fact provided short-to moderate-term (6-7 years) rewards to companies that were in fact not behaving morally but were maximizing the opportunity for profit.

I would like to think that businesses (and their shareholders) that behave morally correctly, create jobs and contribute to the improvement of our society will be financially rewarded for their conduct in the long-term.

The question there is how do we balance the long-term view with the desire for large institutional holders for returns now? My point being that many pension funds would like to invest in "socially responsible" companies but not to the detriment of the potential returns for their stakeholders.

My guess, is that we're all going to spend a lot of time over the next few years consulting with companies as they "go private."

Great thoughts. Although I'd caution people not to trade "a cult of personality around business leaders" for a cult of personality focused on political leaders, namely, Mr. Obama.

Well said. But I'd go further on one of your points: public relations was a big beneficiary of the promotional culture of the last century. If we're to benefit from the move to a more humble and softly-spoken search for social legitimacy, then we need to distance ourselves from that overheated promotional culture. Otherwise we'll lack credibility; we really can't have it both ways.

I agree, Richard. This is an inflection point and the economic times signal a broader role for PR. We know that one of many ways we help clients is by offering guidance on better ways to communicate. But our experience levels have deepened and broadened over many decades. We’ve grown beyond the “old school” reputation of message magician. In today’s business climate, the PR counsel we provide has to be infused with business acumen. PR counsel and business counsel need to be coupled as one ensemble service offering to the C-suite, particularly when communicating business actions. And that requires knowledge within our own industry of how those actions will affect the bottom line as well as brand perception and goodwill. We do have that expertise, so my hope is that we'll utilize those business capabilities in more substantive, visible ways, as we offer up our best contributions in the midst of this economic crisis.

Richard,

I have been reading with some interest your recent reflections on the current economic crisis.

The question posed by Matthew Bishop certainly challenges us to reflect on the role, we as communications professionals, have played in the past and can play in the future in business and civil society.

I think your analysis of where we have failed is correct. However, I believe that our failure to persuade or carry a debate can often by an inability to position our message/strategy in the context of the business case and in a language that the 'C-Suite' can easily grasp and understand ie. contribution to the bottom line or the medium - long term sustainability of the business model or institution.

While the environment in which we operate has changed and changed for good our challenge continues to be our ability to articulate the business case for communications, engagement and ultimately change.

The good news is, I believe, that for those who can successfully bridge this gap we will be pushing a more open door to earning that 'seat at the table'.

HUGH

Richard - do you mean "sanctity of contract" when you say "content" above? I enjoyed the piece but wondered if I'd lost something in translation.

I think that people who deal in these ideas, and understand or at least want to believe in them, forget what a long way we still have to go to be regarded as truly professional. The role of PR counsel in business strategy and behaviour is still demonstrably an add-on. That's why we see well-meaning starts knocked over by short term-ism time and again.

Richard - a great agenda for the industry.

An additional point which needs to be made and comes out of your first item; is the level of control which financial PR has sought to have over the financial and business media. This came through strongly at several events which the London School of Economics has held recently on financial journalism (www.polismedia.org).

Senior figures in UK business and financial journalism strongly criticized the financial PR industry for denying them access to investigate and cover stories properly and for creating an environment which was not conducive to the debate of ideas about financial markets.

Does financial PR need to re-think the model of PR it adopts and perhaps not hide behind the cover of financial market regulation, which clearly does appear to play a role in the story and can be used in a controlling manner?

Hello Richard,

I was viewing your 6 A.M. blog titled "PR's responsibility in the Current Crisis" and for some reason, my browswer would not allow me to submit my comment. Whether it is published or not, I at least wanted to extend my thoughts to you. They are as follows:

I think Mr. Josh Morgan said it best when he noted that "businesses don't HAVE to be moral" in repsonse to the problems that you've addressed, Richard.

While businesses aren't required to be moral, I've learned through education and experience that it is our job, as public relations practitioners, to serve as their conscious -- making sure that businesses DO indeed partake of actions that are moral according to their consumers' standards.

The more businesses use the input that we as practitioners gather from consumers, the better they will be served, as opposed to being greedy and self-serving in their missions.
As you said Richard,the central role of business is to improve society, generate jobs, and raise living standards. Of course, profits must be made to sustain oneself and the business, however, focusing solely on profits makes businesses lose sight and foster an attitude of greed that inflates our economy and causes situations like those we are in now.

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Continue to inspire me and my progress in this industry with your insight! I look forward to working along side you someday.

Sincerely,

Mark Taylor II

I think PR has an enormous capacity to influence not only the public but its clientele, including the banking and financial services sectors. The damage that has been done to the reputation of these industries will take a great deal of effort to repair. An early and ongoing partnership between financial strategists and experienced communicators could have helped predict and perhaps avoid some of the serious problems we face now. Chaucer said, "murder will out." So, it appears, will flimsy financial systems and schemes. The best PR firm manages its clients' reputations with more than pleasant words and slants, but with solid advice as the client makes its business plans.