Planning is the Key

It is so easy to divide people into different categories,. People who like peanut butter and people who don't. Those who know how to jump rope and those who don't or can't. And so it goes. Even in this blog I have discussed this propensity that many of us share to categorize people. Our rationale - or at least mine - is that this helps us remember individuals more easily as well as provides help in how best to interact and/or cope with them. Having said this, however, I readily acknowledge such a practice is not always accurate or fair to those who are unknowingly lumped into various groups.

This is all to say public relations practitioners can be divided into two main categories: those who plan and those who do not. To those who plan, I give a "high five." To those who do not, my hope is your group is small just as I hope you join the other group as quickly as possible. Public relations, as a practice, is most effective when well planned and highly coordinated. Such characteristics are necessities no small things when it comes to conducting detailed research, devising strategies, and carrying out tactics. Further, these elements can and do provide clients with information they need to better assess the progress and ultimate success of their communication team or workers. In short, planning serves as a win-win for both the professionals and those they represent.

For those professional communicators who tend to be more free-wheeling in how they carry out their charges, their style is certainly understandable. Communicators, after all, need to be nimble and quick to adapt to the needs and whims of their clients. As is well known, communication - effective or not - often flies on the wings of many unpredictable variables. Consequently, those responsible for promotional efforts, helping improve images, and providing information to multiple publics need to be prepared to adjust to such things as the security of their client to outside influences that impact their messages. Despite this reality, planning provides practitioners with greater stability in a field where few things repeat themselves.