Seat at the Table

Carlos Gutierrez, former US Secretary of Commerce and former CEO of the Kellogg Company, made some very telling remarks about the difference in skill sets between public relations counsel in the public and private sectors.   In Richard Edelman’s blog, there is a quote by Secretary Gutierrez that drives home why he believes PR professionals in the policy arena are more likely to help set policy strategy (the public sector version of business strategy).

In government, communications people are policy people; they know the details as thoroughly as those charged with the implementation of the policy…In business, communicators aren’t always business people nor are they close to the strategy of the company.”  He added that many CEOs fail to understand the value of communications. 

In my experience, the public relations counselor with the full grasp of the company’s strategy and technical understanding of its business are also able to relate the strategic value of communications to their CEOs.   PR counselors without this knowledge base are often seen in a tactical function and brought in after the strategy has been set. 

As is the ongoing theme of this blog, the PR skill required to be at the C-level table includes the strongest possible understanding of business in general, an analyst like knowledge of industries, a C-level understanding of a client’s (internal or external) business model and the ability to use this knowledge to help the C-level management manage a company’s reputation.