The Ethical Optimist

So, this weekend, I tried to catch up on a little reading. One of the problems with running an agency is that it’s sometimes hard to keep an eye and the media and industry when you’re servicing clients, staff, and three kids along the way. This leads to an ever present pile of reading that I carry around with me in a vain attempt to keep up.

However, this time, having a pile of reading gave me some interesting insights. For example, I started with an article dated October 8 from Business Week online titled “Wal-Mart’s Jim and Laura: The Real Story,” in which Edelman gets a black eye for a program done on behalf of client Wal-Mart.

If you’ve been living under a rock (like I have) and missed it, Jim and Laura were two bloggers traversing the US in their camper and writing about how great Wal-Mart was along the way. What they failed to disclose was that Wal-Mart was subsidizing their effort as part of their public relations program.

How many times do I have to say it, folks…we live in a transparent world. Of course someone was going to figure this out and bring it to light. Wal-Mart took a hit among both bloggers and the media.

As its agency, Edelman took one for the team, crying mea culpa. “I want to acknowledge our error in failing to be transparent about the identity of the two bloggers from the outset. This is 100% our responsibility and our error; not the client’s,” commented Richard Edelman.

He goes on to say, “Let me reiterate our support for the WOMMA guidelines on transparency, which we helped to write. Our commitment is to openness and engagement because trust is not negotiable and we are working to be sure that commitment is delivered in all our programs.”

Okay, so I start working my way through my pile of reading and fast forward to January 4. This time, the article is titled “New Media Pay for Play: Microsoft Gives Free Laptops to Bloggers Who Cover the Corporation – Which Spurs Controversy in the Online Community.”

Extensively written up among bloggers, Microsoft’s gifting of laptops to veteran bloggers was considered a “PR Blunder.” According to David Whitman in Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog, “This Marks the second online PR catastrophe headed by veteran agency Edelman.”

Guess lightening really can strike twice.

Frankly, I’m tired of our industry continually getting a black eye because high-profile firms talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. Where is the ethical oversight from management to ensure that the codes the company is helping to write are actually being followed by the rank and file?

Considering the amount of negative publicity the firm received, the firm should have reviewed existing client programs to ensure they were within ethical guidelines and made sure that those guidelines were reviewed with the staff so no additional errors were made going forward.

Enough said.

One of the questions I’m often asked at training sessions is “What do you do if your company/agency does not foster ethical behavior?” Or, in other words, “I’m trying to be ethical, they just make it impossible.”

It reminds me of Michael Corleone’s famous Godfather III quote, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”

I usually tell folks there are two ways to handle it. Some stalwart practitioners try, and sometimes manage, to turn the barge. This takes a strong commitment to change, perseverance and, most importantly, the support of senior management.

Because, let’s face it…the fish stinks from the head. If senior management sets the tone and regularly engages in unethical practices, you probably have a snowball’s chance in hell of changing things.

So, where does that leave you? The answer lies in a conversation I had yesterday with a former colleague who is currently looking for a new position.

We met during our mutual tenure at a less-than-ethical public relations agency. The agency in question went through talented personnel like I go through Starbucks’ Chai Lattes, and has more disgruntled former employees than the US Postal Service (JK).

Needless to say, having remained at said agency for several years, he now finds himself tarred with the same brush and is having difficulty finding a new position. Frankly, it’s a shame because he’s a very ethical person and tried, in vain, to turn the barge.

His story does, however, offer up an important lesson. As a public relations practitioner, your reputation, not just your resume, is your ticket to success. When you choose an employer, choose carefully and find one that matches your ethical style. Remember that your personal “brand” must be protected at all costs.

Why, you ask? Often, practitioners will align themselves with an agency that has a bad reputation because they need the job, want access to a certain type of client, or are enticed by the money. What they fail to realize is that the public relations business can be a small world. Many of us who’ve been in the game long enough know who the players are…and we don’t like hiring out of certain agencies because of their reputation. We assume that anyone trained in that agency will bring their bad habits to the next job.

So, the question one needs to ask is whether or not the short term gain is worth the stain on your reputation. As my friend sadly realized, hiring managers seem to have the same mantra as my mother when she said, “Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you what you are.”

That said, do you want your brand to stand for trust and integrity? If so, you may already have the answer to the question, “Do I stay or do I go?”