One of the most important decisions a PR pro has to make early on in his/her career is what type of professional s/he wants to be.
I received a request to do a blog post about this, which was inspired by this article in PR Week, about how Naomi Campbell’s PR advisors handled her appearance at the Hague. Although PR Week is indeed a publication that discusses strategy, reports news, and explores the PR process, this article is a classic example of how professionals can become… well… boastful.
While I was asked about my opinion, I really am not in the position to comment on how a PR person should or should not be, as long as they are professional in their demeanor. I think it is more important to decide on how a professional chooses to practice within the profession. However, it is very unfortunate that on the whole, the ball takes those modest PR pros who choose not to broadcast their every success so widely… feeding the vacuum of misconceptions that the PR profession is a “spin doctor’s” profession.
Sigh.
I read somewhere recently that “what other people think of you is not your business.” While this statement may sound momentarily freeing and comforting, in PR at least, that is very untrue.