Who Succeeds in PR
Last night I attended Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson's address to the Economic Club of Chicago, which provided a range of interesting insights into the financial world, as well as his personal dealings with the president. He offered a thoughtful, common-sense overview that I felt seemed free of partisan bias and long on concern and care for the average individual.
As interesting as the presentation was - and it was quite good -- I must say that I've spent more time thinking about a conversation with one of my dinner companions who devotes his days to using very sophisticated, high power analytics for asset management. In fact, it's probably more than a profession for him; it's more of a passion. He talked about how the financial business is filled with "quants," yet there is a largely untapped opportunity to bring in thinkers from other sciences, like physics or bioscience, who are taught to look at patterns and physical properties, not just hard numbers. We talked about the similarities with the communications business and how some of the best solutions are not created by media-types, but from people with diverse backgrounds. I told him how there was not one "type" that succeeded in our profession any more, but that the industry has evolved to the point where a diversity of perspectives is virtually required now to start and execute good campaigns. Where our clients once focused solely on the PR team's media or financial analyst relationships, there is a growing appreciation for time spent in government, foundations, consulting, academia or industry. Arguments are made with both a rational and emotional appeal, to a wide range of stakeholders. It's exciting to participate in this change and to bring new faces to the table.

