Warren Bickford, VP of Gryphon Reputation Management (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada), a seasoned veteran of the San Francisco-based International Association of
Business Communicators (IABC), recently took the reins as the organization's 2005-06 chair. Bickford, who was president of his local IABC chapter, says he will use his new
podium to address themes that remain the toughest challenges for PR managers: transparency, measurement and crisis management.
"Corporate scandals have had a communications component. [And] in some ways, the profession has gotten a black eye as a result," he says. Reversing the downward spiral means
pursuing transparency "not only for the profession as a whole, but as it relates to IABC," he adds.
Not being committed to transparency and measurement implies larger troubles on the PR horizon and, if a recent report from the Institute of Crisis Management is any
indication, failing to pay attention to transparency can lead to a crisis (see PR News, June 22). "You have to start with awareness," Bickford says, "and then you need to
broaden that and start looking at your own organization, thinking about what possible threats there may be. Then make plans from there."
Contacts: Warren Bickford, 306.751.5344, [email protected]; Jason Richardson, 919.433.0201, [email protected]