 |
That isn’t just a Spike Lee movie, advice parents give their kids or the foundation of most religions. It is the cornerstone of effective public relations. Unfortunately, the deck may be stacked against PR pros.
A study released earlier this year from the Academy of Management found that people are more than five times more likely to do the right thing when they have some time to think about the matter rather than when they have to make a snap decision. It is a terrific study, but it boils down to people needing time, reflection and reason to overcome their selfish instincts.
Business executives and PR pros all too often do not have the luxury of time when it comes to making a decision. I rarely encounter a situation in which clients say, “take all the time you need.”
Whenever possible, PR execs should look at all sides of a knotty problem, and take a methodical approach based on research and data. This is particularly important when it comes to ethical issues, as there are often varying shades of grey in the questions.
But PR professionals rarely have that luxury. They stare the ethical dilemma in the face when a reporter calls and asks a question, or when a client presents an idea and asks, “Any objections?” or simply tells them what is happening.
Does that mean we throw up our hands, trust our gut and settle for less ethical decision making? No. The answer to this, as in many of life’s problems, can be found in golf.
THINK LIKE A PRO GOLFER
The Academy of Management study is great as far as it goes. But it overlooks one critical element in my opinion—can we reduce the time cycle or improve the OODA loop? One snapshot does not give a longitudinal picture. Training and continual self-improvement should mitigate self-interest. When it comes to ethical decision making, I believe ethics are similar to muscle memory in sports.
Professional golfers and baseball players analyze their swings endlessly. They debate it with others and make constant tweaks. When they’re in the heat of the moment, they don’t need to consciously analyze the hundreds of elements involved in the swing. They just excel.
We need to apply this approach to our ethics training and daily activities
BE COMMITTED
Put another way, sound ethical decisions are not reached in a vacuum. If the first time you ask yourself, “Is this ethical?” is in the middle of a dicey situation, you will really feel the time constraints; any PR professional may flounder in that situation. The solution to this is simple, but requires commitment. Act more like a pro golfer: practice, practice, practice and analyze, analyze, analyze.
To be a consistently ethical practitioner requires constant examination and learning. The following are four suggestions for “training your ethical mind” that might be helpful.
1. Have regular ethics discussion with your staff: This conversation needs to happen within agencies, organizations and also between agencies and corporations. Highlight a situation you have seen of a recent ethical misstep. Ask everyone if they saw it and what they thought. Managers should not give their opinion until the end; let the discussion flow freely.
2.Train, train, train: Beyond the discussions, all organizations should have a systematic ethics-training program. One of the great, and challenging things about ethics is it is a dynamic field. New social technologies are creating new conundrums. Editing Wikipedia? (don’t), asking colleagues to “Like” a post or vote for a product? All these should have disclosure.
3. Use the PRSA Code of Ethics as your guide: The Code features PRSA’s definition of ethical behavior and provides guidelines for a lot of common scenarios we face in our daily lives.
4. Look beyond PRSA: The PRSA is not the only resource for public-relations ethics. Look at the WOMMA Code of Ethics and the Arthur Page Society’s Principles as well. Industry associations frequently have codes of ethics that apply to situations unique to the industry.
We need to make the time to train ethical decision making. If you think you don’t have the time to either practice with your staff, agency colleagues or other professionals, you are making a strategic mistake. One wrong decision in this area will shatter trust and reputation, and that takes much longer to rebuild.
CONTACT:
Mark W. McClennan, is a senior VP at Schwartz MSL. He is a member of Counselors Academy, a group of senior-level PR counselors within the PRSA. Mark can be reached at [email protected].