Never too Old for Dr. Seuss
Posted: November 19, 2014, 3:25 p.m.
by Jean Faircloth.
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go. . . .
Public relations is an industry of making intelligent, ethical choices. One choice can make or break that big deal. One choice can tarnish your brand. One choice can ruin a very important relationship and be detrimental to your company. However, an accumulation of individual, consistent choices will determine the circumstances of a person, a company or a product.
“So be sure when you step,
Step with care and great tact.
And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed).”
When a company is making these choices, it must be very cautious and think before acting. It must recognize all key publics and consider how each will be impacted. It must balance the pros and the cons before it makes a choice of which path to go down. The company must do its research to see what has been successful or has failed in the past. It must be reminded of its mission and values. Even with all of these steps taken, there is always a chance that the new idea, comment or approach could be a failure. Yet one and one-fourth percent is not too bad of a chance!
“You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.”
A wise man once said that one of the most important choices you can make is with whom you surround yourself. Good companies are specific about who they choose to be the decision makers and workers for a reason. An atmosphere in a company can either strengthen the productivity or negatively affect it. A company should also be very specific about with whom it makes relationships. A relationship with another brand can speak volumes about the company’s values, and it is a brand in itself. Many times an idea may seem extremely appealing to a company, but its board of directors must decide if it is a bird that it wants to fly with.
“Oh the places you’ll go!
There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.
There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.”
Success is fun! Companies enjoy seeing their names sky rocket to the top of the charts. Yet, it is the many choices that were made along the way that enabled this success to happen. A company can go to many heights if it stays focused on where it is in the present and does not become consumed in the first sight of success.
“When you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.”
When a company has made a bad choice, it is very difficult to fix. However, it is inevitable that every situation will not go perfectly. Getting out of this “slump” takes time and patience. A single apology is not always the way to fix it; rather, many choices to prove that apology’s sincerity will help ease the progression.
“Out there things can happen, and frequently do,
To people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry, don’t stew.
Just go right along, you’ll start happening too!”
Companies will never reach a stature or net worth to avoid all problems or crises. It does not matter who it is. Things happen, and that is simply 20 percent. The other 80 percent is how it is handled, and that is the choice of the company.
“Fame you’ll be famous, as famous as can be, with everyone watching you win on TV,
Except when they don’t because sometimes they won’t . . .
I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win ’cause you’ll play against you.”
Fame is fleeting and seamlessly rewarding. A company must decide the motivation to succeed beyond the desire to be recognized or famous. It must make decisions not to be famous, but to be successful in its goals.
“You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place . . . ”
A company must never let confusion stump its progress. Waiting to act because of the immense fear of failure can ultimately be more detrimental than actually failing. At least when a company makes a bad choice, it can learn from the mistake, fix it and proceed. Waiting is just not productive.
“You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted.
But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out?
Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose?
How much can you win?”
A company will reach a time when it is in unmarked territory. It has grown to a level that many have not breached. It can choose to digress or it can rise to the challenge. However, it must take great caution in each decision because falling at this stage is very hard to fix.
“So . . . Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So . . . get on your way!
You will move mountains”
Now you have it — the necessary knowledge a professional needs! Many times we think that business is extremely complex and methodical. However, when we think of it in the simplicity of making choices, it becomes relatable and tangible. We have all made choices our whole lives, some bad and some good.
So let’s start climbing, and see what mountains we can move!
