Learning from "The Grand Master"

“To begin, let me tell you how happy I am, to be here with you all in New Delhi… In fact, at my age, I am happy to be anywhere at all!” began Harold Burson, the 80-something Founder and Chairman of Burson-Marsteller.

And with these opening remarks, he not only disarmed and connected beautifully with an audience of senior people used to holding centre stage themselves. CEOs, but reminded us all at the ICCO Global Summit why he’s called the ‘Father of Public Relations”.

But listening to him speak that morning, and remembering things he said over dinner one evening before the Summit (yes I had the honor, and am indulging in blatant name-dropping) I would rather call him the ‘Grand Master’ of Public Relations – as ‘Father’ has rather benign connotations.

Here is a man who’s not just been on top of his craft for decades, but one who has had insights and vision, of understanding and depth, to take his industry of previously called (and often maligned today as) spin doctors, to a highly respected position of corporate reputation and strategic advisors.

Yet, what he said at the Summit, was nothing new or mind blowing – but simple and deep. I won’t elaborate, but simply crystallize what he said. You think about it.

1. PR is an Applied Social Science
2. PR professionals have to play an advisory role in policy making and business
3. PR is about crystallizing public opinion
4. PR professionals need to constantly educate themselves, test themselves
5. Proper research public opinion/decision making is important
6. You can’t talk the talk, if you can’t walk the walk
7. PR professionals need to educate the clients as to how the business works, and how much goes into it – to get them to appreciate and value remuneration
8. Do good, and get credit for it
9. PR firms need to think about and manage their own reputations and public image.
10. PR firms need to have a good relationship with their clients, where they add value by providing a broad, independent perspective on not only corporate reputation, but the overall business as well.


To know more about the man, and get insights on what's on his mind, visit Harold Burson's blog here.

To get a proper PR professional's perspective on the session, click here.

A Twisted Cue

Another book review? Yep! Prompted by a literary discussion I attended yesterday at India Habitat Centre where Roshan Seth, Sabina Mehta Jaitly, Partha Chatterjee and Dr. Vijay Sharma discussed A Twisted Cue by Rohit Handa [Published by Ravi Dayal].

Unlike most fiction novels which I finish in about 4-5 days, I took over a month to finish this book. I had what you call in automotive language "starting trouble" and I was tempted to leave the book unfinished, when it suddenly occured to me this is no ordinary fiction novel to cruise through.

It was rather a docu-philosophy-biography of the lives and times before I was born [1968]. It was literature as Roshan Seth put it aptly "thick like condensed milk".

While most of the people at this discussion empathised with the narrative, for me it was an eye opener to the people and days of my father's times - including the much misunderstood Anglos in particular!

It gave me an interesting perspective to the thinking of all the parties involved in the Indo-Pak conflict way back then - from the Indian political parties, to the Americans, the British and the soldiers facing each other in the bunkers on both sides of the LoC.

Plus if you scratch below the surface, you will come up with an analysis of the reasons behind the apathy that envelopes Indians in general, putting into perspective a lot of what's happening in our society today.

I liked the book. Check it out... but be prepared to spend a lot of "open mind" time on it!

Dive into something new!

People ask me what I'm doing nowadays... since I left my job as country head of creative, in an advertising agency. Well the answer is "I'm swimming in a Blue Ocean"! I am creating communication products and services no one else offers today.

A major influence in this career shift has been this amazing book "Blue Ocean Strategy" by W Chan Kim and Renee' Mauborgne, published by Harvard Business School Press.

In a fascinating read, Kim and Mauborgne encourage us to go beyond bloody red oceans of existing markets, to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant.

While the authors agree the thinking is not new, they stake claim to the evocative new marketing term "Blue Ocean Strategy".

The book doesn't just hypothesize, but illustrates examples that have worked across categories - from watches, computers, and even a circus! And it is a great DIY guide for those "madventurous" enough to explore Blue Oceans :)

Thought I'd share info about this book with you.