Today I was inspired by my boss Mrs. Paula. She is the President of her own public relations company called Public Affairs and is also the Director of Corporate Relations for the Atlanta Press Club. I've been her intern for about a month now and she's already taught me so much about relationship building (something that I've been intimidated about when it comes to important business people). I find myself filling the margins of my notebooks with her tidbits of wisdom (that I affectionately call "Paulaisms") throughout the day.
A LESSON ON RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Yesterday we ran into a situation about empathy, and the importance of being empathetic with your clients. One of the businesses we've been working with in sponsorship arrangements was just dealt an ugly crisis situation. There were plenty of headlines on it, but I wasn't aware of it until I had gotten to work that afternoon (another takeaway from this is how critical it is to scan the media for news about the businesses you work with). One of the APC directors had sent an untimely email was that morning requesting non-urgent information from a business that just went into full on crisis mode. My boss and I discussed how this move damages relationships because it appears as if we are not empathetic with our clients and that we don't care about their issues, when that isn't the case. It can make us seem self-centered or ignorant (something no publicist ever wants to be seen as). Reputation management can work both ways in business.
| This situation made me reflect on my life, too and I realized there are a lot of times where I can get lost in "me-mode," meaning that I'm only thinking about myself and the answers that I need. Mrs. Paula's lesson helped not only my professional life but my personal life too. Sometimes we all need to take a step back and think about what is going on with the people we care about instead of going straight for the things that we might need from them. Be understanding towards others every chance you get, because you never know what they might have on their plate at the moment. I'll leave you with this quote from one of the greatest minds our world has known, Albert Einstein. I think it sums it up pretty well. |  Found on engelta.hubpages.com |
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