The ethics of persuasion: What public relations can learn from two old sociologists and a PR prophet

During a long bike ride yesterday, I got to thinking about the late Pat Jackson. I invoke Pat’s name a lot on this site, since he is the “prophet” most responsible for my world-view in public relations. If you don’t know of Pat’s contributions, read about them here.

Pat understood that to gain the respect of top management, public relations must move behavior. CEOs care about action, not awareness. PR’s mission, said Pat, was to change the human outcomes. Behavior is the ultimate measure of our success — and in the end, it’s the only one that matters.

What would you say in your final blog post?

I’ve come this close to blog suicide a dozen times since September 2006 — when I launched this site. In fact, I even drafted a final post last winter. Had my finger on the “publish” trigger — I really did. But I chickened out.

I can’t be the only blogger who wonders what comes of all the time invested. I don’t use this blog to promote a business, to recruit students or to impress my bosses. And no one in my academic world will ever take it seriously as research or creative activity. Although this blog gets far more “peer review” than most academic journals, none of you hold me to any sort of standard! Thank you for that.

But I struggle with the ROI question — a lot. What’s in it for me? The answer eludes me.

I have nothing to say, but I’ll say it anyway — in the context of public relations, naturally

Some 3 weeks have passed since my last post, and daily readership is holding fairly steady. What’s up with that? Someday, when I figure out the blogosphere, I’ll tell you all about it. Until then, I’ve decided to break the silence with a mishmash of PR-related topics. Sort of.

Eye of the Tiger

David Brooks’ column this week discusses the mental toughness of Tiger Woods. Tiger’s dad began teaching the kid to focus at an early age, and clearly it has paid off. Nike’s ad, which ran during the U.S. Open this week, captures Earl Woods saying…”Tiger, I promise you that you’ll never meet another person as tough as you in your entire life.”

I hate golf, and almost never watch it. But I set aside my chores Monday afternoon to catch the last three holes of the playoff. I did it mostly to root for another old guy from Western Pa., Rocco Mediate. I watched, and I wondered: Do you think Rocco is a multitasker with a Blackberry? Do you suppose his computer pings him each time an email arrives? Does Tiger Twitter between holes? And how often does he check his Facebook page?

Maybe it’s the unfocused nature of my own life that prompts me to pose these questions. I don’t worship jocks, but I do admire the mental discipline of folks like Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate. When was the last time you set aside everything for 4 or 5 hours to concentrate on doing one thing exceptionally well?