Enough cobblers - let's get working

As the old saying goes: cobblers children always have the worst shoes.  The idea being that if the customers come first, the kids therefore must have come last - and what's more, Daddy didn't like to take his work home with him so to speak.

The same can be said of PR.  For a group of professional people in the business of reputation, we have a pretty poor reputation.

As representative organisations of the profession, the CIPR and the PRCA are at least partly responsible for addressing that poor reputation; and there are plenty of people (I would be one of them) who would argue that - in the past - neither organisation has done enough.

Of course, given that I had my turn in the leadership chair at the CIPR, plenty of people would also argue that I must be prepared to shoulder some of the responsibility for that failure to address the profession's reputation.  Fair point.

But as I have argued elsewhere, and in my 2103 election candidate statement, my intention to campaign on our reputation during my Presidency was hi-jacked by the financial and managerial issues that arose shortly after I took up the chair.  There's no point going over all that again.  And the truth is, we were not ready in any case.

What I will say again however, is that the CIPR is better placed than ever-before to tackle this issue. Financially strong and stable, and with a recent track record of leadership in social and digital media, the Institute is in good health. What's more, in Stephen Waddington, we also have an incoming President who has a leadership voice that reaches beyond the Institute's normal heartland - Stephen has some 11,000 Twitter followers, and that's more than the number of voting members of the Institute.

There's more good news too.  Some 15 people have thrown their hat into the ring to win one of seven seats on the CIPR Council.  That's 15 individuals who want to support and help the profession.  If you read their statements the passion to get involved is both apparent and admirable.

So, I want to be part of a new and concerted drive to promote our profession, our skills, our value and -above all else - to improve our reputation.   We will not do it in Stephen's one year; we will not do it in the three-year term I hope to have on the Council; but we must make a fresh and invigorated start and now is the time.

It's time to fix up our shoes - and give them a bloody good polish.  Vote for me, and I promise to work hard and do my bit on your behalf to improve our professional standing.