The Kids' Table

It pains me to have to write this, but I've noticed a recent spike in posts, articles, etc. about the PR profession written by PR people. Unfortunately, they have not been productive articles; in fact, they've been the extra-whiney kind. Without naming names or linking to the articles, it's been the same fare we've all been served for years - How many different roles we play (appetizer), how under-appreciated and overworked we are (entree), how CEOs just don't understand what we do (dessert), and so on, and so on (and as much Kool-Aid as we can stand to wash it down).

Articles like these are the reason most PR people remain seated at the low, collapsible table eating Mac & Cheese with plastic forks on paper plates. The voices you hear are PR people shouting at the grown-ups table to see if anyone will so much as turn in their direction; since after all, they're interrupting adult conversation.

I have one request: STOP! Stop writing about your insecurities and start writing about creating abundance for our clients. The faster we start engaging in adult dialogue, the more quickly and easily more PR people will get invited to the grown-ups table. Now if you enjoy the kids table, I understand that too, just try to keep the whining and screaming to a minimum.

It's hard to escape the irony that we work in a field where we help shape the reputation of others while doing such an abysmal job of managing our own. Maybe if we start getting better at it, more PR people will finally be in the position to say, "Please pass the salt."