JCPR

My Dad looked like David Niven, was an RAF Squadron Leader in WW2 and polished his shoes to mirror shininess every night. He was a gentleman until he got behind a wheel, when he turned into an aggressive speed hound. He told me I was the best thing that ever happened to him. He was an entrepreneur and a marketing innovator, deeply involved in the early days of the Institute of Marketing.

He was also the first person to ever explain what PR was. And he introduced me to a friend of his to help me get a summer job in a consumer PR agency. I loved it. And that was 30 years ago.

JCPR became a success because Robert and I had a dream. But it stayed a success because of the people who have come through our doors and given their heart and soul and energy to being the best in the business. Many of those people went on to achieve more amazing things. One of them, Rana Reeves, set up John Doe PR and won four (very well deserved) awards at the PR Week Awards last week. When I met him for tea a few weeks ago he reminisced about all the people we knew and then, sweetly told me that many of my phrases stayed with him and others as PR mantras. Ginny Paton, another PR dynamo – now running House PR -  said the same thing and that she felt she knew my Dad, who gave me many of these lines, even though she had never met him.  Ruth Warder, our extraordinary MD, who stylishly protects the JCPR heart of passion, professionalism and sheer hard work every day, supported by her awesome deputy Sharon Reid and the rest of the JCPR crew, carries this legacy too.

And so, in honour of my lovely Dad who inspired me and Robert to go for it, no matter what, here are a few of the phrases that have helped us and others along the way…

Assumption is the mother of all f**k ups

Don’t ever assume anything! It’s the route to making mistakes. Check out your facts. Be smart. And know what you are talking about

You can never be half pregnant

Hedging your bets is not always a good thing. We are supposed to be experts and give specific advice. One way or another – not somewhere murky in the middle!

Excuse me, your strategy is showing

Strategy is for the client to know but not for the audience to see!

There is a difference between scratching your ass and tearing bloody great lumps out of it!

May be a crass description – and shocking to hear my ultra polite Dad say this one – but more impactful as a result! So it’s important to put yourself on the line with your work but beware of when it gets to be beyond reasonable…

It’s not about ‘or’…it’s about ‘and’

One of my recurring favourites, especially in this multi format, multi platform age.  PR people are the masters of ‘and’ and this also works when inter agency politics get in the way. As long as it’s strategically correct, ‘ands’ deliver more whereas ‘or’ diminishes.

You have two ears and one mouth

The best sales tool you have is to listen – and ultimately, isn’t that what we are?

Always meet everyone once

This has been brilliant advice. Making the time for this has contributed hugely to my life both personally and professionally…it’s why I met Robert for the first time all those years ago. And how on that occasion he was able to tell me we were destined to work together for the rest of our lives…but that’s another story!

So thanks Dad. You may be gone but clearly you will never be forgotten.