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Crashing the C-Suite:
Six Steps to Putting PR Careers on the Fast Track Beyond Communications

Op-ed submitted by Larry Marshall, CEO,
Marshall Consultants, LLC

A few weeks back, I had a call from David D’Alessandro, whom we had recruited for John Hancock Financial Services as their communications guru several years ago. When he was hired, this dynamic, ambitious and bold communicator reorganized their communications and created dramatic, new, innovative advertising and PR strategies, building Hancock’s image and repositioning them in their marketplace as a progressive, diversified new-age company.

What’s more, he convinced management of the benefit of using big budget sports and marathon running corporate-sponsorships, often usurping the territorial entitlements of erstwhile competitors with great business building results, and garnering a myriad of financial services communications awards.

But, David’s own career aspirations took him well beyond PR and corporate communications, and he broadened his portfolio to include overseeing all marketing, human resources and other corporate staff functions. He soon was viewed as a “problem solver” and was given the challenge of making their ailing healthcare services unit profitable, which he did (with much admiration from the CEO and chairman). He then rose to become president of the retail sector and, hence, to become CEO, a very rare career move for a communicator.

He took the old-line company public, doubled its stock price in just a few years and sought and found a similarly sized insurance company to merge with in order to position the company to compete in the increasingly competitive financial services arena more effectively. But, as often occurs in such mergers, the acquired company’s management imposed itself on Hancock and took over the reigns of command. However, this wasn’t a bad deal for David, who exited the company with over $130M in his pocket; not a bad pay day!

What does this story mean to other hardworking PR practitioners? This:

Communicators have often been shortsighted in visualizing their own professional talents and career growth potential. However, taking Robert Browning’s quote to heart, “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”, we can now view opportunities that abound today for so many traditional communicators to dream bigger—and to realize their larger destinies, should they choose such a career growth path.

Most traditional communicators have set their career tracks not by choice, but by being employed in roles with built-in limitations. Most are wordsmiths who have developed their careers in agency and corporate environs, using their creative writing skills (e.g., executive speechwriting) as their paramount talent.

The opportunity is often afforded such communications counselors to become the Machiavelli of their corporate Prince, the consigliere or confidante of the corporate chief. If they have business acumen, are astute to learn the business of their business, understand P&Ls, hone their corporate business skills, are adept at building confidence and relationships and are viewed as creative problem solvers, able to make things happen to achieve real results, they, too, can rise to the top—if that’s what they (or you) aspire to do.

What should ambitious communicators do to successfully climb this lofty career ladder?

1. Think beyond the tactical—parlay creativity into a strategic asset. If PR people want to take full advantage of their career opportunities in corporate life, they must think beyond the production of smoothly written articles, annual reports, analyst presentations, speeches, VNRs, multimedia presentations, etc. The Rubicon they must aggressively cross is to embrace creative and strategic thinking about how all forms of communication can advance corporate financial and marketing goals. And they must be willing to become managers of the production of PR, advertising and marketing materials, not direct producers.

2. Devise and implement crisis plans now—then step up when bad news strikes. The most likely opportunity to move from being wordsmiths to being strategic thinkers often comes when PR people are forced to, or afforded chances to, manage communications crises, either while still working for agencies, or as part of their corporate experience. It is in the crisis management crucible, working under intense pressure alongside lawyers, CFOs and the CEO, often under the nervous scrutiny of the board, that the budding communications executive learns the difference between simply elegant communications and truly effective, timely, often company-saving communications strategy and its ensuing, rapid implementation.

3. Integrate, integrate, integrate—manage (and play well with) other disciplines. They also need to master and learn other related disciplines while moving up the corporate ladder: advertising (corporate, yes, but also product) and marketing. Since these functions usually have larger budgets (approved by the executive committee) at their disposal, they are often thought to be more important. Therefore, so are the people running those functions. Smart CEOs know differently, but  PR execs need to be highly conversant and strategically sound in the marketing and advertising arenas, as well as in PR if they hope to be given the nod to run the entire corporate communications kingdom. Often, unfortunately, they eschew those fields, thus curtailing their larger career ambitions.

4. Step out of the corner suite—and into the business-building unknown. Once ensconced in the corner office for all corporate communications, the accumulation of additional responsibilities is the function of not only ambition, but also of willingness to step into new arenas that test the metal of all upwardly mobile corporate executives. One must be willing to give up the comfortable life of the corporate communications chief, to run a foreign operating division, or a troubled business group, for example. One must then be willing to run one or more domestic, foreign or other operating divisions, and bring new luster and growth to them.

In these cases, the former communications executive is no longer operating solely as a communications guru, but, alongside operating executives with law or MBA degrees, as a driver of company growth and success in the most direct fashion. This transition is the most dramatic and difficult of all, and that’s why so few communications people, never mind pure PR types, ever make the transition successfully. In fact, it means years’-long refocusing of one’s entire career under intense pressure.

5. Be willing to learn from—and be inspired by—other top-tier execs. Find the right mentor(s) who are securely located at the top of the corporate ladder—either a CEO designate or an established CEO, former chairman, or another decision-making senior corporate executive to provide guidance and support.

6. Never get comfortable—take risks, innovate and embrace change. Be willing to put their own job on the line for new, innovative strategies, with full commitment to implementing change.

Carpe Diem!