Don’t Be Albert Brooks!

All the extra hours at the office and at home this week came to a head today as many of my colleagues were out of the office at a client meeting in Judgement City. Actually, it was more than a meeting. We have spent the last couple of weeks preparing for our defense as our client (at the direction of someone else in the company) opened up the business to a variety of public relations firms. Thankfully, we not only have the knowledge and relationship to back us up but we have the results to demonstrate the work that we have put into this account over the past year.

Having previously met with this particular client and with everything that is swirling around in my life right now, we all agreed that I should stay at the office and make sure that someone was actively working on the account while we were also defending the business. It really was an odd feeling sitting at my desk and pitching another great story while my colleagues were making our case. However, no matter how unique the situation, I still had a job to do and so I put my head down and pushed like I have every other day of the year.

So during the middle of the meeting, I am sending emails to our client of the opportunities that have been secured and the interviews that have been requested. Nearly every person in the room was receiving the same email demonstrating another successful product launch as the challenges were fielded in a small conference room. We all had a job to do today and frankly I am glad that I was back in the office doing what I know how to do best… getting media coverage.  

While this is going on I could help but think of Albert Brooks in Defending Your Life. Actually, it is more along the lines of the Meryl Streep character in that movie when everyone knows that she lived a full life without fear but she still has to go through the process and stand trial anyway. While I certainly would have liked to have achieved more over the past year (this is the common disease that every successful person and firm in this industry shares), the work that we did get done could not have been matched by another firm.

The meeting is over and soon the week will be coming to an end. Now we wait for the decision while we continue pitching, scheduling, and producing the results that we have been since the relationship began. After all, this process is nothing new and we still have a job to do.

Queries With A Side Of Questions

Throughout the day, questions lined up one after another. It all began early in the morning when my wife and I came across a few questions that we will have to consider throughout the week before even approaching an answer. Nothing that hasn’t been discussed before but it was a time that we just need to make an assessment and rethink some of the resent events (mostly revolving around apartment hunting but also how we need to adjust how we are spending our time). A theme that began at home would carry throughout my day.

Why do I have to go to New Jersey?

I have been able to avoid venturing into New Jersey for nearly two years. So, why did I venture across the river? It was to ask questions. We had drafted a number of probing questions for a client last week and today we were finally able to drive over and ask those questions, sift through the answers, and color the stories that we will be pitching over the next several months about our client. We conduct these sessions with all our clients and finding the answers to these questions, even the obvious ones, which help to clarify both new and old directions in the PR program.

By midafternoon I was back in the office and, more importantly, back in Pennsylvania. And what did I find in my email upon my return. That’s right. More questions. In two separate emails actually.

The first series of questions were actually from a reporter for a client (a different one than the client I just met with in the other state). Any of you familiar with PR knows that my next step was to spend some time drafting the initial responses. With the exception of a few moments here and there (we will get to that in a minute), I spent pretty much the remainder of the afternoon drafting those responses and putting in the work to create as little work as possible for our client.

What occupied those other moments during the afternoon was another email that contained even more questions. This time it was a list of things sent over from my MIL realtor regarding the apartment that my wife and I are hoping to rent. As it turns out, the owner had a few questions regarding both some of our debt and our recent employment history. Well, the real focus was on the employment record as they had already turned down an application based on that factor alone.

I felt like Albert Brooks’ character in ‘Defending Your Life’. We haven’t done anything wrong, you know I have basically worked whatever job would pay the bills, but it wasn’t the preferred employment history so it was, by default, wrong. Never mind the fact that we remained current on all our bills, payments, and, of course, rent.

Oh well, such is reality. Now we will wait and see what results from all the answers given throughout the day and if any more questions come about. Basically, this is when the interesting part starts.