22 tweets from “Running a Public Relations Department”, by Mike Beard

1. Avoid getting bogged down in short-term issues and keep a clear vision of a long-term purpose (p. 48)
2. The plan is the basis for reviewing individual performance in the annual appraisal (p. 51)
3. The plans should concentrate on change (p. 51)
4. A busy team is a happy team if it is well managed (74)
5. Whatever you do [in team management] should take account of the need to provide job satisfaction &career development for your team (76)
6. The primary method of developing your team members is trough the way you assign responsibility to them (p. 88)
7. An open management style in which issues are faced will lead to better performance and a happier team (p. 95)
8. Establish a routine for gaining access, for it is impossible to perform well in public relations without it (p. 97)
9. Good access to your management will ensure that you can clarify situations and get statements approved quickly (p. 117)
10. Your audiences will not differentiate between the activities of subsidiary operations and corporate body (p. 102)
11. The quality of the briefs you give to your suppliers will largely determine the quality of the response you receive (p. 28)
12. It is much better to do simple events well and with style than create problems through complexity (p. 30)
13. Your external public relations colleagues are among the most valuable contacts you can develop (p. 117)
14. You cannot expect your consultancies to know your business better than you do (129)
15. Meticulous financial control will do more to enhance your reputation as a manager than any other measurement (p. 63)
16. Doing simple things well is a sound philosophy which can save a lot of cash (p. 70)
17. Reputation is the result of what you do, what you say and what other say about you (7)
18. Every organization has different requirements and no two public relations departments are structured in the same way (p. 107)
19. It is important not to promise too much too soon (p. 49)
20. In managing your media relations the first priority is availability (p. 116)
21. All information provided to the media must be short, clear, factual and free from puffery (p. 116)
22. [When you speak to the media] always visualize your words in print or in air (p. 116)

Mike Beard, Running a Public Relations Department, The Institute of Public Relations, Kogan Page, London 2002, 160 pp.