It’s all about relationships.
Kay and I are working this weekend in Middle River, Md for our client Lockheed Martin. The Lockheed Martin Corporation is voluntarily cleaning up some environmental problems at its site in Middle River. The corporation is committed to doing the right thing when it comes to seeking out the environmental problems and then cleaning them up.We had the pleasure Friday evening meeting with three civic leaders and their wives and hosting them to dinner. One of the invitees asked what I thought was the most important thing that a large corporation could do when working in a community.
My response was very direct and sincere. The corporation must abide by the law, they must “do the right thing and do it in the right way” yet more importantly than all this is they must develop relationships with their neighbors.
And that is what Kay and I work very hard to do in the communities in which we work. After all it is called public relations for a reason – it is all about developing relationships with the people you are working for and with.
However, relationships are not developed overnight. They require nurturing and lots of care. They require open and honest communications and lots of give and take. They require much more listening and lots less talking.
Relationships when built well turn into friendships. Yet, even if they don’t become full-blown friendships, a good relationship can and will serve both parties well. We work very hard to establish viable relationships in the communities in which we work and I am pleased to report that many of the relationships we have established in Middle River on this project have matured into genuine friendships.
For that we are grateful.
Until next time.
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