Reprinted from the December 2007 issue of Impact
with permission by the Public Affairs Council. Copyright 2007 Impact
.
“In brick-and-mortar days, you could see a controversy coming 12 years out,” Chris Nelson, Senior Vice President and Director, North American Issues & Crisis Management Network at Ketchum, told the Council’s Art of Issues Management Seminar on Oct. 4 in Washington, D.C. “Today, an issue can go from zero to 60 overnight.”
The speed with which issues develop places new pressures on government relations professionals. To succeed, Nelson and other speakers agreed, requires at least two things.
- A multidisciplinary team that calls on all departments, not just government relations. “Managing issues is not just a matter of communications,” said Kanina Blanchard, Director, Global Issues & Industry Affairs for Dow Chemical Company. “It requires contribution by and support from legal, from human resources, from operations — from many different functions within the company.”
- CEO support. “High-level buy-in gives your efforts automatic respect and responsiveness not only within the company, but also elsewhere,” said David C. Brown, Vice President, Federal Affairs, Exelon Corporation. CEO support “is vital,” Nelson said. “It allows you to say, ‘This matters to the boss, and we’re going to do it.’”
The complexity of issues, meanwhile, is increasing. “Some issues, especially where biodiversity is concerned, simply aren’t going to be permanently settled,” Blanchard said. “A lot of issues will simply have to be managed for the long term, not put to rest.” This is true in part because organizations such as Earth First! and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals “aren’t always looking for solutions,” according to Nelson. “Their goal is to keep issues alive.”
Interconnected Issues
But according to Council President Doug Pinkham, issues won’t be solved neatly for another reason. “Issues are interconnected in ways that haven’t always been the case,” Pinkham said. “Energy, environment, the economy and war are all tied together.”
Success will require companies to work closely with NGOs, which are now more trusted than businesses. “We’ll even work with NGOs that are critical of us on other issues,” Brown said.
If companies are open to new approaches, their chances of success will increase. “If handled properly,” Blanchard said, “even the worst possible issue can positively impact your reputation.”
Keywords :