Al Golin Trust, Technology, Transparency and Courage Susan Fleming

Essay Overview A breath of fresh air in our impersonal world of technology - thats Al Golin. In his essay published in the Legacies From Legends in Public Relations, he speaks to public relations students from the heart. He talks about the turning point in his life: the day he cold-called Ray Kroc. The ultimate relationship guy, Golin tells us that his agencys relationship with McDonalds lives on, fifty years later. Not so shocking, given Golins outlook on whats important in business. The highlights of his essay revolve around his tried and true tenets: Trust The cornerstone of his career and his very essence is trust. He talks about the term trust bank and the need to make frequent deposits of good will. You never know when you might need to make a withdrawal. High touch trumps technology

Golin laments that face to face conversations have gone by the wayside. Reliance on email is strongly preferred to having the difficult discussion. Transparency

Transparency as a core value is important and you cant avoid it today, what with all of the watchdogs, consumer groups and technology. Courage

When you have a good idea, stick to your guns. And you should have the courage to change things before they need to be changed. Golin closes his essay by asking us to take risks, even at the risk of making a mistake. He quotes Albert Einstein: Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

Career Capsule

Golin started his career in the promotion department of MGM Productions, thinking it was his entre into movie production. He comes from a theatrical background, his family having owned movie theaters. But after working in the publicity department, he was hooked. And thats how he evolved into public relations. He dreamed of starting his own PR firm, but ran across a man by the name of Cooper who had a small agency in Chicago, and needed someone to

join him. Golin thought this would be easier than striking out on his own. It was here that Golin made a fateful call he cold-called Ray Kroc. He knew that Kroc wanted to expand and he pitched PR as an economical way to have his story told. Indeed, the two were successful in selling franchisees, rapidly expanding the McDonalds empire. During this time, he was a oneman band, working hard to sell the story around the country. It was during this time that he coined the term trust bank, encouraging active involvement in the community by McDonalds. In one of his most famous moves, Golin recommended expanding the Ronald McDonald house idea nationally. He never dreamed it would be international. Fast forward almost 20 years when Cooper leaves and Cooper & Golin becomes Golin Communications. By this time, Golin has offices in London and San Francisco. Shortly after that, in 1977, Golin created the first corporate sponsorship, signing on for the Jerry Lewis telethon. In 2003, Golin published his book Trust or Consequences, in which he writes about trust as a building block for corporations. Over the years, Golin has been acquired several times. Fifty years after that fateful coldcall, McDonalds has 32,000 + restaurants worldwide and Golin has 30 offices worldwide. Golin has been recognized by the Arthur W. Page Society with a Hall of Fame Award and by the Publicity Club of Chicago with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Key Influencers on the Golin Essay Certainly the notion of trust stems from Golins idea of the trust bank, going back in time to the early Golin/Kroc days. Trust or Consequences underscores the fact that trust is a long term commitment where you have to make many deposits over time to accumulate a reputation and the ability to make withdrawals. Golin tells the story of 20 McDonalds restaurants being spared in the torching following the Rodney King riots. He talks about J & J coming out on the other side of the Tylenol scare. The point? Building trust builds the bottom line. Trust has always been Golins credo, even before it was in vogue. On the matter of technology, Golin talks about the trend toward emotionless interactions that are starting to define business relationships. In his book, he reminisces about the pitched, emotional battles that used to take place routinely. These battles made for stronger relationships. I believe he sees that technology enables us to avoid sticky situations. It enables

us to avoid confrontation. So whats the issue? Technology is getting in the way of relationships. And without relationships, how can you have trust? Golin states, Let them call me a dinosaur. Organizations should value and use all the communication technology at their disposal. What they shouldnt do is let it get in the way of building strong relationships. After all, relationships are the underpinning of public relations. Transparency and being forthcoming is a core value of Golins. In several interviews, he talks about the types of clients he represents. He has never represented tobacco. He wants his firm to do things they feel good about, and if they dont feel good about representing certain kinds of clients they just dont take them. He believes in looking at the bigger picture, not short term solutions and quick fixes. He ties this to watchdog and consumer groups and the power of the internet that has created a voyeuristic society with an insatiable hunger for transparency. His point? If you make the right choices you should not have to worry about scrutiny. Last, but certainly not least, I believe that Golin focuses on courage in his essay because public relations is all about having courage courage to make a difference, courage to take risks and stick to your ideas, courage to make that next cold call, courage to fix things before they are broke. Golin certainly has the courage to stand up for relationships by condemning the use of technology as a crutch. The value of these tried and true tenets is demonstrated by the fifty year relationship between Golin Harris and McDonalds. Al Golin is a standout in a world that is enamored of technology, quick fixes and PR spin. Whats old is new again. Hear hear.