Making the World a Better Place.

Through technology and communication, Gail Chandler and her coworkers at Texas Instruments seem to be changing the world as we know it... right below our noses. As it turns out, there are a number of things we don't know about TI. For instance, only about 5% of their annual revenue comes from selling calculators, or that once a week, a bus picks up volunteers from the TI offices in Dallas and drives them to Julia C. Frazier Elementary School where they tutor in six week rotations, or that with the help of these volunteers, 87% of third graders passed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test on their first attempt.

Ms. Chandler, a SMU communications alum, works to improve TI's public affairs through community service and philanthropy and in turn makes the world a better place. According to Chandler, the company's legacy through the actions of its founders, Cecil Green and Eric Johnson, has always focused on giving back to its community. She says, "it's ingrained in our culture to be giving and giving back to the community. We have a very stringent corporate governance". As a testimonial to this company's pledge to community relations, a written ethics policy has been in place since the '60s, which was unheard of for the time. 


Going hand in hand with CHandler's efforts in the community, TI's technical efforts run along the same lines. With a Nobel Prize winner in their midsts, the engineering team's goals are to make the world:


SAFER: by attempting to make cars equipped with collision prevention technology and eventually cars that drive themselves.
SMARTER
GREENER: by creating cell phones that will eventually charge on body heat alone
HEALTHIER: through creation of artificial retinas, functioning artificial limbs, and on-site sonograms.

While Chandler says "you wouldn't find TI paying to have their name on the side of the American Airlines Center," that doesn't mean they aren't a huge global presence. Flying under the radar and quietly helping others seems to be right up her ally, and coming from a background in government and educational PR, TI's corporate responsibility initiatives are just what she wants. Chandler claims, "Life is too short to work somewhere you don't like and where you don't feel good about what you're doing."


It's comforting to know that large corporations fueling many of the products people can't seem to live without are making a significant effort to protect the other things we care about. Chandler explains that corporate responsibility, while it is important to the community and government regulations, is good business as well. Companies that buy from TI expect to see a level of awareness and corporate conscience in the companies they associate with, just as TI adopts strict regulations they expect from their suppliers, essentially, being held accountable and by holding their suppliers accountable. All of these features file into the company's statement: "We believe strong companies build strong communities and strong communities build strong companies."

God, Apple Pie, and Motherhood

Holding a career studded with four governors, six senators, 30 clients prepared for a 60 Minutes grilling and a few presidents to boot, Ken Fairchild has all the credibility in the world, and when a man like Ken spends almost two hours telling you that public relations is ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION, you better believe him when he says, "nothing matters if you're communicating the wrong thing." Lucky for us, according to Fairchild, a job in communications will most likely require just that. Excellent communications skills. But what about the really sticky situations? Mr. Fairchild, who I would consider an expert on dealing with tricky issues and questions, advocates the unassailable position.

"Trust me, Love me," is what it's all about. Love my company and my brand because you think we're great and do wonderful things, but trust me that I'm not leaving out crucial information that might make you think otherwise... nearly impossible. While in some issues, such as believing in God, preferring apple pie (why not cherry?), and or having conservative or liberal views on motherhood, no truly assailable message exists, there are possibilities in which one may convey the truth while avoiding an exploitation. Fairchild says, "I want the unassailable position, not that the oil spill is good, but we're going to fix it - you can't tell me you don't believe that."

In a trend where media seems to exist solely to uncover the most interesting story in an effort to top their ratings, regardless of the negative implications reflected on their interviewees, how can PR professionals and their clients defend themselves against these ruthless tactics? Miriam Webster defines the term as "not liable to doubt, attack or question."Fairchild's 'unassailable position' emphasizes a need to FOCUS on one's message and refuse to deviate from it. According to him, "If you develop your message this way, even Mike Wallace can't make you say something you don't want to say."

So yes, sticking to your intended message and not falling for the reporter's dirty tricks is one step toward maintaining your client's level of love and trust, but what about when a crisis occurs? PR professionals are often asked to cover unpleasant things up or simply "get rid of them..." Not the brightest thought. Returning to the example of BP's catastrophic oil spill, there exists a happy medium between shoving an issue under the rug and assuming the "no big deal" position and completely exploiting the damages.

Perhaps BP's CEO, Tony Hayward, could have used a bit of media training from Mr. Fairchild before he so sensitively complained that "I'd like my life back." Even the bluntness of a blatant lack of common sense can be softened by a few lessons in communication with the media in the wake of a business and environmental crisis. I believe the love and trust once invested in BP rapidly evaporated as a result of these events and a poor response by the crisis PR team responsible for handling the repercussions of these events. So much for Hayward's unassailable position.