"Do the Right Thing"

Recently, I have been learning a lot about doing the right thing in the profession of public relations. In the book "Do the Right Thing: PR Tips for a Skeptical Public" by James Hoggan with Richard D. Littlemore, there are three guidelines concerning doing the right thing. Those guidelines, known as the Hoggan approach, are to do the right thing, be seen to be doing the right thing, and lastly, don't get the first and second rule mixed up (Hoggan, 2009).

Hoggan's guidelines remind me of the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill crisis and how BP's PR department has been handling the matter. One idea that BP put into play was a commercial starring Tony Hayward, BP's former CEO, walking the beach and apologizing. It seems as if Hayward was trying to do the right thing by apologizing and being seen to be doing the right thing by airing the commercial. According to the Los Angeles Times, quite a few people gave Hayward sympathy.

The commercials that BP has been airing lately seems to be a strategy to gain back credibility. But in Hoggan's book "Do the Right Thing," he says that you gain the best credibility when you are not reacting to an event (Hoggan, 2009). Hoggan insists that you must be transparent, and many may argue that transparency was not displayed by BP concerning the oil spill.

I like the part in "Do the Right Thing" where Hoggan wrote "I noticed that when people did the right thing, when they stepped up quickly, acknowledging a problem, posing a solution, and setting out a plan to be sure that a crisis would not recur, things almost always got better" (Hoggan, 2009).

By examining the BP oil spill crisis and how BP handled it, I am reminded of the importance of honesty and expedience. In chapter 16 of "Do the Right Thing," one paragraph boldly teaches that you should not bury bad news because it will start to stink.