Recently,
Bish Mukherjee, an Indian Communication professional became the first Indian to be recognized with
the highest honour that any communication professional can get in the
world. He has become one of the less
than 100 IABC Fellows in the world today.
The
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a global network
of communication professionals committed to improving organizational
effectiveness through strategic communication. Established in 1970, IABC serves
members in more than 70 countries for networking, career development and
personal growth.
In an
exclusive interview with Sukruti Vadula, Editorial Team member of PreSense,
Bish Mukherjee shared his journey from a RBI official to communication
professional. Excerpts.
What made you enter
the field of PR ? How did this start ?
It was accidental. I was working in Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in
Exchange Control when I was hand-picked by the Editor of Without Reserve, the
house magazine of RBI, to help editorially him out with the publication.
This was in addition to my regular duties as Exchange Control Officer (ECO),
which in itself was a very heavy desk, as I was in-charge of issuing RBI
permits for foreign travel. In those days you could not get foreign
currency for travel overseas without RBI permits.
In my role of ECO, I used to meet numerous VIP-s (or their senior
representatives) and iconic people from different industries. I met
cricketers, musicians, dancers, shipping magnates, travel agents, airline
companies, eminent doctors, sportsmen and women and industrialists. I tried to
take a realistic view of the applicants' requests for foreign exchange
requirements and tried to help out in a genuine way. Word went around inside
the bank that I was very people friendly and that I had PR
skills.
Soon I was made one of three RBI's nominees for the Association of
Business Communicators of India (ABCI). That paved the way for me to later
become the Secretary and then the President of ABCI.
I got transferred to RBI's Without Reserve Cell and started work for RBI
as their PR representative. In those days RBI had a Press Relations Officer but
no PR Officer. My efforts at Without Reserve started yielding results as the
journal got several awards in the coming years.
In later years, my work in PR and editing work in RBI was recognised by
the RBI Governor in the presence of the top brass of the organisation when I
was given a plaque and certificate during the bank's platinum jubilee
celebrations. I had left the bank many years ago but they traced me and offered
me return airfares and hotel accommodation to come over to Mumbai and accept
the award and also be part of the gala dinner etc. It was so touching and memorable.
How did it feel to be
the First Indian to receive the IABC Fellows award in the USA ?
In 1987 when I received the Accredited Business Communicator's
(ABC) recognition from the International Association of Business
Communicators (IABC) in the USA, I was the first Indian to become accredited.
There are 800 ABCs in the world today. I was in Colgate-Palmolive as the
head of PR, Sponsorships and Publications at the time, and there was a big
party at the US Club in Mumbai to celebrate it with the President of
Colgate-Palmolive opening the champagne bottle in my honour. It was an unreal
experience.
Now, after so many years, I have been recognised with the highest honour
in the world that the communications profession can bestow to a
professional. It is an industry award bestowed by the IABC for the recipient's
sagacity, experience, reach and overall contribution to the communications
profession globally. There are less than 100 IABC Fellows in the
world today. Once again, I am the first recipient of this top award in India.
It is a very proud moment for me and for the communications profession. I am
deeply humbled.
Who is your role model
and mentor ?
I have never believed in soothsayers and parrot-readers for my success in
life. I have believed in continuous upgrading of knowledge, skills and tactics,
in unbeatable strategies, in hard work, sheer perseverence and staying focussed
and calm despite provocations. I have learnt immensely from industry leaders,
from my colleagues and subordinates, and from my peers and bosses. I started
emulating successful leaders from my school and college days which lead me to
earning the St Xaviers School Gold Medal for Elocution and the College
Blue. I believe in standing up for honour and truth and never compromise
on ethics.
What is the road
map for the freshers to soar in the field of PR ?
Be honest. Be unambiguously truthful and never compromise with ethics.
Freshers must learn to do jobs with dedication and commitment. They need to
take on each job in an organised way, that is, to be sure as to what they are
doing and to do it in the best possible way and then to measure the outcomes
and communicate to the bosses. If you have done good or great work but are not
able to measure the impact of that work to the company' bottomline and then to
communicate effectively to management, then that job may not be counted by them
for your career growth in the organisation. That really is the secret mantra
for freshers.
You being an
Accredited Business Communicator(ABC), where do you see the standard of Indian
Business Communication in comparison to the global market ?
PR standards in India have evolved over the past couple of decades,
thanks mostly to the plethora of multi-national companies entering the Indian
markets. They have brought with them the best practices and guidelines that are
of uncompromising standards. They have trained the staff in their Indian sites
as per their requirements, they have brought in an era of Planning and
Measurement in business communications that is so vital for an orgnisation's
success.
In the process, Indian companies are recognising the importance of
communicating effectively as evinced from the various workshops they are
running to upskill their staff. Mr Srinivasan of PreSense has conducted a
few such workshops for Indian Bank, IOB and others. PR is an important function
even in Government today as evinced from the Advisory role being played by Mr
MB Jayaram in a major PSU today after he retired from the company he was
working for. The impact is evident even in the education sector. Institutes and
Colleges are competing with each other to get the best PR people as guest
speakers at their campuses. It is all good for the Indian business
communication scene.
How will you define PR
in your experience.
There are many ways you can understand PR but there is only one way you
can know PR - that is through experience and experience alone.
Is PR just a "Call for Attention" mantra or much beyond.
People generally think PR as media and publicity. What is your say.
PR is really an all-inclusive, all-pervading concept. If you split
the two words you will find the meaning yourself. Anything related to public
(corporate public) is PR and anything that enhances the effective relationship
of the organisation or the individual with that corporate public is PR. And if
the word public includes media, publicity, events, publishing etc so be
it.
What is the Scope of
PR in India and in the global market ?
Scope of PR in India is massive. Association bodies that are espousing
the cause of PR in India are doing monumental work and there is no denying it.
The untiring professional efforts by the Public Relations Council of
India (PRCI), ABCI, PRSI, PRCAI and other bodies must be commended in this
respect.
When the Union Carbide crisis unfolded in Bhopal, the company realised
how important it was to have had a good PR outfit in India. They didn't have that
advantage then. The World Vice-President for Communications at Union
Carbide Mr Bob Berzok flew down the very next day from Connecticut
and had a meeting with me in Mumbai. He asked for help. He asked me to join the
company and immediately swing into action in crisis communications mode. I had
to decline his gracious offer as I had just joined Colgate-Palmolive after very
respectfully turning down job offers from Phillips, Hoechst and UTI.
Bob asked me for 3 names which I readily provided. Bob recruited
Mr Kishore Hattangadi who did a fantastic job at Union Carbide. Rest is
history. Such situations are waiting to happen in many companies which do
not believe in corporate PR. The sooner that gap is filled up the better
it will be for our industry.
We have a little catching up to do in India so far as global standards
are concerned. The very fact that Indian companies send in so many entries to
world competitions in communications but win very few awards is a pointer in
that direction. Judging entries from all over the world at the Gold Quill
Awards at Shanghai, I noticed that apart from US, Canada, UK and Europe,
even China and the Philippines were winning heaps of awards in various
categories but the Indian entries suffered from lack of slick presentation
skills and adequate responses to the measurement criteria. We need to work
hard on these two aspects to find a bigger place in the global scenario. Tatas,
perhaps, is the only exception which keeps winning awards in communications
year after year in various categories.
What are your top
three marketing and PR tips for the PR Professionals.
1. Know and understand your organisation, its products and services
thoroughly
2. Plan, strategise and evaluate your work on a daily basis; relate
everything that you do to the organisation's bottomline and its
stakeholders
3. Be honest and ethical in whatever you do; be a leader but with utmost
humility
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