I have seen some very underhanded approaches in winning the business, running the business and trying to keep the business. It's been my experience that PR firms are generally more nice, while the ad agencies tend to get a bit more rough. It's a fine line…

And it never pays to cross over.

We live and work in a very small industry and word will get out.

Not just with our peers, but with clients, talent, staff, and prospects.

My simple rules for new business are much like you would tell a child:
Play nice – we're all in the same game so show some respect
Keep your hands to yourself – no stealing, no copying, no cheating
No pushing – if some plays rough turn the other cheek
Share – when someone does something great, tell them.
Don't be afraid – we all stumble and fall sometimes, just get back up
and most important; if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all

So kudos for bringing up a touchy subject, but one that needs to be discussed more often. Gives me an idea for another post.

Thank you!

Bob
Sanders Consulting Group

Blog: http://sandersconsulting.com/newbusinesshawk/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/newbusinesshawk
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rhsanders

Also, your idea to commend other agencies is an important one that most communication industries may take part in, only when face-to-face with the winner, but behind closed doors it's an entirely different story. I've heard other agencies be called words that typically only sailors and jailbirds use. But, thats another story… Behavior like that, should really be left to high school teenagers and not brought into collaborative creative environments like advertising, journalism and PR because in the end, the less you learn the more you're just going to continue to make the same mistakes.

Great post! =]

I'm glad you brought up the Counselor's Academy – that is a true example of how you can collaborate and maintain relationships across the board.

I'm going to go check out your blog post – the dissection case study posts are the ones that intrigue me the most. They take PR and business and professionals are able to learn from them.

I'm also interested to see how it all plays out.