midnight oil.

There's one common thread among PR practitioners, it would seem, that is vital to a job well done -- common sense.

It also doesn't hurt to burn the midnight oil to impress:
* your boss/colleagues
* your client

In a profit-driven PR entity, serving the client takes on urgency unlike the non-profit side (no offense...I'll explain myself better some other time). This urgency kicks up a notch when you're trying to impress a new client with whom you have yet to build a working relationship.

There will be communication pitfalls. There will be frustration.

But one thing is certain, if you ask me: DO YOUR DAMN JOB!

If you're the PR pro they hired, act like it. Don't half-ass the job because it's going on five o'clock. For a client new to the inner-workings of PR, it's important to impress upon him or her the value of giving the client what he/she needs rather than wants.

I could've easily hit the door at 5 p.m. But I wouldn't have slept well knowing I didn't give my client what he needed.

What am I talking about? Nothing. It's late and I'm tired.