“2021 is all about agility,” MWWPR founder and CEO Michael Kempner tells Doug Simon in the latest “PR’s Top Pros Talk” video interview.

Kempner says that “the ability to be able to throw up your business plan at a moment’s notice” is becoming increasingly important in a world characterized by constant change.

“You get used to having a business plan. You get used to having rules,” he tells Simon. “And this is the kind of year where you just throw out the business plan and you focus on doing what's right both for your clients and for your people.”

Doing the right thing, he says, will take many different forms. “There are some obvious issues” for communicators to keep on their radar—including the climate, infrastructure and “clearly handling COVID and health care in a responsible and proactive fashion.”

But perhaps the biggest issue is the concern with social justice. Kempner says that PR pros need to look at social justice “not as a reactive endeavor, but as a proactive, critical part of the agenda.”

And while “the expansion of the social CEO” will play a big role, companies also need to make sure that all employees are being heard. “Today your most important stakeholder, frankly, starts with your employee base. And if you don't understand that, not only does it impact you internally, but it has a big impact on how people view you externally as well.”

Kempner also stresses the pivotal role that business will likely play in a still heavily polarized marketplace. “People believe that business is the one institution that can really make positive change. You're not going to be able to deliver returns for your shareholders if you don't deliver returns for society and the stakeholders within your core demographic.”

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Interested in taking part? Contact Doug Simon at [email protected]

D S Simon Media helps clients get their stories on television through satellite media tours and by producing and distributing content to the media. The company also produces live social media events.