As reported by John Hendren on ABC World News with Charles Gibson, (12/7/08), President-Elect Obama, in an interview with Tom Brokaw on Meet the Press, dismissed comparisons to the Great Depression, saying “I think it’s important for us to remember that, as tough as times are right now …, they’re nothing compared to what the greatest generation went through.”

So I got to thinking… Why not look back into history to see what sacrifices were both demanded of, and made by, the greatest generation and then take an example from it as to how courageously and intelligently we can meet the challenges that are predicted for all of us for ’09 and beyond?  What’s stopping us from rising to the opportunity today of becoming the next edition of the “greatest generation?”

I say that for fear of tomorrow, we are handicapping ourselves today.

Of course, I can only speak in specifics within our industry.  For example, just last week I spoke to a colleague, who is a PR industry leader and owns her own PR firm on the east coast, who said that she projected a 25% drop in clients in ’09.  Maybe…

Look, there’s no question that clients’ budgets are, or will be, slashed.  But those of us who will remain relatively unscathed when we crawl out of this recession (whenever that may be) will have had a constructive plan as to how to manage our businesses through the recession.

Just as we expected from the Big Three to have a plan to deal with their restructuring before given a handout, so should PR agencies lay out a plan as to how to do more for our clients, with less and accept the financial consequences with courage and smarts.  As partners with our clients, we have the responsibility to design a plan for guiding them through the present economic minefields, strategically figuring out what is to be done with those slashed budgets, while still maintaining a company’s PR momentum — as intact as possible.

As an agency, it is also our responsibility to have an internal plan, one that does not immediately consider layoffs as an easy solution to revenue cuts (which will only contribute, in its own small way, to the downward spiral of the economy and the upward spiral of unemployment ranks), but rather a plan that includes sharing the financial burden across the firm, with each staffer accepting their own small part.  Moreover, if there are extra professional hours to be had from clients’ budget cuts, this would be a good time to stop the hand-wringing and swelling fear and put those hours to use in a way that gives back to society, and yes, without revenue. It is a contribution to society that will surely pay off.   This is not altruistic, just an insurance option for survival.

Is it about sacrifices? Yes.  But as history attests, it’s how we deal with it.  Maybe our generation will yet earn a position side by side with the “greatest generation.”  It would be an honor.

Only time will tell, but the opportunity is there…