On Thursday afternoon I had the pleasure of attending the Syracuse University Public Diplomacy symposium with Under Secretary of the State, Tara Sonenshine guest speaking. As an expert in Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, I was interested to hear of her impact on international relations, explanation of the relationship between communications and technology as the 21st century progresses and so on. But she commanded the room immediately, telling students, “You cannot address the challenges of the 21st century solely through the lens of policy.” She understood that communication is about the people not the industry or specialization. As it relates to public relations however, her 3-lens setting analogy hit home for me as a PR practitioner.

1) Short-term lens: Examines the situations immediately to figure out what or if something is happening.
2) Mid-term lens: Thinks in the context of the short-term, but doesn’t expect to get things done at the moment.
3) Long-term lens: The strongest of the three, the long-term lens is focused on the future, a future you can’t quite see yet.

As PR professionals, we utilize these lens in our everyday responsibilities, choosing which fits each situation whether it be to diffuse unsubstantiated rumors or dispel facts. We can no longer afford to be unambitious because our profession revolves around creating fluid relationships and reassuring our publics concerns and funds are resounding through.

Lastly, she proposed two questions that Hilary Clinton analyzed and answered when she developed the quadrennial diplomacy and development review (QDDR). They can easily be applied to public relations and should be at the forefront of all agency objectives: 1) How do you adapt your structure’s to today’s world? and How are we going to produce results?

As your implementing objectives, conducting research and achieving goals, continually ask yourself these questions to ensure your approach is integrated and for the better.