The pursuit of excellence

While business and industry may acknowledge the value of strategic communications, how is excellence achieved? Dr Ralph Tench, Director of Research at Leeds Business School, believes he may have the answer.

“I have used data from over 21,000 practitioners across Europe to develop the ‘nine commandments’ of communications excellence.” As President and Head of the Board of Directors for the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA), he has investigated a decade of data from the European Communication Monitor (the ECM), the largest global study of public relations and strategic communication practice. “ Companies want to understand what factors contribute to high performance in a competitive environment; what are high-performing organisations and departments doing to make their company or brand stand out?

"The research shows that high-performance communications operate on three levels – the organisation, the department and the individual. Each of these three levels has three essential traits that make up the ‘nine commandments’. Excellent communicators fulfil the requirements of each of these nine components. However, there is an intrinsic paradox. We can always improve. Therefore, can excellence ever be achieved?"