We can save a lot of time – you and I – if we can agree on one point: I believe that deep down – and I mean DEEP down – most chief executives understand that doing something about behaviors of their most significant external audiences can rank in importance right up there with increased sales and earnings.

Whether they do anything about it or not is another question. But I believe many sense – as do legislators who know they cannot govern without consent of governed – that managements cannot “govern” their enterprises without support and understanding of their most important audiences. I refer to audiences such as members, supporters, customers, sponsors, prospects, regulators, employees, thoughtleaders, public interest groups, journalists, suppliers, strategic partners, educators, trade unions, community residents and like.

If I’m right, there are some bright days ahead in this brand new century not only for public relations people but world commerce as well.

Fortunately for all concerned, that success will spring from fundamental premise of public relations: people act on their own perception of facts, and those perceptions lead to behaviors about which something can be done. When public relations creates, changes or reinforces that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action those people whose behaviors affect organization, public relations effort is a success.

What that should mean to a CEO seems obvious. “I guess that money I’m spending on public relations really could result in kind of change in behaviors of my key stakeholders that leads directly to achievement of my organizational objectives.”

That conclusion will let us do what we do best – reach those key audience perceptions with facts as we know them. Hopefully, messages we use will be clear and persuasive, and will create, change or reinforce perceptions as needed, then alter behaviors in employer/client’s direction.

When problem solving sequence is completed, that particular public relations mission is accomplished. However, we must constantly guard against simply emphasizing those communications tactics we fervently HOPE will reach target audience. Instead, we must go further and actively track how well those tactics and persuasive messages are altering perception of that target audience. And then monitor to what degree audience behaviors have moved in our direction.

This matters in a very important way. Management really CAN establish desired behavior change up front in planning phase, then insist on getting that result before pronouncing public relations effort a success.

What that means is that management’s comfort level with their public relations investment will increase when that investment produces behavior modification they said they wanted at beginning of program. Because they’ll KNOW they’re getting their money’s worth.

The stock market is very unstable. At this time it is going up and down while interest rates are so low that you want to be a borrower and not a lender. Would you like some suggestions on how can you get most out of low interest rates while being assured your principal will not disappear while you are trying to make some money? Of course, there is always danger of borrowing money and then spending it just because it is there.

So, would you also like to know what is best way to borrow money at today’s low rates without spending it? Buy real estate. Not any real estate but real estate that will hold its value, even if single family houses go down. It is apartment buildings. Because apartment rents are still going up, value of apartment buildings have best chance of appreciating while everything else goes down.

Low interest rates mean that you can have a positive cash flow at real estate purchase prices you would have lost your shirt on, even two years ago. Rates are currently 4.5% to 6.5% interest rates when we used to pay 9% for apartment loans just a few years ago. Apartments have become a better investment for two main reasons. First, carrying costs (interest costs) have been going down. Second, income has been going up, substantially. Can things be better than this? YES IT CAN.

I have developed two programs. One is to take people with a small net worth and build an estate or self directed IRA (tax free retirement plan) that is worth up to $800,000 in 15 years and that generates an income of $60,000 per year with both still going up after that.