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Today in my PR Capstone class, I got to hear from Malcolm Atherton, Account Executive & New Media Specialist at Business Wire.

Malcolm was kind enough to sacrifice his time to come and present on the nitty gritties of Business Wire’s press distribution services coupled with some great PR advice.  The man obviously knows his stuff… especially when it comes to the integration of new media with old school PR tactics.

What inspired me to write this post, however, was not so much is presentation so much as it was the answer he provided to one of my follow up questions.

I asked him what one tool or skill we should learn or develop as students that would benefit us most in the professional world. I was expecting him to talk about developing good writing skills, or staying current with new technologies… some sort of typical, canned answer. I was shocked, however, when he said, “You need to learn how to build relationships and connect with people.”

What?!

In a world where people walk around with their eyes glued to their phones – a world where communication revolves around Facebook stalking, emails and Twitter – learning to make connections and forge meaningful relaionships with people is the key to success?

I was both shocked and awed.

The truthiness of Malcolm’s statement resonated with me. As much as corporate America would have us believe that success is all about the numbers, analyitcs and facts, I am a believer that relationships (meaningful relationships) are what carry us through life. They provide us with a higher level of personal and job satisfaction. They create value. They are the foundation of real happiness.

I guess what it all boils down to is that it’s really not all about what you know, it’s about who you know… and how you treat them.

Best. Advice. Ever.