For all senior executives, juggling a number of demands on their time is part of their day-to-day business life. The critical issues are always the ones that get priority. Then, after this, there are a number of other opportunities competing for attention. As a result, disciplines that are seen as non-essential on that day, or that week, tend to be put to one side. As consultants we are very aware that public relations is not always top of mind for clients, which means it’s our responsibility to make sure individual opportunities, and the overall program, does not drift to the bottom of their list of priorities.We describe our approach as being “friendly nags”, reminding clients of actions that have been agreed, following up on opportunities created, and trying to make sure that time is given to the communications program. This “squeaky door that gets the oil” approach to get things done is backed up by doing what we can to make it easy for clients to approve activities. It’s proper that we should be responsible for the discipline that maintains awareness of the important place of public relations in the scheme of things. We even align our interests with client activity by relying on hours actually worked for our income, rather than seeking a flat retainer. Such an approach means it is in everyone’s interest to remain proactive and also take advantage of opportunities as they arise.