Although I have been at this for close to 30 years, the last seven years have been spent in the federal government - and they have had a significant influence on me as a communicator. First of all, I have to say that I live by the philosophy that "everything happens for a reason". There was a very good reason why I entered the public service - just as there was a very good reason to leave it. My heart was in the work, there is no doubt. But the exposure to how our bureaucracy works did quite a number on me.

Let me explain. In government, we communicators spend most of our time explaining what communications is, how it works, and why we need to do it. For government, "communications" often means "issues management" or "media relations". In fact, I once asked someone with many years of communications experience in the federal government if he had ever actually heard of someone doing public relations in government. "No!" he exclaimed, almost as though I had sworn at him. "Don't you read the papers? PR is "sponsorship" around here!" My practitioner's heart sank at his words.

By the same token, I quickly noticed that "employees" are often the most-forgotten public. "They're just staff, they'll adjust" seemed to be the prevailing thinking. It became apparent to me that public servants are often ignored - just told to toe the line and deliver the messages they are fed, whether they actually understand (or agree with) them or not.

The real visionaries I encountered in government managed to see past this parochial view. They were few and far between mind you, these creative few, but people sought them out, looking for every opportunity to work in such an enlightened environment. I was blessed to meet a few of them in my short career as a public servant, and I still count them among my closest colleagues and friends.

So how can I say that "everything happens for a reason"? Having lived the life of a public servant, it is now my hope that I can continue to champion on  behalf of public servants everywhere - whose cause I embrace, and whose hunger for information I hope to help satisfy!