How PR management’s behavior compares to Dolly Parton’s — and what PR teams can learn

The useful part

Parton's style—and what PR can learn By Arthur Solomon | September 8, 2026 Let's face it. If an individual at a public relations agency wants to get ahead, being Mr. Nice Person will keep you trying to convince journalists that a number 10 pencil is better than a number 9 for the relatively few years before you are fired as younger replacements willing to work for a lower salary are hired.

How it works

• He has been a key player on Olympic marketing programs and also has worked at high-level positions for Olympic organizations.
• During his political agency days, he worked on local, statewide and presidential campaigns.
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What to take from it

Statistics Cookies Statistics Cookies The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. Parton said, "I don't boss anybody around… I just try to put people that are smarter than me in all the right places, and then I go on about my business." PR management at all levels think just because they have a title they are always the smartest people in the room. The above is only one of many truisms that I have witnessed during my lengthy career in the propaganda business.

Example or evidence

• Most managers I've come across think that threatening their underlings is the key to getting them to produce better results.
• (Niccolò Machiavelli wrote in The Prince that making a promise is a necessity of the past, but breaking it becomes a necessity of the present.
• He wrote it in 1513, but it might have been written today.) In fact, regardless of the circumstances, no promise made by management should be believed.
• Even your best pal will push you under the train if you're up for the same promotion.

Details worth keeping

What management looks for are people who are aggressive. If you expect loyalty at an agency, you have to bring your dog to work. The old "smoke filled rooms" of political days are not a thing of the past.

Related coverage

• Nbcdfw: The chorus of praise for Dolly Parton's music and philanthropy rings on, and so does the admiration for her entrepreneurial legacy.
• Inc: Her rules included proprietary weirdness, rationed attention, scrappy resourcefulness, and instant readiness.