When It Hits the Fan

Quick Wins is a series of short episodes from the When It Hits the Fan team to help you navigate your own personal PR.In this episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis share their advice on how to work with a tricky boss. Managing this relationship is a key part of getting on in your working life. So understand their goals, make them look good, and if that doesn't turn them into a pussy cat, have the confidence to call out really bad behaviour.Producer: Sophie Smith Executive Producer: Eve Streeter Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the fan-hitting hornet’s nest that is executive pay. After Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea said he couldn’t justify his £4.5 million pay packet, they ask - is the BBC Breakfast sofa a wise PR move for a chief executive? Footballer Jordan Henderson - why his communications strategy is a little... offside. And, the power of high-profile people being open about their medical conditions – how a prostate diagnosis can be used for the public good.Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the aggressive PR strategy that was part of the Post Office scandal. When does defending your brand become toxic PR? They also look at Boeing’s reputational crisis following the Alaska Airlines blowout and why trust is central to public relations. And the King’s new biography – the Palace is being more open, which is a good PR move, but are there risks attached?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

Quick Wins is a series of short and snappy episodes with lots of useful advice aimed at improving your working life.In this episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis share their tips on how to negotiate your salary. If you want a pay rise choose your timing carefully, make it about the company, and don't say you deserve it!Producer: Sophie Smith Executive Producer: Eve Streeter Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

Quick Wins is a series of short and snappy episodes with lots of useful advice aimed at improving your working life.In this episode David and Simon share their tips on how to leave your job with style. It's time to move on, or perhaps you've lost your job. Don't get angry – line up your friends and remember: there's always a new tomorrow.Producer: Sophie Smith Executive Producer: Eve Streeter Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

In this special episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis take you into the eye of a media storm and talk to a person who has lived through it. What’s it like to wake up to a world where everyone knows your name, and you wish they didn’t? In 1991, Gerald Ratner had one of Britain’s most famous fan-hitting moments. Having built a billion-pound chain of high-street jewellery shops, he saw his business collapse around him after making a seemingly harmless, yet ill-fated, joke. In fact, what happened to him has become so synonymous with a fan-hitting moment that he's become a verb – in business English, “Doing a Ratner” is shorthand for really screwing up in an entirely avoidable way. But, 25 years later, he says there are many silver linings to losing a billion pounds in 10 seconds flat.Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss Prince Harry’s phone-hacking victory in the High Court and how the British print press is dealing with its own reputational crisis by pretending it didn’t happen. Also – Baroness Mone is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons following her latest attempt to control the narrative in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg. Why is her PR offensive failing? And David and Simon look back at the top PR lessons of 2023. Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss Baroness Mone of Mayfair’s self-funded YouTube documentary – does it make her a PR genius or just terribly unwise? They also look at the reputational fallout from the Phillip Schofield affair at ITV – for both the company and individuals. And they peek inside the secret world of VIP PR. What strategies do big companies have for handling famous customers in public and in private?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

Quick Wins from the When It Hits the Fan team is our how-to guide to being better at your own PR and navigating the world of work like a pro. In these special short episodes, David Yelland and Simon Lewis give you lots of useful tips that might just change your working life – and it’ll only take a few minutes of your time.In this episode: how to survive the office party. Should the "hub and spoke" or the SAS-style approach be your strategy for the night? David and Simon share their work wisdom on how to make sure you emerge with only good stories to tell.Producer: Sophie Smith Executive Producer: Eve Streeter Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4

David Yelland and Simon Lewis return to the continuing fallout from Omid Scobie’s book Endgame, which has provoked a highly unusual change of PR strategy from Buckingham Palace. They also discuss the flock of PR people who have descended on the COP summit in Dubai and ask what they’re up to. And, every CEO’s worst nightmare - the Wilko select committee. How do you prepare for going in front of a firing squad of MPs?Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Researcher: Sophie Smith Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4