I was possessed this evening with writing down my personal communications manifesto. Here it is:

Keep to the moral and ethical high road. Learn from the missteps of others and do not repeat them. There are no shortcuts. Ask Pattie Dunn. Ask Ken Lay. Ask Edelman and Wal-Mart. The end does not justify the means. Ever.

Be concise.

Be clear.

Learn something useful and something useless every day.

Forget about your “network.” Do great work, without compromise. Treat everyone, clients, co-workers, suppliers, competitors, former colleagues, bitter enemies and complete strangers with dignity and respect. Own up to your shortcomings. Overlook someone else’s. Be quick to give credit to others, even if you’re unsure that they’ve earned it. Help someone in need, especially if they have nothing to offer in return. You’ll end up with something much better than a “network.” You’ll have an unassailable reputation and a lifetime supply of good karma.

Tell stories. Content is a commodity. Stories engage, entertain and persuade. The audiences you communicate with are professional media consumers. They have all seen Hollywood blockbusters, played video games, and listened to symphony orchestras. They have no tolerance for low-budget productions, poor writing or tripe.

Review, edit and rewrite until it’s perfect. Then go through it one more time. Then let someone else look at it. Then consider throwing it out and starting over.

Write about something irrelevant.

Produce something of value.

I don’t claim to do all of these things all of the time, but they’re what I aspire to.

What’s in your communications manifesto?