greasy clown

mike willard may be the consummate fla(c)k. over lunch recently at repriza, talk invariably circles back to his book, a project in which he takes obvious pride.

it is the subtitle of “the flak: a pr journey,” that is most descriptive. some readers may be put off by the book’s tendency to meander between entertaining vignettes and bits of advice, but the book isn’t intended as either biography or textbook. what “flak” does well is to recount willard’s personal and professional journey, and it does a good job of capturing his essence, explaining what has made him who he is today.

and who is he? a talented 30-plus year veteran of politics, journalism and public relations who has accumulated a good deal of knowledge, often painfully.willard has moved from writing obituaries to providing advice to statesman to operating a western ad agency in the “wild east” of newly independent russia and ukraine. it has been a good ride, willard admits, and though he says he’s too young yet for a full-fledged autobiography, he’s not averse to sharing some stories (which you’ll have to read the book to get).

and since willard is not known to have an especially high social profile in a town where it seems all ex-pats know one another, “the flak” offers insight into a person few know well.

it would be easy to characterize willard’s third book as strictly a product of the vanity press, an essentially self-published book intended more for distribution to clients, colleagues and friends than to sell well in bookstores. but while it is true that willard is likely to give away more copies of the book than he will sell, it has merit beyond being a mere promotional tool. the $30 cover price is money well spent by those with an interest in public relations or politics.

as for the choice of repriza for lunch, it seemed to make sense: the cafe is better known for its cakes than its lunches, just as willard is better known for his pr counsel than his writing.

repriza doesn’t offer a business lunch per se, but the food is delivered promptly with diners’ limited time frames in mind. our salads arrived minutes after they were ordered, and the salmon was brought to the table before we had completed the salads – a reflection that we were more engaged in our conversation than on the food, good as it was.

willard ordered the gourmet’s dream salad (hr 14.70) and salmon in a cream and mushroom sauce (hr 39). the large, boneless 250-gram serving was more than adequate and satisfied his appetite without need for a side dish. my chef’s salad (hr 19.80) and salmon with roquefort and white wine sauce was just as good. the salad was served with a light vinaigrette dressing that accented the thin strips of cheese, meat and tuna without being overpowering – and not a dollop of mayonnaise to be found!

in an industry where clients and employees tend to frequently change partners, flitting from agency to agency with almost a sinful absence of fidelity, willard has built a business that defies the norm, retaining major clients and key employees for years. he has little patience for many of his ukrainian competitors, whom he dismisses as amateurs in a field where no license is required and anyone can hang out a shingle offering public relations consulting services.

while chatting about the book and his business in ukraine, we voluntarily violated the one-hour business lunch guideline to enjoy a cup of repriza’s coffee (cappuccino, hr 8.90; espresso, hr 7.50). it may have been the food, the conversation or just that the weather was sunny and warm outside, but hurrying back to work didn’t seem a huge priority, and the coffee tasted especially good.

may 22, 2003