Business travel is no fun. The hassle of airline security, long lines at rental car counters and hotel check-ins killed the glamour of travel years ago. But recently I had the good fortune to fly on Virgin America cross country. It was my first experience traveling on that airline (sitting on hands to not make a bad joke here), and now I’m wondering what took me so long.

Are we done with all the "top trends" and "top ten" lists for 2014 yet? I waited a few weeks to let the noise die down before putting forth our own predictions for 2014. Now, after talking to colleagues in the industry, as well as a dozen or so executives, one trend seems to be rising above all others.

Even if you're not a person who works out regularly, you've likely heard the story about lululemon athletica and their "see through" pants. As a long-time customer, I followed this story with interest. For one, I just couldn't believe the company whose workout pants I adore could have possibly sold a shoddy product. But, hundreds of longtime loyal customers (mostly women) have complained about the seat of their most popular workout pants being so sheer that their yoga mat neighbors could tell what color underwear they wore. Then there was the very public resignation of their CEO, Christine Day. This was followed by very public, unflattering soundbites from co-founder Chip Wilson. Then, more anger about see-through bottoms and, quite frankly, unsatisfying responses to those angry comments on Facebook.

You want the best public relations and communications support you can get. As a communications firm, we also want to provide the best service and results as possible. Communications is a partnership business. To ensure your investment is put to good use, below are five ways to make sure your communications or PR firm is set up for success on your behalf.

We are about six weeks into the new year and thought it was high time to check in. While most are sharing how they think the new year is shaping up, we're taking a different tact.  Rather than rehash the same old public relations trends, we're going to share the things you needn't worry about, communications wise, in 2013.