A curators’ advisor was an executive director of an international management consulting firm, whom I met when he was 65 years old … suffering from extensive emphysema. I was 28 years old and I was just starting my PR career. In the five years I directly informed him, he was always courteous (elegant, cultured) and always responsive to everyone with patience and intelligence. Once I thanked him for his kindness, he replied: “I’m nice to you because I want you to understand the importance of being nice to guys. I want you to help young people grow and mature, just as you grew up and how I helped you. “

These words were simple, but they were very important to me and helped me build an international public relations firm that our employees consistently rank as one of the best jobs in America.

Another mentor and advisor was an executive who was, at the time he advised me, the president of one of the nation’s largest PR firms. Once he was in a situation where he had a large business on hand … as we prepared, we kept going back and forth asking if we should take a conservative or proactive approach to our offer. She suggested a more cautious approach. We later found out that we had been hit by another company. Then the guide told me not to be afraid of mistakes. He told me that if I wasn’t willing to take a chance, I would likely never succeed. This advice turned out to be almost prophetic: it cost me a lot of risks to start my own business 8 years ago. Today, my company is one of the largest independent PR firms in the country. I succeeded because I was ready to seize the opportunity.

Steve Cody
Managing Partner and Founder of Peppercom, Inc.