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September 7, 2007
Two Great Men
I spoke publicly twice this week, on Wednesday at the unveiling of a plaque honoring my father, Dan Edelman, at the Aon Center in Chicago, then on Thursday morning at the Memorial service for the late Michael K. Deaver at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Here are some of the highlights of my remarks.
I told my fellow Edelman employees that my father has a fierce commitment to excellence. His mantra is Teach, Test and Correct. His Dan-o-grams, memos to staff, are direct feedback from the founder, praising as appropriate, demanding improvement as necessary. He mourns every lost client and failed pitch, assumes that victories are just part of the process, a cup half empty approach that inures him to disappointment.
Dan always has led by example. As we were building our global business, even into his 80s, he would make an annual three week trip to Asia, spreading the gospel about PR by visiting six or seven cities. He was a relentless builder, buying a firm in China only a year after the Tiananmen crisis. He would run the big pitches, including one to the Church of Latter Day Saints, in which he informed the top Church executives that he was the grandson of a rabbi, had studied the CLDS, felt comfortable with their principles, and would be honored to work on their account. He stayed on the KFC account for the entire 30 years it was at the agency, going to EVERY franchisee meeting. He is the anti-material man, driving a 10 year old car wearing his suits until shiny.
He was convinced of the full potential of public relations, putting it at the top of the communications hierarchy. He was among the earliest practitioners of marketing PR, understanding the importance of third party endorsement by an independent media. He was the first to utilize the media tour, traveling the Toni Twins to cities across the US to appear on television, radio and in print interviews. He developed outstanding people such as Pam Talbot so she could carry forward this marketing prowess. His impassioned advocacy of ethical behavior in PR often raised hackles in the industry but he believes that we are in a profession that relies on public trust earned through transparency and integrity.
For Dan, a life well lived is based on daily hard work, decency and honor, not how much money you have make. He gave back to his community, in money and time, to the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia University School of Journalism. He has been fortunate in his choice of life partner, Ruth, always acknowledging her contribution to the business, her vibrant personality helping her to overcome mental health issues. Dan's legacy is the company that he has built to last, with the values of professionalism, achievement and excellence.
I was one of four selected by Mike Deaver to deliver a eulogy at his memorial service; others included Henry Pierce, director of Clean and Sober Streets, Lex Sant, a close family friend, and former Secretary of State James Baker. It was certainly intimidating to mount the pulpit at National Cathedral, looking out at 1,000 mourners including Nancy Reagan, Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, and Johnny Mathis and other luminaries. But I felt a great sense of inner calm as I delivered my remarks, knowing that Mike had the confidence that I could present one of the four parts of his life, which were business, community, family and politics.
I began by saying that for many in Washington, DC, Mike was the Master of Impressions but for those of us at Edelman, he was the Master of Reality. Introduced to my father by a mutual friend, Chris Ogden, bureau chief for Time Magazine, Mike came to our firm 15 years ago as vice-chairman. He reminded us every day of four maxims: Know who you are; Be transparent; Be ready for change; Never forget your values. As he spoke for the last time to our global leadership team at the end of June in San Francisco, though clearly weakened by his disease, he roused himself to make an impassioned plea for these principles that guided his career. He was cheered for 10 minutes by his colleagues who stood and clapped, inspired by his leadership. Click here to read the speech.
Mike transformed public relations. He earned all of us a seat at the top table, in the C suite, because he offered strategic counsel based on research and intuition, as well as execution. He was a true advisor to CEOs and foreign leaders alike. His communications world was 360 degrees, with PR at the center, always tied to the reality of policy. He also transformed Edelman. He made us believe that we belonged at that top table, changed how we saw ourselves, helped us to grow into that role. He was our man in DC and we were so proud to have him as chairman of that operation. He was a genius, often the last to speak in a meeting, listening respectfully to others, then offering the keen insight that allowed the rest of us to end the meeting because our work was done. He could synthesize a two hour brainstorm in a five minute summary, always coming up with the important line for the campaign, as he did for the new AT&T, for the Panama Canal, and for dozens of other clients.
His style was totally approachable, informal and friendly. He was never Mike Deaver, White House legend, rather an avuncular old pro who gave willingly of himself, to find you the right doctor, to guide you through a personal crisis, to make sure that you understood why he had recommended a specific course of action to a client. The 200 plus people in the Edelman DC office and those of us outside of DC who were lucky enough to work with him on client assignments all revered him, and his legacy is in those he mentored over the course of his career. He was adored by my mother and father, who were so proud to have him as a friend. He helped me to grow as the CEO with wise counsel, always delivered in person and in a subtle manner.
He too led by example, always first in the office in the morning. I related a story that got a knowing laugh from the audience. Because he dressed in the dark out of courtesy to his wife, Mike showed up at the office one day with one brown and one black shoe, but one was a slip-on and the other a tie shoe. We called his home to get a properly matched shoe but the brown slip-on remained an orphan in the corner of his office for six months.
Our commitment is to follow his example and to continue his work. He was eternally optimistic, decent, curious and modest. He gave time to causes and to his community. He was dedicated to clients, insisting on excellence and integrity. He understood the primacy of family; his office was a photo gallery of his wife, Carolyn, his children, Amanda and Blair, and his grandchildren. It was our privilege to have worked with Mike, who was our teacher, our mentor and our friend. In the Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, after the death of the great king, his people “extolled his heroic nature and gave thanks for his greatness, for a man should praise a prince whom he holds dear…of all the kings upon the earth, he was the man most gracious and fair-minded and kindest to his people.”
My client and friend, Ted Smyth of Heinz, sent along a Gaelic saying that applies to both Dan Edelman and Mike Deaver. “Nibheidh a leithidi aris ann,” or “Their likes will not be seen again.”
Posted by Edelman at September 7, 2007 12:22 PM
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