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June 30, 2010
Dan at 90
I intend to read this tonight at my father's 90th birthday party in Chicago.
Dear Dad,
How can I possibly capture a life of incredible achievement? I do it by repeating the principles that you have passed on to your family and to the 3,400 people of Edelman.
I have had the privilege of working beside you for thirty two years. It has not always been easy-you would never want it that way. I strove to beat you in my first twenty four years (remember all of those tennis games when I would get so frustrated by your combination of guile and blarney that I would lose to you and toss my racquet over the fence in disgust). As we have worked side by side to build the family business, I have come to revere you as a father, businessman, grandfather and friend. As former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt said, "Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."
- Compete Every Minute of Every Day - Don't become self-satisfied because somebody else is ready to take your place. Mourn your losses but learn from them. Celebrate your victories but be quick about it so you can get back to the game. If you get knocked down, get right back up; nobody is going to pity you.
- Modesty in Manner and Possessions - Never refer to "I", always to "We", when speaking about the company or the family. Buy new suits only when the old ones get shiny. Drive your car until repair costs require you to make a change. Do not take on debt, either personally or professionally. Grow your business from retained earnings-don't pay yourself much salary and don't indulge yourself with boats, planes or dividends.
- Be Well-Informed - Read the New York Times every morning….and the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Financial Times and USA Today. Tear out good stories and send them to your employees or children-they probably missed the important articles.
- Stay Healthy - Work out at least four days a week but always in a competitive context (why ride the exercise bike when you can fight it out on the tennis court?). Who else at age 84 would proudly display the twenty stitches on his forehead from crashing into the wall in pursuit of the bouncing racket ball? Or would go back onto the court two weeks later with a hockey helmet, paddle in hand, ready to whip the opponent?
- Strive for Perfection - You got just one 'B' in your entire college career-in science, of course. When I came home beaming after scoring a 770 out of 800 possible on a college entrance exam, you asked me what I got wrong.
- Become a Citizen of the World-You saw the global potential of PR by the mid 60s when we opened in the UK. You travelled to Asia three weeks every year from the age of 70 until your last trip at age 87. You had the confidence to invest in China in the early 90s and have made it a special point to nurture our operation there.
- Give Back - There are three legs to the stool - family, work and community. You serve on countless boards of directors for non-profits, from the Lyric Opera to the Weitzmann Institute to the Art Institute to Save the Children. You made a generous donation to Columbia Journalism School to fund a patio for students to engage in outdoor discussions. You have encouraged our firm to do pro-bono work for important causes such as Reverend Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH.
- Ethics - Internalize the Mark Twain comment, "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." You were once approached by a consultant for a country tourism board who requested a "commission" for delivering the business to Edelman. Your immediate reaction was to throw him out of your office. You were the first and only one to speak out when one of our competitors took on the Church of Scientology-you said that PR is not the law and that not every client deserved representation.
- We're All Entrepreneurs - Take chances. You meet a woman from newly united Berlin, and boom, we have a new office. You rely on your instincts (but you know the numbers like the back of your hand). You give your people lots of leeway-there is no one path to success. You encouraged generations of Edelman executives with your Dan-o-Grams, that describe in pain-staking detail every comment in a meeting (woe to the young person who fails to take notes-sure to prompt a "never do that again" comment). So many have been developed into outstanding PR people, from Tom Harris to Pam Talbot, working alongside the master.
- Cherish Clients- Every Edelman person is an account executive and required to roll up their sleeves and do the work. You went to every Kentucky Fried Chicken franchisee meeting for thirty years. You ran the California Wines Commission account with a monthly trip to San Francisco (persuading Zsa Zsa Gabor to say that she was "weaned on wine" on Johnny Carson). You knew the CEOs but had strong ties to the heads of PR.
Congratulations on a life well lived. Happy birthday and many more!
Here is a clip of Dan from the Today Show discussing PR and the Toni Twins.
Posted by Edelman at June 30, 2010 7:53 PM |
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Comments
Thank you for sharing these tips for success. They are abolutely great!
Posted by: PRWeekend at July 4, 2010 11:15 AM
Happy birthday to your Dad. God grant him many good years!
it is tribute to him and you that you sustained such a positive, productive and most of all loving father/son relationship. All we need is love
Posted by: Philippe Boucher at July 4, 2010 12:17 PM
Happy Birthday, Dan and a public thank you for giving the most glorious, professionally challenging 24 years wearing the Edelman badge, firstly in the UK, then in Europe and later around the other wide of the world. I'm still singing the firm's praises with a sense of pride as it continues to set the global pace under Richard's leadership.
Love & affection to you and Ruth and the rest of your fine family.
David & Beryl Davis
Posted by: David Davis at July 6, 2010 3:32 PM
These are extraordinary principles, a great decalogue. Congratulations!
Posted by: Ignacio Duelo at July 6, 2010 8:34 PM
You were so fortunate in having such a wonderful role model. I hope he had a wonderful birthday.
Posted by: Ellee at July 7, 2010 4:50 PM
In recounting lessons that I had learned over the course of a 35-year career in the public relations business (including 17 years at Edelman) in a self-published book, I finished with a story about Dan Edelman's closing remarks at a worldwide managers meeting. He closed the day's session by offering his perspective on how to run a successful PR operation. He proceeded down a long, detailed list of 100 things that managers must do to achieve the best possible results for Edelman clients and for the firm itself. No detail was ever too small for Dan -- yet another reason for the amazing success that the firm has achieved under his pioneering leadership.
Posted by: Bob Kornecki at July 8, 2010 9:42 AM
Dan -- A belated, but heartfelt, Happy Birthday. From the first time we spoke in Hong Kong and then through my time at EDS and Coke, your counsel was of great benefit. Your "lessons" on the tennis court were not as well recieved, but equally useful! All the best.
Posted by: Tom Mattia at July 9, 2010 12:56 PM
Best tips on management (personal and business) I have read in a long time. Absolutely tops.
Jim O'Brien
Posted by: Jim O'Brien at July 14, 2010 4:31 PM
Powerful principles, eloquently stated.
I suspect that most successful people live by these same principles but few would be able to explain them so well.
Thanks for the uplifting post.
Posted by: Amanda Ford at July 29, 2010 9:52 AM