It will be Father's Day in a few days. I've heard about Tim Russert's new book, "Wisdom of Our Fathers." It's filled with letters from people, describing the impact their fathers had upon them.
Although he was only alive until I was fourteen years old, my father had a profound impact on my eventual choice of a career, and the way I run my business. When I started Expertise Marketing LLC in 1996, I framed and hung a picture on my office wall that I've never taken down. It's a picture of my father at his professional peak, three years before he died of cancer. My Dad, whose film production company documented the events surrounding the 1964 World's Fair, is shown standing between Walt Disney and Robert Moses, the legendary New York power broker. That picture is my daily reminder of his courage and vision, and serves as inspiration for my entrepreneurial journey.
As a youngster, I watched Dad build his film production business from our house's tiny basement in Byram Connecticut. In the mid 1950s, this was an extraordinary model. Every other father put on his fedora and drove off to work for hours. Instead, I watched my mother and father engage in a relationship that looks more like those we consider normal today. True partners, collaborating to achieve a mutually beneficial goal. Dad was visible, participatory, and showed me what it means to be committed to succeeding in one's professional goals. I watched him make astute career decisions to break out on his own into a relatively new niche -- documentary films.
Talk about strategic differentiation! I got to see it in action 50 years ago! Thank you, Dad, for being such a fantastic role model.
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