Lessons learned from a ‘failure’

By John B. Thomas

Technically, I suppose, it’s a failure.

My friend Bruce announced this week that he’s shuttering his 18-year-old business. Once the state’s second-largest PR firm (and my employer), Hetrick Communications played a role in business-changing marketing campaigns and big-impact public service initiatives. At the same time, the firm navigated a topsy-turvy economy, adapted to an evolving marketing/communications world and embraced business risks.

Along the way, it taught me and a bunch of other folks a heckuva lot about communicating.

I arrived at Hetrick thinking I was pretty smart. From Day One, I discovered I had a lot to learn. While I couldn’t possibly list everything I learned under the tutelage of Bruce, his late wife Pam Klein, the remarkable (and lovable) Jen Schmits Thomas and others, here are a few lesson I find myself repeating to clients, colleagues and young up-and-comers.

• It’s about the benefits. When I got to Hetrick, my instinct was to promote clients by talking about things like awards, “unique” products and rapid growth. Bruce redirected my thinking. “Less chest thumping, more about what they do for their customers,” he’d say. “What do people get from our client?”
• Good writing matters. Take the time to look for the right word. Polish. Edit. Use verbs. Love words.
• Sometimes, you’ve got to kill your babies. It’s a pretty crude way to say it, but, here’s the thing: Generally speaking, less is more, and, sometimes, to get the right “less” you have to sacrifice your favorite elements – that sparkling turn of phrase, that artistic photo or that clever design. As Bruce and Pam would point out, it’s not about you or your “babies.” It’s about what works for the client.
• Maintain relationships. OK: hard truth. Not everyone who took a desk at Hetrick found it to be a paradise. In the course of the firm’s 18 years, a few folks left on bad terms. But I was amazed at how often Bruce would have lunch or meet with one of those folks after they left. No one leads a business without chasing a few people off, but Bruce seldom burned bridges.
• Admit mistakes. When I talked with Bruce earlier this week, I suggested that the economy did him in. He refused to take the bait. Sure, the economy played a role, he said, but he could also look back and see how his own choices and mistakes contributed to the sad conclusion.
• Take a risk (or “Accept Reality, Part II”). A few years ago, when I was in a leadership position at Hetrick, we made some business decisions that, in retrospect, probably were wrong. As such, I accept some responsibility for the firm’s demise. But Bruce and I had a number of chats that could be summed up as, “Well, we’re taking a big risk, but it’s what we need to do to keep the firm moving forward.” As another mentor, Jeff Smulyan, once told me, “If you’re not failing every once in a while, you’re not trying.”
• Measure what matters. Want to make Bruce happy? Ask him how much money he’s helped nonprofits raise for their causes. Sure, he also can describe how he helped add to for-profits’ bottom lines, but he loves helping a nonprofit make an impact.
• Tell stories. Want to sell your product or service to the world? Don’t talk about its features; tell stories about how it  changed lives. Remember: People forget facts and figures; they remember (and retell) stories.
• Touch hearts. … and how do you get people to remember stories? Touch their hearts. Draw forth a tear, spark a giggle, kindle a warm feeling … then you’ll get your point across.
• Hire for talent, train for tasks. Bruce overlooked my considerable shortcomings as a communicator because he believed in me as a writer. Then he taught me more than I ever could have learned in a college PR program. For that, and for the friendship that evolved from our collaborations, I am truly grateful.

While I appreciate these and other lessons, I appreciate even more the fact that I’m not the only one who learned these lessons. Every person who walked through Hetrick with a willingness to learn did learn. And now those people are working in agencies, organizations, governments, nonprofits, mom-and-pop PR firms and more, helping to tell stories and make a difference.

If every “failure” can have that kind of impact, then we certainly could use a few more.

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