The Peer in Review
When I explain to my wife how intertwined our professional and personal lives are, she--having toiled in the world of banking--looks at me with an "Are you kidding me?" gaze that suggests I've been smoking the drapes. Yet, there is undeniably something about the direct marketing industry that binds us together, as if we all sprouted from some giant family tree. Perhaps it's a combination of the industry's small size coupled with the fact that we have gone through so many of life's milestones and travails together--from marriages both successful and failed, the christening of businesses and children, and the lot of life that comes in between. Because of ERA, we have toured the globe discovering new opportunities and cultures side by side. And that brings me to the story of one peer who exemplifies what I love most about our close-knit world.
During the past year, this individual flew a few dozen lucky souls to the wilderness to enjoy each other's company amid majestic surroundings. It wasn't done for self-aggrandizement or to push a business agenda. Its purpose was to celebrate his company's success with those he and his team considered colleagues but, more importantly, friends. The experience was transformational. It inspired me to take stock of all of the good things about our industry that are too often taken for granted. Topping the list deserving of appreciation: people. It was there in the weathered face of a former client I had not seen in over a dozen years who was clearly doing well; in the opportunity to cement an old friendship back together to the point that today it feels as if it were never broken; even in getting to know someone I had passed by for years but had never met, yet who is now a kindred spirit.
Our host recently committed another act of generosity that I imagine was even more transformational for a different group of colleagues who were not as fortunate as those of us enjoying the great outdoors--a group devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Our unsung hero flew a few dozen folks completely displaced to the safe haven of his hometown. There they were given lodging, fed and clothed, and afforded a place to carry out their profession and reclaim a bit of dignity, as they began the arduous process of rebuilding their lives. An entire company rallied around the effort, creating deeper connections, as a result of their unified desire to do something good for an assembly of total strangers.
At this time of the year when we are given to reflection, I am confident that I speak for everyone who participated in these events when I state: these selfless acts of giving do not go unnoticed; we are grateful. They are the flipside of an industry that too often gets hammered by negativity in the press and among its own practitioners. Ours is a profession brimming with kindness--if only we take a moment to acknowledge it.
Rick Petry, a partner with Downstream, is a consultant to the direct marketing industry. He can be reached via e-mail at rick.petry@downstream.com.
