“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle - when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
Lessons for the work from an aggressive, focused Public Relations agency.
Ronn Torossian
Ed. Note – This was written last nite…
I’ve been working tremendously long hours these last few weeks, and with the changing economy I’m even more knee-deep in client work than usual. I am emotionally invested and intensely involved with client work – A 5 hour strategy session today with a major financial client, followed by a 2 hour conference call with a technology media company for example. The work is fun and challenging, but emotionally and intellectually draining. Great clients are essential in these times – Great clients who are good, smart people, who allow someone who owns a service business like myself to feel appreciated… and give us that rush (and of course pay their bills on time).
It’s 11:15 PM and I have literally worked nonstop since 7 AM…and on top of that, I have an 8 PM client event tomorrow night, and two client events this weekend, but this is the price I believe is necessary for success.
Owning a PR agency, I am very blessed and thankful for us to be where we are and believe we are very well suited for the days, weeks and months ahead. Focused, aggressive, hard working, and in the trenches with our clients. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.
Ronn Torossian
This morning I attended a small breakfast networking meeting hosted by a friend and client for 12 real estate and financing CEO’s. As always, I enjoy spending time with smart, successful people, and the most interesting quote I heard was from a hedge fund CEO who said “There’s no such thing as inventory or product. Every single situation, vis a vis inventory and product, like never before, is an individual consumer.” That’s a very scary statement for a marketer and means a lot more “hand-to-hand” combat when it comes time to market any product, whether property or loan. It’s harder than ever when there’s no “box” in which to put the “buyer.”
Separately, in a late night religious course last nite, I learned that the average person’s brain has 60,000 thoughts every single day. I found this fascinating and will continue to learn how to better process (and act upon) those thoughts.
Ronn Torossian
Owning a PR firm, I am blessed with the opportunity to spend a lot of time with successful people. We get hired and paid primarily by CEO’s and CMO’s, which enables me to spend a lot of time learning from the folks we do business with. Most folks we work with are very smart, but being smart isn’t the only (or even primary) professional attribute needed to be successful– It takes a lot more than brains alone…and many smart successful people I know have said “I can always hire a MBA.”
I hosted a presentation this morning at 5WPR and heard a great quote by Amir Korangy, CEO of The Real Deal, known by many as the “Bible of NYC Real Estate”: “An investor shouldn’t follow economists or he may end up at a college making 90K.”
And on that note, I will end this post with a great quote I received in my email box earlier today from Ralph Marston: “It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when your heart is in it. Drop the doubts, self-criticisms, and anxieties. Instead, think positive and put your heart into what you’re trying to accomplish. Taking effective, meaningful action will put you in a positive frame of mind and that will open the door to many great new opportunities. Choose your destiny and delight in the fulfilling effort that makes it happen. You can do it, and now is when. Go ahead and get it done. Don’t waste your effort worrying about what you have not done. Spend your time working on what you now can do.”
Ronn Torossian
So, today I was quite pleased to learn that we were ranked as the 23rd largest PR firm in the U.S. in the just released 2009′ PRWeek Agency Rankings, a public relations industry magazine. 5WPR, for their 6th full year of operations ranked 23rd in the U.S., with $11,919,546 in revenues.
One of the 25 largest PR firms in the US, Inc. Magazine fastest growing companies, fastest growing PR firm in the US 3 years in a row – These are all accolades we have had in only our 1st 6 years of business.
Am very very proud we rank as one of the 25 largest PR agencies in the U.S.
Ronn Torossian
Someone who worked for 5WPR for 4 years and left the agency to pursue another career sent me the following note today, which I very much appreciated and wanted to share:
Brain has been racing since 5am. Thinking about my time here and I want to let you know what has meant the most:
What I learned:
Working hard - set a pace and make people keep up with you not the other way around
Be responsive - answer emails quickly no matter how busy
Everything is a learning experience - good or bad decisions ideas etc, get *something* out of everything
Ronn Torossian
In the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that entrepreneurs and small- to mid-sized businesses are making a lot fewer decisions by committee. Wreckage from layoffs has pushed lean, mean, smart business people to stand up and take more responsibility for the activities in their companies (no government bailouts there).
Even amongst our clients with up to 100 employees, CEOs are much more involved in smaller issues and are making each and every decision. These CEOs are taking on a greater share of responsibility, making direct, quick decisions that they would never have made a year ago. Yes, companies are smaller, but they also realize that decision by committee is too cumbersome in these uncertain, fast-moving times. CEOs are leading, for better or for worse.
One of the people I respect most in the world said to me today that new horses will begin to emerge from the economic rubble – people ready to lead, because the old guard is tired and beat up from the last few months, which have been very tough on all of us. The new horses will emerge and lead. I think we are starting to see the inkling of those horses.
Ronn Torossian
This week, I had to make a long day trip for a client meeting. I left my house at 6 AM and didn’t return until 11 PM. Between long waits and just traveling, I had a chance to listen to some great music. Music always puts me in a different zone and allows me to think. It’s a temporary escape from delays, terrible flights and the like. The right music can adjust one’s mindset and allow them to win, and adjust focus.
Traveling outside of NY for the day and getting a little distance from the craziness of everyday business allowed for reflection, which is always necessary as a business owner. Removal from the immediacy of owning one of the 25 largest PR firms in the US provided me with a clearer head.
I also spent an hour yesterday with a very high-profile individual who spoke of the work he completed. About criticism, he said “Be focused on what needs to be done. Focus and don’t distract. Ignore critics, believe in yourself and g-d.” This individual has accomplished a tremendous amount, and his sheer faith and belief in himself was inspiring.
It shows someone like me, who always dreamed of making the Inc. 500 list, which we did, to push for the Forbes 400 list, a life-long dream. Focus and desire go a very long way.
Ronn Torossian
Times such as these are no time for ego. This is something every small business owner and every employee must realize. It’s a time for everyone to pitch in, and “play hurt.” Get the job done. Work extra hard and get it done.
Work hard and then work harder.
Ronn Torossian
Before I get lost in the battles of the week, I want to take the time to share a few weekend joys that really resonated for me…
With the first hints of spring arriving in NYC, I allowed myself to take some time to clear my head. As I’ve said before, a good run (and lots of sweat) is always a physical and mental release. (Vigorous exercise is necessary in any economy to help maintain balance.) After, I spent hours in Barnes & Noble reading book after book after book to gain perspective and do some mental calisthenics. Really relaxing and invigorating.
I was also able to spend some time this weekend praying and learning. One story I heard from my Rabbi had a great impact on me:
“When people are born, they are their purest as babies and purity is, of course, good and they should try and revert back to pure basic behavior as often as possible. Babies cry about 300 times a day and man laughs only about 15 times a day (in good and normal times, and less in times like these). If people can laugh a lot more, everything in their lives will be better – business, financial, personal. Everything.”
Optimism breeds success.
And lastly, I read a very interesting story in the New York Times about one of NYC’s most successful real estate brokers. The closing quote held special implications for me, as she said about her work, “It’s challenging; it’s interesting. It’s just not as fun.”
Ronn Torossian
5WPR
