Scott Bedbury
Today we had a guest speaker come into class, Scott Bedbury, to talk about his book A New Brand World, which we have been reading. I assumed that he would do a lecture about advertising, then do a question-answer type of format. However, we spent the entire 2 hours talking about life, and how important it is be a good family man when you have a career. He told us stories about his family, and how many high paying jobs he has turned down because they went against his beliefs. He taught us that you have to find a job that suits you and that the worst thing you can do is take a job that’s not you. Finding a job is like a relationship, and being able to find the perfect balance of what they are getting from you and what you give them is crucial.
Bedbury is an accomplished man and has been associated with companies such as Starbucks and Nike. The cool thing is that he graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, which makes me think that if he can be successful, so can I. You would think that with a guy like Bedbury coming in, who was the brains behind Nike’s, “Just Do It” campaign and the re-branding of Starbucks, that he would have given us great advice about advertising. He did, to some extent, but what I really took away from his lecture was his passion and inspiration that he shows in other aspects of life.
He told us that a lot of times, the most important thing you can learn, is what NOT to do. He told us horror stories about being asked to fire fellow employees in his company, and how he grew from hard situations. He shared that sometimes it’s not just about finding a solution, but the prevention to a problem. But perhaps the most intriguing thing I learned was being able to be fully present wherever you are. Don’t overcomplicate things and over-think things. At the end of the day, living in a world where the people who love you outnumber the people who don’t is what makes you feel most accomplished.