John Gardner profile
When I was assigned to interview John Gardner, the president of Luckie & Co., I was a little nervous.
Luckie is a marketing agency, something I've never understood. My last profile was of the owner of Alabama Splash Adventure, and it was fun. It made me remember all of the fun times I spent at that park as a kid. So I was stressing a little about interviewing a business exec.
But I was pleasantly surprised! I liked my interview so much, that I decided to share a quote with you all. I asked John what the best piece of advice he's ever received was.
Fail fast. I teach everybody I have here, when I interview them and when they come on board, I echo that. I need you to make mistakes. I need you to make them very fast. And make them big, just don’t make the same one twice. By making a mistake, there is forward momentum. The more that you fall down and pick yourself up, you have the confidence to take bigger risks. In an organization like ours … by being able to take chances and fail, it allows us to have bigger incremental business impact faster.
This advice reminded me of any mistake I've ever made and how it shaped me as a journalist. When I fail, I always write it down. I want to remember the failure and brainstorm ways I can handle the situation better in the future.
My 10-week internship with BBJ is almost over. I'm happy to say that I've accepted a job offer at Over the Mountain Journal that will begin as soon as this internship ends. I'm excited that my career path is taking shape!
