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We’re all the lucky beneficiaries of
the wisdom and foresight of the indus-
try legends who built this industry over
the past 100-plus years. From the many
PPAI Hall of Fame recipients to the
hundreds of unsung heroes who have
long since retired, all paved the way for
our success today. They understood
that by sharing experiences and helping
each other learn they were enabling the
industry to become more professional
and well respected. They formed
regional associations, shared experi-
ences with colleagues, created industry
education programs and built the
strong PPAI education and certifica-
tion program that we have today.
If you question the value of any of
this, ask yourself how you learned the
business. Who taught you the ropes—
the basics, the nuances and the techni-
cal aspects of this industry? It didn’t
happen in college. There is no degree
in promotional products. Other than
experience, and trial and error, it’s
almost 100-percent guaranteed that
you learned what you know from
industry colleagues at your company, at
regional association meetings, in webi-
nars taught by peers and at PPAI
events during the year. You learned
from people like you and me who
offered their time and shared their
expertise.
Everyone has important skills to
share no matter their age or experi-
ence, or whether they have a lot of
industry knowledge or very little. Even
20-somethings right out of college can
teach their colleagues some valuable
skills. Aside from their major field of
study, most know how to shoot and
edit video, enhance images in
Photoshop, create PowerPoint presen-
tations, and use Google Docs and
other cloud services. Many are experts
in the techniques of reaching and
engaging an audience through text and
social media, and most are masters
with YouTube, Facebook, Instagram,
Snapchat, Twitter and Pinterest, along
with other social media tools. If they
share this expertise, it makes us all
stronger.
At the other end of the spectrum,
industry veterans have years of hard-
fought skills and experiences to share—
and usually a fair number of battle scars
to prove it. Ask any successful person
how he or she became successful and
you’ll likely hear story after story about
how their knowledge was acquired—
these are all building blocks from one
experience to another. Every experience
is important. Success is cumulative.
Share these life lessons with others and
you’ll help them succeed.
Whatever your skill, whatever your
age, be willing to pass your expertise on
to others. Offer to teach a class, sit on a
panel at The PPAI Expo, join an online
forum, mentor a colleague or start a
networking group in your area. Whether
you’re an information technology
expert, a whiz at market demographics,
a master at sales presentations or a pas-
sionate professional in any other field of
study—even, dare I say, product safety
and regulatory compliance—pass that
expertise, knowledge and experience on
to your colleagues. You’ll get great per-
sonal satisfaction and do a great service
toward moving our industry forward for
the next generation.
Experience. Pass It On.
PERSPECTIVES
4 •
PPB
• MAY 2015
AVE YOU REACHED OUT TODAY TO HELP SOMEONE IN THE INDUSTRY?
Mentored a newcomer? Volunteered at your regional association? Presented on a panel at an
industry meeting? There’s no better way to protect the future of our industry than to share
your expertise with your peers.
Rick Brenner, MAS
PPAI Chair of the Board
PERSPECTIVES
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