E. Ronald Culp
October 23, 2006
Sarasota, Florida

"The Invaluable Value of Mentoring"

To download a printable version of this speech, click here.

John Reed and I were talking after yesterday's session and came to the conclusion that Public Relations is an incredible profession where we can get paid and then sometimes be honored by our peers for doing what we love.

I find myself in awe, and humbled by even the thought of joining the roster of past recipients of this honor-Pat Jackson, Betsy Plank, Ann Barkelew, Jack Felton and John Reed-friends and colleagues I have long held in the highest esteem, both personally and professionally.

When Marilyn Laurie first called with the news that I was to be added to that list, I had a momentary "Wayne's World" flashback and almost mouthed the words:I'm not worthy.So, before any of you come to your senses and change your minds, let me quickly say "thank you."
Thank you to the honors committee and to the Board of Trustees for this career high point recognition.I also want to acknowledge the person with whom I share this honor-my best friend, mother of our two amazing sons and, as she describes herself, the CEO of our household. . .my wife of 35 years, Sandra Culp.

At the risk of this sounding like an Oscar acceptance speech, I also feel compelled to thank a few people whose names will be entirely unfamiliar to you-Louise Risch, Nan and Bob McGlynn, Claude Billings, Bill Maxam, Otis Bowen and Jack Raymond.

They are among my personal kaleidoscope of individuals who helped to focus both my life and my career over the past half-century.

Mrs. Risch was an elderly neighbor and babysitter who taught me, among other things, how to plant and nurture an award-winning 4-H garden, as well as how to communicate with people young and old.She listened to all of my grandiose stories about what I was going to do when I left Remington, Indiana; was always among the first customers at my farm stand to buy the vegetables she had just helped me grow; and she usually led the solemn neighborhood funeral parades when I buried the numerous pets I seemed to continually lose.

Nan and Bob McGlynn were the local newspaper editors I visited as a boy with suggestions for stories they really should be covering.They never laughed, by the way, and they actually took many of my suggestions to heart.

They eventually shut me up by asking me to write a weekly column.Thank heavens no Internet archive exists for The Remington Press or I'd be mortified for you to read the rantings of a then 13-year-old Red State conservative.

Claude Billings, another classic old-time journalist, was a communications instructor at Indiana State where Sandra and I went to college. He became advisor to the campus newspaper the same year I was named editor.Claude encouraged me, sometimes through the fog of a few too many Weideman's, as I espoused my unpopular Right Wing political editorial opinions during the height of the 60s anti-war movement.

My favorite political science professor at the time was Dr. Bill Maxam, who further spurred my love of politics-and he taught me to practice it as if the whole world depended upon it.He coached and encouraged me in my early political pursuits where I met Dr. Otis R. Bowen, perhaps the greatest governor ever to serve the State of Indiana.Doc Bowen, then Speaker of the Indiana House, and his wife, Beth, visited the Indiana Statesman office one day to seek our endorsement as he was in an uphill fight for governor.We endorsed him, and went on to become good friends as he served two successful terms as governor before President Reagan tapped him to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.Doc Bowen was a middle-of-the-road Republican who taught me that listening to all sides, then reaching a decision-often through mutual compromise-creates government that works.

Finally, Jack Raymond.A former New York Times reporter, Jack was the quintessential senior-PR counselor.I used to say that my ultimate goal was to be Jack Raymond when I grew up.He ran a small boutique practice in New York that advised, among others, the CEO at Eli Lilly where I worked in the mid-70s.Every time he visited Indianapolis and through periodic check-in phone calls, he provided thoughtful suggestions and encouragement that helped pave the way for my steady advancement at the company.Jack observed after seven years that I just might be outgrowing Indianapolis, and he quietly suggested that I think about moving to a larger market to further advance my career.Jack's nudging and coaching began my corporate journey to Pitney Bowes.Sara Lee, Sears, Sard Verbinnen and Ketchum then followed.

Note that I haven't yet used the word mentor about any of these players in my past-mainly because it seems so inadequate to refer to them as such.In many circles, the word has become formulaic and impersonal.Perhaps it's because of the word's derivation from Greek mythology.Mentor was the trusted counselor of Odysseus, and tutor of Telemachus.Mentor's name, of course, has become synonymous with the term faithful and wise advisor.That's the Greek history of the word.But what's not Greek to me is that all of us in this room know great mentors when we meet them.They don't just do their jobs.They actively involve themselves in their communities, and they always find time to nurture others.

Arthur Page acknowledged a number of mentors in his rich life, including his father, who was a noted newspaper and magazine editor-his Nan McGlynn.In turn, Arthur Page served as a mentor to a steady flow of young public relations practitioners who visited him.Somehow, he always found the time in his schedule to talk with a young person starting out in public relations.I hope we are all still doing that-myself included-as we slog through our busy days encumbered with too many meetings and conflicting obligations.

A key point I want to underscore here is -- mentoring doesn't take as much time as we think it does.However, it is more critical today than ever that we help identify and develop the next generation of public relations leaders.Doing so addresses several of the Page Principles, including managing for tomorrow and realizing that the true character of an organization lies in its people.

Like most of you, I have talked with what seems like a multitude of people seeking career assistance.In the process, I've met some incredibly talented, future PR superstars as well as a number of. . .let's just say nice people.To be most helpful to them, while doing my real job, I have adopted a three-level approach to mentoring.

I refer to the first as "Drive-By Mentoring."This is what occurs when you arrive at home late at night and your neighbor catches you in the driveway before you can reach the house and asks if you will talk with his wife's cousin's niece who just graduated from Beloit College-with apologies for any of you whose niece just did. Generally, a phone conversation or short meeting is sufficient for such family and neighborhood obligations.And in some rare instances, these discussions turn up someone with outstanding potential.That's what I consider a genuine "Cracker Jack" prize-reminding us that it's almost always worth doing these primarily informational interviews-which are not really mentoring but more commonly just making and taking time.

The second approach has rewarded me well over my career:I call it "Two-Way Mentoring."My Rolodex is filled with people for whom I began as their mentor but soon discovered they gave back as much or more than I provided them.

My longest such mentoring relationship began in 1979 when, as manager of corporate communications at Lilly, I was assigned a charismatic young pharmaceutical sales representative from Southern California.Perhaps mistakenly, he was the only non-PR person in the entire corporation who had checked on his employment application that he'd eventually like to be considered for a job in public relations.

Over the past 27 years, that former drug rep and I frequently have discussed his many-and-varied career opportunities and challenges.But each conversation has included a discussion-usually first instigated by him--about issues on my mental plate of career conflicts and opportunities.In this special relationship, I don't really know anymore who is the mentor or who is the mentee.I also can't proceed any further without recognizing and probably embarrassing him since he is a fellow Page member and attending his first annual conference-Jerry Giaquinta.Thank you, Jerry.

I also appreciate the fact that many of us are two-way mentors with each other, which is one of the many tangible benefits of our Page fellowship.
I call the third approach "Strategic Mentoring."And, for the most part, we don't do this very well.

With few exceptions, our profession is not aggressively recruiting and mentoring the next generation of PR leaders.Fortunately, some signs of hope are emerging, including the Page Task Force on Future Leaders headed by Anne McCarthy and Judith Muhlberg, both special people in my life with whom I have worked and collaborated.

Page is supporting another important initiative in this area through its contributions of money and leadership to the Lagrant Foundation, which provides scholarships to juniors, seniors and graduate students committed to pursuing careers in marketing and public relations.

The New York PRSA chapter also is calling attention to the vital importance of mentoring by launching a legends program that involves 30 top leaders of the profession, including several people in this room today.

Hopefully, PRSA's mentoring program and other efforts also will help address the serious need to identify, train and mentor a more diverse pool of future PR leaders. We can't rely on Human Resources or Diversity Officers to do the job for us.

In addition to the scarcity of minorities in the profession, job-satisfaction surveys among Black and Latino professionals are lower than the general PR population.Whether imagined or real, a definite sense exists among minority practitioners that the deck is stacked against them in this profession.

Lynn Applebaum, chair of the Department of Media and Communications Arts at the City College of New York, and Rochelle Ford, assistant professor of Advertising and PR Sequence Coordinator at Howard University, conducted a survey last year about diversity in PR that revealed three main barriers to attracting diverse PR practitioners.We have the ability to address all of them.Here's what they found:

• The PR industry lacks a persuasive recruitment campaign to attract multicultural employees.
• PR recruiters don't know how to find multicultural candidates when jobs become available.
• Qualified minority candidates don't know about opportunities in the PR profession.

Since too few minorities are giving serious thought to PR as a profession, we need to begin our efforts earlier in the career-contemplation cycle.We must do some PR for PR in high school and in the first two years of college, and we shouldn't just focus on Historic Black Colleges and Universities.I encourage you to be open to invitations to participate; since they will come if we as leaders of the profession are clear about making it happen.Some of you aren't waiting for the invitation but, instead, are seeking out such opportunities.We all must.

And permit me to make just one final request: Take the time to thank the mentors who have helped you in your careers.Three years ago, I took the then 91-year-old Jack Raymond to lunch at the Century Club in New York.That lunch with Jack was such a personally rewarding experience that I decided to seek out and thank my many other mentors.Just last Saturday, Sandra and I continued my "thank you" tour by having dinner with Dr. Maxam-that political science professor I mentioned previously.We relived the college political wars of the 60s and we were impressed with how he stays in touch with a host of our old college classmates who, like us, were lucky to have him as a mentor.

A word of caution, though.Don't wait too long to say thanks to those mentors of your own.I'm finding that many of mine are now watching from above, and I regret not having an opportunity to thank them in person.

To those who have made mentoring a priority, just keep mentoring.To those of you who have room to add a mentee or two to your personal roster, please do so.Who knows where that next great "Cracker Jack" prize is waiting to be found?Maybe in your neighbor's driveway.
Once again, thank you for this honor and for the opportunity to reflect on some special people who have made my life and career more meaningful.

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