Dan Edelman: Living His Values, Building an Independent Firm

Submitted by Guest Contributor

By Carol Cone, Edelman Business + Social Purpose Global Practice Chair with Larry Koffler, EVP Business + Social Purpose

Dan Edelman’s passing had a profound effect on so many – his family, friends, colleagues, and our industry. While I have only been at the firm for two and a half years, it deeply touched me too.

I was extremely fortunate to have met Dan, as well as his lovely wife Ruth, a few times in recent years.  The most memorable was an intimate “interview” lunch at his home where we had a dynamic conversation to vet my joining the firm.

Dan peppered me with questions: How much did I believe in the strategy of business being a positive force in the world?  What were my greatest career achievements and what were my aspirations at Edelman? What was my work style? My biggest failure and what did I learn from it? My values?

After a half hour, Richard “rescued” me. While he knew his dad would be charming, he also knew he would relentlessly probe to see if I would be a strong fit for the firm. In his late 80’s at the time, Dan never missed a beat.

The Demanding Entrepreneur

That luncheon experience was pure Dan Edelman. He was demanding, tough and direct. He wanted to see if my values and work ethic, love of knowledge and events, matched those of the firm: collaboration, hard work, entrepreneurial spirit, imaginative thinking, courage, integrity and a singular focus on the client. 

When my colleague Larry Koffler, started as an intern 20 years ago, Edelman was an entrepreneurial, creative, hard-working family-owned mid-sized agency. The patriarch was firmly in charge.

Most memorable for him, he says, was Dan’s ability to articulate his vision for both the agency and the public relations industry while demonstrating the importance of sweating the details. His memos would highlight the big picture: observations from his global travels, how our independence would enable us to best serve our clients, and how our aspirations were always to be the best, regardless of size.

They would also outline in great detail what we were doing well and where we needed improve - from prospecting to pitching.

Dan was especially interested in why I had sold my company. He loved founders and entrepreneurs.  Persistence and curiosity were key attributes he sought in potential hires.

Staying True to Truth: From the Big Picture to the Finer Points

Core to his values and Edelman’s success was independence:

“Our major goal is client service not service to Wall Street. Our independence allows us to be feisty, hard hitting, creative and honest. We are the only ones in the position to tell our clients the truth,” versus an ad agency or holding company’s PR division, he added. “Public relations is a field onto its own. It can only be practiced properly from a position of independence.”

When Edelman became the world's largest PR firm, Jack O’Dwyer declared:  “Independence won. Edelman was the only big firm that stayed true to the craft and didn’t sell out.”

In 1997, recalls Koffler:

“Edelman won the United States Tennis Association account and part of our initial remit was counsel surrounding the naming and announcement of the new stadium at the USTA National Tennis Center. There were two major factions for the name of the stadium – one advocating for a corporate naming deal to help bring in revenue and one for the former US Open champion and humanitarian Arthur Ashe.

While we were strongly in favor of the latter, the momentum was drifting toward the former. The final decision was to be taken at a board meeting, which Dan was invited to attend. At the meeting, he made the big picture case for naming it after Arthur Ashe, successfully swaying the board members.

Several weeks later, during the US Open, Dan sent us a note diving into the details of the account, which included a summary of what John McEnroe could be doing better in the announcer’s booth! We treaded very carefully on that one.”

Leading with Love: Dan Edelman's Values for Work and Life

Dan was always available and extremely generous with advice to aspiring and young PR practitioners. His approach to life was grounded in a commitment to be the very best he could be at work, as a father, husband and community member. His advice to be the very best included:

• Read everyday. Devour important books, newspapers, magazines, blogs.
• Learn to write. Well.
• Remember the importance of networking.
• Volunteer for a hospital, museum or nonprofit.
• Continue your education throughout your life.
• Keep in shape and exercise regularly.
• Be creative. Strive for the big idea. Be realistic but dare to be different.
• Every good answer begins with proper research. Start with penetrating analysis of the problem and objectives.
• Work hard. There is no such thing as a shortcut.
• Work hard, but don’t be a workaholic. Be sure you have a rich and balanced social life.
• Love and be loved.  That experience keeps refreshing you and helps you to reach even higher levels of achievement.
• Have fun.

These words of wisdom permeate the company’s culture, which has become a magnet for amazing and dedicated people, as well as outstanding and longstanding clients.  Sure, Edelman is a hard driving business with high goals, but it also has a special global family feeling.

“Dan had a code of ethics and values that were unshakable,” stated Richard in the book he commissioned to celebrate the firm’s 60^th anniversary, Edelman and the Rise of Public Relations. It is a book I would highly recommend for those working in communications.

“Hire the best talent and retain them by giving them the chance to be entrepreneurial. Invest in proprietary IP and give clients access to it. Expand in new markets by reinvesting all earnings each year.”

“Dan was indomitable,” Richard continued. “He continually strived to be better, always humble, one client at a time, one office at a time.”

In the words of Pam Talbot, Edelman’s U.S. CEO from 1996 – 2008:

“Oddly business is about love.  You can’t lead without loving the people you are leading and loving the work that you do.”

Edelman has certainly changed over the past couple of decades – but most notably, it is now the world’s largest public relations agency with 66 offices and 4,500 employees. It remains, however, entrepreneurial, creative and hard working – just like Dan.