The Next

So this past week at PAE was the soft announcement to our industry colleagues that Betsy and I would be merging and then Piccadilly would be taking over her roster in anticipation of her retirement next summer. What a response. A few close friends and mentors heard last Tuesday. Everyone has been really excited for us and that makes me happy.

A very sweet guy and friend, Larry of SMG, now The Roots Agency, congratulated me in the exhibit hall Saturday morning and then came up to me at the closing party to tell.me again how great the news is and how proud of me he is. Then, in front of maybe five of our close colleagues, tells me, "You are going to be the next Marc Baylin."

I know my face turned a million shades of red and I am almost certain my amaretto sour lost its balance for a few seconds.

I had NO idea how to handle that. Wow. I mean it was no doubt a compliment. And what Larry was referring to of course the instant roster and connections one assumes when he buys out another agency, which is what Marc did years back, just before he hired me.  It rounded out his existing roster and took things to another level.  And while I am not as established as he was when he had this very opportunity, it definitely accomplishes the same thing.  I am able to move forward at a greater speed.

There have been several comparisons in the past week and it's a weird place to be in mentally.  I try not to even go there but one can't help but notice certain similarities in career paths as others.  I just hope that once the dust settles that people do see me - my personality and my drive.  I'm such an individual and I'm doing this in a new era.  I'm one of the youngest people in my industry, and certainly one of the youngest managers and business owners.  I do admire my colleagues and I glean a lot of business lessons from them...but I also follow the beat of my own drummer.