The Beginning of Greatness

From the time that Dan Edelman decided on establishing a PR firm in Chicago to today, Chicago has become one of the top cities for PR professionals.  Aside from Edelman, other top Chicago PR firms include Weber Shandwick, Ketchum, Walker Sands Communications, and Golin Harris just to name a few.  Living in Chicago, we have the world at our fingertips and we don’t have to go far.  We have everything we need to succeed in Public Relations and we may not even know it. 

Dan Edelman literally gives us the key to success in PR in just 11 points.  It is astonishing!

It is much simpler than you may think because it does not mean immersing yourself in a book for the next several years, although reading is number one.  These are steps that you can incorporate in your daily life and enjoy it, which is the best part.  My favorite point is “Love and be loved.  That experience keeps refreshing you and helps you to reach even higher levels of achievement” (Wisner 13). 

We have a book that can unlock doors to our future given to us by our professor.  It outlines the life of an incredible individual that was kind enough and willing to share his most celebrated moments and among those his biggest failures.  Many students and professionals in other occupations cannot say the same.  He assures us that it is okay to fail and go off into the unknown, as he did when he documented German propaganda in World War II. 

Dan Edelman opened his doors to female associates at a time when others in different industries did not and he took a chance.  He had beside him a great woman who was his biggest supporter and motivator in all that he attempted, succeeded, and failed; his wife Ruth.  In her own words Ruth said, “When you’re building a new business you have to be optimistic.  You have to try hard. You have to do everything to make it go” (Wisner 30).  It was simple, to the point, and speaks for itself.  The first few chapters highlight Dan Edelman’s life with the obstacles he had to face living in the unknown and I think these chapters set the stage for what is to come.  In everything that he did, the ingredients included a little bit of fear, bravery, struggle, and trust.  From early on, he exemplified the characteristics of a leader and in his great footsteps we should follow.  Who knows, we may be the future faces of Edelman. 

My name is Neda Bencun and I am a third year DePaul University student double majoring in Public Relations & Advertising, Organizational Communications, and a minor in Marketing.  I am currently interning at the Apartment People as a marketing intern.  My marketing and public relations internship experiences and abilities to build relationships online as well as through pitches make me a valuable professional in the public relations sphere. I aspire to contribute such skills to a public relations agency.