Years ago, I got a phone call from a respected business leader in my community telling me how excited his son was about the possibility of a career in marketing. He wondered if I could give little Johnny a tour of my ad agency. You always want to give something back to the community, so I cheerfully agreed. Plus, it was inspirational envisioning a younger version of me, excited about a career in marketing.
Being the compassionate leader I am, I even took the time to plan some exciting and fun things for little Johnny when he arrived, so as to enrich his first “real world” marketing experience. When the young man entered my office, it appeared as if someone were holding a gun to his head and he would prefer to be just about anywhere else in the world than with me at an advertising agency. Little Johnny had no interest in marketing. His dad had a vision of his son in marketing.
Being a student of failure, and that first experience was a failure, I asked myself, "How interested could Johnny really be if he doesn’t have the initiative to even make the phone call?" So I started telling interested “helicopter parents” that I would be happy to give a tour…even arrange some mildly exciting creative meetings for their son or daughter to attend, but I didn’t want to deal with the parent. If little Johnny is interested, have him (or her) give me a call and I will provide an enriched learning experience.
It worked. Little Johnny occasionally calls as a referral from his parents. More often, they call as college students on their own initiative. When Johnny does call on his own initiative, he is truly interested and we provide a good experience. Parents do more harm than good when they lead their children in a direction where there is no desire. No one wants to feel as if they are being forced into a career choice, especially by their un-hip, not-at-all-cool parents. If parents would subtly point their children in a direction, then quickly get out of the way (and don’t point too long or you will turn them off) then see if their son or daughter shows some initiative, the experience would be far more meaningful to the young adult.
A month ago I received an email from a friend telling me that his son was pondering a career in marketing and was wondering if I could give both of them a tour of our agency. Now why would the father want to tour my agency, as I know for a fact he already has a good job in an entirely different field? “Have little Johnny call me,” I told him. I haven’t heard a word.
Why does my generation do such a poor job of raising children? My dad would have never initiated a phone call to one of his marketing friends so he could drag me to the company for a tour. That is probably the main reason I chose a career in marketing.
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