Working with Adam Bernstein over the last decade of his 40-year PR journey has been an experience. I’ve had a firsthand view as he’s worked to guide our clients and our PR team through myriad moments of crisis and counsel, always with creativity. And always with an eye on what’s best, not just what’s easiest.
That’s what makes him (and others who excel in the wild world of comms) so valuable. They put egos and other errands aside, and put client needs first in a way that’s so organic, they become an extension of their business. And the net of all that? Trust. The lifeblood of the agency-client relationship.
To know him this deeply is to know not just the way he operates, but also the tone, rhythm, and personality that he brings to it. There’s his hallmark tenor: the calm, measured, so-straightforward-it’s-disarming way he handles the big and small. A reassuring and level-headed resolve that makes him a first call when times are tough. I’m not sure if that’s been there since birth? Or if decades of PR work burnt that into his being? But it’s valuable and beloved, either way.
Even more valuable is a behavior that runs counter to all of that. Over the years, we’ve encountered and vetted many problems and opportunities together. Moments where we, as an agency, had to choose between a safer, measured path…and wilder terrain.
Should we float this idea to a client even though it falls outside our usual purview?
Should we take a shot at this RFP when we know we’re surrounded by larger agencies?
Should we try this risky and rewarding thing, even though the safer way is tried and true?
Adam, to all the above: F&#k It, let’s try.
That wild streak makes him wonderful and is what I’ll miss most. His ability to throw aside what he knows and open his mind to the new. It’s something that everyone in the agency world could use a healthy sprinkle of…curiosity uncaged.
So as he heads off into his next chapter, my hope is that all those he’s leaving behind have a chance to achieve “full Bernstein.” To know enough to understand that risk can be an enemy and an ally.
To always be trusted, and never be tame.
