Podcast

While Jonathan Potts liked his job as a reporter at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, he never felt that it was his “calling” like some of his colleagues felt. But one thing remained certain: he enjoyed writing.

From a career in journalism to the VP of Marketing and PR at Robert Morris University, Jonathan Potts has made strategic moves to advance his career, goals, and interests. By leveraging his unique ability to write well and to write well under pressure, Jonathan has excelled through his career in PR and Marketing in higher education institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University and Robert Morris University.

In this episode, Jonathan tells us how he knew it was time to make changes in his career and why writing is one of the most important skills you can possess. Jonathan debunks a millennial myth about attitude and explains why he wished he had a more positive attitude early on in his career. We also get to learn about why it’s important to “speak truth to power” in your organization.

All that and more on this week’s episode of the No BS Marketing Show.

Key Takeaways

[0:31] Wedding Crashers and Marketing

• The Rules of Crashing by Chaz
• Ma! THE MEATLOAF! I never know what she’s doing up there!
• CEOs and CFOs never know what marketing is doing over there
• Rule #71: Research, Research, Research

[05:05] More Marketing Misconceptions

• It’s all about creative! Not.
• A new slogan or new logo won’t fix the problem
• Method to marketing madness
• There’s a real need for research

[06:15] Jonatha’s Career Path

• Began in journalism… reporter for 7 years
• Covered breaking news, local government, public schools and higher education
• First management opportunity: Bureau Chief
• Liked writing a lot, but never truly loved journalism
• Got a job at Carnegie Mellon as the Director of Media Relations

[08:18] Journalism and Jonathan’s Leap to the Next Chapter

• Still carries the ability to write quickly
• Crisis communication and exciting news
• Respond under pressure
• Speak truth to power

[09:30] The Power of Writing

• Writing is like a muscle
• Writing well means writing often
• Surprising how many people cannot write well
• Never wanting to stop writing
• Advice: if you have time and capability, freelance!

[14:28] Doing Good Things

• You can have value in corporate jobs
• Your “callings”
• You can still do good in other places

[15:19] Getting to Robert Morris University

• Looking to advance and for changes
• Reached out to Kyle Fisher, his old boss’ boss
• Talked vision for goals and what he could/wanted to do

[17:28] RMU’s New President: Dr. Christopher Howard

• RMU is lucky to have someone so engaging
• Jonathan and his team’s role in Dr. Howard’s coverage
• Huge success from Dr. Howard’s announcement all the way to his inauguration
• Dr. Howard and the Pittsburgh business community

[19:06] Jonathan’s Mentors

• Kyle Fisher
• Teresa Thomas
• Jay Carson

[21:28] BS’er Moment

• Wished he had the attitude that many young professionals had when he was starting his career
• Didn’t always see value in stories and voiced it
• Advice: be determined to never say “no”

[22:46] Speaking Truth to Power

• Holding your tongue when you should really speak up
• Say what you need to say
• Listen to others
• Be the person who does the right thing

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