Today my guest is John Davies.
John is the Chairman and CEO of Davies -- a public affairs firm .
John is a master of the business of persuasion, and constantly searches for new trends and methods. He applies his lifelong study of human behavior and effective communications strategies to influence how to get attention and gain influence in today's complex information saturated decision-making process. The growth of Davies into a national powerhouse firm was never the goal, but a by-product of attracting the best talent. John takes on a unique role as a CEO by investing his time and experience to hands-on analysis, strategy, and messaging. He leaves the day-to-day corporate operations to professional managers, allowing him to instead focus on the firm's clients. This strategy has yielded great results: Davies has been awarded “Public Affairs Agency of the Year,” and named “Best Agency to Work” in several categories for the past 6 years including overall “Best U.S. Consultancy to Work For.” PRWeek ranks Davies amongst the top 25 national PR firms.
John is a sought-after speaker on messaging, persuasion, and communications. He is a founding board member of a National Bank, has served as Chair of the University of California’s Economic Forecast Project, President of the nation’s largest scholarship foundation. John and friends, through Acres of Love, have purchased upper-middle-class homes in South Africa to raise HIV-positive orphans and provide them with healthcare, education and a bright future, and currently serves as Board Member of the foundation. He has also helped found a Hands4others (H4O) chapter with his teenage children and other families to supply water to the thirsty around the world.
And, I love this guy.
I pretty much got to know John because one day I emailed him and said I’d like to meet with him and ask him for some advice. Not only did we meet up, but we had like a two hour lunch at one of Santa Barbara’s best restaurants. And I’ve kept doing that every couple of years. I just email him saying, “John, I need someone to talk to. I’d like your advice. I’d like to pick your brain. I’d like to present a problem to you and hear your answer. And he’s always been super generous with his time and his wisdom.
This interview blew me away.
He corrected me on something. It's an important re-set. It has to do with fear.
In 1995 I was a sophomore in high school and Kevin Garnett was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves. I remember what he said when he was drafted. I'm not a Timberwolves fan. I've got nothing against Kevin Garnett, but it's not like I was a big fan of his at the time. But I remember what he said.
"A terrible thing: potential. A lot of guys have potential written on their gravestone."
What does it say about me that I remember this random quote from a basketball player in 1995?
I fear that I will never live up to my full potential. That I could have been so much more.
And John re-set me today. Fear is a terrible motivator. We can focus on fears or we can focus on opportunity.
A great line from the interview: "Goals to me are like prayers." Talked about how sometimes we achieve a goal but achieving that goal wasn't really the important thing -- it's some other byproduct of reaching for the goal.
We talked about the need for money and the need to feel significant -- and the greater desire to be involved in meaningful work that we feel called to.
After the interview, John sent me a link to a talk he gave years ago on overcoming fear. Here's the link: https://vimeo.com/channels/432860/64681909
You can find John's public affairs firm Davies at https://www.daviespublicaffairs.com/ and his subsidiary company The Blaze at http://www.blazepr.com/
