Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1059224
A Message from the Chairman 6 | AD Today 2018 | OWN IT Businesses come in all shapes and sizes. Some make things, others provide a service. Some are fairly simple; others incredibly complex. But deep down, in one important way, every business is the same. People do business (i.e. engage in commercial activity) to solve some problem or address a need. If we didn't need something from someone or have some problem that we couldn't solve on our own, we wouldn't do business with anybody. Solving other people's problems and addressing other people's needs is why all businesses exist. Businesses that do that well, survive and grow. Businesses that don't, fail. And so, if the primary purpose of every business is to solve problems, then it follows that the single most important job within every business is to be a problem solver. And who has that job? Funny you should ask. It's every person's job to address needs and solve problems for customers and co-workers. Just as every business exists for no other purpose, every job within every business exists for no other purpose. Your job description might take a whole lot of paragraphs to list all sorts of important responsibilities. Fair enough. But the summarized version, for every one of us, is: Solver of Problems. What separates successful people and businesses, from others, is the degree to which they take ownership of the problems, tasks, programs, situations, needs and concerns that they encounter daily. "I'll handle it." "I've got it." "Leave it with me." Those aren't mere words. They are music to the ears of customers, suppliers, and co-workers. No people in any organization, no company in any supply chain, are more prized than those who take ownership of the situations and opportunities they encounter. It's our hope that this year's magazine helps set the tone for our conferences and supports all of us in our efforts to seize the moment, embrace the challenges we face, and control our own destiny. Together, we win. Bill Weisberg Chairman & CEO AD