{"id":1579146,"date":"2020-02-24T22:39:29","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T03:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/?p=1579146"},"modified":"2020-04-09T14:30:19","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T18:30:19","slug":"womeninspiringwomen-debra-goldblatt-sadowski-ceo-of-rock-it-promotions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/en\/womeninspiringwomen-debra-goldblatt-sadowski-ceo-of-rock-it-promotions\/","title":{"rendered":"#WomenInspiringWomen: Debra Goldblatt-Sadowski, CEO of rock-it promotions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our latest inspiring woman<\/a>, Debra Goldblatt-Sadowski, knows PR after being in the industry for 20 years.\u00a0 She started rock-it promotions out of her parents\u2019 spare bedroom \u201cwith nothing but a phone and a lot of gumption\u201d. \u00a0Her lifestyle agency has high profile clients like Adidas, The JUNO Awards, Club Med, and many more.\u00a0 She isn\u2019t a typical PR CEO \u2013 she got her start when her friend handed her a Duo-Tang with \u201cHow to do PR\u201d as the subject.\u00a0 Through taking care of her sick mother, who got to see some of her early success to leading an agency with 30 people, it feels like Debra has done it all.\u00a0 She is tough, she has had to be, but she is also someone that values compassion.\u00a0 We had the chance to interview the successful mother of two and get some insight into what it\u2019s like working in the fast-paced world of PR.<\/p>\n

\"PR<\/p>\n

How has PR evolved since you first received the Duo-Tang with \u201cHow to do PR\u201d?\u00a0 Could a manual be written now?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The first page really did say \u201cHow to do PR\u201d.\u00a0 It was really basic but it served me very well.\u00a0 At that point there weren\u2019t as many PR programs and I had to learn on the go.\u00a0 With any career, it is important to be adaptable and continue learning.\u00a0 There are the basics skills that you learn at any job and those are the things that generally carry you through, then you add your own panache.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if a manual could be written, but I do think those basics are what PR is built on.\u00a0 I never ask students who come through our doors exactly what they have learned in school; the best way to learn is through practice.\u00a0 There are things that will evolve and change year to year.\u00a0 I think that the basics like how to communicate, the right and wrong ways to network, what you do in a crisis communications situation don\u2019t really change.\u00a0 Being a good writer is also part of the basics.<\/p>\n

When I try mentor, especially our young staff, it is more about the culture than it is about the \u201cHow to do PR\u201d.\u00a0 I think that what I pass on is more about life lessons.\u00a0 For example, if you think your manager is being cranky, maybe remember that this isn\u2019t about you, it\u2019s about somebody else.\u00a0 Things like that can help you be a great addition to any team.\u00a0 All of a sudden, you are given these lessons that you can\u2019t possibly have unless you have worked in a job for a really long time or if someone gives you that perspective.\u00a0 Those are the things that I think are important for any business, but particularly for Public Relations where it is very fast moving and things can feel very personal.<\/p>\n

What advice do you give to people just starting in the business or junior employees at rock-it<\/a>?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Very early on in my career, someone gave me the advice that I should be the first to arrive and the last to leave.\u00a0 While I think that might be a little dated now, it is great advice to think about.\u00a0 The way to make an impression, especially early in your career, is to work really hard.\u00a0 Any of us that have been in this business for more than 10 years have worked our butts off to get here.\u00a0 Not everyone is built to have a career where they become a President, Vice President or a Director or even have those wishes.\u00a0 Some people do, but they don\u2019t realize what actually goes into getting there.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the idea of making sure that when you leave before the end of the day to check in with your boss, to say good night and say \u201cis there anything else that I can do\u201d?\u00a0 If the President is in her office, drop in and say good night. \u00a0All of a sudden, senior management is noticing you and seeing you as someone who cares. If you care and you show it, you don\u2019t need to be in at 6am and leave at 7pm.\u00a0 Ultimately, what we encourage is to do your work well and get it done.\u00a0 We don\u2019t need to see people in the office until 8pm.\u00a0 It\u2019s about caring, working hard, putting in blood, sweat and tears and going the extra mile.<\/p>\n

Do you think work\/life balance is possible when you are first starting out in your career?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is an interesting topic and I\u2019ve been asked about work\/life balance so much.\u00a0 The balance really depends on what your life looks like.\u00a0 In my 40’s, I have two young kids, a husband and a business.\u00a0 In your 20\u2019s you likely have a roommate and your responsibilities aren\u2019t as large as they will be.\u00a0 You are probably just out of school, figuring out life, dating someone.\u00a0 You have a lot more freedom.\u00a0 You likely don\u2019t have the responsibilities of a mortgage and little people that rely completely on you and you have to make sure that their lives are safe and fulfilling.\u00a0 When you are younger, it is a lot easier to have balance.\u00a0 You can go to an exercise class, then meet up with friends.\u00a0 You can see your family on the weekends.\u00a0 There is balance available to you, but it does get harder as you get older.<\/p>\n

You said in a previous interview that it took many steps and a terrible boss to give you the chutzpah to start your own business.\u00a0 What is your own leadership style?\u00a0 What are key traits does a good boss have in your opinion?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I think to be a great boss, you need to be a great listener. You need to be fair and compassionate.\u00a0 When you are dealing with staff, there are negotiations daily because you are dealing with people and emotions, their problems and their lives.\u00a0 No one is going to be happy if both sides aren\u2019t listening to each other. I think that if someone works with you and doesn\u2019t feel comfortable talking to you, then you\u2019ll never get to know them.\u00a0 If you want a team that champions one another, enjoys one another and works well together, it all comes from the top.<\/p>\n

From early on, especially when the office was smaller, I\u2019ve always insisted on a no mean girls\u2019 policy.\u00a0 It\u2019s not acceptable within my walls.\u00a0 We have to hold each other up, applaud our successes.\u00a0 We all deserve success; we all deserve recognition and there is no room for mean-spirited people within my walls.\u00a0 I think that from that being my mantra from day one, we have had so little of that.<\/p>\n

We have forced some people who have had problems to sit in a room and work it out. It\u2019s uncomfortable but you can\u2019t come into this office every day and be at each other\u2019s throats or gossiping.\u00a0 We force them to go for dinner together and usually that\u2019s what it takes because once you start talking, you find out that it wasn\u2019t about me\u2026that person had something going on in their life.\u00a0 They may have been hurt by something that the other person said and how else would you know.\u00a0 It clears up a lot of misunderstandings.\u00a0\u00a0 If you are leader with kindness and compassion, then you can help support your staff to be the greatest people and team that they can be.<\/p>\n

Everyone who has ever had a successful business has had to deal with\u00a0 disappointments and failures.\u00a0 What did you learn from your failures?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I think that if you had asked me that question a few years ago, I would have been able to think of a whole bunch of failures.\u00a0 Now, I don\u2019t look at it the same way anymore. The way I look at things is that if they don\u2019t turn out the way that I thought that they would, I always learn something really positive from that lesson.\u00a0 We need to stumble, get humble, get up and try again.<\/p>\n

If everything in my career had gone well, what would happen if I had a failure or if something went wrong?\u00a0 You wouldn\u2019t know how to handle it.\u00a0 You can\u2019t learn or adapt and that would be really boring.\u00a0 My failures have been my greatest lessons.\u00a0 They taught me that there are people that are smarter than me and you want those people around you.\u00a0 You never want to be the smartest person in the room.<\/p>\n

You have said that working in PR is a lifestyle choice.\u00a0 What do you mean by that?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

PR to me has always been more than a job or career, it is part of my life.\u00a0 The job often stretches beyond the confines of a regular work day because there are a lot of events and travel.\u00a0\u00a0 When I started, I loved that, I was out as many nights a week as I could.\u00a0 I enjoyed meeting people and being social.\u00a0 If you aren\u2019t a social person, and you don\u2019t love events, travel and restaurant openings, it is an interesting life decision to make.\u00a0 That is part of the PR lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Now, I have two little ones, and I want to spend time with them, so it\u2019s not the same as it used to be. It is never going to be a 9-5 job.\u00a0 There are always going to be twists and turns, it\u2019s not going to be a straight line at all.<\/p>\n

Many people think of the glamorous side of PR \u2013 the parties, the fun and the fashion.\u00a0 Tell us a bit about the not-so-glamorous side.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You are traveling a lot and rarely in first class.\u00a0 You are flying through different time zones, and landing, then getting right to work.\u00a0 Sometimes, you are on your feet for more than 14 hours.\u00a0 When we do the Juno Awards, for example, we are on our feet for a long time.\u00a0 It\u2019s a physically demanding job and I don\u2019t think that people associate it with being physically demanding.\u00a0 The crisis communications side of the business is not glamorous.\u00a0 Sometimes, you are literally up for days on end and not sleeping.\u00a0 You go into a war room and work with people that are in reputation crisis mode.\u00a0 There is a lot of fun, for sure, but there is a lot that people do not see.<\/p>\n

You made the decision recently to be open and share your story about addiction.\u00a0 What made you decide to speak about it?\u00a0 How has speaking about something so personal impacted you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I did my first keynote and decided to talk a bit about my history.\u00a0 It\u2019s one thing to be on a panel, but it\u2019s another to do a keynote and not to present my life as a full picture.\u00a0 My husband and I talked about it because there is a lot of shame surrounding addiction.\u00a0 It is a part of my history and a part of my life.\u00a0 I practice on-going recovery.\u00a0 I think there is a fear of talking about it because of the stigma and what that looks like.<\/p>\n

Addiction stems from a trauma in your life.\u00a0 It\u2019s rare to meet an addict that hasn\u2019t dealt with some major trauma.\u00a0 Everybody\u2019s bottom always looks different but at the end of the day, we all have the same exact train of thought, the same loop in our brains.\u00a0 Everyone should remember that the alcoholic with the paper bag is the exact same alcoholic as the person who is dealing with it on Bay Street.\u00a0 They are no different.\u00a0 You have to want the help and you have to want to get sober.<\/p>\n

You have promoted women to the very top positions at rock-it (Kate Makinson\/President, Victoria Gormley\/VP).\u00a0 We are still in a world where qualified women are passed over for senior leadership roles.\u00a0 Why do you think there is still this struggle when there are so many qualified candidates that happen to be women?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s a hard question to answer because I honestly have no idea.\u00a0 I am a female entrepreneur who started a business with no business degree and with a lot of chutzpah.\u00a0 It never occurred to me that women were any different than men.\u00a0 For me, there has never been a staff member that I have looked at from a gender perspective.\u00a0 I only look at them as human to human.\u00a0 To me, it doesn\u2019t matter what shape, size, colour, background or gender you are.\u00a0 I look at you as a person.\u00a0 The people that have been moved up through my company have been women, because they have worked hard and proven to me that they are great at their jobs.<\/p>\n

I do recognize that there are people who moved into a CEO role and brought someone in from the outside that happens to be a male, because that often happens.\u00a0 There are a lot of men in business.\u00a0 I\u2019m often at a table with a lot of men.\u00a0 It would have made some people feel more comfortable if I had hired men for those senior roles, but I\u2019m not here to make people feel comfortable.\u00a0 I here to find the right fit.\u00a0 Kate has been with me for 5 years.\u00a0 There was no question to me as we continued to work together that had this amazing sisterhood, but we worked really well together and saw eye to eye 90% of the time.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve watched Victoria through her career for many years, and we had this friendship.\u00a0 When she took on this mat leave position when Kate was off, I was worried.\u00a0 We were friends and at the end of the day, I\u2019m the owner of the company.\u00a0 Because she is so mature and smart and savvy, she knew that and we promised to be honest with each other.\u00a0 She joined full-time and she killed it.\u00a0 They received those promotions because they deserved it \u2013 period \u2013 the end.<\/p>\n

\"PR<\/p>\n

Looking at you, it seems like you have it together.\u00a0 There is a lot of pressure on women who are mothers.\u00a0 What advice do you have for mothers who are either trying to get back into the business world or who don\u2019t feel like they can do it all?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t have it altogether, no matter what it looks like to the world.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s important to hear.\u00a0 I think the secret is to not compare yourself with others.\u00a0 There are people that like to make it look like life is perfect all the time.\u00a0 Social media has made that even easier, but everybody has a story and maybe their struggles don\u2019t look like mine or yours, but they are just as difficult for the person going through them.\u00a0 Comparison is the worst disease that we have in this day and age.<\/p>\n

I have always said to those that are part of my team to take that time with their baby.\u00a0 Don\u2019t regret it for a minute, because your career will morph and change.\u00a0 If you earn a reputation as a hard and dedicated team member, you will always find a place to work.\u00a0 You will never get back that first year with your baby.\u00a0 As an entrepreneur, I didn\u2019t have that opportunity \u2013 I had to go back to work six weeks later.\u00a0 It\u2019s so important to not be hard on yourself and take that time when it\u2019s given to you.\u00a0 Now that there is 18 months available for mat leave \u2013 do it!\u00a0 People always think that so much that happens and that they will not know what\u2019s going on.\u00a0 Have confidence that you are going to figure it out.\u00a0 You may be behind a few steps, then you are going to get caught up again.<\/p>\n

You have inspired many women, both at your agency and in the business world.\u00a0 Who inspires you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

My kids inspire me daily because children have this beautiful lens on the world.\u00a0 They have a simpler way of looking at a day or a challenge.\u00a0 I have a six-year-old that sees the world so beautifully and purely and he reminds me often to take a step back and take a breath.\u00a0 Sometimes a cuddle can solve all of the world\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n

From a career standpoint, I am surrounded by creatives.\u00a0 We have inspiration everywhere when we are surrounded by creative thinkers.\u00a0 I get a lot of inspiration, whether it\u2019s from my staff or my clients and I am quite lucky.<\/p>\n

What does success look like now versus when you got your start 20 years ago?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I think about this a lot, especially these past years with the change in senior leadership and what I want my life to look like now.\u00a0 Success looks like being happy with everything that I have in my life and not wanting more.\u00a0 You go through a lot of big life events as you get older.\u00a0 I have my health, my kids have their health, I have a beautiful family and a thriving business \u2013 what else is there?<\/p>\n

I used to be constantly focused on what\u2019s next.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned that to really try and stop that and focus on the now, and stop wishing for more because we often have exactly what we need.\u00a0 This is what I mentor my staff on, not how to get ahead in their career.\u00a0 This is what I wish I had a mentor teaching me 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our latest inspiring woman, Debra Goldblatt-Sadowski, knows PR after being in the industry for 20 years.\u00a0 She started rock-it promotions out of her parents\u2019 spare bedroom \u201cwith nothing but a…<\/div>\n
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