Otis Winters: My Sam

Posted by Editor on Jul 18, 2010 in Sams on Sams blog | 2 comments

Everyone who chooses a career in business needs someone to help them navigate the unknown shoals.

I was a naive young man starting a new company and tended to believe everything I was told. Fortunately, a wise man crossed my path. He was the senior partner of a regional accounting firm and became the Chairman of my Board of Directors.

He was approximately the same age as my father and like most young men, I found it easier to talk to him than my dad. As a professional accountant he had seen many situations, people and companies. He was the perfect counselor for me and helped me on many occasions.

One in particular, however, stands out.

Suzanne Yack: My Sam

Posted by Editor on Jul 9, 2010 in Sams on Sams blog | 4 comments

I had this publisher once. He was new at his job, I was new at mine. I had two kids in middle school and probably bit off more than I could chew stepping up to run the newsroom during a tectonic shift in management.

Now my publisher was young, ambitious, smart and occasionally brash, and he set standards for conduct. His ethical approach to news was admirable — he came from the news side of the business. I can’t even remember what it was I did that got me called into his office one day. He was never shy about calling things like they were. I probably let some story go through without having it fairly told from both sides. A snarky headline or perhaps something I said out in the community that made its way back to him.