What Are You Fighting For?
February 28, 2011 by Charles Wasilewski · Leave a Comment
Back in high school I was a big fan of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, a rock band from Gainesville, Florida that hit it big on the rock charts with the album “Damn the Torpedoes,” released in 1979. Their music covered themes perfect for adolescence (and beyond): The dreams and conflicts of relationships, rebellion against authority, and the search for something better.
Petty (who, coincidentally, was introduced to new generations by his performance at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2008) earned acclaim not just for his music but for two other things:
- First was the outreach he made to his fans in interviews, unusual at a time of rock star excesses (as tragically glorified by Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall,” which kept his breakthrough album from reaching #1 on the Billboard album charts; “Damn the Torpedoes” was behind it at #2 for seven weeks in 1979). In interviews, Petty made a point of thanking fans for listening to his band’s music and paying for their concerts. He was rumored to have used car stereo speakers to listen to the production mixes of his albums, because that was how most people would listen to it. This was in the days of vinyl albums and 8-track tapes and before the dawn of the Sony Walkman. Read more
Association Leadership, Defined
October 5, 2010 by Peter van Aartrijk · 1 Comment
Peter van Aartrijk and the late Akio Takahashi at a Big 'I' Japan convention in Tokyo.
This is a blog entry I should have written more than a year ago. Perhaps I’ve been in denial about losing such a good friend.
The photo here is me with the late Akio Takahashi. In the last several years, I’ve had the honor of talking about the U.S. Independent Agency System at seminars coordinated by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Japan. This was taken at IIABJ’s second annual convention in Tokyo, held June 2008 in a conference room of Kyoei Fire & Marine Insurance Co.
Takahashi was IIABJ’s first president. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He chaired a strong, multi-faceted brokerage, World Service Corp., based in Osaka. In all of these capacities, he was a true leader.
Takahashi died on April 5, 2009. I received the following note from his staff, which said in part: “Mr. Takahashi visited Europe and Asia in February and March, and he was looking forward to attend the IIABA meeting in U.S.A. this month. His sudden departure saddens us greatly, but we will continue to uphold his dream of changing the Japanese insurance business. We thank you for your friendship during his lifetime, and look forward to your continued friendship to his family and World Insurance Group.” Read more