“The best place to store your food is in someone else’s belly.”

Google is failing me this morning. I cannot find an attribution for this quote, which struck me when I first heard it and then came railing back last night.

I was attending No Small Talk event where a killer panel (Mosheh Oinounou of Mo News , WGN Spotlight Chicago Co- Host Ji Suk Yi and Ad Age Senior Editor Jessica Wohl) spoke about several career / entrepreneur / PR / journalist / content topics, not the least of which was (effectively): the best place to store your food is in someone else’s belly.

Now, these weren’t the words that they used. Instead, they said things like:

• “Don’t forget to treat the intern, the assistant, the junior staff wonderfully. It won’t be long until they’re in positions of power.”
• “Relationships are everything. Tending your relationships, both professional and personal, is critical.”
• If you know the event hostess, Rachel Gillman Rischall, you’ll understand her hysterical quote, “I’m like the Hotel California. Once I know you and like you, there’s no checking out.” (Effectively, she was speaking to her superpower in connecting people and the joy she receives from it.) I’ve known her for 20 years – and she speaks the truth, people.

This morning, it occurred to me: intern season is dawning across corporate America. Now is the time for us all to think about “storing our food,” i.e., how are we showing up for the next generation of powerhouse leaders?  How do we effectively engage/teach/inspire when our internship/early career norms were so wildly different? (Long gone are the days of “sit in this conference room and take notes.”) The teaching-by-behavior-modeled is exceedingly different these days. (That said, it was so, so, so good to run into one of my "early days" career heroes, Amy Cheronis, who still teaches me something every time we connect!)

For interns, I urge you to be intentional about your relationship-building efforts this summer. TheWallStreetSkinny did a great job of underscoring this point in a reel that is equal parts educational and entertaining. Big points to her for offering the guidance with straightforward humility. (TL:DR – don’t be shy! Get in there! Folks are busy; listen for an opportunity to be a helper and then get a move on! 😊)

I hope it goes without saying, but I’m sharing this little reflection with you, a network of “relationships,” because I do like staying connected. (Yes, even if it’s on a slightly stilted career platform site, ha!) Thanks for reading this far; consider your food safely stored in my belly.

#internship #communications #relationships #PR #leadership