During this contemplative time of year, you may find yourself questioning the significance of some of your work in helping leaders communicate. In those uncertain moments, consider the contribution of William P. Wilson, who died Dec. 6.
It was Wilson who convinced Senator John F. Kennedy wear a particular type of makeup during the first televised presidential debate in 1960, while Vice President Nixon used a different kind. “On such decisions—Max Factor Creme Puff instead of Shavestick,” David Halberstam would write in The Powers That Be, “rode the future leadership of the United States and the free world.”
Take your work seriously. History does. —DM