Name: Ernie Canadeo
Title: President/Founder
Company Name: The EGC Group
Long Island Pulse: What was the key step that really got your career underway? Was there a watershed moment that you remember as being particularly important to starting your career?
Ernie Canadeo: After leaving RCA records to become associate publisher of an ill-fated magazine, I started my own ad agency. After struggling for six months I landed my first big account, TSS-Seedman’s, then the largest retailer in the NY area. I had two employees. We beat much larger firms for the $3MM business, and it launched my agency.
Pulse: What do you credit as the secret to your success?
Canadeo: Work harder and longer than anyone else, and always take the high road.
Pulse: How do you define success?
Canadeo: Loving your life, loving your job and staying healthy.
Pulse: Was there a particular moment in which you realized that you are exactly where you ought to be professionally or doing exactly what you were meant to do?
Canadeo: The first time I won an advertising award. And every day since.
Pulse: How do you attract and keep good employees?
Canadeo: Treat, pay and feed them well.
Pulse: What is the best way to get new business?
Canadeo: Be where your potential clients are.
Pulse: What is the most important thing you do or tactic you use in making a sale?
Canadeo: Smile a lot.
Pulse: How do you respond to adversity?
Canadeo: Be strong, smart, and diplomatic.
Pulse: How do you make yourself stand out?
Canadeo: Wear taller shoes.
Pulse: What makes you different from your peers?
Canadeo: I hire people much smarter than me.
Pulse: What was the most important thing you learned from other bosses you’ve had?
Canadeo: Be honest, and don’t believe your own bullshit.
Pulse: What attracts you to the people you include in your social circle?
Canadeo: They should be down to earth, like to have fun and are into good music.
Pulse: What qualities do you most respond to in others?
Canadeo: Genuineness and emotional intelligence.
Pulse: What qualities do you most negatively respond to in other people?
Canadeo: Arrogance.
Pulse: What makes you want to count someone as a close associate or a trusted ally?
Canadeo: I look forward to spending time with them, personally and/or professionally.
Pulse: What is the moment when you knew that you made it?
Canadeo: I’m not sure you ever “make it”; there are always new goals to achieve and obstacles to overcome. But the first time I was asked to be interviewed was pretty cool.
Pulse: What is something you do not do enough of?
Canadeo: Write songs.