About 15 years ago, I dropped in on a presentation at the business school of the International University of Japan.
I was a graduate student in International Relations, but had a passion for the Internet and marketing at that time.
I had no idea that my life was about to take a HUGE turn.
The speaker that day was Todd Newfield, a Canadian ex-pat who had started a company in Tokyo doing what we now would call “Internet Marketing.”
I was so inspired by his talk that I went up to him afterwards and asked for a summer internship.
“Email me,” he said (that was a sign of a good fit, since most people didn’t use email that day).
Well, I ended up working for Todd that summer.
He gave me the first book on marketing I ever read. Don Peppers and Martha Rodgers, The One to One Future - Building Relationships One Customer at a Time.
I was hooked.
At the end of the summer, Todd said to me, “come on, the future is the Internet. Drop out of school. Come work for me full-time.”
So, I did.
Now, I am going back to Japan and will be a guest speaker at the IUJ business school on November 29th.
Full circle.
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