49. How I Almost Got Fired in My 1st Week in PR, and the Important Life Lessons I Learned

Lead Balloon - Public Relations, Marketing and Strategic Communications Stories

At the end of his first week working in public relations, Lead Balloon host Dusty Weis did something so dumb, he could have been fired on the spot.

During a meeting with one of his new bosses, prominent Milwaukee politician Jim Bohl, Dusty made a bad assumption and recklessly insulted Jim to his face.

Dusty wasn't fired, and the pair went on to work well together at City Hall for five years.

But they never again spoke about what was said on that fateful day in 2012.

That is, until the launch of Lead Balloon, when they recorded this important conversation about making mistakes, forgiveness and leadership.

So in this remastered early episode of Lead Balloon, Dusty recounts the hilarious tale of the dumbest thing he ever did, with the help of colleague Ken Leiviska.

Then, he and Jim Bohl revisit the insult to note some important lessons for media professionals transitioning into a career in political PR.

And finally, Dusty checks in with two other City Hall officials, city clerk Jim Owczarski and public information manager Bill Arnold, to see just how close he actually came to getting fired in his first week on the job.

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