Linda Kaplan Thaler gets GRITTY

Illustrious CCNY alum, Chair of Publicis New York, and bestselling author Linda Kaplan Thaler returned to campus for an engaging Lunch w/Leaders chat in front of an SRO crowd of students, faculty, and members of the CCNY community. Recipient of City College degrees in both psychology and music, Linda was recently inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame and was named one of Ad Age’s  “100 Most Influential Women in Advertising.”  As a committed alumna of the college, Linda sits on the boards of both the Colin Powell School as well as the Master’s program in Branding + Integrated Communications (BIC). She received the Townsend Harris Medal in 2005.
Ms. Kaplan Thaler’s topic, “Success is a Four Letter Word,” was based on her latest book, Grit to Great, which draws upon ground-breaking research as well as her own experiences. As a proud Bronx native and CCNY alum who now oversees a multi-billion dollar agency with over 800 employees, Linda's own story is an inspiration to us all.


BIC program director Nancy R. Tag led Linda through a curated list of student generated questions about her unconventional career path to the advertising industry and what lessons enabled her to eventually become the founder of her own agency, The Kaplan Thaler Group. The Q&A format resulted in a unique sharing of career anecdotes and life experiences which underscored the essence of GRIT -- both a motivating word and dynamic acronym for Guts, Resilience, Initiative, and Tenacity. Here are five of the most memorable GRIT-inspired takeaways.

HAVE GUTS: Don’t be scared!

BUILD RESILIENCE: Ask yourself, what can I do to improve myself today? What can I do better?

SHOW INITIATIVE: Add the phrases “yes, and...” and “yes, but…” to your on-the-job vocabulary, and eliminate “no.”

PRACTICE TENACITY: Always have a growth mindset. Be a plotter not a dreamer.

This Lunch w/Leaders event was co-sponsored by the Branding & Integrated Communications and Ad/PR programs of the Media & Communication Arts department as well as the CCNY AAF Club. Copies of Linda's new book Grit to Great were given away throughout the event. Afterwards, Linda signed copies of her book and chatted with students.

For inspiration, we HIGHLY recommend you read Grit to Great. You can start with an excerpt, here.