By Josh Gottlieb
Today I'll be sharing about two of the men who have helped shape my values, my experiences, in business and in life — and in many things that permeate our culture today.
Growing up around my dad, I learned and observed a lot about what it is to work hard and play hard. My dad was a guy who lived life to the fullest. When I moved back to Cleveland in 1980, 40 years ago, he faced coronary heart disease. I had some sense of what he was doing because I worked with him while in high school. He did get better. We built an extraordinarily powerful partnership. He was this incredibly inventive, freethinking really knowledgeable person in the insurance and pension and benefit industry. I've been fortunate to learn from him, and I always had the best and the brightest at my fingertips — that I ascribe to him.
There were some incredibly great lessons I learned from my dad: the importance of knowledge, diligence, creativity, passion — saying what I believe, caring — all those values remain today. All those values are an important part of who I am and what we do at The Gottlieb Organization. It's just the way it is.
Michael Goldstein and I have been friends, respectful colleagues and working together in various capacities for more than 35 years. About seven years ago, Michael and I talked, and we decided that it was time for him to come on board with The Gottlieb Organization full time. Although, he's still smarter than me because he was living in Southern California while I was living in Cleveland. It wasn't always equitable, this relationship.Michael has been a constant in my life and he's always been a supportive friend, colleague, advisor. He doesn't always tell me the things I want to hear, but tells me his perspective. He has an incredible amount of knowledge on a deep tactical level. He has taught at universities and law schools and has spoken all over the country. His ability to have incredible stamina is not just because he's been working with me and been friends with me for more than 30 years — that in itself takes a toll. He has run more than 20 marathons. Everything he does is done with care, with diligence, with incredibly hard work and thoughtfulness. He works really hard to help everybody learn in their own way.
Thanks for joining us today. In our next blog installment, we're going to talk about some of the heritage of The Gottlieb Organization, extraordinary moments and monumental achievements that have changed who we are.
Joshua A. Gottlieb is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Gottlieb Organization.