I recently had the pleasure of seeing an interview of Judy Smith, Founder of Smith & Co., author of Good Self, Bad Self, and the inspiration to the hit television show Scandal. I came into the interview completely blind. I knew nothing about Judy Smith and I had never seen Scandal. The only thing that I knew was that there was some crisis management lady coming to speak at the Herg.
As Judy Smith’s told her story, I began to understand her values, morals, and motives. She strongly believes that everybody has the power of being themselves and people need to remember to use that. Throughout her career, Smith did many interesting things. Some of her clients included Monica Lewinsky, Michael Vick, and Wesley Snipes. However, Smith didn’t only work as a crisis management consultant. Smith also worked as Deputy Press Secretary to George HW Bush.
Her career certainly made for a great reference for her book about decision making called Good Self, Bad Self. The book is about avoiding bad decisions. In the book, she talks about seven traits that can be the root of the problem. She also emphasizes that impatience is a major factor in bad decision making.
However, Judy Smith was really at Syracuse to talk about Olivia Pope, the character that is based on Smith on ABC’s Scandal. Smith talked about how the show came to be and how realistic the show is to her everyday life. Judy Smith told the story of meeting Shonda Rhimes, head writer and executive producer of Greys Anatomy. Their fifteen minute meeting ended up going for longer than three hours as the developed Scandal. Judy Smith thinks that Kerry Washington does a fantastic job portraying her. Washington is also the first ever African-American woman who is the lead on a national television show. Smith thinks the show accurately portrays the work that she does.
Judy Smith also gave the audience some advice. One of the biggest pieces she had to offer is for us to trust our gut. She explained that some of the best decisions she ever made were because she trusted her gut. On the flip side, some of the worst decisions her clients had made was because they went against their gut. When asked about what it took to be successful, Judy Smith told us the three P’s: Power, Persistence, and Preparation. One needs to recognize his own power, be persistent and fearless, and be prepared for whatever situation they encounter.
Although I came in blind, I really enjoyed hearing what Judy Smith had to say. I really feel like I learned a lot about not only crisis management but about success in general. She had a way of phrasing even cliches into interesting ways of looking at life’s biggest problems. I’m very glad I went to hear her talk and I will begin watching Scandal.