 Welcome to Keys to Success, which is live on the ThinkTech Live Streaming Network series weekly on Thursdays at 11 a.m. We are your hosts. My name is Danilia, D-A-N-E-L-I-A. And I'm La La Ha for the duo, John Newman. Welcome to today's show. The goal of this show is to provide professional and personal development tools and profound insights on how to achieve success in life, career, and or business. Master Sergeant Gunnery, Sergeant Martin, True Yellow, Operations Chief, Marine Corps Forces Pacific, Hawaii was our guest on our last show, and his words of wisdom can be accessed on Newman Consulting Services website, NewmanConsultingServices.com, or our landing page, which is Danilia.org. Our theme for today is, how to be successful in your chosen career. Joining us today in a studio as our honored guest is Cam Napier, Editor-in-Chief of Pacific Business News. Mahalo for joining us today. Oh, my pleasure. I'm glad you're having you on board here. Cam? Okay. Cam, what about viewers, if you will? What is your role and some of your responsibilities? Sure. Well, as Editor-in-Chief at PBN, I oversee all the operations of the newsroom. It's a very exciting business because there's always a lot going on. PBN is online every day. Our emphasis is breaking news on the website. Our reporters are doing three, four stories a day on the website. And we also send out two email products every day, a morning edition and an afternoon edition to people who subscribe to those for free, just to keep people apprised of what's happened just now in the business world. And of course, the origins of PBN is as a weekly paper, a business paper founded by George Mason a little over 50 years ago. And it's still the heart of the operation. So every Friday, a new issue comes out. What is the business paper here in Hawaii for sure? Yeah. I mean, we're avid readers of it too. Thank you. Absolutely. Time is everything. It is, it is. We were talking earlier, people read PBN with a certain urgency. They really want to know what's going on in their industry. They want to know where the opportunities are. And that's a huge part of PBN's mission is to help make connections between businesses, help them succeed. Whether it's through business intelligence or, I even had a great moment once a few weeks back, the leasing agent for a particular property called me to say, hey, you wrote about this one burger joint that might be coming into town from the mainland. Do you have contact information? Cause we have space and we think a burger joint might be perfect. Well, we've certainly done our job today. Yeah, that's right. We're gonna connect these people and maybe a burger joint happens in this one development. So what led you to Pacific Business News? Well, I've been a writer since I was a little kid. I had no idea how that would turn into a job ever. I was in marketing a little bit after I graduated from UH with an English degree. I was the marketing director at Diamond Head Theater. And I started freelancing around town for different publications, The Honolulu Weekly, when that was around Honolulu Magazine. And that led to a position at Honolulu Magazine. I was there for 19 years total. The last date is editor. Then it took a little break. And I heard that PBN was looking for an editor-in-chief and I thought that that would be new and different. And it has been that. Born and raised here and I've been in media a long time, but when you join a different outlet, especially one with a focus like PBN, you get to learn your own city all over again. You have a different reason to call different people and learn about different things. When did you really know that you wanted to be a writer and an editor? Writer I knew very, very young. It just wasn't even a conscious decision. My mom would read to my younger brother and I and I really took the books. You know how it is when you like something, you want to start making your own. So I wrote no doubt terrible little kid books about robots or who knows what now. But just started writing stories. And for the longest time, I thought maybe fiction would be the way to go. But and I did find through work that having an ability to write and write clearly is an asset no matter what you do. So when I was in high school and college, a lot of my jobs around town were in the museum world. And because I could write, that led to, for example, I had a temporary job at the Arizona Memorial on the museum side doing the cataloging of new artifacts. Because you have to write them very clearly and in a very specific technical kind of way. And then I was in the right place at the right time to help with a book project. So by the time I graduated from college at your age, I had a book, which was fantastic. That's great. And the marketing at Diamondhead Theater, certainly, of that is a communications function. So if you can, marketing is so much fun, because you can be very playful with it. That's true. You want to get people excited about a show. You want the communications to match the show in some way so people know what they're getting. So it was really enjoyable. No matter what people do for business, being able to write is an asset. Well, it's interesting because you say that from a very young age, you just kind of knew that this was your path. From a very young age, my path was teaching. I just felt the same way. But there are a lot of individuals who never really recognized what path they were to go on. And I think that's where part of this show is about that. That you can, it will come to you. You just have to let it come to you. And I think it helps to move you toward success because you enjoy what you're doing. And a few people, well, quite a few people, were fortunate enough to be able to do what they love. And your passion in life, we can tell. It is great when it lines up. Absolutely, absolutely. I've always felt so lucky. Yeah, that's great. What's your source of inspiration? Well, one of the best things about this line of work is you get the magic key to everything, right? So to be nosy and curious and call people and say, hey, I'm with PBN. I'm working on a story. We'd like to meet with you or have you come into the office or get a tour of your factory or whatever. And they say yes. And that's like, because if you're not in this line of work and you call a business at random and say, oh, I'd like a tour, more likely than not, they might say, yeah, we're a little busy now. But when you're in media, you get welcomed in. And you get to learn about things and meet people. And I've always been fascinated by work and business and what people do. And I'm inspired by people who want to be good at what they do no matter what it is. So I learn a little something from everyone we talk to, whether it's accounting or manufacturing or medicine law, all of it, everyone, especially if you're a newsmaker and you're in PBN, it's because you're doing interesting things. Yeah, that's true. And you ask the correct questions. Yeah, we try, we try. We want to explain to our readers what it is that's working for a business. Or if they've had a rough spot, how that happened and how they're dealing with it. Our readers are very, very smart. I think also sometimes they get very specialized in their industry. So we try to explain a bit when we're covering one specific industry, try to break it down a little bit so that people in other industries get what the significance is of something going on in that first one. Okay, Cam, I know everything isn't just pitch a key. So I'm going to ask you, what are your biggest challenges and as an editor-in-chief and how do you deal with them? You know, PBN, we were talking about the volume of reporting that goes on. Online on the website, the emails, the print edition. There's also a very lively calendar of events all year long and the newsroom. Which we enjoyed. Thank you. Yes, I see you there. Thank you for coming. I'm working on a cover story right now for next week's paper about Tom Moffat who we named as the career achievement honoree for business leadership Hawaii. That event is in November. So I'm doing writing. He's been a promoter since the 50s. Career achievement, absolutely. So I've chatted with him and some other folks who have worked with him to find out what success looks like in his field. Again, that's a case where it's like, I don't really know what his job is every day all day until I talk to him and our readers might not either. So it was fascinating to learn how the business operates. But to your question, so the challenge I think with a publication like PBN for everyone in the newsroom and in all the departments is the volume of material. So time management becomes really key. Cause you just, throughout each day you have to remember where today am I gonna move the digital side forward? Where am I gonna move the print side forward? Where are we gonna move the events forward? There's also social media dimension to what we do. And how do you mentally handle all of those different, you've got to handle all that time management. So somehow mentally you have to without panicking all the time, right? Well I keep the panic in my head. It's fine, I'll try not to let it show. I can't show it cause you're the editor-in-chief. Exactly, exactly. You're going to the bathroom and scream later, right? Yeah, yeah, I just, I go home and play some Xbox and NY, that's what I do. Well, you know, because everyone is in the same boat and this is true in so many businesses, I mean what business is in? That's right. Stressed with email and deadlines and lean staffing. The trust in communication are key. I think the team at PBN is fantastic. And if any of us are feeling especially slammed and we share that with our colleagues, people help. And that is the key, so the relationships and communication is essential. If you don't tell people, I got eight things happening right now, so can this one thing, can we discuss this in an hour maybe? You know, they don't know and they don't know why you're stressed or whatever. So it always comes down to a team. I mean a team is extremely important. We're going to come back to that in just a moment. We're going to take a short break. This is Keys to Success on the ThinkTech Live Streaming Network series. We're talking with Cam Napier, editor-in-chief of Pacific Business News regarding our theme today. Being successful in your chosen career. My name is Danilia, D-A-N-E-L-I-A. And I'm now the half of the duo, John Newman. We'll be back in a minute, so please stay tuned for more Keys to Success. Aloha, everyone. I'm Maria Mera and I'm here to invite you to my bilingual show, Viva Hawaii on ThinkTech Hawaii, every other Monday at 3 p.m. We are here to talk about news, issues and events, local and around the world. Join me, Aloha. Hi, I'm Keely Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute. I'd love you to join us every week Mondays at 2 o'clock p.m. for Ehana Kako. Let's work together. We report every week on the good things going on in our state, as well as the better things that can go on in the future. We have guests covering everything from the economy, the government and society. See you Mondays on Ehana Kako at 2 o'clock p.m. Until then, I'm Keely Akina. Aloha. Aloha, I'm Kaui Lucas, host of Hawaii is My Mainland every Friday here on ThinkTech Hawaii. I also have a blog of the same name at kauilukas.com where you can see all of my past shows. Join me this Friday and every Friday at 3 p.m. Aloha. Hey, so Cam, we're welcome back to everybody. This is Keese to Success on the ThinkTech live streaming network series. We encourage you to call our hotline at 415-8712-474 to join our conversation or tweet us at ThinkTechHI if you have any questions or comments. We've been talking with Cam Napier, Editor-in-Chief of Pacific Business News regarding our theme today, Being Successful in Your Chosen Career. My name is Danelia, D-A-N-E-L-I-A. And I'm the other half of the duo, John Newman. Welcome back. Cam, we're gonna talk about a little staff now. Sure. So how do you handle sensitive writers who question your editing? That's an insightful question. You've been editing. Yeah. You're doing some editing. You know, I started out as a sensitive writer. That's right. And I was very, very enthusiastic and so excited to find a way to make a living writing. And I would turn in drafts that were twice as long. We were talking earlier that one of the joys of this business is how much you learn about people and what they do and the story that you're working on and you feel like you've got to get everything you've learned into the piece. And then sometimes you get a little attached to the way you've said it if you think you've been clever. So for me personally, it was a challenge to get the discipline and the professionalism if it's a thousand-word story. I'm wasting everyone's time if I turn in 1500 words, including mine, because my editor, John Hecathor, and my mentor would give it back to me and say, well, get 500 words out of it and then I'll take a look. Right. He'd give feedback too to help me, especially when I was starting out. Because you've got to identify the important parts of the story. So I know that writers come in a wide range of mindsets about editing. And so sometimes it's necessary to give the reassurance. Yes. Like, this is not personal. Though a funny thing about writing, so this is a kind of performance art, you know? It's a little bit of a strange way to make a living because the product is, it's your thoughts. So you're putting it out there for the whole world to see, as I say jokingly sometimes. This was as smart as I could be today. So because it's coming from inside, it is personal, even though it is a job and it is a profession. And editors and writers, as they both mature and get more professional at it, kind of they learn to separate the emotional side of it and just be practical about it. Then to my mind, it's a craft, more than an art, though you can be very creative and in expression. And so if you approach it that way, that I'm just here to help you shape this and improve it. And especially to make sure that what the writer meant to accomplish is actually getting done. So ideally I'm not telling them how to write the story, I'm telling them, okay, when I read it, I got this out of it. Is that what you meant? And if they say yes, then okay, we're good. If they say, well, no, actually, I was trying to say this other thing, then I can coach on, all right, well, what can we do with this piece to get it there? Well, communication's always the key. And we talked about the sensitivity. Let's talk about writing that subpar. How would you handle that? Oh, well, you know, in general we've got pretty good folks. So then, you know, where that does happen, just I'll speak in the larger term throughout my career, you just have to, like any kind of management of any kind of work, then that all boils down to clear expectations. That's correct. And setting some boundaries, like, you know, whether people are reporting to you and they're in sales or they're writing for you or they're processing paperwork or whatever, they've got to understand, this is what the company needs from you. This is what we've given you to make it possible. And so if there's some gap where that's not coming back to us, we got to talk about why that is. Is it, do you have too much on your plate? Is there some training that you need? Do you want me to tag along on some interviews to help you take material from the interview and get it into the text in a different way? So yeah, like any profession, it gets to those core managerial. Good, because that's what we wanted our audience to get. And we have to run the gamut here, exactly. So what do you most attribute to your success? Oh, that's a hard one. A lot of luck, I've been very lucky in my life. And you know what luck is, where our preparation meets opportunity. Well, one reason I chose this as a profession was writing does come naturally to me. So I thought, well, why would I struggle to learn something I'm no good at? When I could try to find a way to make money, doing something I am good at. So in addition to do what you love, there's also, I think a lot of people would find more success and happiness in life if they identified what they were good at. And then found the job that matched that. So I guess that, and I've had really good mentors and friends along the way. Yeah, that's critical as well. And what do you like most about being an editor-in-chief? I like being involved in all the aspects of what the newsroom is doing. When you're a writer, you're in your track, right? The beat that you cover as editor-in-chief. Like one thing, the newsroom and the sales side are very separate. They don't really influence each other at all, but where there are conversations. So my boss is the publisher, Tammy Menzel. So I get to be involved a little bit on the business side of PBN in terms of knowing where we're going and how things are going. There's the event side. And so yeah, just to be involved in all the aspects of what the newsroom is doing is a lot of fun. And I'm enjoying that I still also write. And I think that helps when it comes to managing writers. When the editor is also still writing and reporting, then they're demonstrating like, hey, I'm in the same boat, I do what you do. So I understand what's hard about it, what's easy about it, what the challenges are. Well, and I think that as you grow in your career, we found too with what we do, when we started having employees and so forth, you start under saying actually how much you know that all the experience you've had over the years, because you take it for granted, until you're actually teaching somebody else and you go, wow, I do know this stuff. Right, right. And so that's really, I think that's a real joy. Yeah, absolutely. Growing in your career. What are some of your life lessons in your career that you've had in your career? Use verbs. Now, we have to explain what a verb is. They're the action words, you know, where people go wrong and in all kinds of business writing, we can get people down this wrong track so easily because you want to try to sound so formal, you know, but really just use verbs, have people doing things in your sentences and you'll be clearer. That's a little bit of a joking answer, but you know, nurture connections. That's a key lesson. There's a networking. Networking is very important. And just keep learning. You gotta always keep learning, keep practicing. And well, you know, the name of our show is Keys to Success. And what we try and do is give our viewers and listeners ways to become successful. And we have a signature question that we ask each one of our guests. And it's your time. Wow. So, Cam, what are your three top success habits? Three top success habits. Discipline, though I'm not always as disciplined as I'd like to be, writers or procrastinators by nature. But I aim to have it at the top of the list every day. Communication and preparation. So even an experience like this, you know, when things come your way. Well, you know, preparation is key. As I've moved in my career more into an editor role, which often means being the public face of a publication. And so more opportunities like this to be in front of an audience. Which, when I was younger, I would have found terrifying. But preparation is the key. Whether it's a meeting, a talk to a community group, a television experience like this, do some prep work and you will feel so much better going into it and do so much better at it. And I think that's universal for so many jobs is to prepare. Discipline, the top one, that's been essential at PBN because of the time management aspect I was talking about. Of, you have to kind of keep track of your calendar and your hours to know like, am I devoting enough time to these different functions? And you know, whatever tools come naturally to people, I recommend they find something that works as a system to help remember the most important thing they were supposed to do. I use my email inbox for that purpose. I don't know if that's the best strategy. If you've got suggestions, I'm open to hearing them. I put the red exclamation mark next to things, the email about today and the red exclamation mark. And in the morning, I'd look for those and go, oh my goodness, there's that thing I gotta do. Well, we have a caller on the line. Oh, yes. I'm an outside caller and I have a question for Ken. He won't be able to hear this, but you can and you'll have to repeat it. We'll be happy to repeat the question to Ken. Thank you. So my question is, isn't it really important to success that I educate myself by reading local newspapers? And what would he recommend in terms of how much I should read in local newspapers, what I should read, how should I compare and contrast one newspaper against another? And how important is that to the success of my career and my personal success? So he was asking if, what newspaper, you know, he's reading a lot of newspapers and wants to know how can he determine which one he should read, what he should take out of it and how important is that to his career success? Yeah, you know, there's a lot of media around town with different focuses and I quite like a lot of what all of them are doing. So, you know, if you follow Civil Beat, you're gonna hear about government things and the daily papers, general news and the monthly magazines have that broader overview. So, you know, you wanna just keep track of which media is aligning with your interests and telling you about the opportunities that are meaningful to you for PPN. We do wanna help businesses succeed and make connections and make money. So, so many other things that we have. Our flow, if, how are we on time? The breaking news online is to keep people apprised of what just happened and then the print product has evolved to be more analytical, to tell our readers what it means for that industry, for that business. A little more analysis, historical perspective. So, people would read our digital products for a slightly different reason than they would read the print product. The print product is a little more of a kickback on the weekend or on your lunch break and spend more time with it. So, how does that help somebody's career to read like PPN or other newspapers? Well, you know, if you're in business, one thing you're looking for are leads, right? So, when we announce a new business opening in a certain category, then the B2B folks that interact with that business. So, if we say, oh, new restaurant opening Tuesday or new restaurant signs lease, which is quite often a PPN way of breaking a story, is a lot of advance notice that a restaurant's coming because we've reported on the lease. They may be months away from opening. So, if you're a vendor, if you're a food supplier, you know, hey, potential customer. Right. So sorry to interrupt. And so then they can find each other. We're about the end of our show. We just ran out, sorry. That went so quickly. Thank you. John, why don't you end with your quote? Okay. Well, today's quote that we're gonna share with you is from Henry Ford. And it says, whether you think you're right or you think you're not, you're right. I like it. And we'd like to thank you for joining us on Keys to Success. Thank you so much, Cam, for joining us today. It's an absolute pleasure. Pacific Business News is a great, great business newspaper to read. We read it every week religiously and has a lot to share regarding business here in Hawaii. My name is Danilia, D-A-N-E-L-I-A. And I'm the other half of the duo, John Newman. Aloha. Aloha.