In March of 2018, after an 18-month battle with pancreatic cancer, my dad passed away peacefully in his sleep. I will eternally be grateful for the impact he’s had on my life, the legacy he’s left behind with family and friends, and the extra time we had with him over the past year and a half. I’m thankful that I had a chance to tell him specifically the impact he’s had on my life, values and career. Over the past week I’ve written about six of those specific lessons on LinkedIn. I wrote about six of those specific lessons on LinkedIn in the days after his passing. Here are those write-ups with a few pictures of dad.

1. my dad left behind
Six Business and Life Lessons
By Matt Heinz,
founder/president,
Heinz Marketing

2. © Heinz Marketing 2018
Six Business and Life Lessons My Dad Left Behind
In March of 2018, after an 18-month battle
with pancreatic cancer, my dad passed away
peacefully in his sleep. I will eternally be
grateful for the impact he’s had on my life,
the legacy he’s left behind with family and
friends, and the extra time we had with him
over the past year and a half.
I’m thankful that I had a chance to tell him
specifically the impact he’s had on my life,
values and career. Over the past week I’ve
written about six of those specific lessons
on LinkedIn. I wrote about six of those
specific lessons on LinkedIn in the days after
his passing. Here are those write-ups with a
few pictures of dad.

3. © Heinz Marketing 2018
The importance of integrity
Lesson 1
My dad wasn’t the “sit down and let’s talk about life lessons”
type, but his actions and impact have had a profound impact on
who I am, how I work and what I’m teaching my kids to value,
prioritize and embrace in their own lives. For example, dad
taught me the importance of integrity. Do what you say you’ll do,
tell the truth always, build a reputation as someone others can
trust. He talked about integrity but more often simply lived it.
And even more important, his friends, colleagues and customers
talked about it for him. Words like trust, honesty, respect, prom-
ises kept, honor, sincerity – that’s how people describe my dad.
Integrity doesn’t mean we’re always right. It doesn’t mean we
don’t sometimes change our mind. But it does reflect a depth of
values and respect for others. My dad taught me that integrity is
a process, a system of values unto itself, a roadmap for making
daily as well as long-term decisions and priorities.

4. © Heinz Marketing 2018
Invest in relationships
Lesson 2
Dad taught me early on to invest in relationships. He was the first
to demonstrate to me the value of building relationships well
before you need them, and even when you really have no idea
how you might benefit from them in the future or at all. My dad
understood the concept of an internal buying committee well
before CEB and The Challenger Customer made that a more
understood ‘thing”. With his customers and prospects,
he built relationships equally with the owner as well as the
receptionist. He got to know who they were, what they cared
about, and used those insights to foster and augment not just
business opportunities but a greater enjoyment of life on both
sides. At church growing up, he would find attendees attending
regularly alone and make a new friend. As my dad fought cancer
these past several months, some of those who kept in touch with
him and visited most often were past customers. The impact of
his relationship-building was clearly both broad and deep.
My dad’s relationship-building was authentic. He wasn’t just
building his “first connections” or Friend Requests or ego. He
genuinely cared about people but also realized this effort was
key to success in business as well as enjoyment of life.

5. © Heinz Marketing 2018
Value, pay attention to and prioritize the little things
Lesson 3
My dad taught me to value, pay attention to and prioritize the
little things. Some people tell us to not sweat the small stuff, and
he didn’t really do that either. He cared very much about getting
details right but kept the big picture in mind. But he also knew
that little things make a big impact, get remembered, and often
could brighten someone’s day in a way that lasted a very long
time. Twenty-plus years ago when he first met my then-girlfriend,
now-wife Beth she mentioned casually that she really liked
Sugar Babies candy. For years afterward when he came by the
house he’d bring some for her. He’d remember details about his
customers and send them news clippings about their favorite
sports teams. One of this customer’s receptionists really liked
M&M’s, and he would bring her a bag every time he called on
that customer. For all I know she had a drawer full of unopened
M&M’s (just like my wife had a decade’s supply of Sugar Babies
after awhile). Those “little things” get talked about for a very
long time. Low cost, residual impact.

6. © Heinz Marketing 2018
The importance of hard work
Lesson 4
Both my father and his father taught me the importance of
hard work. To my dad and grandpa, hard work meant putting
your hard hat on every day, getting into the weeds whenever
necessary and creating value for those around you – your
customers, your company, your peers, your family. My dad often
was headed to work before I was up in the mornings growing
up, but he was always home for dinner. He may have had a
stack of paperwork under his arm for later that night, but he
prioritized our family. And when he coached my Little League
teams all those years, he worked hard at that too - organizing
practices, setting up drills, making sure we were ready to play
but also have fun. Dad worked hard at his job but also worked
hard at life. He enjoyed his work, but put just as much effort
into the house, the yard, raising good kids and so on. And when
my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 18 months ago,
he worked hard to fight it right up until the end. I’m incredibly
proud of the work ethic I’ve gleaned from my dad as well as
others in my family (grandpa, grandma and mom too). But
the biggest lesson of hard work may be that it can equally be
applied to my job as much as my family and non-work life.

7. © Heinz Marketing 2018
The importance of integrity
Lesson 5
My dad taught me to be humble, to not take myself too
seriously, to give credit freely to others. I noticed over the years
that people who worked for my dad were fiercely loyal. There
were many reasons for that, but I think a big part of it was how
openly and generously he gave credit for success to those
around him. He knew that their success was his success, that his
managers were going to give him credit for leading to success
regardless, and that passing along credit made everybody
happy, motivated and ready to go at it again. Dad was often
among the top sales performers at his company but never talked
about that. He was quick to change the subject when someone
gave him a compliment, mostly because he wanted the attention
spotlighted on others. He was serious about hard work,
serious about his customers, but his overall approach kept
others around him at ease, focused, motivated and successful.
Dad taught me how to be successful and humble, focused but
free.

8. © Heinz Marketing 2018
The importance and power of laughter
Lesson 6
This is the sixth & final post in a six-part mini-series of business &
life lessons from my dad. Dad taught me and everyone around
him the importance and power of laughter. By far, the single
most common enduring memory people have of my dad is his
laugh. I remember when I was a kid, when my dad saw people
he knew well for the first time in awhile, he’d hug them and
laugh. I asked him why he laughed in that moment. I’ll never
forget his answer: “You remember all the good times you’ve had
together with them, all the stories and jokes and experiences.
That always makes me happy, and makes me laugh.” I miss my
dad greatly, and there have been tears over the past week for
sure. But just as often, there has been laughter. Telling stories
about him, remembering, hearing the stories and jokes and
experiences that make others laugh when they think about my
dad. That’s what he would have wanted.