Richard Huttner – 50th Reunion Essay

Richard Huttner

29B Kennedy Road

Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930

rich.huttner@gmail.com

508-808-2021

Spouse(s): Marcia Huttner (1980, still married — almost 38 years)

Child(ren): Elizabeth (1982); Matthew (1985)

Grandchild(ren): Owen Z. Huttner (2015)

Education: Yale, BA, 1969; Stanford Graduate School of Business, MBA, 1971

National Service: Lt., US Army (reserve) 71-75

Career: Book publisher Fawcett, Rodale Books. CEO sundry magazine and direct marketing companies, Owner Crestcom MA franchise (leadership and management skills training)

Avocations: President of nonprofit that tutors the GED, exercising for health, helping my kids with their careers

College: Davenport

What did I learn at Yale that helped me in my life? I honestly can’t say it was the fun stuff: the beers at Morey’s, the football games with Brian and Calvin, the Yale night shirt present that was my opening gambit with weekend dates from Wellesley, the partying with my six Davenport roommates at “The Cottage” —all those things that made life merry. Nor was it the lifelong friendships I formed at Yale although I value these friends to this very day.

Rather, it was the discipline of study. Freshman year, I started off in a whirl of singing group concerts and weekend partying. Life was good. But my father reacted to my first freshman grade report with a letter that ended, “Son, it’s one thing to be happy at Yale; it’s another to be happy at the bottom of your class.”

So, I became what I really did not care to become, a disciplined student. I could argue that I really should have lived the life I wanted to: in the spirit of the times, free to experiment and explore. This became my road not taken. Instead, I learned that if I worked hard enough, I could earn academic distinction. This meant I had to put my seat of the pants in the chair and draw upon as much of the good, but not great, brain power I had.

How did learning how to really apply myself—even if I wasn’t deeply interested in the subject—pay off? My career turned out to be one in which I constantly had to adapt. I started off in print publishing, becoming, eventually, a magazine entrepreneur. Then, with the rise of the Internet and the decline of print, I switched to insurance and finance, followed by a sojourn in direct marketing. Then, I bought a leadership and management skills training business and had to work a disciplined system to make the business successful. Finally, I taught Organizational Behavior at Northeastern and had to give my students continual, meaningful feedback on their written work. (Lest you get the wrong impression, one of my students wrote in his instructor review, “That Huttner has a young heart.” In fact, the class presented me with a poster of appreciation.)

All through my career, my wife and kids had stability. I made up my mind I was going to do right by them. I’ve been with the same lovely, loving woman for nearly 38 years, and my son and daughter are married, stable, and hardworking. (My daughter thanks me every month or so for my not burdening her with student loans.) Finally, I am blessed with a darling grandchild.

So, I may not have been the most fun guy at Yale, but it’s been a meaningful life, and I’m proud of how it’s gone.