The Learn about the Laureates series is back so you can learn more about the three 2020 Washington Business Hall of Fame inductees!
We asked Ed a few questions so that you could get to know him better, and here’s what he had to say.
DR. EDWARD H. BERSOFF
Chairman, Greenwich Associates, LLC
Chairman, Parabilis, LLC
JA: What was the hardest job you have ever done?
Ed: Hard jobs come in two forms, those that are physically hard and those that are mentally hard. From a physical perspective, my hardest job was as a young, newly-minted officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. In basic officer training we built bridges, dug trenches and did unending physical training. It was hard work, but it put me in the best shape I’ve ever been! A few years later, as a young first-tier manager, I had to lay off a highly skilled employee due to lack of work. Although I’ve had to do that same job on other occasions, it is still very hard to do.
JA: Did you have a mentor or a role model over the course of your career?
Ed: I have been blessed with a succession of mentors over the years. Each helped me at a crucial, but different, point in my career. There was Morris Kline, my doctoral thesis advisor, who defined for me a career path in higher education that at the time was where I thought I was headed. Then there was Frank Tung, my branch chief at NASA, who exposed me to the world of computer research and the mysterious ways of government contracting. Finally there was Wayne Shelton and Earle Williams, icons in the Government Contracting community who did their vital work with passion, integrity and class.
JA: What is the one thing you want the Greater Washington business community to know about your company this year?
Ed: We started Parabilis just over seven years ago to fill a need that small and medium sized businesses had for reasonably priced non-bank financing. That business concept has proved wildly successful and we have the testimonials to prove it. We consider it a success when businesses “graduate” and leave us to secure more traditional bank credit facilities. What we want everyone to know is that in spite of the extraordinary stress that COVID-19 has placed on the Greater Washington business community, we are still here and ready, able and anxious to serve.
JA: If you were to create a slogan or theme song for your life, what would it be?
Ed: Many years ago, I was taken by the motto of my Alma Mater, New York University. It goes “Perstare et Praestare,” which is generally translated as “to persevere and to excel.” Perseverance is essential for any business owner/founder/entrepreneur. There are just too many roadblocks that we confront every day to assume that life will always proceed smoothly. Later, I came across another impressive quote, this one by Winston Churchill, who said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” And now, looking back, I can’t help but think of that old song by Air Supply, “Sweet Dreams.”
JA: If you could choose one person, living or dead, to have dinner with, who would it be?
Ed: There are so many people both living or dead that have impacted my life over the years. They run the gamut from Dante Alighieri to Saint Thomas Aquinas, from Ayn Rand to Albert Camus, from George Orwell to Rene Descartes. But if I had to pick one person, it would probably be Robert Pirsig, the author of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” That strangely titled book digs deeply into the role that quality, and dedication to it, should play in our daily lives. I’d love to ask Pirsig how he came to think about the subject, how it transformed him, and what impact it had on his later years. The book definitely changed my world view and I would certainly want to thank him for that.
JA: The future looks uncertain and challenging for young people. What should students be doing today to help prepare them for a successful tomorrow?
Ed: I am the father to four daughters, the grandfather of eleven grandchildren and the great-grandfather of a two year old boy. In those roles I feel particularly invested in helping them navigate their respective futures and the uncertain tomorrows they will face. To start with, a broad, general education is a must. That does not mean that everyone must go to college, but they must get exposed to a broad spectrum of thought. After that they can specialize and become a plumber or a brain surgeon, confident that those skills are supported by a concrete understanding of how the world works. Then they need to be agents for change. It’s not enough to live in the world, we must all work to make the world a better place. They can do that by focusing on equal justice or climate change or so many other things. But a life worth living is not about taking, it’s really about giving!
“ It’s not enough to live in the world, we must all work to make the world a better place. ”
JA: What can the Greater Washington business community do to embrace a more diverse and inclusive workforce?
Ed: Unfortunately, as with most complicated problems, there are no simple solutions. And it’s not about “embracing” a more diverse workforce, it’s about creating that workforce. It starts at the top. Companies and their executives must live diversity in the boardroom and the executive suite. The messages sent by those inclusive actions are real and are understood by the candidates for employment who will recognize when they are welcomed into the workplace. Then we need to support, both through advocacy and financial support, initiatives promoting education, healthcare, housing and nutrition among the population most in need of those initiatives. An educated and healthy population will ultimately yield a diverse and inclusive workforce.
JA: Do you have a teacher or educator over the course of your schooling who had lasting impact on your life?
Ed: I’ve had a long list of memorable teachers over the years. But the one that stands out for me was an unorthodox Professor of Philosophy at NYU, Marvin Zimmerman. As a math major with a passing interest in the relationship of math and philosophy, I took his course in logic, a topic that lies at the intersection of those two disciplines. While he certainly covered the topic in his lectures, it was his passion, his energy, his wit and his intellect that made we want to come to class every day. It was because of him that I changed my minor from physics to philosophy and went on to continue those studies well into my graduate education.
Join us December 2, 2020 as we honor and induct Ed and two other outstanding Washingtonians into the Washington Business Hall of Fame Re-Imagined!