Allan Kalish: My Favorite Subject

Decided to write something about my favorite subject. No, it’s not baseball which I played until I couldn’t catch a simple pop up. Neither is it the ad or marketing field which I made a living from for many, many years. Nor is it my wonderful granddaughter who is beautiful, bright and loving. Even still, it isn’t project management software for ad agencies.
Maybe you guessed it. Favorite subject? Me, myself & I !!!!! Yup, that’s the way it is for us human people. Check it out. Take a look in the mirror and decide for yourself.
So, with that background, here goes.
Born in Pittsburgh. Still a Pirates and Steelers fan but don’t tell my friends at the Phillies or Eagles. (Clever way to tell you where I live but who cares?)
Until age eleven, lived in a farm-like place across the Allegheny River from the metropolis of Kittanning, Pennsylvania. Depression home with sixteen adults and me and only one bathroom. Ugh.
Never knew my father. Bad guy, I’m told. Mother remarried and we moved to Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Reading, PA. Nice place and I learned to understand “We too soon old and get too late schmart.” and “Cross the street over.”
High school? The Principal loved me — and me him. (I know there’s a better, grammatical way to say this but readers get it.) Was president of my class, a semi-star on our championship basketball team and went steady with the best looking cheerleader. What’s not to love?
College? Lafayette in Easton, Pennsylvania. One year of patriotic studies in engineering plus basketball, baseball and football. Misplaced. Badly. Almost flunked out. Gave up a deferment to fight for my county in World War II. Now you know I’m an old guy. Still a firm patriot. Love our country. Visit some of the memorials and you will, too.
The war!! Training…Sent to England…Invasion of France…Battle of the Bulge. 30 months of service, 21 months overseas, 5 “major” battles and discharged 4 months before I was 21. War is a young person’s sport.They never explained the meaning of “major.” Seemed to me that they were all super-major.
Back to Lafayette. Became a Big Man on Campus. Still had to pay for train rides, buses and a coke. Learned that BMOC was in my own mind. Noone else cared. Except my Mother. Today? I’m old enough to be called a guru in the ad and marketing community. What that really means is that almost all of my peers/competitors are dead or living in Florida. Stick around long enough and you, too, can be a guru.
Ended up in the Ad Agency business & loved it. Sold my agency and started consulting. Great career. Didn’t have to do anything other than advise others what to do and evaluate their progress.
Retirement ain’t for me. I love being founder and chairman of a great little software company. It’s called Workzone in case you want to check it out, especially if you are looking for new ad agency software.
Here’s a useful tip for you if you’re an agency-person or a client-person. When a business relationship starts, the charges can frequently be the source of tension. If you are a huge company with a huge budget or if you are a giant agency, this tip might not apply. Otherwise, read on.
Suggest a fee for the first four or five months. The only thing certain about a proposed fee is that it’s wrong. Wrong because neither party knows enough to be correct about agency charges and client expectations. After a few months, you will understand each other and will be well equipped to decide what the agency should be paid in order to deliver superb service and earn a fair profit.
More later. Not about me. More tips from an old guy’s perspective. I like to believe that my long suit is “advice.”
Allan Kalish is co-founder and Chairman of Workzone, LLC, a provider of web-based project management software and collaboration tools for ad agencies, marketing departments and any organization needing to manage projects more effectively.
Last updated on June 3, 2025