CONVERSATIONS WITH PEDRO J. PICK.

A conversation with Pedro was always inspiring.

In late 2003 the numerous friends of Venezuelan-Czech businessman and scholar Pedro J. Pick were shocked to receive his message about being seriously ill with a lymphoma. In February 2004 another message informed us that the cancer had spread to the brain, a very rare condition for which, Pedro told us with indomitable optimism, there was no cure “as yet”. In this new message Pedro added: “I am not taking this news lying down. My game plan is to eat and exercise in order to strengthen the body – and I am doing it”. “Together with radiation and chemotherapy”, he said, “this plan would give me increased quality of life and 6-18 months to live”. He approached his very serious medical condition in the same manner he had approached everything else in his life: with courage, determination and clear strategies. In later weeks and months he kept his friends informed of his fight. He told us that the key to fighting cancer was to “kill cancer cells without killing the patient”, what he described as a tightrope act which required close monitoring on the part of doctors and patient. “I am hanging in there”, he told us.
He also let us know some of his thoughts about life and death. Although we were miles away, these messages from Pedro had an intimate quality, close to being seated next to him, almost as if we were having a fireside chat with him in his beloved Vermont home, while snowflakes and, later, the birds of early spring came to rest outside his window.

On death.
Given his condition the subject of death loomed large in his mind. “Nobody wants to die”, he told us, “but since we are not Jesus or Lazarus, the issue then becomes how to die. Some people die young, in accidents, they have no alternatives…but a growing number of people are hanging on to life with the help of medical breakthroughs in medical procedures… they have the support of family and friends”. He added: “My plan is not only long-term survival but actually to get cured”. If his medical condition was incurable, so was his optimism. I believe this optimism was one of the main characteristics of his nature, next to a very enthusiastic and hardworking attitude. This was a formidable combination that led to his success, not only in business but also to his overall success in life. He always had a solution to his friends’ problems. His own medical problem he saw, in a very detached manner, as a matter of statistics and probabilities, in a way that strongly resembled the attitude of the great U.S. paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould (“Bully for Brontosaurus”, chapter 32: “The Median isn’t the message”). As Stephen Jay Gould, threatened by mesothelioma, would say, “the average mortality of an illness tells us that half of the people afflicted with the disease will live longer”. Pedro was determined to be in that half. The distribution of variation about the median is almost always right skewed. This means that some patients afflicted with a serious disease, such as Pedro’s or Gould’s would live long after the average point of life expectancy had been passed. Pedro’s strategy was focused on preparing his body and soul to be in the right, asymptotic tail of that curve. He told us: “I decided that the spirit has an influence over matter and that I can wage war against this new enemy”. Again, I noticed the similarity of Pedro’s views with those of Stephen Jay Gould, who said: “It has become a bit too trendy to regard the acceptance of death as something tantamount to intrinsic dignity. Of course I agree with the preacher of Ecclesiastes that there is a time to live and a time to die - and when my skein runs out I hope to face the end calmly and in my own way. For most situations, however, I prefer the more martial view that death is the ultimate enemy - and I find nothing reproachable in those who rage mightily against the dying of the light”.
“My determination”, continued Pedro, “became focused and clear…. what is needed is that one believes in the possibility of one’s recovery. Our brain combines the cognitive and emotional signals and then does what it does. miraculous things can happen… my positiveness and determination are enhanced by lack of pain which is disappearing as I get stronger through exercising and eating a lot”. Pedro jumped in the battlefield with typical determination.
“My life priorities have clearly shifted… now is my healing, my family and friends, and some work, mostly pro-bono…. Why do I tell you this?” Pedro asked. And continued: “it helps me and, who knows, maybe others will rethink their priorities”.
Of the many gifts I received from Pedro Pick this last piece of advice was probably the most precious. He had already showered me, as he did all his friends, with attentions and support but this simple advice about “rethinking priorities” is the one that has influenced me the most during the last five years. I have been totally dedicated to my family, to reading, listening to good (and bad) music, looking for (and drinking) $10-a-bottle drinkable wines, fighting an often lonely battle against a dictator in Venezuela and lecturing, mostly to younger people, about ethics and principles and about the need of never making small concessions about principles and values, because they will invariably lead to bigger and bigger ones.

About doing things, in preference to talking about things.
“I have observed throughout my life that good execution depends on focus. In the 60’s and 70’s I built and operated several chemical factories that are still producing high-quality products. At the same time I founded the Venezuelan Chemical Association in order to [interact] with government authorities in the sector, an effort that lasted more than twenty years. Later, with the help of Harvard professors George Cabot Lodge, James Austin and Jorge Dominguez, as well as local businessmen, we founded the Santa Lucia Group [a Venezuelan think tank that included private and public, first rank people]. Soon after I created NOMOS, at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs, a similar group to LIPAS in the Czech Republic [also created by Pedro]”. He added: “If you do what you really like to do you have great probabilities of success… I am interested in what makes people tick and chose to put a lot of time in management, seminars, advising individuals… it gives me a lot of satisfaction”.
Pedro had many ideas but they did not linger long in his mind. He put life in them. He was a good thinker but he was an even better doer. As such, he had no time to become a visionary.

On Corruption.
Pedro told us: “Talking about Venezuela in the 1950’s and 1960’s my father said that democracy is OK but with it comes the democratization of corruption…. Unless there are strong values in society many people take democracy as a license to steal. Corruption has many forms. Not only misreporting corporate results, buying politicians and judges… but there are dozen of other types of corruption which might not involve megabucks but are just as corrosive: to advertise for jobs that have already been spoken for, gifts to charities to assure the loyalty of some people… special treatment to “national champions’, payments to facilitate things”. And he added: “Can anything be done? The change must come from the young, the new generations. It involves teaching of values and ethics, public sector governance, corporate governance; promote social debate about these topics…. In short, improve social ethos”. To Pedro, these were not abstract matters but very real and could and should be put straight. His work for many years was along the lines of creating discussion and promoting action about these problems. The Santa Lucia Group in Venezuela still is one of the most influential think tanks in the country, even in these dark times. Sharing an office with Pedro at Harvard during the early 1980’s generated much of my own interest and led to my work on corruption ten years later. Once I traveled to Caracas and had a chance to meet Pedro’s father. I realized where Pedro’s drive came from. Pick Sr., although born in Prague, seemed to be made of “guayacan”, the strongest of all Venezuelan woods. Pedro’s ethics came from his father’s.

About Politeness and Courtesy.
“I have always been careful in all my dealings to be fair and courteous… “. Pedro was a very cordial man. He had a great sense of humor, smiled frequently and was an excellent listener. Only after listening would he react with an opinion. He also said: “This means that you cannot buy books to become an excellent manager or leader… you must spend time in the trenches and learn by experience… “. To be a good listener and a cordial person is largely a matter of training. As Pedro gained acceptance among his peers and subordinates he only intensified these traits.

On Life Planning.
“Is probably wise to lock in your life goals early… musical virtuoso, successful manager, millionaire, just a happy family guy. Things tend to change, which requires major rethinking of early goals. Thus early-life training in adapting to changing conditions is invaluable (learn other languages, understand other cultures, live abroad, gain friends from different backgrounds). Planning is the benchmark for making and tracking changes over time”. In living by this credo Pedro became a citizen of the world, equally at ease in Caracas, Cambridge, Massachusetts or Prague, talking to laborers in a chemical plant or discussing matters of state policy with ministers or heads of state.

Code of Ethics.
“Early in life, settle on your own specific set of ethical principles –which is not easy because ethics is a process of competitive truths…. You should make clear choices rather than sitting on a fence and waffle it. In my case I try to consider the Ten Commandments as mot important, specially justice, moderation, courage, human rights and wisdom. A few suspect things to watch: science without ethics, industry and agriculture that destroy the environment, omnipotent technologies and unchained consumerism… in order to achieve anything you must believe in something (God, nature.) because without beliefs you cannot harness and focus your psychological strengths to make things happen…. As Erick Eriksson said: Hope is the basic ingredient of all struggle…. You must earn your rights everyday… others get better all the time”. What impressed his friends was the clarity Pedro had about his ethical posture, no hesitations in doing what had to be done, regardless of the cost.

On Leadership.
“Probably all that is to be known about this subject has already been written in thousands of books from Machiavellian to Drucker. I know that you really can do whatever you want to do and be successful. Real leadership is getting unpopular things done, which have long-term benefits for others (populists give people what they want and they sink together)… Leadership is not about you but about your followers, you serve them… motivate them, listen to them… and sometimes accept their views.. coach them to bring out the best in them. Successful leaders can [and should] be in the trenches and in the balcony at the same time; to plan specific strategies for a battle and manage the whole war…one is not born a leader. Talent helps but [leadership] must be learned, honed, practiced diligently. Self-delusions of one’s greatness are dangerous… Authority and leadership are different things”.
Pedro was a leader, yes, but he also knew when to follow. He was disciplined enough to know that one can be a leader in some cases and a follower in others. In fact, those who know how to follow often make the best leaders. Pedro’s main tool to assert his leadership was persuasion.

On democracy in the Andean countries.
“Obviously a clear change for the better in these countries would come from legalizing drugs in the consuming countries and using the savings for [global] education”. This is an idea that is slowly taking root, that the fight against drugs can only be won if the terms of the battle are changed.

On Friendship.
Pedro did not need to talk to us about friendship. He practiced it intensely. He touched a multitude of lives and tried to extend protective wings on the young, the old, on the friend trying to write a book and on the manager in despair. I wrote a book on Venezuelan petroleum in the 1980’s, mainly due to his constant encouragement and, even, prodding. After it was published he sent dozens of letters to friends recommending it and personally bought at least 50 copies to distribute. I once accompanied him to a Boston hospital to visit a friend who was in poor shape. Later I knew that Pedro was paying all the medical bills. He made us feel he was always ready to help, whenever this was needed. I was only one of many who felt this support, which could be both spiritual and material.
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Pedro left us over four years ago, in October 2004. Recently I came across a notice about a young and bright student having won the Pedro J. Pick Graduate Student Award at Harvard University and felt very moved to see that his example and the record he left behind at Harvard keeps being a guiding light for the young. I searched for the notes he wrote to his friends during the months of 2004, when he was in the middle of his gallant battle against the “ultimate enemy”. I felt it would be a good idea to help disseminate his views on the several topics he discussed with us just before his death.
I do it just as a small gesture of gratitude for a person who became an important and beneficial influence in my life.