Cam Marston is a man of many talents.  His latest creation, Alabama Writers Showcase, is on Alabama Public Radio and features writers like John Nielson, telling his fictional story set in John’s hometown of Evergreen, Alabama.

Each Friday morning and afternoon, Cam narrates a short, three-minute segment on Alabama Public Radio called "Keeping It Real." In its 8th year, he has written and produced over 330 such segments. He doesn’t get paid for this popular weekly content, but tells me it’s a creative endeavor he enjoys.

Cam also produces a podcast called What’s Working with Cam Marston. When Covid-19 interrupted the series's ability to produce new content, he wrote a book titled What Works: The Ten Best Ideas from the First 200 Episodes. Dedicated to his mom, Judy Marston, he tells me, “These weren’t necessarily what I considered the best podcast episodes, but the best ideas that came from them.” What Works is the fifth book he’s published to date.

What gives Cam the ability to keep things real, offer sage advice, and communicate these thoughts for free on public radio?  Well, he has another job/business, as a highly sought-after communications consultant, and his services can be transformational for business leaders and their frontline teams.

The name of the business is Generational Insights. It’s a niche business that focuses on workplace, workforce, and marketplace trends as they relate to the generations that compose workplaces and consumers today. In layman's terms, Cam helps his clients better understand the generational differences they encounter every day and build strong relationships because of it.

Born in Mobile, Cam attended Tulane University, where he joined a fraternity and was a member of the rowing team. He graduated in 1991 with a degree in Communications. “I wasn’t enamored with the idea of graduating with a degree in communications, but after talking to my dad about changing majors, my father said, “You have four years,” so that was that. I had 18 months left and just wanted to come out with a degree.”

After college, he headed to Atlanta to look for a job. He landed with Nestlé Brand's Food Service Company and became a food salesman. He relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, and his territory was the eastern part of the state. “The best thing that happened to me while in Raleigh was meeting Lisa Radford. She is my wife and the mother of our four children.” 

The products Cam sold were sauces of every variety - tomato paste, salsa, and chillies - and the goal was to sell directly to the end users, the chefs, rather than going through food brokers. “I’d go to the back of the restaurant, look for the greasiest doorknob, without knocking, and just walk in and hand the chef… really, they were cooks - three samples in plastic soufflé cups. I knew the products would likely find traction, especially if there was a buffet at the restaurant.” 

He tells me there is an old adage that states: ‘once you are in food service, you are always in food service.’ “I knew I wasn’t going to stay in this industry, but I recognized that this experience would be a key to my next job. I certainly learned to get over my fear of cold calling, how to handle objections, to know your product line, and how to schedule your day. Nestle had a comprehensive sales training program that was a big benefit to my career experience.”

After three years at Nestlé, he took a job in Washington, D.C. with TCI Companies, an event management and marketing firm. They worked with corporations to plan conferences for industries like pharmaceuticals and finance. The goal was to shadow the CEO for six months and then open a branch office in Charlotte. “During this time, I determined I wanted to own my own business.”

Cam’s father was a second-generation dentist in Mobile. His mom, Judy Marston, had developed a reputation for leading seminars for women in the workplace, covering subjects such as dressing for success and other forms of professionalism. She was well known throughout the Speakers Bureau network and was the catalyst for Cam to venture out on his own.

He started his self-employment journey by conducting exit surveys and focus groups for his existing clients. Employees would tell him things they wouldn’t tell their employer. Gradually, Cam had a bookcase of three-ring binders full of data and details from various clients. Trends began emerging from the content, and he began asking HR associations if he could be a luncheon speaker to explain the trends in hopes of booking more exit surveys and focus groups. 

One day, Cam reached out to an organization to ask if they would consider him as a luncheon speaker. Instead, they asked him to lead a regional HR  meeting on workplace trends in the marketplace and why people are leaving their employers. “I was skeptical at first, then they told me they would pay me.” ”Is this something you are qualified to do?” he was asked. ”Absolutely,” he replied. “I was terrified, certain I would be exposed as a fraud. I studied for two weeks and pulled it off.” 

“I was ready to explore this line of work,” says Cam. “It was coming easily. Then, with Mom’s connections, she and I worked together. She introduced me to her contacts, and we received requests to be keynote speakers, act as meeting facilitators, and keep things on track and relevant regarding workplace trends.” He and his mom shared the stage and worked the Human Resources network.

“I was 25 years old and standing in front of people twice my age, telling them about business trends and generational differences that are important to know to have better success.” 

After five years or so, Judy told Cam she was retiring, and he was on his own. She reached out to her network to let them know that Cam was available to offer communications seminars. By this time, he had become proficient at leading these workshops, which subsequently produced good results for clients. Cam is a personable guy. He likes people and enjoys doing the research necessary to understand generational trends, regardless of industry. “Companies hire me to learn about others, but end up learning more about themselves.” 

He’s written and published five books on the subject of workplace trends. “Content is king,” he says. His content has led to him being hired to deliver a workshop for physicians at a hospital in San Bernardino, California, on how to better communicate and lead their teams. Cam does in-depth preparation to ensure his message is effective for each particular audience.

As we meet, he tells me that in the coming week, he is flying to Colorado Springs to deliver a seminar to the Home Furnishings Association of America. He will teach them how 50 and 60-year-olds can better communicate with 30-somethings who, during major life stage transitions, become the prime purchasers of furniture.

From there, he flies to Seattle to address Coldstream Wealth Management Group on how 30-somethings can better relate to Baby Boomers seeking retirement strategies. Cam hands me an “Engage Me Card” highlighting Baby Boomer, Generation Z, Generation X, and Millennials characteristics and trends for each generation. It's a sort of communication cheat sheet for building trust between age groups.

“I teach what to expect when dealing with people outside your age group. This is essential to understand if you are going to effectively communicate and build trust with other segments of society. I enjoy doing the research and collecting data, and practicing the presentations. About 40% of what I teach is universal, but the rest is industry-specific and changing every day. At these sessions, I can do a simple one-hour keynote or conduct 2- or 3-hour workshops with a lot of discussion or role play.”

Cam works closely with a demographics professor to stay current. His right-hand person, Helen Broder in Wilmington, North Carolina, has been with him for 15 years. She manages calendars and contracts. Cam is content-focused. “Once Helen determines we are a good fit for an organization, and gets the details of what the client is seeking, I will have a conversation with them and begin preparing.”

Cam recently conducted two and a half day intensive workshops in Mobile called the Generational Insights Communications Academy. Corporations send management so that they can become better communicators and leaders. He has another one scheduled in November. “It is a thrill stepping up in front of an audience, regardless of whether there are twelve people in a workshop or several thousand in an arena. I enjoy being with my clients and delivering my research. It’s both a study and a performance.” 

With four kids still in school, he and Lisa lead busy lives, and he admits that travel and hotels aren’t as exciting as they were when he was younger. 

“I was doing 85 events a year, sometimes more, until Covid-19 hit. Currently, I’m working with about 25 clients, with one or two outside the U.S. We are in talks with a group that will host a conference in the Bahamas in January. Sometimes Lisa will accompany me on these trips, which makes it nice. We went to Brazil in February on a wonderful work trip. I’d like to expand the local two-and-a-half-day Academy seminars to 12 participants per session, held monthly. I’ve learned eleven participants are not enough, and thirteen is too many.” 

The results speak for themselves. One recent participant from the non-profit world said of the experience, “I was so far out of my comfort zone, but I learned so many useful skills.” One skill Cam teaches in the Academy is how to truly listen and pause a moment or two before responding. “This tells your listener that you value what they are telling you, and you considered your response before answering.”

That’s good advice for all of us! Go to Cam Marston to learn how you can empower your team through generational communication.