Providence, R.I. - Motivational speaker John F. Robitaille '70 told Providence College undergraduate inductees to the Tau Pi Phi National Business Administration Honor Society that knowledge and action are the keys to empowerment and success in the business world.

The senior advisor for communications to Rhode Island Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, Robitaille was the featured speaker during the induction ceremony on May 16. The program took place in the Smith Center for the Arts on the PC campus.

"Success is where knowledge and action converge. Knowledge without action is wasted," said Robitaille, who prior to joining the governor's staff was president and chief executive officer of Perspective Communications Group, Inc., of Middletown, R.I. 

Thirty-nine members of the Class of 2008 were inducted into the College's Omicron Chapter of Tau Pi Phi during the ceremony. The students represented the fields of accountancy, finance, management, and marketing. The chapter's induction ceremony was the first since the College established the School of Business in July 2007.

Founded in 1931, Tau Pi Phi recognizes the academic achievements of students in several business-related disciplines. Members of the Omicron Chapter must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 in their major as well as an overall GPA of 3.50 or higher. PC's chapter is one of 15 collegiate chapters nationally.

Introduced by the founding dean of the School of Business, Dr. Sue Lehrman, Robitaille first gave the audience of students, family members, and administrators a synopsis of his life personally and professionally.

Growing up in a six-family tenement in a poor neighborhood in Central Falls, R.I., he worked and studied diligently as a youth. He later entered PC, became a member of its ROTC Program, and attained a bachelor's degree in business management. Robitaille also earned a master's degree in human resource management from the University of Utah.

A U.S. Army veteran, he spent years working in the communications industry before founding Perspective in 1987. The company, which is now run by his wife, Lynda, specializes in video production services, multimedia solutions, meetings and events production, and Web casting. Its clients have included Textron, Kellogg's, Bank of America, and Staples.

Robitaille, who is a member of PC's Providence President's Council, told the young scholars that they need a variety of tools to be successful. "If you go through life with only a hammer, everything is going to look like a nail," he said.

He then introduced his "tool kit for success," expounding upon and giving examples of nine essential qualities successful business people must have: belief in self; a 360-degree perspective; creativity; the willingness to manage change; good health physically, emotionally, and spiritually; and the ability to take action, to manage fears, to learn from failure, and to communicate effectively. 

"I'll leave you with my last piece of advice - the three L's," said Robitaille. "You should live passionately, laugh often, and love yourself and those around you."

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