When I first joined Leo Burnett, I didn’t know Steve Persico personally—only by reputation. A long-time agency executive who had started there as an intern, Steve was deeply devoted to the place. In my first week, he mailed me a book on creativity by Sir John Hegarty. That gesture planted a seed that would later grow into a book club I started at the agency—one that connected interns with executives, one book at a time.
I didn't always agree with Steve. But it’s impossible to deny the influence he had on me. He jumpstarted my reading habit, challenged my thinking, and even encouraged me—though he strongly disapproved at first—when I left Leo to pursue a business degree.
Now, after nearly 20 years at Leo Burnett, Steve left the agency. And he published his own book: "Knock Wood: True Stories from a Catastrophizer."
Don’t read it just because it was written by one of the most celebrated Canadian ad minds. Read it because it’s rare: raw, real, insightful, and courageous. It’s a first-person account with no gloss, no “Instagram-perfect” overcoming—just humanity, in all its funny, sad, messy truth. It’s a book with a soul. It's an original.
What I took away from it is what made Steve a legend in advertising and how he’s managed to hold onto his humility. The book doesn’t waste a second of your time. It’s simply well-written, and it leaves you better than it found you.
Greatness is born through character. Character is built through overcoming.
