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During the 2024 Professional Speechwriters Association annual conference, One Strategy Group CEO David Meadvin participated in a fireside chat with PSA Executive Director David Murray. Through personal stories and career experiences, Meadvin shared how his journey from political speechwriter to CEO advisor and strategist has shaped his approach to leadership, trust, and strategic communication.
Reflecting on his first job as a speechwriter to a governor fresh out of college, Meadvin recalled an early encounter with a former presidential speechwriter who bluntly told him, “Speechwriting is the best dead-end job in the world.” Meadvin explained how the comment lingered and became a catalyst for exploring paths beyond the traditional speechwriter role. “It made me think critically about where I wanted to go,” he explained.
From that first job, Meadvin traced the path that took him to Capitol Hill, where he served as chief speechwriter to the U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He worked amidst some of the country’s most pivotal moments, including the Iraq War, the 2008 financial crisis, and the development of the Affordable Care Act. The pace and the high-stakes atmosphere, he recalled, forged his ability to deliver with both accuracy and speed.
“When you’re in politics, it’s not always about crafting the most elegant speech. It’s about delivering something credible and timely,” he explained. But beyond his writing responsibilities, the role taught him how to use a “seat at the table” to take on ever larger roles. “Speechwriters naturally have access to the principal. Over time, I realized I could either remain as a silent observer or use that access to build trust and credibility,” he said.
Following his years on the Hill, Meadvin transitioned to the corporate world, where he would eventually write for high-profile companies such as Bloomberg, Facebook, and Citadel. While the private sector presented new challenges, it was also where he began to understand the distinct motivations of business leaders versus political figures. “In politics, leaders often want headlines; in the corporate world, many CEOs would rather avoid them,” he said.
One of Meadvin’s most impactful experiences came during his time at Bloomberg, where he worked under CEO Dan Doctoroff, a former deputy mayor of New York City. Doctoroff’s high expectations and rigorous feedback helped solidify Meadvin’s standards for excellence. “One morning, after working on a speech for weeks, I got my draft back from Dan with just one comment in his signature green ink: ‘This is a six,’” he recalled. “That comment stuck with me because it was the equivalent of saying – ‘you can do better.’ It made me realize that settling for a ‘six’—something that’s good enough but not exceptional—can become the standard if we don’t push for more.”
Now the CEO of One Strategy Group, Meadvin described how these experiences in both public and private sectors influenced the company’s approach. Murray asked Meadvin how he determines what’s within the firm’s purview, given the breadth of services. “There are plenty of things that are outside my personal area of expertise” he noted, “but nothing’s above our collective expertise. We’re all about building the all-star team that can cover our clients’ most critical needs.”
Murray closed with a question about staying relevant in a world where AI and digital communications are reshaping traditional speechwriting. Meadvin was candid in his response, advising attendees to “avoid being a six.” In a world where average work can easily be outsourced or automated, he suggested that the value of a trusted advisor will only increase. “If you’re exceptional and build trust, you’ll always be valued,” he said, adding, “the writing may become a commodity, but relationships and trust are irreplaceable.”
