Pitfalls of the "High Potential"

Please forgive the posting delay, there have been a variety of great topics worthy of mention here, but time has been tight. After a recent review of The Conference Board website however, I wanted to share a great article on career growth, from two IMD professors.

Article here --> http://budurl.com/HiPoArticle

The unfortunate truth is that often academics miss critical nuances around how the real world operates, but I found their insights spot on. Since you can read the article yourself, I wanted to pull out some nuggets within their commentary that I found most useful:

1) Cultivate the most productive working relationship with your boss. Although this goes without saying, it can be an easy one to forget -- particularly if your timeframe in a specific role is "temporary". Understanding preconceived notions -- from your manager, your counterparts, and subordinates -- can help you address them and add value more quickly.

2) Managing a sense of "entitlement" -- in both yourself and others. This is funny (and a little sad at the same time), but research indicates that "the current generation’s mean narcissism score approaches that of a celebrity sample of movie stars, reality TV contestants, and famous musicians". Do you have an inflated sense of self-importance, and is it impacting the perception that others have about you?

3) The "temporary" assignment mindset. I alluded to this one earlier, but unfortunately, many companies design assignments (and incentives) in a way that prevents an employee from ultimately being accountable for the decisions that they make. This happens in job rotations and can also happen in situations like merger integrations or other extraordinary events. As the authors allude -- this not only impacts business results -- it can impact morale and social interaction when people are disconnected from the consequences of their decisions/behavior.

Building a Better Network

Read a really great article in yesterday's WSJ on "How to Be a Smart Protege", which presented some excellent ideas - for anyone trying to develop a mentoring relationship - or frankly any type of professional relationship. Some of the key concepts and the ideas presented are recounted here.

Key concepts:
1) Don't seek just one mentor, seek many. Build a "developmental network".
2) "Relationally savvy" individuals are very good at building these networks - and we can learn from them.

"Savvys" are successful because they:

• Aren't shy about initiating and maintaining contact with people that can support their development.
• Are expert at recognizing when colleagues are interested in becoming mentors
• Put a lot of work in at the start of a relationship with a mentor to make sure it is successful
• Come prepared for meetings with their mentor, and follow up/keep them up-to-date
• Share information -- they are open, sharing, and trusting
• Make it mutual - good mentees find ways to add value to the relationship
• Are personable - they're simply easy to get along with
• Have a positive attitude - see relationships as an opportunity to "build bridges"

Anyway, take the time to read this one. There's great advice in there for mentees, mentors, and anyone that could be more thoughtful about the value that they give to and receive from others.

LINK: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203937504574252141852898888.html

So you want to be a CMO...

Ever wonder what broad credentials separate senior marketers from their C-level contemporaries? As part of a conversation this week, I was guided to some white papers by Bradford McClain of Russell Reynolds, which provide some really good insight - http://www.russellreynolds.com/pdf/thought/RR0042%20Succussful_CMO_WhitePaper_8.pdf.

He references the following broad competencies:

• Strong business and financial acumen and ability to link marketing directly to corporate strategy
• Successful brand management and equity building
• Ability to develop strategy from analysis of insights
• Success driving results and delivering ROI
• Comprehensive program development skill across all relevant channels
• Ability to forge strategic alliances
• New product development skills
• Marketing and communications skills

Aside from some great content that can form the basis for a critical look at one's skills, Brad really captures the essence of the role in some other great ways. "The CMO must represent the voice of end users and be their advocate, inserting and often forcing their perspective on every relevant business issue the company faces."

The white paper also discusses critical success factors and organizational needs for the role, while acknowledging the turnover that occurs along with reasons. It is refreshing to run across someone who can articulate the role so effectively, and is also involved in identifying this talent for organizations.

If the CMO role is a career goal, these white papers are a worthwhile read. Special thanks to Jeff McCay for steering me this way!

LinkedIn

Per a previous post, I get lots of questions about LinkedIn, and why I use it. As I was doing some research for a client, I ran across a very useful post on Guy Kawasaki's blog, on the top ten ways to use this networking tool. He presents some great ideas, so check it out...

Post: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/ten_ways_to_use.html.

Becoming an Entrepreneur

Several people I've spoken with have indicated a desire (similar to mine) to start their own business, and I've shared with them some of the insights and resources that have been provided to me. To recap, they are shared here:

- Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship - As part of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, there are some great resources available for those of you that are starting a business from the "ground up". Although it's geared primarily to current students, the Center can help to provide access to those students, and businesses can also compete for funding in exchange for student participation in the business entry. If you are interested in specific contacts, let me know and after I speak with them I'll try to provide specific information in a future post.

- Franchising / Business Advice - Through networking, I've been introduced to Leo Wisniewski, who is a franchisee and coach that helps individuals identify their goals and ultimately locate an appropriate business (franchise or otherwise). Although he and I have only been working together a short time, he's shared some very valuable insights, and I encourage you to reach out to him, which you can do here: http://www.mydreambiz.net/MoreAboutLeo.htm. For a later post, and without stealing any of Leo's thunder, I'll briefly share two important points he impressed upon me, but I encourage you to explore Leo's own blog, radio show, and contact him directly.

My early conversations with multiple individuals on starting a business have been very encouraging, and I'm happy to help provide introductions to folks that might benefit from some of the resources I've been privileged enough to speak with, so reach out if the interest is there.

Who's Who in B2B Marketing

Just published list of "who's who" via B2B Magazine, w/brief profiles: http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=whoswho

Career Advice

Just a link to an NYT author, Marci Alboher, for an article that I recently cited and her past articles: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/marci_alboher/index.html.

Hopefully you can find something useful in her columns (as I have).

Strengthsfinder

A friend and colleague recently mentioned this book to me, and it has proven beneficial (here's the companion site):http://www.strengthsfinder.com/. The book is about identifying your strengths, and then leveraging them.

The simple premise of the book is based on the finding that "people who have an opportunity to focus on their strengths are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general. In other words, people that do what they are good, love what they do, and are they are ultimately happier. This finding is consistent others that I've seen based on how well each of us focus on our specific "aptitudes".

What's refreshing about this book is that 1) there's a lot of truth to what it says and 2) the focus is on strengths, not weaknesses. Give it a look, it's a worthwhile read.

Self-Promotion

I recently ran across what I found to be a very good article that outlines the various views that people have about the way they share information about themselves: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/02/business/smallbusiness/02webshifting.html?ex=1184212800&en=da7737e87939ef7f&ei=5070.

As someone that recently began getting involved in LinkedIn (and writing a Blog), I interact with a lot of people that see these activities one way or another. Some people wonder why I participate in the LinkedIn networking tool (and may even feel like I share too much information about my background, etc), while others have personally experienced the benefit of developing relationships with other people online.

The author's article is a fair expression of the inner discussion that I've had with myself about how one can share information with others about their specific capabilities, without doing so in an un-toward fashion. For me, the risk that I have taken in providing information online has allowed me to meet a variety of other individuals, and be presented w/opportunities. Ultimately, it's a method to try to provide some value and in a small way "make the world a better place".

People are all different, the hope is that those of us that are willing to share information about ourselves are not being seen as "self-promoters", just individuals that want to identify and conduct meaningful interactions with others --- isn't that what life is all about?