Marketing Musings: The Marketer's Attitude

Re-posted from Seth Godin's Blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/11/the-marketers-a.html

Traditional job requirements: show up, sober. Listen to the boss, lift heavy objects.Here's what I

I'd want if I were hiring a marketer:You're relentlessly positive. You can visualize complex projects and imagine alternative possible outcomes. It's one thing to talk about thinking outside the box, it's quite another to have a long history of doing it successfully. You can ride a unicycle, or can read ancient Greek.

Show me that you've taken on and completed audacious projects, and run them as the lead, not as a hanger on. I'm interested in whether you've become the best in the world at something, and completely unimpressed that you are good at following instructions (playing Little League baseball is worth far less than organizing a non-profit organization).

You have charisma in that you easily engage with strangers and actually enjoy selling ideas to others. You are comfortable with ambiguity, and rarely ask for detail or permission. Test, measure, repeat and go work just fine for you.You like to tell stories and you're good at it.

You're good at listening to stories, and using them to change your mind.I'd prefer to hire someone who is largely self-motivated, who finds satisfaction in reaching self-imposed goals, and is willing to regularly raise the bar on those goals.

You're intellectually restless. You care enough about new ideas to read plenty of blogs and books, and you're curious enough about your own ideas that you blog or publish your thoughts for others to react to.

You're an engaging writer and speaker and you can demonstrate how the right visuals can change your story. And you understand that the system is intertwined, that your actions have side effects and you not only care about them but work to make those side effects good ones.The cool thing about this list is that it's not dependent on what you were born with or who you know. Or how much you can lift.

Week 50 - Make Changes Stick

Any change you make needs to be supported by a system to ensure actions continued to be carried out in the new way. By now you should be comfortable with systems, policies and procedures so this is the point where you must systematize the revisiting of the policy and procedure making process. That’s right, before you laugh, we do really need a system for updating your system!

Set aside one day each month to review your policies and procedures. During this day you should spend one hour on each different area of your business. Do this every month with unwavering commitment and your business will improve as never before. Can you honestly remember when you last took the time out in this way to make positive improvements?

Some things you can look at each month are:

1. What problems arose for us during the month and how can we modify our policies and procedures to avoid a repeat of these?
   
2. Did any of our policies and procedures cause trouble during the past month – how can we adjust them to avoid a repeat?
   
3. How do the employees feel about the policies and procedures? Which would they like to see modified and why?
   
4. Responsibilities – are all bases covered? Do we need to assign new responsibilities to employees to cover new areas of business?
   
5. Does anyone think we could make more money or make our jobs easier by changing the way we run things?

It is essential that you involve your key employees (perhaps all of them) in this workshop discussion. Through a combination of effective systems and development of new income streams, your business will be far less vulnerable to the ebb and flow that is business today. So what about you personally - can you handle the ebb and flow? You see the same principles apply to you as an individual. You need to prepare your mind, constantly feeding it with rich information and positive re-enforcement.

Marketing Musings: Maestro of DVD Distribution

Although not that suitable for the smaller business, I do like Reed Hastings fresh (CEO of Netflix) approach to management.

PAY LAVISHLY Higher-than-average salaries—and tying bonuses and raises to the market, not a pool—can make stars less likely to bolt. Money is no object in hiring.

PROVIDE COMPENSATION CHOICE Employees are more likely to excel if they can pick how much of their compensation they get in stock rather than cash.

FOSTER TALENT HUNTERS Encouraging everyone to hire the three people they've loved working with most during their careers creates an intense, fun workplace.

LET THEM GO Don't give B performers a middling raise. Give them a decent chunk of cash and show them the door. And don’t surprise them. The laid-off leave with their dignity.

LIMIT RULES They reduce error. But they also stymie innovation. At Netflix, employees are responsible for their choices, even in how much vacation to take.

The full article is here at BusinessWeek.