Reflections on a career-in-progress

This morning, I braved the winter’s latest snowstorm to venture out to the University of Toronto Mississauga campus to participate in a student networking event for students studying marketing or communications.

While passing along various nuggets of advice from my own experiences, I was struck by the realization that like most things, career-planning success comes down to positioning, persistence and politeness.

Positioning, in understanding what excites you, then packaging your skills and interests into a ‘brand’ that expresses who you are and what you want to do, but is also aligned with the prerequisites and capabilities of the job you’re seeking.

Persistence, in appreciating that getting a job is partly a numbers game (first you’ve gotta get your ‘brand’ intrusively launched into the marketplace, then you need to keep on reminding your prospects about your existence until, when their need arises, you’re top-of-mind).

And finally politeness, in having the smarts to not presume that your skill-set will automatically fit the employer’s needs, but ‘taking it slow’ and respectfully asking to begin a conversation with them that ideally leads to a job.

I drove away from the session reminded about the innocence of youth, but also thankful that I’ve found a rewarding career for myself with Glue.

The rewards of giving back

Making time for volunteer work these days is always a challenge, what with client projects, kid’s hockey games and spending time with your spouse all competing for the planet’s most non-renewable: time.

For three years, I’ve given a great many hours to the Marketing Hall of Legends (www.marketinghalloflegends.ca), an organization that celebrates marketing excellence in Canada. The primary part of my role has been conducting phone or in-person interviews with each year’s inductees, then translating these into two-page profiles in the gala evening program book.

While the hours I’ve contributed are considerable, so too are the rewards I’ve received. First, simply getting to talk with some of Canada’s most successful marketers is a treat. Second, the opportunity to hear about their career influences, their personal mantras and their views on the industry today is enlightening. And third is the satisfaction of knowing that my work – together with that of the others on the committee who also donate their time to the cause – reaches the eyes and minds and hearts of other Canadian marketers.

Last night's gala was once again a great success. Since this was my final year as an MHOL volunteer, it was a bittersweet moment to witness the energy in the room. I left feeling very proud of the part I'd played in helping our industry honour its legends.

My faux-marble garbage can: A plea for truthfulness

The Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff (where I arrived yesterday to help produce the employee meeting I’ve been working on for a couple of months) is lovely. The view of the mountains is breathtaking, the food is tasty, and the staff (40 percent of whom, I’m told, are Aussies) are very friendly.

Though my room is spacious and tastefully decorated, one thing caught my eye… the bathroom garbage can.

The can is made of plastic that’s meant to look like marble. Now I’ve got nothing against marble, but why would one ever want a real marble garbage can? It would be quite heavy to lift while being emptied, rather breakable if you banged it, and would do a number on your toes if you dropped it.

This humble garbage can got me thinking about truthfulness in design. I believe that on top of being functional (things doing what they’re supposed to do; being easy-to-use and durable), objects and spaces should be attractive (e.g., harmonious colours, pleasing proportions). But I wish designers would not try to make things appear to be something that they’re not. In other words, I wish things were more authentic.

Plastic is an ideal material for a garbage can, so make it look like plastic. Why not a solid colour (since it’s made from resin poured into a mould), perhaps with a texture (if the moulding process allows for it). But don’t make it look like marble!

There’s a new book out called Authenticity (James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II, Harvard Business School Press, 299 pages, $31.95) that I suspect touches on this. To be truthful (!), I’ve only skimmed the book in a store and read a review of it.

Few would argue there’s tremendous skepticism all around us these days; witness the debate about whether Hillary Clinton’s crying on the campaign trail a couple of weeks ago was a carefully staged performance, or an authentic show of emotion. As Authenticity argues, there’s a deep yearning for things to be real.

I believe the lesson for marketers is to be honest with yourself – and with your customers – about what your brand / product actually is, then truthfully present what it can and cannot do. I’m not suggesting being dull, humourless or devoid of emotion, but rather to ensure the excitement and emotion of your brand promise is grounded in believable, real-life experiences.

Sky-high about my latest business tool!

We’ve all heard about ‘raving brand champions’ – ordinary customers who become vocal supporters of a company or its products. Well, right now at 36,000 feet above central Canada, I’ve become one myself.

The product? The remarkably simple AviatorTM Laptop Stand – a collapsible gizmo that packs flat in your briefcase (1/2 inch thick by about 12 inches long), but elevates your computer while angling it forward to a more ergonomically correct position. The result? You can type comfortably without hunching over.

I got it online at www.keynomics.com for $19.95 US; total price when shipped via UPS was 33 bucks.

The jury’s still out on whether it will help me ‘work smarter’ (as the instructions claim), but it sure feels a lot better!

Snowbanks and marketing plans

Bright and early yesterday morning (just three days before Christmas!), I had a new client meeting in which we were discussing the importance of starting out with a comprehensive strategic marketing plan. Investing the time now to build such a plan, I argued, lays the foundation for successful subsequent tactics that will achieve business results.

Two hours later, I was out doing errands on Bayview Avenue with my sons, and – despite it being the last weekend shopping day before Christmas – it was very difficult finding a parking spot. Why? Because Toronto's streets are now significantly narrowed by giant snowbanks created when folks dug out from last Sunday's giant snowfall. It's easy to see where cars were parked last weekend, because everywhere else there are three-foot-high mountains of snow!

So what's the connection between marketing plans and snowbanks?

It's a pet-peeve of mine that many homeowners shovel snow with a short-term mentality... only throwing it far enough to clear their immediate path. They don't consider what will happen next time, when they need to clear the same area – now surrounded by high snowbanks!

On the other hand, I take the longer-term view; once early December arrives, you should assume that the snowbanks you create today will be around until the end of the winter, and shovel accordingly. I prefer to throw (only clean!) snow back up onto our lawn, which helps avoid choking the street with snowbanks along the curb.

So, a good marketing plan analyzes the situation without 'creating snowbanks' that impede your ability to react to future circumstances. It presents a clear picture of the underlying roadway and surrounding landscape, and suggests ways that you can progress down that road to achieve the desired business results.

Tim's business-travel tips

Having just returned from another business trip out west to Calgary, it's becoming clearer to me that the 'travel' part of business travel isn't really all that glamourous. In fact, it's usually rather exhausting... you just want to ARRIVE!

Through my recent experiences, I'm learning some simple lessons that are helping me be productive and do my best work:

1. Pick a hotel that's close to the client's office. Okay, so maybe one that's actually connected indoors is a bit too close (this time, I always walked the 40 yards door-to-door outside), but not having to travel much back and forth saves time and energy.

2. Eat a hearty breakfast. Day after day, a couple of glasses of juice, a bowl of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and toast with peanut butter mightn't very exciting, but it does give me energy for a full morning's work (especially when I'm working in Mountain Time but waking up on Eastern Time).

3. Pack good technical tools. Although you end up with a second rolling suitcase loaded with electronic gear, I found it so handy to have a portable printer with me (Canon iP90), together with my Rogers Portable High-Speed Internet modem, USB hub, mouse, digital camera-cum-tape-recorder and of course, cellphone. I've even labelled the different power cords for each device, and got separate little carrying pouches (orange-coloured kids' pencil cases) for all the accessories, which makes packing easier and reduces the likelihood you forget essential cables or chargers. I even sprang for a second battery for my MacBook Pro laptop, which has more than paid for itself in extra productivity on longer flights.

4. Bring some office essentials. I ended up buying a mini-stapler, file folders and a hole punch at Grand & Toy, so I could keep the documents from my various meetings neatly organized. Use a few hotel envelopes to organize receipts, so your wallet doesn't get overloaded.

5. Get a good little carrying bag. I just bought a wonderful black Hedgren shoulder bag with countless zippered pockets. It's perfect for carrying all my 'stuff': pens, cellphone, iPod, retractable Sony earbuds (since untangling headphone cable has got to be one of life's great time-wasters), memory sticks, digital camera with extra batteries, chewing gum, water bottles, books, etc. Tip: Keep your boarding pass in the same pocket every time to avoid rifling through the entire bag in line-ups.

6. Pack up as you go. Next time, I'll do a better job of keeping my stuff nearly 'ready to be packed' for departure, thereby minimizing the scambling when heading home.

7. Avoid arriving home in rush hour. Just when you're finally ready to collapse into the back-seat of the limousine to get home from the airport, you discover there are dozens people ahead of you -- and precious few limos or taxis to be found. Once it does arrive, the highway home is a veritable parking lot. Lesson: try to stick to flights arriving in the evening!

8. Most important of all: smile. I'm coming to appreciate the value of smiling at the many people you come into contact with when travelling -- from airport check-in staff to restaurant servers, flight attendants to taxi-drivers, hotel front-desk staff to office-tower security guards. A warm, genuine smile or greeting makes a connection -- from one human being to another -- that shows you appreciate their efforts, and can help you get that 'extra bit' of attention or service or flexibility you may need.

Saying hello in winter

Today was the first major snowfall of the winter here in Toronto, and I walked my half-hour to the office early to catch up on work.

Over the years, I’ve observed that the first snowfall day allows normally reserved Torontonians to actually 'open up a little' and smile at strangers as they trudge past. I guess it’s an acknowledgment of our shared battle against the elements.

However, there seems to be some unwritten rules at play. If you encounter someone one-on-one, you normally say hello (or at least smile), but if you encounter a cluster of people, you are less likely to greet them.

The arrival of iPods has allowed people to further detach themselves from their social surroundings (but not yet their physical environment) and ignore such interpersonal contact.

For me, I try to still say hello, even with the earbuds in. But who knows, maybe I’m shouting when I do so...?