In this issue:
- In Our Opinion: Spending Political Capital
- Career Opportunities:
- Global CMO
- CMO – Growth Markets
- CMO – Start-up Mobile Advertising/M-Commerce
- Managing Director, Social Media
- Blog Roundup:
- Blog – Short-Form Content Is A New Media and Entertainment Priority
- Blog – Disruptive Marketing Technologies
In Our Opinion by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White
Spending Political Capital
We were inspired by a recent article in the Sunday NY Times on spending political capital.
In our opinion, C-level executives need to be bold, courageous…and go for it…especially once they have earned the trust and respect of the Board and C-suite leaders. It is simply not enough to perform exceptionally well in the current role…it’s about risk-taking to identify and champion innovative business building ideas and programs.
“You need to spend political capital — be unafraid to introduce people, compliment somebody when it’s deserved and stand up for something you really believe in, rather than just go with the flow. I don’t mean being a perennial troublemaker, but it’s about having conviction and courage. Spend that political capital you earn by being intellectually credible, by being a fighter for the people on your team when appropriate, and by arguing for principles that matter. Those are qualities that give you credit. If you’re waiting for the perfect moment to spend that capital, you’re going to be sidelined your whole career waiting for the right time to enter the ring.”
The status-quo today is simply not enough…and playing it safe is a recipe for disaster as so many businesses and category sectors have leveled off, which is the beginning of atrophy.
In this fast-moving “customer” era, innovation and exceptional customer engagement and experience are the keys to success and growth. Leaders in this area include Amazon.com (continuing to grow/expand into new product categories), Coca-Cola (outperforming sector competitors), Prudential Corporation Asia (leveraging branded content and social media to grow at 20% CAGR), Samsung (gaining share on Apple with each quarter), Lenovo (taken over global PC leadership), Unilever (leveraging social purpose and brand/business building), and Walmart (leading retailer innovation in social/mobile).
Have you built political capital in your current business and functional role? What are the opportunities for you to spend that political capital currently to identify/drive important new initiatives within your company and further advance your personal brand/career?
As always, we welcome your input and comments. Contact us.
Career Opportunities
Global CMO
CMO – Growth Markets
CMO – Mobile Advertising/M-Commerce Start-up
Managing Director, Social Media
Blog Roundup: Did you catch our recent posts on our blog?
BLOG: Short-Form Content Is A New Media and Entertainment Priority
One of the most interesting conversations during Advertising Week 2013 was Michael Kassan, CEO of Media Link, interviewing Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Co-Founder & CEO of DreamWorks Animation regarding the future of media and entertainment in the face of the current technology changes.
Creating New Opportunities in the Content Creation Business
Rather than feeling media and entertainment companies are facing a diminishing and fractured market, Katzenberg indicated there has never been a better time to be in the content creation business. …Read more
BLOG: Disruptive Marketing Technologies
Leading edge marketers and agency leaders agree advances in new, disruptive marketing technologies have created new global media and marketing experiments as marketers race to infuse digital media and mobile commerce into their arsenal of marketing programs.
“Mobile is the first screen, the screen of today,” according to Bob Bowman, CEO of MLB Advanced Media. Mobile is Word of Mouth on steroids, and for MLB over 50% of their traffic is mobile and they expect 80-90% of traffic via mobile devices within 2 years. …Read more
Leave a Reply