Pragmatic Ink 101

Everyone has stories, and well, these are mine.  Every company I have ever been connected to, by virtue of employment or as a customer, has provided me with a classroom.  Sometimes the lessons are ordinary, more often they are extraordinary. My instructors have had many titles, served at all levels, and span numerous cultures, genders, and professional disciplines.  The best of them have impacted my growth as a person in ways which are immeasurable.  Even the worst of them, well, they’ve taught me well.  Whether you recognize it or not, your entire career has been comprised of continuing ed opportunities as well.  I don’t care what school you hail from, Ivy League, hard knocks, or rock your greatest lessons come from immersion.  You likely know more than you think you know.

I’ve been involved in marketing at varying degrees for most of my career.  Marketing is not simply one component of a business, nor is it separate from the rest of the business. It has many layers and it involves everything your customer encounters.  Great marketing requires people working together and actively participating at many levels of an organization, not just your marketing department.  I’m an instinctive marketer and an innately outgoing one.  Yet, when I toss out an idea among my peers, even I sometimes feel as though people look at me like I have two heads – like that’s a bad thing! At all levels within the workplace, in order to innovate, everyone needs freedom to participate. There are no bad ideas. Period.  You enthusiasm torpedo’s, yeah, you know who you are – get over it.  Great companies encourage people to throw every single idea, with absolutely all the gusto they can muster, at the wall to see what sticks. When the vetting is done and the dust settles what’s left may surprise you.  Teamwork is not about consensus, it’s about collaboration.  When good leaders inspire, great teams thrive, and magic happens.

I hope you’ll find a piece of something in everything I post that you can relate to, and will contribute to improving the synergy of your environment. If you’re interested in hearing more I invite you to subscribe at the bottom of the page.

While you’re here check out my latest blog post, Optimism Interrupted.  Thanks for stopping by.