Tag: trust

Thin line

FabrizioLeave a comment

There is a thin line between your fragility and other people’s fragility.

They often live in the same space.

I don’t like this project – It can be interpreted as an attack, a lack of trust, a doubt on your skils, a revenge for something you once said (your fragility); and at the same time, it can be a manifestation of fear, uncertainty, adversity to risk, a different mindset (other people’s fragility).

Someone not returning your greeting – It can be interpreted as a dislike, a judgement, a strong preference to not spend time with you, a way to send a clear message about the meeting that is about to begin (your fragility); and at the same time, it can be a manifestation of a cluttered mind, uneasiness around others, a disinterest towards socialization, tension for the meeting that is about to begin (other people’s fragility).

Your role is to understand the boundaries of your fragility, the words and actions that trigger it, so that you can extend from there and accept other people’s fragility and their own effort to understand them.

Take the comment on the project and appreciate that it is feeding your lack of trust in your own skills; then move towards the other and sit with them as they explore their own side.

Take the greeting that was not returned and appreciate that it is triggering your struggle to belong, then move towards the other and sit with them as they explore their own side.

When you don’t do this, the thin line grows into a thick wall.

Reporting marketing

Fabrizio1 Comment

It’s a responsibility as marketers to make marketing accessible to the rest of the organization. We are the ones good at communicating, after all.

It starts with reporting on your KPIs.

If you have 20 slides with tables filled with character size 12 numbers, covering all the regions, all the channels, all the assets, all the stages of the funnel, you are doing everybody a disservice. Nobody will understand what you are up, and by not understanding it, they will not be excited about the next thing you will present or ask money for.

Pick three numbers. Make them about awareness, conversion, and pipeline. Report on them with three slides, splashing the big number on one side and an explanation of the number on the other (what you did, what happened, why it matters, what’s next – keep it character size 30 at least). Do it every month or every quarter and let readers ask their own questions about regions, channels, assets, and so on.

That’s a way to build credibility and interest around the marketing function.

Learnings and insights

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There are different ways to share learnings and insights.

Many keep them for themselves, at most sharing with a close circle. They see learnings and insights as an advantage in a competitive environment, and they leverage them to achieve status.

Some share them all around, perhaps doing some sort of selection based on interest. They typically do that once and then assume that everyone is in the loop and will act accordingly.

A few manage them, ensuring they are properly discussed, distributed, and acted upon. They take the time to understand who can benefit from them, they organize a space to exchange opinions, they put together the right context to do some testing, they track results that inevitably lead to further learnings and insights – starting the loop once more.

Of course, this last approach is ideal. But you can’t follow that with everything. That’s why it matters to know what is important.

Not the end of the world

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A defeat is not the end of the world.

For sure, it hurts. You’ll have to take time to process it. You will be tempted to give way to regrets, complaints, frustation, fury. And sometimes, you should. You will need to regroup with those who have been close to you all along the way. You will grieve, cry perhaps, feel like everything was pointless. You will analyse, and question, and wonder. You might be doing that for quite some time.

In the end, though, you will accept and go back to your practice. And actually, the fastest you do, the strongest you are.

Because a defeat is not the end of the world.

Satisfied

FabrizioLeave a comment

Most of your satisfaction is due to the effective application of three interrelated things.

  1. Knowing what is important.
  2. Not allowing any space for what does not belong to number 1.
  3. Giving yourself some slack when you fail at number 2.

This is true in your personal and your professional life. At the office, in your free time, and at the gym. When you are on your own, with your partner, with your friends, or with your kids.

It is a matter of awareness, of choices, and boundaries.

It is a matter of saving resources and investing them in the things that have the highest potential.

It is a matter of acknowledgement and empathy.