Marketing in Real Life

Over the past few months I’ve built my team at Privy from a one-man show to a group of four that I am extremely proud of and excited to come work with every day. In that process, I talked to a lot of people, lots of whom I liked a lot—even if they weren’t the right fit for this company at this time. (Both of those matter.) Between that experience and my own job searches in the last few years, I’ve been thinking a lot about where the process goes right and where it goes wrong. Along the way, I’ve put together a few takeaways worth sharing for anyone in a similar position. While I haven’t always followed these rules, I certainly try. 1. This company and this time matter. There are lots of really smart people who could be a great hire in a vacuum. But as companies grow and change, so does the skill set needed to be successful. For example, early stage companies need doers who can think but can’t afford people who are unwilling to roll up their sleeves every day (at least for a w...

I f you spend too much time doing your work the way other people want it, you risk losing what makes YOUR work great.  The trick is finding the balance of your own strengths and the needs/process of the people you work. That balance is what lets you create things that both you and your manager are proud of.

Hiring is hard.  Especially in a small company where one under-performer can put a big hole in the ship - the pressure to get it right is immense.  So, how do you know quickly if you've made a good choice for the short term and long term?  Here are three things I look for: They ask a lot of questions: Everyone wants to come in and add value from day one, but good employees know what they know and aren't afraid to get the information they need to get smart fast. While answering all of those questions takes a lot of time it's a good sign that they'll soak it all in and become a source of information for others over time. They set themselves free: New employees can be scared to go to other departments for help. It's human nature to be cautious when going out of the comfy confines of a team, but those are the people who will be advocates for your mission in short order and make themselves an integral part of the entire organization. They are hard on th...

Throughout my career I have never really had anyone telling me exactly what to do, so I have paved my own way and set goals that I thought were important. And at times I have valued my work more than others for one reason: I was never told what I should try to achieve and never forced an answer to the question. As a brash young marketer I always felt like I knew the best way and it didn’t matter what anyone else thought. But now I know that I needed to fight for more clear direction from my managers… and with direction I would have been happier and more effective. Simply put, good management provides direction that creates: - Alignment between your activities and the company’s goals - Agreed upon, clear check in points to measure success and determine if you are on the right path - Clear value of your work to the organization if/when you want to be promoted or need other people’s time - Room to breathe and be creative within a larger framework for success; and - A sense ...